There are then two ways to play: The hands are shown and the best wins; or, beginning with the age, each player may say if he will back his hand against the field; _i.e._, all the others in the pool. If he will, he must put up as much as their combined stakes. He cannot be raised; but if any one player or combination of players call him, and one of them can beat his hand, the field divide the pool. For instance: Age makes it a blue, and three others stay with him. After the draw C puts up three blues against the field. D and A call it, and all show hands. If any of the three, A, B or D can beat C they divide the pool, B getting his third, although he did not contribute to the call. This game is a pure gamble; except that a bold player may occasionally bluff the field off.
(a) If they are equal, all the men on both sides are killed. (b) If they are unequal, then the inferior force is either isolated or (measuring from the points of contact) not isolated. (i) If it is isolated (see (1) above), then as many men become prisoners as the inferior force is less in numbers than the superior force, and the rest kill each a man and are killed. Thus nine against eleven have two taken prisoners, and each side seven men dead. Four of the eleven remain with two prisoners. One may put this in another way by saying that the two forces kill each other off, man for man, until one force is double the other, which is then taken prisoner. Seven men kill seven men, and then four are left with two. (ii) But if the inferior force is not isolated (see (1) above), then each man of the inferior force kills a man of the superior force and is himself killed. And the player who has just completed the move, the one who has charged, decides, when there is any choice, which men in the melee, both of his own and of his antagonist, shall die and which shall be prisoners or captors. All these arrangements are made after the move is over, in the interval between the moves, and the time taken for the adjustment does not count as part of the usual interval for consideration.
That will be your denominator, 166. The numerator will be the number of times that the combinations occur which contain a figure larger than 3, in addition to the 6. This will be found to be 74, and the probability will therefore be 74/166. DISTRIBUTIONS. TIMES IN 1000. 8 2 2 1 2 8 3 1 1 1½ 8 3 2 0 1 8 4 1 0 ½ 8 5 0 0 0 7 2 2 2 5 7 3 2 1 19 7 3 3 0 3 7 4 1 1 4 7 4 2 0 3 7 5 1 0 1 7 6 0 0 0 6 3 2 2 57 6 3 3 1 35 6 4 2 1 47 6 4 3 0 13 6 5 1 1 7 6 5 2 0 6 6 6 1 0 1 5 3 3 2 155 5 4 2 2 106 5 4 3 1 130 5 4 4 0 12 5 5 2 1 32 5 5 3 0 9 4 3 3 3 105 4 4 3 2 215 4 4 4 1 30 _=MARTINGALES.=_ Many gamblers believe that as the science of probabilities teaches us that events will equalise themselves in time, all that is necessary is to devise some system that will keep a person from guessing, so that he may catch the pendulum as it swings; and to add to it some system of betting, so that he will have the best of it in the long run. Some content themselves with playing a “system” against banking games, which is merely a guide to the placing of the bets, the simplest example of which would be to bet always on heads if a coin was tossed a thousand times, or to bet on nothing but red at Roulette. Others depend more on martingales, which are guides to the amount of the bets themselves, irrespective of what they are placed on. The most common form of martingale is called _=doubling up=_, which proceeds upon the theory that if you lose the first time and bet double the amount the next time, and continue to double until you win, you must eventually win the original amount staked.
Hardy). [Music] --Derbyshire (Mrs. Harley). I. There was a jolly miller, and he lived by himself, As the wheel went round he made his pelf; One hand in the hopper, and the other in the bag, As the wheel went round he took his grab. --Leicester (Miss Ellis). II. There was a jolly miller, he lived by himself, As the mill went round he made his wealth; One hand in the hopper, another in his bag, As the wheel went round he made his grab. --Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). III.
These rules must not be blindly followed in every instance. They are simply general principles, and some of the prettiest _=coups=_ arise from the exceptional cases. _=Leading Through Dummy.=_ The eldest hand, when he does not deem it advisable to go on with his own suit, may be guided in his choice by the strength or weakness of certain suits in Dummy’s hand. The play against Dummy is especially important at no trumps. Suits which it is good policy to lead through are A x x x, K x x x, or any broken sequences of high cards. Suits in which Dummy is long, or holds any of the regular high-card combinations, should be avoided; winning or high sequences being especially dangerous. To lead such suits through Dummy’s strength is an invitation to partner to force you in the suit led. It is not necessary for you to be strong in a suit which you lead through Dummy; and if you are both weak, is often advantageous; especially if it avoids leading one of his strong suits. With A Q 10 x; Dummy having J x x x; play the 10.
If it cannot be moved he must move his King. If the King cannot move, no penalty can be enforced. For playing two moves in succession, the adversary may elect which move shall stand. For touching an adversary’s man, when it cannot be captured, the offender must move his King. If the King cannot move, no other penalty can be enforced. But if the man touched can be legally taken, it must be captured. For playing a man to a square to which it cannot be legally moved, the adversary, at his option, may require him to move the man legally, or to move the King. For illegally capturing an adversary’s man, the offender must move his King, or legally capture the man, as his opponent may elect. For attempting to Castle illegally, the player doing so must move either the King or Rook, as his adversary may dictate. For touching more than one of the player’s own men, he must move either man that his opponent may name.
These two points may both be made by the same card, if it is the only trump in play; because High is counted for the best trump out during the deal, and Low for the lowest, no matter what the cards are. _=Catching the Jack=_, or saving it, is one of the principal objects of the game, and as a rule a player holding the Jack should lose no opportunity to save such a valuable counting card. On the other hand, a player holding higher trumps will often have to use good judgment as to whether to lead them to catch the Jack, if it happens to be out; or to keep quiet until the last few tricks, when if the Jack is not out, such trumps may be useful to win cards that count for Game. _=The Game=_ is generally known as _=the gambler’s point=_, because it is the only point that must be played for in every hand, and its management requires more skill than all the others put together. The cards that count for Game are the four honours and the Ten of each suit. Every ace counts 4; every King 3; every Queen 2; every Jack 1; and every Ten 10. After the last card has been played, each player turns over the tricks he has won, and counts up the pip value of the court cards and Tens that he has won. Whoever has the highest number counts the point for Game. For instance: Two are playing. The elder hand has taken in an ace, two Kings and a Jack, which are collectively worth 11.
One trick may always be risked in a nap hand, such as A Q of trumps, or a King, or even a Queen or Jack in a plain suit; the odds against the adversaries having a better card being slightly increased by the odds against their knowing enough to keep it for the last trick. If the bid is for three tricks only, tenaces, or guarded minor honours in plain suits should be preserved. After the first trick it will sometimes be advantageous for the player to get rid of any losing card he may have in plain suits. It is seldom right to continue the trumps if the bidder held only two originally, unless he has winning cards in two plain suits, in which case it may be better to lead even a losing trump to prevent a possibility of adverse trumps making separately. In playing against the bidder, leave no trick to your partners that you can win yourself, unless a small card is led, and you have the ace. In opening fresh suits do not lead guarded honours, but prefer aces or singletons. If the caller needs only one more trick, it is usually best to lead a trump. If you have three trumps, including the major tenace, pass the first trick if a small trump is led; or if you remain with the tenace after the first trick, be careful to avoid the lead. Discards should indicate weakness, unless you can show command of such a suit as A K, or K Q, by discarding the best of it. This will direct your partners to let that suit go, and keep the others.
_=PLAYERS.=_ Mort is played by three persons; but the table is usually composed of four. If there are more than four candidates, the methods described in connection with whist are adopted for deciding which four shall play the first tournée. The table being formed, the cards are again shuffled and spread to cut for partners and deal. _=TIES=_ are decided in the same manner as at whist. _=CUTTING.=_ If there are three players, the one cutting the lowest card takes dummy for the first game; he also has the choice of seats and cards, and may deal the first hand for himself or for Mort, as he pleases; but having once made his choice, he must abide by it. The player cutting the intermediate card takes dummy for the second game; and the player cutting the highest card takes it for the third game; each in turn having the choice of seats and cards. These three games finish the rubber or tournée, each having once had the advantage or disadvantage of playing with Mort. It is obligatory to finish the tournée, no player being allowed to withdraw and substitute another without the consent of the other players.
They were even willing to die for them. But when a Partner liked an individual the way, for example, that Captain Wow or the Lady May liked Underhill, the liking had nothing to do with intellect. It was a matter of temperament, of feel. Underhill knew perfectly well that Captain Wow regarded his, Underhill s, brains as silly. What Captain Wow liked was Underhill s friendly emotional structure, the cheerfulness and glint of wicked amusement that shot through Underhill s unconscious thought patterns, and the gaiety with which Underhill faced danger. The words, the history books, the ideas, the science--Underhill could sense all that in his own mind, reflected back from Captain Wow s mind, as so much rubbish. Miss West looked at Underhill. I bet you ve put stickum on the stones. I did not! Underhill felt his ears grow red with embarrassment. During his novitiate, he had tried to cheat in the lottery because he got particularly fond of a special Partner, a lovely young mother named Murr.
Look here, youngster. You don t have to worry about that stuff. Pinlighting is getting better all the time. The Partners are getting better. I ve seen them pinlight two Rats forty-six million miles apart in one and a half milliseconds. As long as people had to try to work the pin-sets themselves, there was always the chance that with a minimum of four hundred milliseconds for the human mind to set a pinlight, we wouldn t light the Rats up fast enough to protect our planoforming ships. The Partners have changed all that. Once they get going, they re faster than Rats. And they always will be. I know it s not easy, letting a Partner share your mind-- It s not easy for them, either, said Underhill.
Backgammon and Draughts, by Berkeley. Anderson’s Checkers. Dunne’s Draught Proxis. Kear’s Sturges. BACKGAMMON. OR TRIC-TRAC. Backgammon is played by two persons, each of whom is provided with fifteen men, two dice, and a dice-box. The men on each side are of different colours, black and white, and the players are distinguished by the colour of the men with which they play. The board is divided into two tables, _=inner=_ and _=outer=_, and at the beginning of the game the men may be set up in either of the positions shown in the diagram. [Illustration: +-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+ |⛂| | | | |⛀|| |⛀| | | |⛂| |⛂| | | |⛀| ||⛀| | | | |⛂| |⛂| | | | |⛀|| |⛀| | | |⛂| |⛂| | | |⛀| ||⛀| | | | |⛂| | | | | | |⛀|| |⛀| | | |⛂| |⛂| | | |⛀| ||⛀| | | | | | | | | | | |⛀|| | | | | |⛂| |⛂| | | | | ||⛀| | | | | | | | | | | |⛀|| | | | | |⛂| |⛂| | | | | ||⛀| | | | | | LIGHT | INNER || OUTER | | OUTER || INNER | LIGHT | | | | | |⛂|| | | | | |⛀| |⛀| | | | | ||⛂| | | | | | | | | | | |⛂|| | | | | |⛀| |⛀| | | | | ||⛂| | | | | | | | | | | |⛂|| |⛂| | | |⛀| |⛀| | | |⛂| ||⛂| | | | | | |⛀| | | | |⛂|| |⛂| | | |⛀| |⛀| | | |⛂| ||⛂| | | | |⛀| |⛀| | | | |⛂|| |⛂| | | |⛀| |⛀| | | |⛂| ||⛂| | | | |⛀| +-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+ +-+-+-+-+-+-++-+-+-+-+-+-+ ] It will be observed that the black men on any point have exactly the same number of white men standing opposite them.
| |together. | | 38.| -- | -- | -- | | 39.| -- |Don t you think [ ] | -- | | | |a nice young man? | | | 40.| -- |Don t you think [ ] | -- | | | |as handsome as he? | | | 41.| -- |Then off with the | -- | | | |glove, on with the | | | | |ring. | | | 42.| -- |You shall be married | -- | | | |when you can agree. | | | 43.| -- | -- | -- | | 44.
He is the partner of the Second Hand, but has not so many opportunities for the exercise of judgment, his duties being simply to win tricks if he can, and as cheaply as possible. If he cannot win the trick, he should play his lowest card. A bad habit of Fourth-Hand players is holding up the tenace A J when a King or Queen is led originally. This is called the _=Bath Coup=_, and the suit must go round three times for it to succeed in making two tricks. The holder of the tenace should equally make two tricks by playing the Ace at once, provided he does not lead the suit back. _=The Turn-up Trump.=_ When trumps are led by the adversaries, it is a common practice to play the turn-up as soon as possible, unless it is a valuable card. On the contrary, it is usual to keep it as long as possible when the partner leads trumps. _=Changing Suits.=_ If the Second or Fourth Hand wins the first or second round of the adversaries’ suit, it is seldom right to return it, as that would probably be playing their game.
VII. London Bridge is falling down, Falling down, falling down, London Bridge is falling down, My fair lady. Build it up with mortar and bricks, Mortar and bricks, mortar and bricks, Build it up with mortar and bricks, My fair lady. [Then follow verses in the same style and with the same refrain, beginning with--] Bring some water, we ll wash it away. Build it up with silver and gold. Silver and gold will be stolen away. We ll set a man to watch at night. Suppose the man should fall asleep? Give him a pipe of tobacco to smoke. Suppose the pipe should fall and break? We ll give him a bag of nuts to crack. Suppose the nuts were rotten and bad? We ll give him a horse to gallop around, &c.
I ll come for that. The Dog then comes. The girls have been previously told not to laugh whilst the one who stands out is talking to the Dog. Then the girl says to the Dog-- All the birds in the air, All the fishes in the sea, Come and pick me out (for example) The girl with the golden ball. If the girl who desired the golden ball laughs, the Dog picks her out. If nobody laughs, he guesses who the girl is that has wished for the golden ball. If the Dog guesses correctly, she goes and stands behind him, and if he guesses incorrectly she goes and stands behind the one who has been asking the questions. They continue this until they get to the last girl or girl at the end of the row, who _must_ have desired to be-- A brewer or a baker, Or a candlestick maker, Or a penknife maker. Then the questioner says-- All the birds in the air, All the fishes in the sea, Come pick me out A brewer or a baker, Or a candlestick maker, Or penknife maker. If the Dog guesses the right one, he takes that girl on his side, she standing behind him.