Now for the successive events. Your man wins the first game, and they proceed to play another. What are the odds on Smith’s winning the second game? It is evident that they are exactly the same as if the first game had never been played, because there are still only two possible events, and one of them will be favourable to him. Suppose he wins that game, and the next, and the next, and so on until he has won nine games in succession, what are the odds against his winning the tenth also? Still exactly an even thing. But, says a spectator, Smith’s luck must change; because it is very improbable that he will win ten games in succession. The odds against such a thing are 1023 to 1, and the more he wins the more probable it is that he will lose the next game. This is what gamblers call the _=maturity of the chances=_, and it is one of the greatest fallacies ever entertained by intelligent men. Curiously enough, the men who believe that luck must change in some circumstances, also believe in betting on it to continue in others. When they are _=in the vein=_ they will “follow their luck” in perfect confidence that it will continue. The same men will not bet on another man’s luck, even if he is “in the vein,” because “the maturity of the chances” tells them that it cannot last! GAMES.
(1) When the irregularity is discovered before or during the original play: There must be a new deal. (2) When the irregularity is discovered at the time the cards are taken up for overplay and before such overplay has begun: It must be sent back to the table from which it came, and the error be there rectified. (3) When the irregularity is not discovered until after the overplay has begun: In two-table duplicate there must be a new deal; but in a game in which the same deals are played at more than two tables, the hands must be rectified as is provided above and then passed to the next table without overplay at the table at which the error was discovered; in which case, if a player have less than thirteen cards and his adversary the corresponding surplus, each pair takes the average score for that deal; if, however, his partner have the corresponding surplus, his pair is given the lowest score and his opponents the highest score made at any table for that deal. C. _Playing the cards._ Each player, when it is his turn to play, must place his card, face upward, before him and toward the centre of the table. He must allow it to remain upon the table in this position until all have played to the trick, when he must turn it over and place it face downward, nearer to himself; if he or his partner have won the trick, the card should point toward his partner and himself; otherwise it should point toward the adversaries. The declarer may either play dummy’s cards or may call them by name whenever it is dummy’s turn to play and have dummy play them for him. A trick is turned and quitted when all four players have turned and ceased to touch their respective cards. The cards must be left in the order in which they were played until the scores of the deal have been recorded.
The association of May--whether the month, or the flower, or both--with the game is very strong, the refrain cold and frosty morning, all on a summer s morning, bright summer s morning, so early in the morning, also being characteristic of the early days of May and spring, and suggests that the whole day from early hours is given up to holiday. The familiar nursery rhyme given by Halliwell-- Here we come a-piping, First in spring and then in May, no doubt also refers to house-to-house visiting of May. The connection between the May festival and survival in custom of marriage by capture is well illustrated by a passage from Stubbe s _Anatomie of Abuses_, p. 148. He says: Against May Day, Whitsonday, or other time, euery Parishe, Towne and Village assemble themselves together, bothe men women and children, olde and yong, . . . and either goyng all together or diuidyng themselues into companies, they goe some to the Woodes and groves where they spend all the night in plesant pastimes; and in the morning they return bringing with them birch and branches of trees to deck their assemblies withall . . .
Suppose a suit so distributed that you have four to the King, and each of the other players has three cards; what are the probabilities that your partner has both Ace and Queen? The common solution is to put down all the possible positions of the two named cards, and finding only one out of nine to answer, to assume that the odds are 8 to 1 against partner having both cards. This is not correct, because the nine positions are not equally probable. We must first find the number of possible positions for the Ace and Queen separately, afterward multiplying them together, which will give us the denominator; and then the number of positions that are favourable, which will give us the numerator. As there are nine unknown cards, and the Ace may be any one of them, it is obvious that the Queen may be any one of the remaining eight, which gives us 9 × 8 = 72 different ways for the two cards to lie. To find how many of these 72 will give us both cards in partner’s hand we must begin with the ace, which may be any one of his three cards. The Queen may be either of the other two, which gives us the numerator, 3 × 2 = 6; and the fraction of probability, 6/72, = 1/12; or 11 to 1 against both Ace and Queen. If we wished to find the probability of his having the Ace, but not the Queen, our denominator would remain the same; but the numerator would be the three possible positions of the Ace, multiplied by the six possible positions of the Queen among the six other unknown cards, in the other hands, giving us the fraction 18/72. The same would be true of the Queen but not the Ace. To prove both these, we must find the probability that he has neither Ace nor Queen. There being six cards apart from his three, the Ace may be any one of them, and the Queen may be any one of the remaining five.
If the dealer leaves any cards in the stock, he has a right to look at them, but the pone may not see them until he has led for the first trick, or announced the suit he will lead. If he announces a suit, and after seeing the cards in the stock does not lead that suit, the dealer may call a suit. If the dealer does not look at the remaining cards the pone cannot see them either. Each player keeps his discards separate from those of his adversary, and is allowed to refer to them at any time during the play of the hand, but on no account can he see his adversary’s discards, unless that adversary has mixed with them one or more of the unseen cards that were left in the stock, and afterward picks up and looks at his discard, including the card which the other is entitled to see. For instance: The dealer leaves a card without looking at it. This he afterward mixes with his discard. Now, if he looks at his discard, of course he sees the card left in the stock, and the pone may demand to see not only the card left, but the entire discard. The same rule applies to the pone if he takes into his discards an unseen card of the stock. _=Irregular Discards.=_ If a player discards less cards than he intended, it is too late to remedy the error if he has touched the stock.
Here the game ends in many cases, but another verse is sung in the Lincoln, Winterton, and Wakefield versions from Miss Peacock, and this was sung also in the London version. The second verse thus terminates the game, with the players one by one reversing their position and facing the centre of ring as at first. In the Forest of Dean and Wakefield versions the action of the game is somewhat different. A child stands in the centre of the ring of children, without apparently taking much part in the game, except to name the children in turn. In the Wakefield version, however (Miss Fowler, No. xvii.), a little boy stands in the middle of a circle of girls who sing the first verse. At We ll all cou don together, all crouch down, as if in profound respect, then rising slowly, sing the next verse. After My pitcher and my can, each child mentions her own name. At Isn t ---- as nice as her? each mentions her sweetheart s name, and the child thus chosen goes into the circle.
Never bid a hand twice, unless its strength is greater than indicated by the first bid. Having bid a club on ace king alone, that is the end of it. If you have an outside ace, which the club bid did not show, you can assist your partner once on that trick, but no more. Having assisted your partner’s suit bid with three tricks, do not bid again unless you have a fourth trick in hand, but if he rebids his suit without waiting for you, you may assist on one trick, especially a high honour in trumps. Do not double unless you have a certainty and are not afraid of a shift. Do not give up a fair chance for going game yourself just to double an adversary, unless you are sure of 200 in penalties at least, and do not give up the rubber game for less than 300. Always remember that a double may enable an adversary to go game, and will often show the declarer which hand to finesse against. _=Free Doubles=_ are opportunities to double when the declarer will go game anyhow if he makes his contract, but they should never be made if there is any chance that he may shift. _=Free Bids=_ are anything better than a spade by the dealer, or anything that over-calls a previous bid, because no one is forced to bid on the first round. A _=Shout=_ is a bid that is a trick more than necessary to over-call the previous bid.
Each player then pays into the pool for the number of hearts he has taken in, according to the system of settlement agreed upon before play began. The pool is then taken down by the player or players winning it, and the deal passes to the left. The game is at an end any time the players wish to stop, after a hand has been settled for; but it is usual to agree upon some definite hour. There are two ways of settling at the end of the hand, each of which has its good points. _=SWEEPSTAKE HEARTS.=_ After the hand has been played, each player announces the number of hearts he has taken in, and pays into the pool one counter for each. All thirteen hearts having been paid for, any player having taken no hearts wins the entire pool; two having taken none, divide it. If all the players have taken hearts, or if one player has taken all thirteen, the pool remains, and forms a _=Jack=_. This can be won only by a single player in some subsequent deal taking no hearts, all the others having taken at least one. These jack pools are of course increased thirteen counters every deal until some player wins the whole amount.
The object in looking at the cards is to select the pile which is least likely to stop you, or the one having the fewest cards in it. _=TAKE FOURTEEN.=_ Shuffle and cut the pack, and deal the cards one at a time, face upward, into twelve piles, and continue dealing on the top of these twelve until the pack is exhausted. This will give you four piles which contain one card more than the others. Then take off any two of the top cards which will make 14, reckoning the Jack as 11, the Queen as _12_ and the King as 13, all the others at their face value. Only two cards must be used to make 14. If you succeed in taking off all the cards in this manner, you win. You are at liberty to look at the underneath cards in the various piles, but you must not disturb their positions. _=HELP YOUR NEIGHBOUR.=_ Take from the pack the four aces, and lay them face upward on the table in a row.
At the end of a rubber, if there are more than four players belonging to the table, those who have just played cut to decide which shall give place to those waiting, the players cutting the highest cards going out. If six belong to the table, there will be no further cutting out, as those who are out for one rubber re-enter for the next, taking the places of those who have played two consecutive rubbers. If five belong to the table, the three who remained in for the second rubber must cut to allow the fifth player to re-enter. At the end of the third rubber, the two cut that have not yet been out; and at the end of the fourth rubber the one who has played every rubber goes out without cutting. Partners and deal are cut for at the beginning of each new rubber. _=METHODS OF CHEATING.=_ All the Euchre family of games, especially Écarté and Napoleon, offer numerous opportunities to the greek. So well is this known in Europe that it is considered extremely foolish for any person to play Écarté in mixed companies. The small number of cards in the pack, and the custom of dealing two and three at a time, gives the dealer an opportunity to bunch four valuable cards, of which he can give himself three, and turn up the fourth. False shuffles, shifted cuts, and marked cards are formidable weapons.
The various combinations and their values are as follows: CLASS A. King and Queen in any plain suit, _=Marriage=_ 20 King and Queen of trumps, _=Royal Marriage=_ 40 Five highest cards in a plain suit, _=Sequence=_ 150 Five highest cards in trumps, _=Royal Sequence=_ 250 CLASS B. Spade Queen and Diamond Jack, _=Single Bézique=_ 40 Two spade Queens and diamond Jacks, _=Double Bézique=_ 500 Three spade Queens and diamond Jacks, _=Triple Bézique=_ 1500 Four spade Queens and diamond Jacks, _=Quadruple Bézique=_ 4500 CLASS C. Any four Aces 100 Any four Kings 80 Any four Queens 60 Any four Jacks 40 Besides the foregoing, there is the score of fifty points for carte blanche, which may be announced only before the first trick is played to, and the score of fifty points for the winner of the last trick of all. In class A, the first marriage declared must of course count 40, as it is the trump suit for that deal. In class C, the four court cards may be of different suits, or any two or more of them may be of the same suit. The rules governing declarations are as follows:-- The player making the declaration must have won the previous trick, and must make his announcement before drawing his card from the stock. When the stock is exhausted, so that no cards remain to be drawn, no announcements can be made. Only one declaration can be scored at a time, so that a trick must be won for every announcement made, or the combination cannot be scored. This rule does not prevent a player from making two or more announcements at the same time; but he can score only one of them.
This must be agreed upon before play. Tricks over the book count for the bidder’s side in grands, but against him in nullos. If the bidder and his partner fail to get the odd trick in a grand, his opponents count double for each trick they win over the book, but in nullos there is no double value. _=PENALTIES.=_ In case of a revoke, the side in fault gives three tricks to its opponents in grands, or receives three if it is a nullo. The penalty for a lead out of turn is to call a suit. RUM. There are several varieties of this game, and quite a number of ways of playing them, but the standard method, as adopted by the best clubs, is that here given. The principal divisions of the game are those played with the single pack, and those played with the double pack and two jokers. SINGLE-PACK RUM.
Very properly Red decided upon retreat. His second gun had to be abandoned after one move, but two of the men with it escaped over his back line. Five of the infantry behind the church escaped, and his third gun and its four cavalry got away on the extreme left-hand corner of Red s position. Blue remained on the field, completely victorious, with two captured guns and six prisoners. There you have a scientific record of the worthy general s little affair. V EXTENSIONS AND AMPLIFICATIONS OF LITTLE WAR Now that battle of Hook s Farm is, as I have explained, a simplification of the game, set out entirely to illustrate the method of playing; there is scarcely a battle that will not prove more elaborate (and eventful) than this little encounter. If a number of players and a sufficiently large room can be got, there is no reason why armies of many hundreds of soldiers should not fight over many square yards of model country. So long as each player has about a hundred men and three guns there is no need to lengthen the duration of a game on that account. But it is too laborious and confusing for a single player to handle more than that number of men. Moreover, on a big floor with an extensive country it is possible to begin moving with moves double or treble the length here specified, and to come down to moves of the ordinary lengths when the troops are within fifteen or twelve or ten feet of each other.
The points in the play are holding the spade queen, so as to lead a diamond or a spade at trick 6. This B prevents, hoping to force two clubs on Y and Z and set the contract. At trick 7, if the hearts are split, the queen must win the ten. If not, Z must win one heart trick. Y makes his contract, losing four odd. BRIDGE. The difference between straight bridge, as it is sometimes called, and auction is in the method of selecting the trump, which must be declared by the dealer or his partner, the opponents having nothing to say except to double the declaration if they think it will not win the odd trick. Another point is that either side can score toward game by getting the odd trick or more, there being no penalties for failure to make the odd except losing the value of the tricks because the dealer never declares to make any given number of tricks on the hand. There are some irregularities which are peculiar to straight bridge that would not apply to auction. These are fully covered by the following description of the game, all other matters, such as the correct card to lead and the manner of combining the hands, have been fully described in connection with auction.
Gomme. A probable explanation of this game is that it illustrates some of the practices and customs connected with fire-worship and the worship of the hearth, and that the pot is a magical one, and would only boil over when something wrong had occurred and the Mother s presence was necessary. The pot boils over directly a child is taken away, and appears to cease doing this when the Mother comes in. It is remarkable, too, that the Witch should want to borrow a light from the fire; the objection to the giving of fire out of the house is a well-known and widely-diffused superstition, the possession of a brand from the house-fire giving power to the possessor over the inmates of a house. The mention of the spitting on the hearth in the Sheffield version, and dirtying the hearth in the London version, give confirmation to the theory that the desecration of the fire or hearth is the cause of the pot boiling over, and that the spirit of the hearth or fire is offended at the sacrilege. The Witch, too, may be unable to get possession of a child until she has something belonging to the house. The journey of the Mother to the Witch s house in search of her children, the obstacles put in her path, and the mention of the spilling of blood on the threshold, are incidents which have great significance. Why the keeling or skimming of the contents of the pot should be so difficult a task for the eldest daughter that the Mother is obliged to come herself, is not so clear; the skimming is of course to prevent the pot boiling over, and the pot may be supposed to take the place of the Mother or Guardian of the hearth, and tell when misfortune or trouble is at hand. Or the boiling over (which, if continued, would extinguish the fire and sully the stone) may be an offence to the hearth spirit, who ceases then to protect the inmates of the house. Fairies are said to have power over the inmates of a house when the threshold and kitchen utensils are left dirty and uncared for.
If the bidder has his right number of cards and succeeds, he must be paid. If he fails, he neither wins nor loses; because he is playing against a foul hand. If the bidder has more than his right number of cards he must pay if he loses; but wins nothing if he succeeds. If he has less than his right number of cards, he is simply supposed to have lost the trick for which he has no card to play. _=PLAYING OUT OF TURN.=_ If any adversary of the bidder leads or plays out of turn, he forfeits three counters to the bidder, independently of the result of the hand, and receives nothing if the bid is defeated. If the bidder leads out of turn, the card must be taken back, unless all have followed the erroneous lead, in which case the trick is good. There is no penalty if he plays out of turn. _=REVOKES.=_ When a revoke is detected and claimed, the hands are immediately abandoned, and the individual player in fault must pay all the counters depending on the result.
_=COUNTERS=_ or whist markers may be used for keeping the score, but it is much more common to use the small cards from the deleted portion of the pack. The game is five points, and the best method of scoring is to use the 4 and 3 of any suit. When the 3 is face up, but covered by the 4 face down, it counts _=one=_. When the 4 is face up, covered by the 3 face down, it counts _=two=_. When the 4 is face down, covered by the 3 face up, it counts _=three=_. When the 3 is face down, covered by the 4 face up, it counts _=four=_. [Illustration: [🃓 covered by [🃔 covered by [🃓 covering a [🃔 covering a facedown card] facedown card] facedown card] facedown card] ONE. TWO. THREE. FOUR.
Such combinations are therefore always worth 8 points, 6 for the _=double run=_, as it is called, and 2 for the pair, no matter what the cards are that form the combination. [Illustration: 🂢 🂲 🃒 🃃 🃔 ] If the five cards in the hand and starter together contain a run of three with two duplicates, it is evident that three separate sequences can be formed by using each of the duplicates alternately. Such combinations are always worth 15 points; 9 for the triple run of three, and 6 for the pair royal. [Illustration: 🃑 🃁 🃒 🂳 🃓 ] If the duplicates are of two different cards, no matter which, it will be found that four different sequences of three cards each can be formed by changing the Aces and Threes alternately. Such combinations are therefore always worth 16 points: four runs of three, worth 12, and 4 points for the two separate pairs. [Illustration: 🂡 🂢 🂳 🃔 🃄 ] If the five cards contain one sequence of four, and one duplicate, the combination will always be worth 10 points; 8 for the double run of four, and 2 for the pair. The foregoing should be thoroughly familiar to every player, so that he may know the exact value of the combination the moment he sees the length of the sequence and the number of duplicates. _=Two-card Fifteens.=_ Any combination of two or more cards, the total face value of which is exactly 15, is called _=fifteen-two=_, because each fifteen so formed is worth two points in the pegging. There are only three combinations of two cards which will form fifteen; a Five with any court card or Ten; a Nine and a Six; an Eight and a Seven.
At trick 7, if the hearts are split, the queen must win the ten. If not, Z must win one heart trick. Y makes his contract, losing four odd. BRIDGE. The difference between straight bridge, as it is sometimes called, and auction is in the method of selecting the trump, which must be declared by the dealer or his partner, the opponents having nothing to say except to double the declaration if they think it will not win the odd trick. Another point is that either side can score toward game by getting the odd trick or more, there being no penalties for failure to make the odd except losing the value of the tricks because the dealer never declares to make any given number of tricks on the hand. There are some irregularities which are peculiar to straight bridge that would not apply to auction. These are fully covered by the following description of the game, all other matters, such as the correct card to lead and the manner of combining the hands, have been fully described in connection with auction. _=MAKING THE TRUMP.=_ This is the chief peculiarity in bridge.
It is therefore not unlikely that they should have left behind them such traces as these play-boards. But if they are of later date they would not be found to be distributed in monastic cloisters with respect to the monastic arrangement, and we do find them so. Strutt describes the game (_Sports_, p. 319). See Nine Men s Morris, Noughts and Crosses. Fox in the Fold The Tod (Fox) i the Faul (Fold). This game is commonly played by boys. Any number of boys join hands and stand in a circle to form the Faul. The boy that represents the Tod is placed within the circle. His aim is to escape.
If you open a long suit, Dummy having only small cards, and your partner wins with Q, J, or 10, and does not return it, he has evidently a finesse in the suit and wants it led again. _=End Games.=_ In the end game there are several variations which are made possible by the fact that the cards on your right are exposed. With A J x, Dummy having Q x x, the small card should be led. With Q x, and an odd card, Dummy having K x x of the first suit; it is better to play the odd card; but if for any reason this should not be done, lead the Q, hoping to find A 10 with your partner. The state of the score must be a constant guide in all end games. For instance: You hold Q 10 x, Dummy having J 9 x. If you want only one trick, play the Queen; but if you want two, play the small card. _=SECOND HAND PLAY.=_ The easiest position to play as second hand, is, of course, with the Dummy on your left, because Dummy’s cards will show what is best to be done.
The Mother answers, Where was you? Up stairs. The Mother says, What doing? Making t beds. Why didn t you come down? Because I had no shoes. Why didn t you borrow a pair? Because nobody would lend me a pair. Why didn t you steal a pair? Do you want me to get hung? Then the Mother runs after her, and if she can catch her thrashes her for letting Sunday go. Then the Mother pretends to go out washing again, and the Witch fetches the other days of the week one by one, when the same dialogue is rehearsed.--Dronfield, Derbyshire (S. O. Addy). This game was also played in London.
Cuckoo. Cuddy and the Powks. Cudgel. Curcuddie. Curly Locks. Currants and Raisins. Cushion Dance. Cutch a Cutchoo. Cutters and Trucklers. DAB.
Byford). See Wolf. Giddy Giddy, giddy, gander, Who stands yonder? Little Bessy Baker, Pick her up and shake her; Give her a bit of bread and cheese, And throw her over the water. --Warwickshire. _(b)_ A girl being blindfolded, her companions join hands and form a ring round her. At the word Yonder the blindfolded girl points in any direction she pleases, and at line three names one of the girls. If the one pointed at and the one named be the same, she is the next to be blinded; but, curiously enough, if they be not the same, the one named is the one. Meanwhile, at line four, she is not picked up, but is shaken by the shoulders by the still blindfolded girl; and at line five she is given by the same bread and cheese, _i.e._, the buds or young leaves of what later is called May (_Cratægus oxyacantha_); and at line six she is taken up under the blinded girl s arm and swung round.
A revoke cannot be claimed after the cards have been cut for the following deal. 79. The revoking player and his partner may, under all circumstances, require the hand in which the revoke has been detected to be played out. 80. If a revoke occur, be claimed and proved, bets on the odd trick or on amount of score, must be decided by the actual state of the latter, after the penalty is paid. 81. Should the players on both sides subject themselves to the penalty of one or more revokes, neither can win the game; each is punished at the discretion of his adversary. 82. In whatever way the penalty be enforced, under no circumstances can a player win the game by the result of the hand during which he has revoked; he cannot score more than four. (_See_ Law 61.
This player must, before ten can be counted, give the name of an inhabitant of that element. When Fire is called, strict silence must be observed or a forfeit paid.--Cork, Ireland (Miss Keane). The players were seated in a half-circle, and the possessor of the ball faced the others. There was no string attached to the ball, but it was necessary that it should hit the child it was thrown to. When Fire was called, Salamander and Ph[oe]nix were allowed to be said. The third time Fire was called, silence was observed, and every player bowed the head. We called it Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. A forfeit had to be paid for every mistake.--London (A.
The two others are quadruples, put down on the score-sheet thus:-- A-B | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | | | | Score: | | | | | | | | Y-Z | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | | | [Illustration: A-B’S, 3 GAMES, 2 POINTS. Y-Z’S, 1 GAME, 0 POINTS.] In the next hand let us suppose clubs to be cayenne. Y deals, and plays in colour, spades. Y-Z win 6 by cards, and 4 by honours; 10 points multiplied by 3, = 30. For this they score three games, the first being a triple, and the others quadruples. These three games win the rubber, for which they add 8 points, and 4 points for the little slam. This is all put down on the score-sheet:-- A-B | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | = 10 Score: | | | | | | | | Y-Z | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 4 = 25 Both scores being added up, the value of the rubber won by Y-Z is found to be 15, after deducting the 10 points made by A-B. _=CUTTING IN.=_ If there are more than four persons belonging to the table, those waiting cut in, as at Whist.
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_=2.=_ Each player has _three_ lives at starting. No. 1 places his ball on the “winning and losing” spot, No. 2 plays at No. 1, No. 3 at No. 2, and so on--each person playing at the last ball, unless the striker’s ball be in hand, when he plays at the nearest ball. _=3.=_ When a striker loses a life the next in rotation plays at the ball nearest to his own; but if this player’s ball be in hand, he plays at the ball nearest to the centre of the baulk-line, whether it be in or out of baulk.
Emslie writes, My mother learned this from her mother, who was a native of St. Laurence, in the Isle of Thanet. The game possibly belongs to Kent. Bicky In Somersetshire the game of Hide and Seek. To _bik ee_ is for the seekers to go and lean their heads against a wall, so as not to see where the others go to hide.--Elworthy s _Dialect_. See Hide and Seek. Biddy-base A Lincolnshire name for Prisoner s Base. --Halliwell s _Dictionary_; Peacock s _Manley and Corringham Glossary_; Cole s _S. W.