I was playing poker once on the steamer _General Quitman_. The
party were all full of grape juice. Along about morning the game
was reduced to single-handed, and that man I was playing with was
fast asleep, so I picked up the deck and took four aces and four
kings out, with an odd card to each. I gave him the kings and I
took the aces. I gave him a hunch, and told him to wake up and
look at his hand. He partly raised his hand, but laid it down
again and I knew he had not seen it. I gave him a push and shook
him up pretty lively, and he opened his eyes. I said: "Come, look
at your hand, or I will quit." He got a glimpse of it, and I never
saw such a change in a man's countenance. He made a dive for his
money and said: "I will bet you $100, for I want to show you I am
not asleep." I told him I thought he was "bluffing." I said in a
joking way: "I will raise you $1,000." So he pulled out all his
money and laid it on the table, and said: "I will only call you,
but I know I have you beat." I showed down four big live aces,
and he was awake sure enough after that. He never went into any
more of those fits, and we played until they wanted the table for
breakfast. I used to make it a point to "cold deck" a sucker on
his own deal, as they then had great confidence in their hands.
My old paw is large enough to hold out a compressed bale of cotton
or a whole deck of cards, and it comes in very handy to do the
work. I could hold one deck in the palm of my hand and shuffle up
another, and then come the change on his deal. It requires a great
deal of cheek and gall, and I was always endowed with both--that
is, they used to say so down South.