“Silken, sly, insinuating Jacks.”
Richard III. Act I., Scene 3d.
The jack-pot is a delightful episode in a game of poker; but it must be permitted
to arise naturally, and to dawn upon the vision of the wearied traveler like
an oasis in the desert, rather than be forced upon him. “Passing the buck,”
which is simply the phrase applied to the circulation of a buckhorn knife, or
any other such object, around the table, should never be employed as a means
of artificially producing jack-pots, since the jack-pot is a direct and serious
innovation on the regular routine of the game, making a difference not only
in the dealing, but in the drawing and betting also.
A jack-pot is a pot; played for when every player around the table passes.
This requires the supposition that when all have passed around to the ante-man, he also passes. Thereupon, it being his deal, he takes the cards and deals as usual; but before so doing, every player around the board, as one of the solemn ceremonials attending upon jack-pots, is required to contribute to the pot before the deal the amount of the ante, or some other amount arbitrarily fixed upon by the ante-man, who exercises very considerable authority in the matter.
The second distinguishing feature of the jackpot is the fact that, after the
ante-man has so dealt, and all around the table have so contributed, the first
bettor is called upon not only to bet but to perform that mysterious ceremony
known as “opening the pot,” which he cannot do unless he finds in
his hand the equivalent of a pair of jacks or better. If he finds that he has
not in his hand a pair of jacks or better, he passes, and the next player in
turn examines his hand for the openers. If he does not find them, the privilege
of opening the pot passes around the board, and if nobody can do so, the next
player in turn deals again after every player present has“fattened”
the pot with either one chip or an amount agreed upon. The process of opening
the pot must now be gone through with again, and if the second time no player
in his turn discovers a pair of jacks or better, the pot must be again “fattened”,
and a new deal made until the mystical openers are finally discovered.
When this discovery has been made, and the player finding in his hand a pair
of jacks or more says, “I will open the pot,” he is at once called
upon to bet, no matter what his position at the table be, and all those who
do not see his bet fall out, and lose their share of the pot.
It is considered the best play to open a jackpot for the limit if it is of any
special value. If, however, the opener has an extraordinary good hand and wishes
to induce everybody else to come in, he may make the open as light as he chooses.
If, however, he finds in his hand openers only, it is generally considered best
for him to open for the limit.
The drawing and betting in jack-pots, outside of the opening bet, are exactly
similar to those of the regular game of poker.
Any player other than the opener who desires to come in may do so on putting
up the amount for which the pot was opened, regardless of the value of his hand.
Of course as the opener must have a pair of jacks or more, he must prove to
the other players at the end of the pot that he did’ hold such a hand
on the go-in. For that reason he must invariably show his hand at the termination
of the pot, openers and all, face up on the table. It is considered an excellent
rule, by the way, to open a jack-pot whenever you can.
The question of discards naturally arises when the opener has such a hand as this: A pair of jacks and four hearts. Naturally it occurs to him, with a big pot and a good many playing, that were he to discard the other jack and keep the four hearts, with the jack at the head, he may stand a good chance of drawing the fifth heart and getting a flush. In such cases it is considered allowable for him to do so, if he carefully puts the discarded jack on one side, where it remains in full view, and announces his intention of discarding one of his openers.
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