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_=Players.=_ According to the English usage, Dummy is played by three persons, and the table is complete with that number. They cut for partners and for the deal; the player cutting the lowest card takes dummy for the first rubber; the one cutting the next lowest takes dummy for the second rubber; and the one cutting the highest takes it for the last rubber. It is considered obligatory to play three rubbers, in order that each may have whatever advantage or disadvantage may be supposed to attach to the dummy. The three rubbers so played are called a Tournée. It is sometimes agreed that one player shall take dummy continuously, on condition that he concedes to his adversaries one point in each rubber. When this is done, the largest rubber that the dummy’s partner can win is one of seven; and he may win nothing; whereas his adversaries may win a rubber of nine, and must win at least two. This concession of a point is not made, as many imagine, because it is an advantage to have the (dummy) partner’s hand exposed; but because it is an advantage to have the player’s hand concealed. He knows the collective contents of the adversaries’ hands; each of them knows only the contents of dummy’s hand and his own. _=Cutting.
A lively scene follows. The Fox and Mother Goose should be pretty evenly matched; the Mother with extended arms seeking to protect her Brood, while the Fox, who tries to dodge under, right and left, is only allowed in case of a successful foray or grasp to secure the last of the train. Vigorous efforts are made to escape him, the Brood of course supplementing the Mother s exertions to elude him as far as they are able, but without breaking the link. The game may be continued until all in turn are caught.--_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 217-18. In Lancashire the children stand in line behind each other, holding each other by the waist. One stands facing them and calls out-- My mother sits on yonder chimney, And she says she _must_ have a chicken. The others answer-- She _can t_ have a chicken. The one then endeavours to catch the last child of the tail, who when caught comes behind the captor; repeat until all have changed sides.
=_ The trump named, the eldest hand leads any card he pleases, and the others must follow suit if they can. The highest card played, if of the suit led, wins the trick, and trumps win all other suits. The hands are abandoned as soon as the bidder takes five tricks, if he is playing anything but a tout. If he goes on he must win all eight tricks, or lose the value of a tout. _=Payments.=_ A solo player wins from or loses to each of his adversaries individually the amount of the game in counters. Two partners pay or receive each from one adversary. _=HEART SOLO=_ is a game for three players, in which the pack is reduced to twenty-four cards by deleting the Eight of hearts, and all the diamonds but the Seven. Diamonds are always colour, and there are only three trumps in that suit; Spadilla, Manilla, and Basta. The only play is for the Solo, and if no one will make a bid, the hands are played in colour, and the winner of the last trick loses the value of a Solo.
=_ When two cards of the same denomination, or two builds of the same value are put together as one, they cannot be increased. For instance: A player holds 7 and 3, and there are upon the table a 5 2 and 4. He places his 3 on the 4, and gathers the 5 and 2 together, announcing the build as “Two Sevens.” This cannot be increased to 8, 9, or 10 under any circumstances, and nothing but a 7 will win it. Pairs may be doubled in the same manner. If a player has two Nines in his hand, and there is one on the table, he may build on the latter with one of his own, announcing, “Two Nines,” which will prevent any player from building either of them to 10, and will entitle the builder to take in both cards with his third Nine when it comes round to his turn. Should any other player at the table hold the fourth Nine, he could of course take in the build. It is necessary to distinguish between building and combining. In combining cards, those already on the table are gathered together; in building, or increasing a build, a card must be played from the hand. If one player has made a build of any description, it cannot be interfered with or increased except by other cards from a player’s hand, those from the table not being available.
If he made 5 pins only, the spare would be worth 15. Although the player is supposed to have three balls in each inning, and is allowed to count all he makes on three balls if he gets a strike or a spare, he is not allowed to roll three balls on a break. It was formerly the custom to let him roll the third ball on the chance of getting a break of 10. This was afterward changed to giving him 10 pins, without rolling for them, if he got 9 on two balls; but the present rule is to call it a break if he does not get a strike or a spare in two balls, and not to waste time in rolling the third ball. _=Scoring.=_ Instead of putting down the amount made in each inning, the total of the frame is added to the total of the previous score, so that the last figure put down shows the total score up to and including that frame. The following illustration shows the total score of a player for ten innings. The top line of figures gives the number of the frame. The second shows the number of pins knocked down by each ball rolled, and the third line shows how the scores would be actually put down on the blackboard, the strike, spare, and break marks being placed above the figures. With the exception of the second line of figures, which is put in for purposes of illustration only, this might be a copy of an actual score.
If each side has two honours, neither can count them. It is not enough to score them; after the last card has been played, they must be claimed by word of mouth. If they are not claimed before the trump is turned for the following deal, they cannot be scored. Partners who, at the beginning of a deal, are at the score of four, cannot count honours; they must get the odd trick to win the game. Should one side be out by tricks, and the other by honours, the tricks win the game, the honours counting nothing. _=Rubber Points.=_ At the conclusion of each game, the rubber points are scored, either with the oblong counters, or on the small keys of the whist-marker. If the winners of a game are five points to their adversaries’ nothing, they win a _=treble=_, and count three rubber points. If the adversaries have scored, but have one or two points only, the winners mark two points, for a _=double=_. If the adversaries have reached three or four, the winners mark one, for a _=single=_.
When the pack is cut, should the dealer shuffle the cards, he loses his deal. A NEW DEAL. 37. There must be a new deal-- I. If during a deal, or during the play of a hand, the pack be proved incorrect or imperfect. II. If any card, excepting the last, be faced in the pack. 38. If, whilst dealing, a card be exposed by the dealer or his partner, should neither of the adversaries have touched the cards, the latter can claim a new deal; a card exposed by either adversary gives that claim to the dealer, provided that his partner has not touched a card; if a new deal does not take place, the exposed card cannot be called. 39.
The Lodge had proved that several times, in spite of my strong feelings that I had flashes of precognition. Why should I resent not having PC? How many Psi personalities have more than one power? Not many. And as for precognition, as Simonetti said, more than their fair share is possessed by wild-looking women. Like Sniffles, I thought suddenly. Well, Rose said, turning back to his partner. Let Sime and me talk it over. Maybe we should get a PC. Nuts, Simonetti told him. I ll think it over, too, I said. See you tomorrow.
The object of the solitaire player usually is to see how many tableaus he needs to reach a grand total of 500 points. _=SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY.=_ Experience has shown that it pays to keep certain classes of hand in one section, either left to right or up and down. Many players put all the flushes in the vertical columns, and build the pairs, triplets and fours from right to left. Straights are uncertain quantities unless they are flush also and are seldom played for. Each card has a double value, and it may help to make up two hands of high scoring power, if well placed. The highest possible point value for a tableau would probably be five hands of four of a kind and five straight flushes, four of which would be royal, like this: [Illustration: 🂱 🃑 🃁 🂡 🃉 🂾 🃞 🃎 🂮 🃈 🂽 🃝 🃍 🂭 🃇 🂻 🃛 🃋 🂫 🃆 🂺 🃚 🃊 🂪 🃅 ] The odds against the cards coming from the stock in such order as to make a tableau like this possible would be enormous, but there are many sets of twenty-five cards that can be rearranged so as to make a much higher count than that actually arrived at in the solitaire. The player’s skill consists in anticipating the possibilities that certain cards will be drawn and in so arranging his table that if the hoped for card comes out, the most advantageous place will be found open for it. _=TWO OR MORE PLAYERS.=_ Any number can play this game, the only limitation being the number of packs available and space enough on the table for each one to lay out his own tableau.
He gives another card to the right, to the left, and to himself, and then the players take them up and examine them. Ten cards must remain in the stock for the last deal. _=Irregularities.=_ After the first card is dealt no bets can be made or changed. The cards must be so held that they shall be at all times in full view of the players. Any card found faced in the pack is thrown in the waste basket. Any card once separated from the pack must be taken. If neither of the players want it, the dealer must take it himself. If the cards are dealt irregularly the error may be rectified if they have not been looked at; but any player may amend or withdraw his bet before the cards are seen. If the error is not detected in time, the player who holds cards may play the coup or not as he pleases, and all bets on his side of the table are bound by his decision.