Gambling in the Old West: Hip - Pocket History, #1

By G.R. Williamson

Hip-Pocket History of the Old West (Series)  Compact, concise accounts that cover odd or little-known facets of the American West. Historically accurate, but told in an easy to read format, with just a twist of humor. Informative, yet entertaining, the Hip-Pocket History series provides little nuggets without having to wade through a 400-page book of dry academic ostentatiousness.

Gambling played a major role in the lives of the men that drove the western movement of Americans across the continent during the nineteenth century. Games of chance were dear to the hearts of not only cowboys, but also gold miners, plantation owners, bankers, merchants, soldiers, trappers, buffalo hunters, mule skinners, and most of the other men of the American West, even including some preachers.

Wherever there were men with money there was gambling – and most of it was crooked. Whether it was rigged, fixed, double-dealt, cold-decked, braced or otherwise manipulated - very little was left to luck and skill.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Indian Head Publishing
• Release date: May 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386248439

G.R. Williamson

G.R. Williamson lives in Kerrville, Texas, with his wife and trusty chihuahua Shooter. He spent his early years living in Crystal City, Texas, which is located twenty miles west of King Fisher's ranch in Dimmitt County. As a Boy Scout, he hunted for arrowheads on the land that once belonged to King Fisher, and he fished in the alligator waters of Espantosa Lake. He has written many articles on Texas historical figures and events in Texas history. In addition, he has penned several western film screenplays that make their way to California from time to time. Currently he is at work on two nonfiction books-one on the last old-time Texas bank and train robber and the other on frontier gambling.

Book preview

Welcome

Welcome to the Hip-Pocket History of the Old West   (Series)

This series gives compact , concise accounts that cover odd or little-known facets of the American West. Historically accurate, but told in an easy to read format, with just a twist of humor.

Informative, yet entertaining, the Hip-Pocket History series provides little nuggets without having to wade through a 400-page book of dry academic ostentatiousness.

The book comes in a size (5 x 8 in.) that easily slides into your hip pocket for a quick read at moments when you want to escape the entangled world of today.

So, enjoy the encapsulated accounts of Old West history.

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Preface

Many years ago, I had an elderly lady tell me, If it weren't for a pair of fours I would not be here talking to you. When I asked her to explain what she meant, she went on to say that her grandmother had been won in a poker game in Mexico and that had her grandfather not won her as his wife, her mother would have never been born.

Then, with a tinkle in her eye and a sly grin she added, Of course the fours were backed with a pair of aces.

Recently, I heard another story very similar to this one, but the elderly lady did not know the cards in the winning hand. It is hard to image that things like this occurred in the 1800's, but they most definitely did – plus a lot more. Gambling played a major role in the destiny of many lives in the western frontier.

I once had a conversation with a very powerful ranch woman who told me how her grandfather kept his ranch from being taken over by creditors.

According to her, he was down to his last money, approximately one thousand dollars. He knew the bank would not lend him any more money and that the loan officer was waiting for the note to come due so he could foreclose on the ranch.

Her grandfather decided that he would risk it all in a high stakes poker game that was regularly played in a San Antonio hotel.

After playing for fifteen hours straight, he returned to his ranch with enough money to hold off the creditors.

As a kid growing up I was told the legend of how the famous Texas ranching empire, the Four Sixes, got its name.

Supposedly, this winning hand got the ranch started. Later, I found out the account was a myth, but it still makes a good story.

I was told by the descendants of the Vivian family in Dimmitt County, Texas that King Fisher was the major contributor to the building of the First Baptist Church.

King Fisher was a noted gunfighter and rustler in the area during the 1870s. He was also an accomplished gambler and according to the Vivians (his wife's family), he was returning to his ranch stronghold on the Pendencia Creek in the notorious badlands of the Nueces Strip when he met several men loading building materials onto a wagon.

When they told him that they were building a new church, Fisher pulled a roll of money from his coat and pitched it to the driver.

He said that he had just won the five thousand dollars in a poker game and that he wanted them to use it on the church – with the stipulation that the donation would remain anonymous.

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John King Fisher

WHILE A STUDENT AT Texas University, I had a fraternity brother that was a professional gambler who paid for his schooling by working the poker tables at various illegal setups around the Austin area.

In addition, he was an accomplished pool shark that could run a table or just barely beat an opponent – depending on the side bets.

Another one of his specialties was playing pickup games with well-heeled Austin golfers and snagging friendly wagers with his expert sandbagging.

The guy was a wonder to watch at the poker table – he kept a perpetual sly grin on his face the entire time he was playing, winning, or losing. I sat in on a few penny-ante poker games with him and got cleaned out each time.

He finally took me aside and gave me some of the best advice I could have received about my future in gambling. He told me that I was the worst poker player he had seen and that I should never play poker for money – he could read every hand I held by watching me.

I took his admonition to heart and it has stood me well over the passage of time; I have not lost another cent playing poker.

When I started doing historical research on Ben Thompson for my book, The Texas Pistoleers: Ben Thompson & King Fisher, I came across a large number of references to the card games, faro, and Spanish monte. I had no idea how these games were played so I started a side trail of research on frontier gambling, amassing a large volume of material.

Finally, after a number of people asked me to describe how the games were played and why they are not seen in casinos today it became apparent that a book on frontier gambling might find a reading audience.

Covering the entire spectrum of gambling that was prevalent throughout the western frontier would take an enormous volume of work to do it justice.

Rather, I chose to focus on the usual games of chance that could be found in saloons and gambling halls (often called resorts). I purposely omitted other very popular forms of wagering such as: horse racing, lotteries, cock fights, dog fights, shooting matches, prizefighting, and