Lottie Deno was an extremely cool customer at the poker or faro tables in the American West during the 1870s and 1880s. Even if things were getting out of hand around her, she concentrated solely on winning a pot. One time in a saloon in Fort Griffith, Texas, a sheriff killed two combative players at the table next to Deno’s, causing everyone in the room to flee except the three combatants and Deno.

Afterwards the officer remarked at how calm she had been during the altercation. She merely responded by saying, “You’ve never been a desperate woman, Sheriff.” Thus it has been said that Deno neve...