Bet (wager)

“ When the drawing is all complete, the betting goes around in order, like the drawing, to the left. The ante man is the first to bet unless he has declined to play, and in that case the first bet is made by the player nearest to the dealer on his left. But the player entitled to bet first may withhold his wager until the others have bet round to him, which is called “holding the age,” and this being considered an advantage, is very frequently done. ”

“ When the old man’s money was all taken, the hangers-on of the place became enthusiastic over the betting, and took every bet while there was a dollar in sight amongst our crowd, the horse buyer even making a wager. ”

“ Being moneyless, he will make no bet himself; being honest, he will faithfully guard the treasure put within his care. A sporting buck approaches the blanket; he grumbles a word or two in the ear of the pool master who sits at the blanket’s head; then he searches forth a hundred-dollar bill from the darker recesses of his blanket and lays it on the red betting-cloth. Another comes up; the pool master murmurs the name of the pony on which the hundred is offered; it is covered by the second speculator; that wager is complete. Others arrive at the betting blanket ”

“ But generally whenever you do a trick before a company, you must never begin it again before the same.
[34]
CHAP. XVI. A curious and agreeable Wager, which you are sure of winning.
Address some person in the company, and say, Madam, or Sir, have you a watch, a ring, an etwee, or any other trinket? Begin by examining what has been given you, in order to form an idea of its value, since you are to lay your bet considerably under the intrinsic value of the trinket, to avoid being duped.
Suppose what has been offered to you is a watch, you are to propose a guinea as a wager against it ”

“ If he is a loser when all the cards have been dealt, he may, if he choose, continue to double his stake as long as his funds will permit.
The reader can scarcely fail to perceive how soon this sort of play will bankrupt the unsophisticated gamester. Every time he doubles his stake he is offering the bank enormous odds. It requires a very short time, for a bet of one dollar under such circumstances, to run up to a wager of $128, $256, $512, etc. As a matter of fact, the player, under such circumstances, is offering the bank odds amounting, sometimes $4,000 to one. ”

“ One day a man fell to the pavement in front of White’s and instantly a member bet that he was dead and the wager was accepted. When it was proposed to bleed the man the gamesters protested vigorously on the ground that the use of the lancet would interfere with a fair settlement of the bet. ”

“ Outside the ellipse are little metal pegs, one being placed opposite each number.
The mode of playing is simple in the extreme. As many persons can engage in the game as can stand around the table. Each player places the amount which he wishes to bet on the color or horse which he 292selects. The proprietor gives odds of ten to one on the horses and even bets are made on the colors. That is to say: if a player wagers a dollar on the red and wins, the proprietor pays him a dollar and returns his stake. If he bets a dollar on a horse and wins, he receives $10 in addition to his original wager. ”

“ But why can't we bet some even sum of money—say, twopence?"
"Because ladies don't bet actual money—except with bookmakers."
"I say, Clara, did you ever make a bet with a real bookmaker?"
"Not yet; but I might—if we go to the Derby together."
"Do let's. It would be too thrilling. What colour do you like best for a horse? Oh, yes. But about that bet. It won't do, you see, because, if you win, you'll get two cigarettes, and you don't smoke."
"That's true," said Clara meditatively. "But if you win, you get a tangerine, and you simply hate them. ”

“ But you see, don't you? that gambling, even under its most sordid aspects, is not altogether sordid; it's the mystery, the uncertainty, the hours of "strange [2] surmise" that the smallest bet gives to the bettor that make the real delight of betting. When the office-boy wins and gets ten shillings for the risk of his two-and-six, his delight is not by any means pure love of gain, it is distinguished by a very marked line from the constantly repeated joys of the grocer, who is always buying delicious tea at ninepence and selling it at one-and-six. ”

“ There was a five hundred-dollar bill on the outside, and, putting a strip of paper around it, I marked it $20,000. Then rushing up, I said, "Boys, I have at last raised the money;" and as I was about to put it on the table to call the bet, the owner of the valise snatched it off, saying, "That was only for a bluff." So I deemed it best to show down for what money we had up, as I knew all the rest were up all they had, and I have always made it a rule never to bet a man more than he had, to run him out, but always to give every man a chance for his money. ”

“ That night I went down to the circus tents and opened a small shell game. Rufe was to be the capper. I gave him a roll of phony currency to bet with and kept a bunch of it in a special pocket to pay his winnings out of. No; I didn't mistrust him; but I simply can't manipulate the ball to lose when I see real money bet. My fingers go on a strike every time I try it. ”

“ Suppose that your possessions are precisely equal in amount to those of a friend, and that your circumstances are similar in every respect. There can be, then, no disparity arising from the fact of a bet being made between you, where the chances of winning or losing a certain amount are the same to each. To present the problem in its simplest form, we will say that you each stake one-half of your possessions upon the turn of a coin. If it turns up head you win, if it falls 'tail up' your friend wins. Nothing could possibly be fairer than this from a gambler's point of view. ”

“ A man bets on a card and loses. His last drink is beginning to effervesce, and, of course, he is too shrewd to let the gambler have his money. He doubles the bet, putting the money on the same card, thinking that a card must, at least, win every other time. I have noticed that gamblers are very considerate, always managing to throw out just the card the victim wishes to bet upon. ”

“ To bet legally you must pay your sovereign, half-sovereign, or five shillings for entrance to the various enclosures in the Stand: to lay or take the odds in the open is an indictable offence. Yet there is nothing else but quiet and earnest, but unostentatious, betting going forward all the while among the crowd assembled outside the rails. The bookmakers in the various rings, sanctified and immune from molestation at the hands of the law, by reason of those entrance-fees, may be heard shouting the odds like maniacs, but here the case is indeed altered. ”

“ So—we all go in, and bet ten dollars on the first race. Then we wait for the word. My telegraph friend's going to hang on for a big one—five or six to one shot—and when it comes, he'll send a pal of his over to us. I know the pal—he comes in, goes up to the grill, planks down his money, and makes his bet. The one of us who handles the big money's right behind him. You get it, do you? Not a word exchanged—nothin' suspicious—the pal makes a bet, and we follow. ”

“ The chances having been bought or the bets laid, some one—either one of the players, or the proprietor, or a bystander—sets the arrow in motion. When the pointer comes to rest, if any player has laid his bet upon the number at which it stops, he receives either the prize thereon placed or the amount of his winnings in cash. ”

“ Of course there was a large crowd present, the gambling stands were well patronized, as usual and at one particular table there was a large farmer betting very freely, who seemed to have plenty of money, and a smart fellow who lived in the city observed the way things were running, for every time the farmer put down a bet the dealer would win and raked it in. ”

“ I laughed and said, "Try it again; you're not as lucky as the other fellow." "No," said he; "I've got enough." Then my partner came up again and wanted to bet; but I told him he was the lucky fellow, and I was afraid of him.
The New Yorker could see the mark on the card, and he could not stand it any longer; so he pushed up to the table and laid down a roll, and said: "I will bet you $400." I told him I would only make one more bet and then quit, and I would bet $2,000 or nothing. He picked up the money and turned away. My partner said, so I could hear him, "Bet him." ”

“ He is informed that a man always wins his first bet—fortune favors first play. Men put chips in his hands, saying, “Play this bet for me.” “But I don’t know the cards,” he replies. “Put the bet down on any card, it will surely win.” Down it goes—it wins—and as they rake in the gains, he thinks, “I might have won a month’s salary in a moment.” Lightly as snowflakes fall the cards; deft the touch; swift the shuffle. It seems so simple. He carries money saved from a father’s toil, a sister’s earnings offered to help him secure his stock of goods to start business. ”

“ You have each an equal chance of winning, you both stake [319] an equal amount, you both stand to lose as much as you can win, and, above all, the amount staked bears the same value, proportionately, to the wealth of each person. One cannot imagine a bet being made under fairer conditions, yet how does it work out in actual fact? ”

“ Then the ball stopped rolling and the attendant purred, "Twenty-one red, passé!" and raked to my little bet an equal number of chips.
I pointed at the neat, even rows of chips and bills stacked before the croupier.
"You see that stuff, my friend? That's money, not hay. You may be a genius at some things, but this is the old gambola. A risk any way you look at it. Lay off my bets!"
And this time I moved my entire bet to the black column. Why not? It was due.
But Hank said plaintively, "Shucks, Jim, it stands to reason—"
And once again he reached out and shifted my bet to the red. ”

“ I'm obliged to you," said the farrier, with a snort of scorn. "If folks are fools, it's no business o' mine. I don't want to make out the truth about ghos'es; I know it a'ready. But I'm not against a bet—everything fair and open. Let any man bet me ten pound as I shall see Cliff's Holiday, and I'll go and stand by myself. I want no company. I'd as lief do it as I'd fill this pipe."
"Ah, but who's to watch you, Dowlas, and see you do it? That's no fair bet," said the butcher.
"No fair bet?" replied Mr. Dowlas angrily. "I should like to hear any man stand up and say I want to bet unfair. ”

“ To make it good, each of us will put up a side bet of twenty thousand. It will be real money, but it won't be a real bet. Each gets his own slipped back to him. The same way with the purse. We'll divide it evenly, though the public division will be thirty-five and sixty-five. ”

“ Messenger boys stopped to make a bet. The copper on the beat would walk in and bet “two and a half to win breakfast money.” If he won his “two and a half” he went out satisfied. If he lost it, he got “stuck,” forgot all about his beat, sat down, and “played in” his bankroll.
[186] The town boasted of an all-night barber shop and a clothing store that never closed, for the convenience of late-at-night winners who couldn’t hold on to their winnings till morning.
As I watched a game my first night in Butte, a seedy, torn-out looking chap stepped up to the layout and made a bet. ”

“ Hundreds who have never risked, and who think it impossible they ever could risk, a dollar in a game of chance, are daily drawn into the vortex. They come to town with well-filled{50} purses, the proceeds, perhaps, of six months’ hard labor, to buy the necessary provisions and clothing, get their letters, &c. They meet old friends, drink, go to the gambling house, drink again, and finally bet a small amount, and perhaps win. They bet again, and again win. ”

“ She paid no attention to this, but stood apparently absorbed in the game, and edging forward from time to time till she stood directly behind the cotton-factor.
137 “The betting grew heavier. The ante was made ten dollars and the bet was often fifty, but still there was no contest between unusual hands. ”

“ Whenever two cards of the same denomination appear in the same “turn,” the dealer takes half the money found upon such card. This is called a “split,” and is, in effect, a percentage taken by the bank. If a player wins his bet and allows both stake and winnings to remain on the same card for another “turn,” he is said to play a paroli or parlee. At the end of a “turn” a pause is made, to permit the paying of bets already determined and the making of new ones. And the same routine is followed until the pack is exhausted, when a fresh deal is made and the process repeated. ”

“ CONTROL OVER SUCKERS. I was playing euchre one night on the old Vicksburg, and had a good sucker down in the game, and the clerk was watching us very close; so after I gave the sucker a good hand, and he wanted to bet on poker, I whispered and said, "If we make a bet we must put the money in a hat, and we must not speak about betting louder than in a whisper." ”

“ In case a player making a bet finds that he has been misled by the incorrectness of the record kept by the cue keeper, the invariable rule is that the bet must be determined by the cards remaining in the dealing box, a regulation which is, to say the least, not at all to the disadvantage of the bank. ”

“ It can wait."
"Do you mean to say that a bet, a gambling debt, an obligation made on a dishonourable basis, takes precedence in time over honest claims for food and clothing?"
"It's the rule here in Burrton," said Walter sullenly. "If a bet is not settled at once the fellows lose their standing. The same is true at all the eastern schools. You have got to meet debts of honour promptly." ”