If you see a dealer take up the cards already taken from the box, slipping them one under the other, as if to straighten them up, the sooner you cash your chips the better, for you are up against a brace game, no matter where it is dealt. The proprietors of some fashionable “clubs,” especially at watering places, pretend to be above all such things as cheating at faro, and get indignant at the suggestion of the possibility of there being anything crooked in their establishments. The author has but one reply to all such. If it is true that there is nothing unfair in your game, let me put a type-writer girl in the dealer’s place to shuffle and pull out the cards, and let your men just see to paying and taking bets. The boast of all these fashionable gambling houses is that they never won a man’s money except in a square game. Strange to say, this is generally true, and the explanation is very simple. If you are losing there is no necessity to cheat you, so you lose your money in a square game. If you are winning, it is the bank’s money, and not yours, that they would win if they started to cheat you; and as the dealer is paid to “protect the money of the house,” as they call it, he is perfectly justified in throwing the harpoon into you for a few deals, just to get his own money back; but he is very careful not to cheat you out of any of your own money. You may lose if you like, but you cannot win; faro banks are not run that way. ROUGE ET NOIR, OR TRENTE-ET-QUARANTE.
Robinson (_Mid Yorkshire Glossary_) gives it under Shinnops, a youth s game with a ball and stick, heavy at the striking end, the player man[oe]uvring to get as many strokes as possible and to drive the ball distances. Shinnoping is also used for the game in operation. Jowling, or Jowls, is given in Robinson s _Whitby Glossary_, as a game played much the same as Hockey. Baddin is the name given to it in Holland s _Cheshire Glossary_. Another name is Doddart (Brockett, _North Country Words_). (_c_) An old custom in vogue in bygone days was Rotherham Fair, or what was called Whipping Toms, which took place in the Newarkes every Shrove Tuesday. So soon as the pancake bell rang men and boys assembled with sticks having a knob or hook at the end. A wooden ball was thrown down, and two parties engaged in striving which could get the ball by striking it with their sticks to one end of the Newarke first--those who did so were the victors. This game was called Shinney, or Hockey. About one o clock the Whipping Toms appeared on the scene of action.
If the callers succeed in their undertakings, their adversaries pay them; if they fail, they pay their adversaries. A red counter is worth five white ones. Proposal and Acceptance wins or loses 1 red counter. Solo wins or loses 2 red counters. Misère, or Nullo, wins or loses 3 red counters. Abundance, of any kind, wins or loses 4 red counters. Open Misère, or Spread, wins or loses 6 red counters. Declared Abundance, or Slam, wins or loses 8 red counters. Each Over or Under-trick wins or loses 1 white counter. In Proposal and Acceptance, each of the partners pays one of his adversaries.
The value of the rubber is determined by adding 8 points to the winners’ score for tricks, honours, and slams, and then deducting the score of the losers. In _=Solo Whist=_, the game is complete in one deal, and the value of it is determined by the player’s success or failure in his undertaking, and must be settled for at the end of the hand, according to the table of payments. FORMING THE TABLE. 2. Those first in the room have the preference. If, by reason of two or more arriving at the same time, more than four assemble, the preference among the last comers is determined by cutting, a lower cut giving the preference over all cutting higher. A complete table consists of six; the four having the preference play. Partners are determined by cutting; the highest two play against the lowest two; the lowest deals and has the choice of seats and cards. In _=Boston=_ and in _=Solo Whist=_, a table is complete with four players. In cutting for positions at the table, the lowest has the choice of seats and cards, and the two highest sit opposite each other.
If the declarer revokes he cannot score anything but honours as actually held, while the adversaries take 100 points penalty in the honour column, in addition to any they may be entitled to for defeating the declaration. If an adversary revokes, they score honours only, and the declarer may either take the 100 points, or he may take three actual tricks and add them to his own. If he takes the tricks, they may aid him in fulfilling his contract, as the score is then made up as the tricks lie, but the declarer will not be entitled to any bonus in case he was doubled. Suppose Z is the declarer, and is playing three hearts doubled. He wins the odd trick only, but detects a revoke, for which he takes three tricks. This gives him four by cards, doubled, worth 64 points toward game, but he does not get any bonus for making his contract after being doubled, or for the extra tricks, because they were taken in penalty and not in play. _=Exposed Cards.=_ After the deal but before the winning declaration is settled, if any player exposes a card his partner is barred from bidding or doubling, and the card is subject to call. Should the partner of the offending player prove to be the leader to the first trick, the declarer may prohibit the initial lead of the exposed suit. All cards exposed by the declarer’s adversaries after the original lead are liable to be called and must be left on the table, face upward.
The same game as Nought and Crosses, which see. Kittlie-cout A game mentioned but not described by a writer in _Blackwood s Magazine_, August 1821, as played in Edinburgh. He mentions that the terms hot and cold are used in the game. The game of Hide and Seek. --Jamieson. Knapsack One boy takes another by the feet, one foot over each shoulder, with his head downwards and his face to his back, and sets off running as fast as he can. He runs hither and thither till one or other of the two gets tired.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor).
Udal s description of the Dorsetshire game. He was assured by several persons who are interested in Dorset Children s Games that the indiscriminate kissing (that is, whether the girl pursued runs little or far, or, when overtaken, whether she objects or not) with which this game is ordinarily associated, as played now both in Dorset and in other counties, was not indigenous to this county, but was merely a pernicious after-growth or outcome of later days, which had its origin in the various excursion and holiday fêtes, which the facilities of railway travelling had instituted, by bringing large crowds from the neighbouring towns into the country. He was told that thirty years ago such a thing was unknown in the country districts of Dorset, when the game then usually indulged in was known merely as Drop the Handkerchief (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 212). In other cases the rhymes are used for a purely kissing game, for which see Kiss in the Ring. Dropping the Letter An undescribed Suffolk boys game.--Moor s _Suffolk Words_, p. 238. Duck under the Water Each child chooses a partner, and form in couples standing one before the other, till a long line is formed. Each couple holds a handkerchief as high as they can to form an arch.
Aver. 183, E & W. The _=e=_ and _=f=_ pairs make the best scores N & S and E & W respectively; the _=f=_ pair, having won the greatest number of tricks above the average of the hands, would be the winners. _=Howell Pair System.=_ A very popular system of managing pairs in club games, and also in the national tournaments for the Minneapolis trophy, is called the Howell Pairs. Indicator cards are placed on the tables, which show each player the number of the table and the position at that table to which he should move next. Sometimes he will sit N, sometimes S, and sometimes E or W, but he always finds his partner opposite him, and at the end of the game he will have had every other pair in the game for an adversary once, and will have played all the hands dealt. A different set of indicator cards is required for every different number of tables in the game. They are the invention of the late E.C.
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If either player is found to have too few cards after having laid out for the crib, he has no remedy. His adversary pegs two points, and the short hand must be played and shown for what it is worth. _=Irregular Cribs.=_ If the superfluous card is found in the crib, and the non-dealer had the short hand, the dealer may reckon all the combinations he can make in the six-card crib; but if it was the dealer who had the short hand, the superfluous crib is void. If the crib contains a superfluous card, both the players having their right number, the non-dealer pegs two holes for the evident misdeal, and the crib is void. If both players have their right number, and the crib is short, it must be shown for what it is worth; but the non-dealer pegs two holes for the evident misdeal. _=Irregular Announcements.=_ There is no penalty if a player announces a wrong number as the total of the cards played, provided he does not peg an erroneous fifteen or thirty-one. If the following player does not correct the announcement, but plays and adds to it, the error cannot be rectified. If any holes are pegged for an erroneous announcement, the adversary may demand that they be taken down again, and may add the number to his own score.
Miss Courtenay gives Scutter and Tic Tac Mollard as Cornish names for the game (_West Cornwall Glossary_). See also Halliwell s _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 139, and Strutt s _Sports and Pastimes_, p. 326. Butler, in his _Hudibras_ (p. ii. canto iii. l. 302), makes it one of the important qualifications of his conjurer to tell-- What figur d slates are best to make On wat ry surface _duck_ or _drake_. The following description of this sport is given by Minucius Felix, ed.
While the words are being repeated all the players are putting themselves on the alert, and when they are finished they run off in all directions, with Rover in full pursuit. If a player is hard pressed he has the privilege of running to Parley, the place from which the players started, and which in all games is an asylum. If he is caught before he reaches it, he becomes Johnny Rover for the next game. The one first captured becomes Rover.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). Jolly Fishermen [Music] --Tean, North Staffs. (Miss Burne). I.
III. Around the green gravel the grass is so green, All the pretty fair maids are plain to be seen; Wash them in milk, and clothe them in silk, Write their names down with a gold pen and ink. All but Miss Jenny, her sweetheart is dead; She s left off her wedding to turn back her head. O mother, O mother, do you think it is true? O yes, child! O yes, child! Then what shall I do? We ll wash you in milk, and dress you in silk, And write down your name with a gold pen and ink. --Derbyshire and Worcestershire (Mrs. Harley). IV. Green gravel, green gravel, The grass is so green, Such beautiful flowers As never were seen. O Annie [or any name], O Annie, Your sweetheart is dead! He has sent you a letter To turn back your head. --Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (H.
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. Lincolnshire Glossary_. Biggly Name for Blind Man s Buff. --Dickinson s _Cumberland Glossary_. Billet The Derbyshire name for Tip-cat.
He runs hither and thither till one or other of the two gets tired.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). Knights Two big boys take two smaller ones on their shoulders. The big boys act as horses, while the younger ones seated on their shoulders try to pull each other over. The horses may push and strike each other with their shoulders, but must not kick or trip up with their feet, or use their hands or elbows. The game is usually won by the Horse and Knight who throw their opponents twice out of three times (G. L. Gomme).
265), Peacock (_Mauley and Corringham Glossary_). Addy (_Sheffield Glossary_) gives this game with the following addition: If a duck falls short of the Duckstone, and the one whose duck is on the stone sees that he can _wand_ or _span_ with his hand the distance between the duck thus thrown and the Duckstone, he shouts out Wands, and if he can wand or span the distance he takes his duck off, and the duck thus thrown is put on. Holland (_Cheshire Glossary_), Darlington (South Cheshire), Baker (_Northants Glossary_), and Brogden (_Provincial Words, Lincolnshire_), also give this game. Elworthy (_West Somerset Words_) calls it Duck, and Ducks off and Cobbs off in Dorsetshire. In London the boy repeats the words, Gully, gully, all round the hole, one duck on, while he is playing (_Strand Magazine_, November 1891). Newell (_Games_, p. 188) calls it Duck on a Rock. Duffan Ring Name for Cat and Mouse in Cornwall.--_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 57.
Grand Tourné. Solo in diamonds, hearts and spades. Nullo, worth 20. Solo in clubs. Grand Solo, worth 16. Null ouvert, worth 40. Grand ouvert. The multipliers were the same as those used in the modern game, but the player had no means of using them in his bids. It will be observed that the modern value of the various games seeks to preserve the old rank by assuming the lowest possible bid on any given game. In some parts of Germany it is still the custom to reckon Solos at the tourné values, simply adding one multiplier for “out of hand.
H. Patterson). IV. Here we come gathering nuts in May, Nuts in May, nuts in May, Here we come gathering nuts in May, On a cold and frosty morning. Where do you gather your nuts in May? On Galloway Hill we gather our nuts. Who will you gather for nuts in May? We ll gather ---- for nuts in May. Who will you send to fetch her away? We ll send ---- to fetch her away. --Bocking, Essex (_Folk-lore Record_, iii. 169). V.
=_ The player cutting the lowest card has the choice of seats and cards; but he must deal the first hand for his dummy; not for himself. The methods of spreading, cutting, deciding ties, etc., described in connection with whist, are those employed in dummy. _=Position of the Players.=_ The players are distinguished, as at whist, by the two first and last letters of the alphabet, and their positions at the table are indicated in the same manner. There is no mark to distinguish the dummy hand; a defect which is remedied in the French system. _=Dealing.=_ At the beginning of a rubber, dummy’s partner presents the pack to his _=left-hand=_ adversary to be cut, and deals from right to left, beginning with the player on his right, and turning up the last card for dummy’s trump. When two packs are used, there is no rule as to which player shall collect and shuffle the still pack. On this point the French rules are very explicit.
When eight play, all four sixes are deleted. The deal passes to the left, each player dealing in turn until the game is finished. The general rules with regard to irregularities in the deal are the same as at Whist. _=STAKES.=_ When stakes are played for, they are for so much a game. Rubbers are not played. It is usual to form a pool, each player depositing the stake agreed upon, and the winner taking all. In partnership games, each losing player pays the successful adversary who sits to his right. If three pairs were engaged, and A-A won, C and B would each pay the A sitting next him. Before play begins, it should be understood who pays for revokes; the side or the player.
Y holds what is called a potential or imperfect fourchette, and covers, in order to make A-B play two honours to get one trick. B also makes a gambit opening by returning a supporting spade. Three tricks are gained by the two leads of the supporting cards, and five would have been made but for Y’s covering on the first trick. _=No. 4.=_ This is an example of _=Playing to the Score=_. The game is English Whist, 5 points, counting honours. The first lead of trumps shows Z that honours are divided, and that he must make 11 tricks to win the game. At trick 3, he must trump; to discard clubs would be inconsistent with refusing to trump in order to bring them in. At trick 4, if Y cannot win a trick in clubs and give Z a finesse in trumps, Z cannot win the game.
Long Eaton Miss Youngman. Nottingham Miss Winfield, Miss Peacock. Ordsall Miss Matthews. OXFORDSHIRE Aubrey s _Remains_, ed. 1880. Oxford Miss Fowler. Summertown _Midland Garner_, vol. ii. SHROPSHIRE Burne s _Shropshire Folk-lore_. Madeley, Middleton Miss Burne.
I saw a ship a sailin , A sailin on the sea, And oh, it was laden With pretty things for me [thee]. There were comfits in the cabin, And apples in the hold; The sails were made of silk, And the masts were made of gold. Four and twenty sailors That sat upon the deck, Were four and twenty white mice With chains about their necks. The captain was a duck, With a packet on his back; And when the ship began to move, The captain cried Quack! quack! --Northamptonshire, _Revue Celtique_, iv. 200; Halliwell s _Nursery Rhymes_, No. ccclxxvii. (_b_) A number of little girls join hands and form a ring. They all jump round and sing the verses. The game ends by the girls following one of their number in a string, all quacking like ducks.--Northamptonshire.
The best example of the application of this law is in drawing to bobtails. If you have a four-card flush to draw to, the odds against getting it are about four to one; and unless you can obtain the privilege of drawing to it by paying not more than one-fifth of the amount in the pool, you will lose by it in the long run. The best players never draw to four-card flushes except when they have the age, and the ante has not been raised. There are some players who pretend to be so guided by probabilities that they never go into a pool unless the chances in favour of their having a good hand after the draw are at least equal to the odds they have to bet by going into the pool. This is all nonsense; for no player knows when he goes into a pool how much it will cost him to get out, and the value of his individual hand is an unknown quantity at the best, because it cannot be compared to the others. One thing only is certain, and that is that in the long run the player who goes in with the strongest hand will still have the strongest hand after the draw. This is an important thing to remember in jack pots, in which the value of at least one hand is known. If you draw to a pair smaller than Jacks, you do so with the full knowledge that the pair itself is not strong enough to win. Now what are the odds against your winning the pool? Suppose you hold tens, and draw three cards. Your chance of improving your hand is a little better than one in five.
Half-a-guinea you shall not have, Shall not have, shall not have, Half-a-guinea you shall not have, My fair lady. Let s join hands, it is too late, Tis too late, tis too late, Let s join hands, it is too late, My fair lady. --Tong, Shropshire (Miss R. Harley). V. Hark at the robbers going through, Through, through, through; through, through, through; Hark at the robbers going through, My fair lady. What have the robbers done to you, You, you, you; you, you, you? What have the robbers done to you, My fair lady? Stole my gold watch and chain, Chain, chain, chain; chain, chain, chain; Stole my gold watch and chain, My fair lady. How many pounds will set us free, Free, free, free; free, free, free? How many pounds will set us free, My fair lady? A hundred pounds will set you free, Free, free, free; free, free, free; A hundred pounds will set you free, My fair lady. We have not a hundred pounds, Pounds, pounds, pounds; pounds, pounds, pounds; We have not a hundred pounds, My fair lady. Then to prison you must go, Go, go, go; go, go, go; Then to prison you must go, My fair lady.