SHOWING HANDS. It is the general usage that the hand called must be shown first. In this case A’s hand is called, for D was the one who called a halt on A in the betting, and stopped him from going any further. The strict laws of the game require that both hands must be shown, and if there are more than two in the final call, all must be shown to the table. The excuse generally made for not showing the losing hand is that the man with the worse hand paid to see the better hand; but it must not be forgotten that the man with the better hand has paid exactly the same amount, and is equally entitled to see the worse hand. There is an excellent rule in some clubs that a player refusing to show his hand in a call shall refund the amount of the antes to all the other players, or pay all the antes in the next jack pot. The rule of showing both hands is a safeguard against collusion between two players, one of whom might have a fairly good hand, and the other nothing; but by mutually raising each other back and forth they could force any other player out of the pool. The good hand could then be called and shown, the confederate simply saying, “That is good,” and throwing down his hand. Professionals call this system of cheating, “raising out.”
When the hands are called and shown, the best poker hand wins, their rank being determined by the table of values already given. In the example just given suppose that A, on being called by D, had shown three fours, and that D had three deuces. A would take the entire pool, including all the antes, and the four blues and one red staked by B after the draw. It might be that B would now discover that he had laid down the best hand, having held three sixes. This discovery would be of no benefit to him, for he abandoned his hand when he declined to meet the raises of A and D.
If the hands are exactly a tie, the pool must be divided among those who are in at the call. For instance: Two players show aces up, and each finds his opponent’s second pair to be eights. The odd card must decide the pool; and if that card is also a tie the pool must be divided.
If no bet is made after the draw, each player in turn throwing down his cards, the antes are won by the last player who holds his hand. This is usually the age, because he has the last say. If the age has not made good his ante, it will be the dealer, and so on to the right. There is no necessity for the fortunate player to show his hand; the mere fact that he is the only one holding any cards is prima facie evidence that his hand is the best. On the same principle, the player who has made a bet or raise which no other player will see, wins the pool without showing his hand, as he must be the only one with cards in his hand; for when a player refuses to see a bet he must abandon his hand, and with it all pretensions to the pool. If he wishes to call, but has not money enough, he must borrow it. He cannot demand a show of hands for what counters he has, except in table stakes.
During the betting, players are at liberty to make any remarks they see fit, and to tell as many cheerful lies about their hands as they please. A player may even miscall his hand when he shows it; the cards speak for themselves, just as the counters do, and what a player says does not affect either in the slightest. If a player says: “I raise you two blues,” the statement amounts to nothing until the blues have been placed in the pool, and the owner’s hand removed from them. There is no penalty if a player, during the betting, tells his adversaries exactly what he holds; nor is he likely to lose anything by it, for no one will believe him.
JACK POTS. The addition of jack pots has probably done more to injure Poker than the trump signal has injured Whist. In the early days, when poker parties were small, four players being a common number, it was frequently the case that no one had a pair strong enough to draw to, and such a deal was regarded as simply a waste of time. To remedy this, it was proposed that whenever no player came in, each should be obliged to ante an equal amount for the next deal, and just to demonstrate that there were some good hands left in the pack no one was allowed to draw cards until some one had Jacks or better to draw to.
The result of this practice was to make jack pots larger than the other pools, because every one was compelled to ante, and this seems to have prompted those who were always wanting to increase the stakes to devise excuses for increasing the number of jack pots. This has been carried so far that the whole system has become a nuisance, and has destroyed one of the finest points in the game of Poker,—the liberty of personal judgment as to every counter put into the pool, except the blind. The following excuses for making jack pots are now in common use:
After a Misdeal some parties make it a jack; but the practice should be condemned, because it puts it in the power of any individual player to make it a jack when he deals.
The Buck is some article, such as a penknife, which is placed in the pool at the beginning of the game, and is taken down with the rest of the pool by whichever player wins it. When it comes to his deal, it is a jack pot, and the buck is placed in the pool with the dealer’s ante, to be won, taken down, and make another jack in the same way.
The usual custom is to fix the amount of the ante in jack pots, a red, or five whites, being the common stake. In some places it is at the option of the holder of the buck to make the ante any amount he pleases within the betting limit. Whichever system is adopted, every player at the table must deposit a like amount in the pool. Players are sometimes permitted to pass a jack; that is, not to ante nor to take any part in the game until the jack is decided. If this is to be allowed, it should be so understood at the beginning of the game.