The odds against a suit going round a second time may be influenced by the cards played to the first round; but it sometimes happens that you have to calculate in advance for two rounds of a suit, regardless of the cards that may be played by others. This is especially the case when you fear that the suit will be led to you, and you have such cards as must win two rounds. If you have 4 cards of the suit the odds _against_ your getting a heart in two rounds are 2 to 1. The odds _in favour_ of your getting a heart in two rounds are:-- If you have 5 cards of the suit, 4 to 3. ” 6 ” 2 to 1. ” 7 ” 6 to 1. As an example of the value of a thorough knowledge of these odds to a careful player, suppose he had to win two rounds of a plain suit, of which he held six cards; or to lead the ♡7, having three higher. The suit would be the better play, because it takes in only one heart, while the lead of the heart might take in four. The following table shows the exact number of times in 1,000 deals that a heart would probably be discarded on a plain suit led, according to the number of cards in the suit held by the leader, and the number of times the suit was led: Cards held by the leader. | 1,2,3,4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 ----------------------------------+---------+------+------+------+----- Times hearts will be discarded:-- | | | | | On first round | 44 | 63 | 122 | 200 | 315 On second round | 358 | 430 | 659 | 857 | 1000 On third round | 842 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 | 1000 This shows that 158 times in 1,000, when the leader has 1, 2, 3, or 4 cards of the suit, it will go round three times, because 158 is the balance necessary to bring our last figure, 842, up to 1,000.
_=Exposed Cards.=_ Should a person lead or play two cards to one trick, he is allowed to indicate the one intended; but he must leave the other face upward on the table. All exposed cards are liable to be called by any player at the table, and should one player call such a card, his decision is binding on the others. A player with an exposed card in front of him must play it when called upon, provided he can do so without revoking; but he cannot be prevented from getting rid of the exposed card in the course of play, if the opportunity offers. _=Leading Out of Turn.=_ Should a player lead out of turn, he may be called upon to lead or not to lead a heart when it is next his turn to lead. This penalty can be enforced only by the player on his right. If all have played to the false lead the error cannot be rectified; but if all have not played, their cards must be taken back, and are not liable to be called. If any person plays out of turn in any trick, the player on his left, not having played, may demand that the card be taken back, and after the proper player has played the player in error may be called upon to play his highest or lowest of the suit led, or not to discard a heart. If the person on the left of the player in error was the leader in the trick, either he or the player whose proper turn it was to play may demand the penalty.
XVI. How many miles to Bethlehem? Three score and ten. Shall we get there by candle-light? Yes, there and back again. So open the gates and let King George and his family go through. --Hayton, near York (H. Hardy). XVII. How far is it to Babylon? Three score miles and ten. Can I get there by candle-light? Yes, there and back again. --Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews).
III. Give me a pin to stick in my chin (? cushion) To carry a lady to London; London Bridge is broken down And I must let my lady down. --Northall s _English Folk Rhymes_, p. 353. (_b_) In this game two children cross hands, grasping each other s wrists and their own as well: they thus form a seat on which a child can sit and be carried about. At the same time they sing the verse. Carrying the Queen a Letter The King and Queen have a throne formed by placing two chairs a little apart, with a shawl spread from chair to chair. A messenger is sent into the room with a letter to the Queen, who reads it, and joins the King in a courteous entreaty that the bearer of the missive will place himself between them. When he has seated himself on the shawl, up jumps the King and Queen, and down goes the messenger on the floor.--Bottesford and Anderly (Lincolnshire), and Nottinghamshire (Miss M.
Then all four stones are thrown down, and one is picked up before the marble is caught. This is retained in the hand, and when the second stone is picked up the first one is laid down before the marble is caught; the third is picked up and the second laid down, the fourth picked up and the third laid down, then the fourth laid down, the marble being tossed and caught again each time. The stones have different names or marks (which follow in rotation), and in picking them up they must be taken in their proper order, or it is counted as a mistake. The game is played throughout by the right hand, the left hand only being used when arches is made. The marble should be thrown up about the same height each toss, and there should be little or no interval between the different figures.--Annie Dicker. I saw this game played in Endell Street, London, W.C., by two girls. Their game was not so long nor so complete as the above.
Play one of two cards that form a five, such as 3 and 2; 4 and A. If he plays a tenth card to it, you can peg fifteen. In playing on, you should make all the sequences possible, taking chances of your adversary’s being able to continue the run. If you think he is leading you on, you must be guided by the state of the score as to how much you can risk. Toward the end, you must reckon pretty closely how many points you can afford to risk your adversary’s making without putting him out. If you have enough in your hand to get out on the show, you should not attempt to make a single point in play. Pair nothing, for he might come out with a pair royal; make no runs, for he might extend them. But if you have not enough to show out, you must take every chance to peg the difference, because if you cannot get out in play and first show, the dealer has not only both hand and crib against you, but the first show on the next deal. In six-card Cribbage, the usual pegging for the play is five holes for the dealer, and four or five for the non-dealer. By adding this expectation to your show, you can see how many you can hope to peg yourself, and how many the dealer will probably be on hand, crib and peg altogether.
In wheels with two zeros, red and black, the bank wins on the colour which does not come, and the bets on the right colour are neither paid nor taken, but must remain until the next turn of the wheel. This is now the practice at Monte Carlo, with the single-zero wheels. _=Systems.=_ As at Faro, gamblers at Roulette are never tired of devising systems to beat the game; but none of them are of any further use than to afford a little passing amusement to their inventors. Persons who are interested in systems will find in the New York Sun, July 5, 1896, a very interesting tabulation of every roll of the ball at Monte Carlo for seven successive days, 4,012 in all, of which 120 were zeros. If they can find a system that will beat the wheel for seven days, and have a return ticket, Monte Carlo will take care of all their spare cash. One curious fallacy about some systems is to imagine that they will win if the player will quit when he is a certain amount ahead, and not play again until next day. Until some rule can be given by which the exact hour can be fixed to begin play, all such systems must be delusions, as there is no reason why a second man should not begin where the first left off, and therefore no reason why the first should not continue playing all the time. It is in the interest of the proprietors of all gambling houses to pretend to be afraid of systems. The word is passed round, and the deluded gamesters think they have found the thread which has held the sword of Damocles above the banker’s head so long.
This continues until the pot is opened; that is, until some player holds a hand as good or better than a pair of Jacks. The fattening process is followed when the dealer can make the original ante what he pleases; but if the ante for jacks is a fixed sum, such as a red counter, it is not usual to fatten the pot at all. This saves all disputes as to _=who is shy=_, one of the greatest nuisances in Poker. _=Opening Jacks.=_ As there is no age or straddle in any form of jack pot, the player to the left of the dealer has the first say, and must examine his hand to see if he has Jacks or better; that is to say, either an actual pair of Jacks, or some hand that would beat a pair of Jacks if called upon to do so, such as two pairs, a straight, or triplets. In some localities it is allowed to open jacks with a _=bobtail=_; that is, four cards of a flush or straight. If the player on the dealer’s left has not openers, or does not care to open the pot if he has, he says: “I pass;” but he does not abandon his hand. The next player on his left must then declare. In some places players are allowed to throw down their cards when they pass; but in first-class games a penalty of five white counters must be paid into the pool by any player abandoning his hand before the second round of declarations, as it gives an undue advantage to players with medium hands to know that they have only a limited number of possible opponents. For instance: If six play, and the first three not only pass, but throw down and abandon their cards, a player with a pair of Jacks will know that he has only two possible adversaries to draw against him, which will so increase his chances that it may materially alter his betting.
84. The penalty for each established revoke is: (_a_) When the declarer revokes, he cannot score for tricks and his adversaries add 100 points to their score in the honour column, in addition to any penalty which he may have incurred for not making good his declaration. (_b_) When either of the adversaries revokes, the declarer may either add 100 points to his score in the honour column or take three tricks from his opponents and add them to his own.[21] Such tricks may assist the declarer to make good his declaration, but shall not entitle him to score any bonus in the honour column in case the declaration has been doubled or redoubled, nor to a slam or little slam not otherwise obtained.[22] (_c_) When, during the play of a deal, more than one revoke is made by the same side, the penalty for each revoke after the first is 100 points. The value of their honours is the only score that can be made by a revoking side. 85. A player may ask his partner if he have a card of the suit which he has renounced; should the question be asked before the trick be turned and quitted, subsequent turning and quitting does not establish a revoke, and the error may be corrected unless the question be answered in the negative, or unless the revoking player or his partner have led or played to the following trick. 86. If a player correct his mistake in time to save a revoke, any player or players who have followed him may withdraw his or their cards and substitute others, and the cards so withdrawn are not exposed.
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The misunderstanding as to the meaning of the first lead, especially if it is a Queen, often occasions confusion and loss; but this is claimed to be offset by the value of the information given. Some lead 10 from Q J 10; 4th-best from K J 10. To the adversaries these leads are often of value, as they are frequently enabled to place the cards very accurately from the information given by the lead itself, regardless of the fall of the cards from the other hands. For instance: Second Hand holds A J of a suit in which King is led; Third Hand plays the Four; Fourth Hand plays the Nine. The leader remains with Q 3 2; Third Hand still has 8 7 6 5; and if he has also the 10, Fourth Hand has no more. Again: The leader shows a suit of six; Second Hand holding two only. If the suit is led a third time it is a doubtful trick, and with four trumps the Second Hand should pass. If the leader shows the exact number of the suit originally led, and then changes to a four-card suit, the adversaries know at least nine of his cards. So obvious is this that it is an almost invariable rule for a player, on quitting his suit, to conceal the length of the second suit led by leading the highest card of a short suit. If it were allowable to exercise some judgment in using these leads, they might not be open to so many objections; but they are worse than useless unless the partner can depend on their being uniformly adopted.
--Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 60). Buff 1st player, thumping the floor with a stick: Knock, knock! 2nd ditto: Who s there? 1st: Buff. 2nd: What says Buff? 1st: Buff says Buff to all his men, And I say Buff to you again! 2nd: Methinks Buff smiles? 1st: Buff neither laughs nor smiles, But looks in your face With a comical grace, And delivers the staff to you again (handing it over). --Shropshire (Burne s _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 526). Same verses as in Shropshire, except the last, which runs as follows:-- Buff neither laughs nor smiles, But strokes his face With a very good grace, And delivers his staff to you. --Cheltenham (Miss E. Mendham). Same verses as in Shropshire, except the last, which runs as follows:-- Buff neither laughs nor smiles, But strokes his face for want of grace, And sticks his staff in the right place.
That is 20. The four Queens must be good, as the adversary cannot have any quatorze. This makes the total 34, and 60 added for repic, 94 altogether, to which he will add one for leading the first card, if it is above a Nine. Suppose the elder hand had the following cards:-- ♡ A K Q J 8; ♣ A K; ♢ A K; ♠ A K 10. If his point is good, that and his four Aces and Kings will make him 33 altogether; but his sequence is not good, because the dealer holds five diamonds to the Queen, which comes in order before the score for quatorze, and so saves the repic. Suppose that with the foregoing cards the elder hand was told that even his point was not good. He would count 29 for the 14 Aces, 14 Kings, and the card led. If the dealer had a sixième in diamonds, and a quinte in clubs, for instance, he would claim a repic, 96 points, in spite of the 29 announced by the elder hand; because point and sequence score before quatorze. Equalities do not save the repic. Take the following hands:-- Elder:--♡ A J 10 9 8; ♣ 10; ♢ 10; ♠ A J 10 9 8.
X. When the trees are uncovered, Isabellow, for me. Last night when we parted She was nigh broken-hearted, Isabellow, Isabellow, Isabellow, for me. Your hand, love, your hand, love, Then give me your hand, love, Take a sweet kiss from me. --Winterton, Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire (Miss Peacock). XI. Isabella, Isabella, Isabella, Farewell! Last night when we parted I left you broken-hearted, And down by the river you saw your young man. In the stream, love, in the stream, love, In the stream, love, Farewell! Go to church, love, go to church, love, Go to church, love, Farewell. In the ring, love, in the ring, love, In the ring, love, Farewell! --Long Eaton, Nottinghamshire (Miss Youngman). XII.
This spoils some of the fine points of the game, and entirely alters the tactics of the players, as will be seen when we come to the suggestions for good play. _=The Dice.=_ Although it is usual for each player to be provided with two dice, some players insist on the same pair being used by each player alternately; the claim being that luck will then run more evenly. At the beginning of the game each player makes a cast, either with one die or with two, as may be agreed, and the higher throw has the first play. In some clubs the player making the higher throw is allowed the option of playing the first cast, or of throwing again; but the general practice is to insist that the first cast is simply for the privilege of playing first, and that the dice must be cast again for the first move. After each throw the dice must fall within the borders of the table on the caster’s right, and each die must rest fairly and squarely on one of its faces. If it is _=cocked=_ against a man, the edge of the board, or the other die, or if it jumps over the edge of the table in which it is thrown, both dice must be taken up and cast again. The caster must announce his throw as soon as made. _=The Moves.=_ As the men on each side are moved round the board in opposite directions to reach their respective homes, they are of course obliged to meet and pass a number of the adversary’s men, and they must pick their way among them by going to points which are unoccupied by the enemy; for if there are two or more of the enemy in possession of any point, that point is said to be _=covered=_, and must be jumped over.
Should the pone decline to cut, no other player can insist on his so doing, nor do it for him. Beginning on his left, the dealer distributes the cards face down one at a time in rotation until each player has received five cards. The deal passes to the left, and each player deals in turn. _=IRREGULARITIES IN THE DEAL.=_ The following rules regarding the deal should be strictly observed:-- If any card is found faced in the pack the dealer must deal again. Should the dealer, or the wind, turn over any card, the player to whom it is dealt must take it; but the same player cannot be compelled to take two exposed cards. Should such a combination occur, there must be a fresh deal by the same dealer. If the player exposes his cards himself, he has no remedy. Should any player receive more or less than his correct number of cards, and discover the error before he looks at any card in his hand, or lifts it from the table, he may demand a fresh deal if no bet has been made; or he may ask the dealer to give him another from the pack if he has too few; or to draw a card if he has too many. Cards so drawn must not be exposed, but should be placed on the bottom of the pack.
The combinations take precedence of one another in scoring, the first being always Carte Blanche, then the Point, then Sequence, and lastly the Quatorze or Trio. _=DECLARING.=_ Carte blanche must be announced and shown before a discard is made. Each player having discarded and drawn, the elder hand proceeds to announce any counting combinations he holds, which he must declare in regular order, beginning with the point. In announcing the point, the suit is not mentioned, only its value. The sequences are defined by the number of cards and the highest; “sixième to the King,” for instance. The fours and trios are defined in the same way; “four Kings,” or “three Jacks.” To each of these declarations, as they are made in regular order, the dealer must reply: “_=Good=_,” “_=Equal=_,” or, “_=Not good=_.” If the point is admitted to be good, the holder scores it; not by putting it down on the score sheet, but simply by beginning his count with the number of points it is worth. If the point is equal, neither player scores it, and secondary points have no value under any circumstances.
If he holds A K and only one small card, the King should be played on a Queen led. If he holds Ace and only one small card, the Ace should be played on the Jack led. If Third Hand has four trumps and a card of re-entry, the Ace should be played on Jack led, regardless of number, in older to lead trumps at once, to defend the suit. _=When Partner Leads Low Cards=_, the Third Hand should do his best to secure the trick. If he has several cards of equal trick-taking value, such as A K Q, or K Q J, he should win the trick as cheaply as possible. The only _=finesse=_ permitted to the Third Hand in his partner’s suit, is the play of the Queen, when he holds A Q and others; the odds being against Fourth Hand having the King. _=Foster’s Eleven Rule.=_ By deducting from eleven the number of pips on any low card led, the Third Hand may ascertain how far his partner’s suit is from being established. For instance: if the card led is the Seven, Second Hand playing the Eight, and Third Hand holding A J 6 3, from which he plays Ace, Fourth Hand playing the Five; the only card against the leader must be the King or Queen; he cannot have both, or he would have led one. If the Second Hand has not the missing card, he has no more of the suit.
It is his duty to protect himself and his partner, as far as possible, in the adversaries’ strong suits. The chief point for the beginner to observe in Second Hand play, is the difference between the circumstances requiring him to play high cards, and those in which he should play low ones. _=High Cards Led.=_ When a card higher than a Ten is led on the first round of a suit, the Second Hand has usually nothing to do but to play his lowest card, and make what inference he can as to the probable distribution of the suit. But if he holds the Ace, or cards in sequence with it, such A K, he should cover any card higher than a Ten. If he holds K Q he should cover a J, 10, or 9 led; but it is useless for him to cover an honour with a single honour, unless it is the Ace. _=Low Cards Led.=_ High cards are played by the Second Hand when he has any combination from which he would have led a high one if he had opened the suit. The fact that a player on his right has already laid a small card of the suit on the table should not prevent the Second Hand from making the best use of any combinations he may hold. The only difference between leading from such combinations, and playing them Second Hand, is that in the latter case no attempt is made to indicate to the partner the exact nature of the combination held.
=_ The dealer’s partner usually assists on plain-suit cards, such as two aces, rather than on trumps. The score and the turn-up trump will often be a guide as to whether or not to assist. For instance: If the score is 1 all, or to 2 to 1, and a bower is turned, it is rarely right to assist, because it prevents the dealer from playing alone. If the partner has good suit cards, they may be useful to make a march; if he has strong trumps, especially if sure of three tricks, he should play alone, instead of assisting. If the score is 3 in the dealer’s favour, he does not need a lone hand to win the game, and with two reasonably certain tricks in his own hand the dealer’s partner should assist, as they may win the game by a march. If the dealer’s side is at the bridge, the score being 4 to 1 or 4 to 0 in their favour, and the eldest hand passes, the dealer’s partner must be on the alert to prevent the pone from placing a lone hand. He should assist unless a bower is turned, or he has it himself, or holds such cards that, combined with the turn-up, he is sure of a trick. For instance: The dealer’s partner has the King and two other trumps, and the ace is turned. It is impossible for the pone to make a lone hand, even if he has both bowers, and the ace is bare; for he cannot catch the King, even if his partner leads the trump through it. But if a small trump was turned, the pone might easily make a lone hand with both bowers and the ace.
The first time the word breakfast is pronounced; the second time dinner; and the third time supper. The player then chooses a side. The two sides have then a tug of war. The game ends at this point with girls. With boys the conquered have to run the gauntlet. The victors range themselves in two lines, each boy with his cap or handkerchief tightly plaited in his hand, and pelt with all their might the vanquished as they run between the lines. The boys of Nairn call this running of the gauntlet, through fire an watter. The method of playing the Warwick, Fernham, and Louth versions is practically the same. The children stand in half-circle beginning with the two tallest at either end. All clasp hands.
As soon as the board is filled, each man counts up his colour, and the one that has the majority wins the game. HALMA. This is played on a board with 256 squares, each player having nineteen men of distinguishing colours. At the start the men are placed in an enclosure at the corner of the board, called a “yard.” The object of the player is to get his men out of his own yard and into his adversary’s. The men move one square at a time, like a king at chess, unless a man gets to the square adjoining that occupied by another man with a space beyond it. Whether the adjoining man is his own or his adversary’s, the player can hop over it into the vacant space beyond, and he can make as many hops as there are men and spaces. This being so, a player will try to make “ladders” with his own men, placing them in a line diagonally, with a space between each, and will then hop his men over them all. As soon as he gets all his men into his adversary’s yard the game is ended. Special directions always come with the apparatus.
The dealer pegs 6 for the pair royal, and is told to go. This enables the dealer to make a double pair royal and 31, pegging fourteen holes more. (The last card does not count when a go or 31 is pegged). On the show the pone has only a pair, which puts him to 60, within one of the game hole. The dealer shows 12 in hand and 17 in crib, making him 54 up. In the next deal the player who wanted one could not peg, his adversary securing a fifteen and a go, and showing out with a pair and a fifteen, 61 up and game. THREE-HANDED CRIBBAGE. Five cards are dealt to each player, and then another, face down, for the foundation of the crib. Each player then lays out one card to make the dealer’s crib up to four. The starter is cut by the player on the dealer’s left, and the game proceeds as at six-card Cribbage, the eldest hand having the first show, the dealer the last.
Phaser, F., to change the pack. Philosopher, a card sharp. Piano Hands, hands which run along smoothly at Whist, and yield no opportunities for loss or gain. Piking, making small bets all over the layout at Faro. Playboy, the Jack of trumps at Spoil Five. Plain Suits, those which are not trumps. Point, F., the suit containing the greatest number of pips. Pone, the player on the dealer’s right, who cuts the cards.