This also shows that the player should not have taken up the Ten until he wanted to use it. Nothing is gained by closing, except compelling the adversary to follow suit; because if you close to make him schwartz, and he gets a trick, you count two only; if you close to make him schneider, and he gets out, you count one only. If you fail in the first case, he counts three, and any failure will give him two points. THREE-HANDED SIXTY-SIX. This is exactly the same as the ordinary game, except that the dealer takes no cards, but scores whatever points are won on the hand he deals. If neither of the others score, either through each making 65, or one failing to claim 66, the dealer scores one point, and the others get nothing. The dealer cannot go out on his own deal. He must stop at six, and win out by his own play. There are two ways to settle: Each may pay a certain amount to the pool, and the first man out take it all; or, after one is out, the two remaining finish the game, and the loser pays both or settles for the refreshments, as the case may be. If the first man goes out when it will be his turn to deal, he must deal the next hand.
A-B make 10, which is 2 more than they bid, Y-Z getting the other 4; which leaves A-B 6. These are scored by placing one red and one white counter in the pool. But suppose A-B got only 5 points, Y-Z getting 9. A-B would score nothing, as they did not make good their bid; while Y-Z would score the 9 points actually won, and the 8 points bid in addition, or 17 altogether. The old way of scoring was to _=set back=_ the side that failed to make the number bid; but that system of counting entirely destroyed the interest in the game when one side got much behind; because it could not recover in time to prevent the other side from _=sweating out=_, as it is called. Suppose A-B have been set back 18 points on two failures, Y-Z having made 16 points on those two deals, and 23 on their own bids. The score will stand: A-B 64 to go; Y-Z, 12 to go. Even if we suppose that A-B make 11 on each of the next four deals, they will still have 20 to go, while Y-Z will be out. Again: A-B want 15, Y-Z want 2. Even if A-B can bid 12 and make it, Y-Z will sweat out.
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | +---+---+---+---+---+---+ ] The Raffles are sometimes indicated by a representation of one face of a die. Bets on single numbers pay even money, if the number bet on comes up on the face of any of the three dice. If it comes up on two of them, such as two deuces, it pays double; but if all three dice are alike it is a _=raffle=_, and the house takes all bets not placed on raffles. Bets on the numbers from 18 to 3 are upon the total count of the pips on the upper faces of the three dice. The small figures under these numbers show the odds paid; 14, for instance, pays twelve for one. All raffles pay 180 for one; the same as 18 or 3. Bets on High and Low, Odd or Even, pay even money. High throws are all above 10, and low throws are all below 11. This would be perfectly even betting if the house did not take raffles. Some houses allow a player to bet on raffles generally; that is, to bet that a raffle of some kind will come.
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 telegraph between partners, and the variation in tone or words in passing are frequently used by card-sharpers.
In Boston, and Boston de Fontainebleau, in addition to making the trump suit instead of turning it up, further departures are introduced by naming the number of tricks to be played for, allowing the player to take all or none without any trump suit, and by ‘spreading’ certain hands, without allowing the adversaries to call the exposed cards. French and Russian Boston are simply varieties of Boston. Solo Whist is an attempt to simplify Boston by reducing the number of proposals and the complications of payments, and eliminating the feature of ‘spreads.’ Scotch Whist introduces a special object in addition to winning tricks--catching the ten of trumps; that card and the honours having particular values attached to them. This variety of whist may be played by any number of persons from two to eight; and its peculiarity is that when a small number play, each has several distinct hands, which must be played in regular order, as if held by different players. Humbug Whist is a variety of double-dummy, in which the players may exchange their hands for those dealt to the dummies, and the dealer may sometimes make the trump to suit himself. German Whist is played by two persons, and introduces the element of replenishing the hand after each trick by drawing cards from the remainder of the pack until the stock is exhausted. Chinese Whist is double-dummy for two, three, or four persons, only half of each player’s cards being exposed, the others being turned up as the exposed cards are got rid of in the course of play. All these varieties have been entirely supplanted and overshadowed by bridge. When they play whist at all, the English think there is nothing better than the original whist, counting honours, and playing to the score.
He should seldom raise the ante, even with two pairs, as he will only drive others out. In this position very little can be made out of good hands, because every one expects to find them there; but it offers many excellent opportunities for successful bluffing. A player in this position should never straddle. Many players endeavour to force their luck in this way, but it is a losing game, and the best players seldom or never straddle. Having to make the first bet after the draw, it is usual for the player in this position, if he has an average hand, to _=chip along=_, by simply betting a single counter, and waiting for developments. With a strong hand, it is best to bet its full value at once, on the chance that the bet may be taken for a bluff, and called. _=Other Positions.=_ As the positions go round the table from the first bettor to the age, they become more desirable, and little need be said of them beyond the consideration of the average strength necessary for a player to _=go in=_ on. _=GOING IN.=_ There is a great difference of opinion as to the minimum value of a hand which should justify a player in drawing cards if he can do so for the usual ante.