A face devoid of love or grace, 1
A hateful, hard, successful face,
A face with which a stone
Would feel as thoroughly at ease
As were they old acquaintances－
First time together thrown.
A hateful, hard, successful face,
A face with which a stone
Would feel as thoroughly at ease
As were they old acquaintances－
First time together thrown.
(F.1774/J.1711)
[1] face:: the face of a poker player.
[2] successful face:: a winning player.
[3] face:: a face card, i.e., king, queen, or jack with a human face. stone:: a stone-faced poker player, a hint on the answer.
[4] at ease:: the poker player likes face cards.
[5] they, acquaintances:: the player and face card.
[6] thrown:: face cards thrown by the player.
A good Poker-face, one that will not betray the nature of a hand by change of countenance, is a valuable possession. Chaffing and talking without regard to facts (called Poker-talk), with a view of misleading, is permitted, and is considered quite fair. ─ Card Essays, Clay's Decisions, and Card-table Talk (1879)