Schenck, Robert C[umming] | A well-dealt hand

Schenck, Robert C[umming]

Draw | Rule for Playing Poker (drop title). [Brooklyn]: Published for the Trade, 1880

16mo (114 x76 mm). Text within oval borders. Printed pale violet wrappers. Housed in a sturdy folding-case affixed to a linen-backed card folder (197 x 140 mm).

Schenck's Poker. A prominent American politician, Schenck was appointed Minister Plenipotentiary to the United Kingdom by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1870. He introduced the game of poker to England in 1872: while at a royal party in Somerset hosted by Queen Victoria, Ambassador Schenck was persuaded to write down his rules for poker by a duchess who had them printed for private distribution to guests at her parties, where the game was played. After catching the fancy of Queen Victoria, the game quickly became popular in England where it was known for a time as "Schenck's Poker." Although several American books had previously discussed the game, this was the first book to deal solely with draw poker published on either side of the Atlantic. Schenck concludes his treatise with the statement: the "main elements of success in the game are: (1) good luck; (2) good cards; (3) plenty of cheek; and (4) good temper." A popular manual, it was printed numerous times in the 1870s and again in 1880, as here.