If a player withdraws from the table when it is his turn to deal, the deal passes any newcomer who may take his place. _=Betting.=_ The cards dealt, each player in turn, beginning with the one to the right of the dealer, or to the right of the last straddler, if any, can do one of three things: Equal the amount of the ante; increase it as much as he pleases within the limits of his cave; or pass, retaining his cards but betting nothing. If any player _=opens=_ the game by making a bet, the player on his right may equal or raise it; but he cannot pass after the game is opened, unless he withdraws from the pool. Any player may call for a sight for the amount in front of him, but that does not prevent the others from continuing the betting. If no one will open, the deal is void, and each player puts five counters in the pool for the next deal. If a player opens, and no one will equal or raise him, he wins the antes and straddles, if any. If any player makes a raise which no one will meet, he takes whatever is in the pool, unless a player has called for a sight for a small part of it. _=Calling and Showing.=_ If only two players bet against each other, either may call the other, and demand a show of hands at any time; but if three or four are betting, the privilege of calling falls upon each in turn from right to left.
|Green gravel. |Green gravel. | -- | | 2.| -- | -- |Round the green | | | | |gravel. | | 3.| -- | -- | -- | | 4.| -- | -- | -- | | 5.| -- | -- | -- | | 6.| -- | -- | -- | | 7.| -- | -- | -- | | 8.
Gomme). 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.
| -- |Doctor, cat, and | -- | | | |devil. | | |16.| -- | -- |Applause for the | | | | |bride. | +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ +---+----------------------+ | |Earls Heaton (Yorks.).| +---+----------------------+ | 1.|Roving life. | | 2.| -- | | 3.| -- | | 4.
There are two principal varieties of the game; _=Five=_ and _=Six-card=_ Cribbage; and these again are divided according to the number of players. The old writers agree in speaking of the five-card game as the more scientific; but the modern verdict is in favour of the six-card game, which is certainly the more common and popular. The skill in Five-card Cribbage is limited to laying out for the crib and securing the “go”; but in Six-card Cribbage, while the scientific principles applicable to the crib remain the same as in the five-card game, there is abundant room for the display of skill all through, the hand being as important as the crib, and the play sometimes more important than either. The six-card game will be first described. _=CARDS.=_ Cribbage is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, which have no rank except the order of their sequence; K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 A, the Ace being always the lowest, either in cutting or in play. The cards have also a counting or pip value, the three court cards, K Q J, and the 10 being worth ten points each. All other cards, including the Ace, retain their face value. There are no trumps, and the four suits are therefore equal in value at all times. _=MARKERS.
(_c_) The more general way of playing this game is to form a ring of children simply. The children walk round singing the verse as in the Belfast version, and when the last line is sung, the child whose name is mentioned turns round, facing the outside of the ring and having her back to the centre. She continues to hold hands with the others, and dances round with them in that position. This is repeated until all the children have turned their backs to the inside of the ring. 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.
All the cards are dealt out, two and three at a time, each receiving eight cards. The elder hand declares first, but instead of announcing one thing at a time, and awaiting the reply of his adversaries, he declares everything, and then plays a card. Suppose the cards are distributed as follows, Z being the dealer:-- [Illustration: ♠ K Q J 10 ♢ J 10 9 8 +-----------+ | Y | ♡ A; ♠ A; ♢ A Q | | ♡ K Q J; ♢ K 7 |A B| ♣ A Q J 10 | | ♣ K 9 8 | Z | +-----------+ ♡ 10 9 8 7 ♠ 9 8 7; ♣ 7 ] A announces 41 for his point, sequence of three to the Queen, four Aces, and says, “I play a club,” which is his lead for the first trick. If the second player admits all these to be good he says nothing, but plays a card. In this case, Y would announce four to the King, and four to the Jack, and would play a spade, having no club. B would then announce three Kings, which are good on account of his partner’s having four Aces; but both the sequences are shut out by Y’s better declarations. The dealer, Z, then declares four to the Ten and three to the Nine, both those sequences being made good by his partner’s holding the best sequence at the table. The first trick played, each person at the table shows what he has claimed, in order that his adversaries may verify the count. A would then gather up the first trick, announcing the total score for his side, which would be 22; 4 for the point, 14 Aces, 3 Kings, and 1 for the card led. He would then play another club, announcing 22.
---------------------+----+-----+-----+--------+---------+--------- Ruy Lopez |145 |103 | 58 | 306 | 57 | 20 Queen’s Pawn(a) | 97 | 63 | 39 | 199 | 48 | 13 French Defence | 84 | 48 | 39 | 171 | 60 | 11 Vienna | 47 | 34 | 15 | 96 | 57 | 6 Sicilian Defence | 40 | 29 | 10 | 79 | 57 | 5 King’s Gambit | 36 | 32 | 11 | 79 | 52 | 5 Giuoco Piano | 36 | 32 | 10 | 78 | 52 | 5 Evans | 34 | 20 | 12 | 66 | 61 | 4 Irregular | 29 | 31 | 14 | 74 | 49 | 5 Scotch | 22 | 26 | 9 | 57 | 47 | 4 Zukertort | 23 | 17 | 11 | 51 | 56 | 3 Two Knights Defence | 16 | 20 | 10 | 46 | 46 | 3 Staunton’s | 19 | 15 | 5 | 39 | 55 | 3 Fianchetto | 13 | 14 | 2 | 29 | 48 | 2 Petroff Defence | 15 | 9 | 3 | 27 | 61 | 2 Centre Gambit(b) | 11 | 11 | 4 | 26 | 50 | 2 Philidor Defence | 8 | 9 | 3 | 20 | 47 | 1 Miscellaneous | 22 | 29 | 6 | 57 | 44 | 4 +----+-----+-----+--------+---------+--------- Total |697 |542 | 261 | 1500 | | ---------------------+----+-----+-----+--------+---------+--------- The first player won 55.2 per cent. of games played, counting drawn games as one-half. (a). Includes Queen’s Gambits and Queen’s Gambits declined. (b). Includes Centre and Counter Centre Gambits. _=THE MIDDLE GAME.=_ After a little experience with openings, the player will usually select one or two which he feels that he can handle better than others, and will make a specialty of them. Having mastered a number of variations, and learned the object of them in forming his pieces for attack or defence, he will naturally be led to the study of the middle game.
The same game is played with twelve children, who are named after the twelve months of the year.--London and Barnes (A. B. Gomme); _Strand Magazine_, ii. 519 (F. H. Low). This game belongs apparently to the ball games used for purposes of divination. Mr. Newell (_Games_, p.
XII. How many miles to Banbury Cross? Three score and ten. Shall we get there by midnight? Yes, if you run well. Then open your gates as wide as the sky, And let King George and his men pass by. It is so dark we cannot see, so thread the needle Nancy, Thread the needle Nancy. One, two, three. --Warwick (from a little girl living near Warwick, through Mr. C. C. Bell).
P. Hamilton. Philosophy of Whist, by Dr. W. Pole. * Practical Guide to Whist, by Fisher Ames. x Short-Suit Whist, by Val. W. Starnes. * Short Whist, by James Clay.
Coppered Bets, bets that have a copper or checker placed upon them at Faro, to show that they play the card to lose. Court Cards, the K, Q and J; the ace is not a court card. Covering, playing a higher card second hand than the one led, but not necessarily the best of the suit. Créve, F., one who is temporarily out of the game, such as one who has overdrawn his hand at Vingt-et-un; as distinguished from one who has lost all his money. The latter would be spoken of as décavé. Crossing the Suit, changing the trump from the suit turned up to one of a different colour, especially in Euchre. Cross-ruff, two partners alternately trumping a different suit. Cul levé, (jouer à) playing one after another, by taking the place of the loser. A vulgar expression.
=_ It is a common custom in large parties, say six or seven players, to make it a jack when no one but the dealer will ante. Instead of allowing the blind to make his ante good, and draw cards against the dealer, each player contributes two white counters, the age adding one to his blind, and the cards are redealt for a jack pot. Another variety of this custom is when the blind is opposed by only one ante, to allow the age to make this player take down his two counters, and to pay two counters for him, to make it a jack. For instance: Five play, and A has the age. B and C pass, and D antes two counters. The dealer, E, says: “I pass for a jack.” A then puts up three counters, one of which is added to his blind, the other two paying D’s ante in the ensuing jack. D takes down his two counters, and the cards are redealt. This cannot be done if more than one player has anted, nor if the ante has been raised or the blind straddled. In the example just given, had D raised the ante to five counters and E passed, the age would have had to put up four more white counters and draw cards, or allow D to win his blind.
2.] Cockertie-hooie This game consists simply of one boy mounting on the neck of another, putting a leg over each shoulder and down his breast. The boy that carries takes firm hold of the legs of the one on his neck, and sets off at a trot, and runs hither and thither till he becomes tired of his burden. The bigger the one is who carries, the more is in the enjoyment to the one carried.--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). See Cock s-headling. Cockle-bread Young wenches have a wanton sport, which they call moulding of Cocklebread; viz. they gett upon a Table-board, and then gather-up their knees and their coates with their hands as high as they can, and then they wabble to and fro with their Buttocks as if the[y] were kneading of Dowgh, and say these words, viz.
” Either A or B having doubled, it becomes the privilege of the player who made the trump to double him again; making the value of the trick four times greater than that given in the table. If he does not do so, he says: “I pass”; and his partner then has the privilege. If either the dealer or his partner doubles, the adversary who first doubled may repeat it; or if he passes, his partner may double. This doubling may be continued until the value of each trick over the book is 100 points, when it must cease. _=IRREGULARITIES IN DOUBLING.=_ If the pone doubles before his partner has asked him “Shall I play?” the maker of the trump shall say whether or not the double shall stand. If he allows it to stand it may be redoubled. Should a player redouble out of turn, the one whom he redoubles shall have the right to say whether or not the redouble shall stand. Any consultation between partners as to doubling or redoubling will entitle their adversaries to insist on a new deal. If the eldest hand leads without asking his partner’s permission to play, the pone cannot double without the consent of the maker of the trump.
See All the Boys. Merrils See Nine Men s Morris. Merritot, or the Swing This sport, which is sometimes called Shuggy-shew in the North of England, is described as follows by Gay:-- On two near elms the slackened cord I hung, Now high, now low, my Blouzalinda swung. So Rogers, in the _Pleasures of Memory_, l. 77:-- Soar d in the swing, half pleas d and half afraid, Through sister elms that wav d their summer shade. Speght, in his _Glossary_, says, Meritot, a sport used by children by swinging themselves in bell-ropes, or such like, till they are giddy. In _Mercurialis de Arte Gymnastica_, p. 216, there is an engraving of this exercise. Halliwell quotes from a MS. _Yorkshire Glossary_, as follows:-- Merrytrotter, a rope fastened at each end to a beam or branch of a tree, making a curve at the bottom near the floor or ground in which a child can sit, and holding fast by each side of the rope, is swung backwards and forwards.
The same with the player on the left. If the player on the right or left wins the second coup, the cards are dealt to him again for the third coup; if he loses they are dealt to the next player beyond him, and so on, until all five players have held cards and have lost a coup, after which the banker deals to the one nearest him again. It will thus be seen that there are in each coup only two active players, and that all stakes made upon the game are made upon the result of their hands. _=Suggestions for Playing.=_ In justice to those backing him, the player is supposed to draw or not to draw, according to the laws of probabilities, which are exactly the same as in Vingt-et-un. If he has four points, which would be 5 below 9, he should draw; just as he would if he had 16 at Vingt-et-un, which would be 5 below 21. If he has 5 or more, he should stand; but if he has 5 exactly it is a matter of judgment, drawing a card being sometimes good play, especially if it is likely to lead the banker to overdraw himself. In some clubs there is a law that a player must draw if his point is less than 5, and must stand if it is more than 5, or he must pay a fine. As no one is backing the banker, he is at liberty to play as badly as he pleases, and he is really the only one that has an opportunity to exercise any judgment in the matter of drawing. If a player refuses a card, the banker may be able to judge whether or not he has 6 or 7 by his habit of drawing or not drawing at 5.
=_ If any player is found to have an incorrect number of cards, it is a misdeal if no bid has been made. If a bid has been made, the deal stands good if three players have their right number of cards. If the first trick has been played to by a person holding too many cards, neither he nor his partner can score anything that hand; but they may play the hand out to save what points they can. If a player has too few cards, there is no penalty, but he should draw from the discard to make up the deficiency, plain-suit cards only being available. _=Exposed Cards.=_ The following are exposed cards, which must be left face up on the table, and are liable to be called by either adversary: 1. Every card faced upon the table otherwise than in the regular course of play. 2. Two or more cards played to a trick; the adversaries may elect which shall be played. 3.
Doubtful Card, a card led by the player on your right, which your partner may be able to win. Draw Shot, any shot which makes the ball return toward the cue; in English, a “screw-back.” Duffer, one who is not well up in the principles of the game he is playing. Dummy, the exposed hand in Dummy Whist, Bridge, or Mort. Duplicate Whist, a form of Whist in which the same hands are played by both sides, and as nearly as possible under the same conditions. Dutch It, to cross the suit at Euchre. Ecarter, F., to discard. Echoing, showing the number of trumps held when partner leads or calls; in plain suits, showing the number held when a high card is led. Edge, a corruption of the word “age,” the eldest hand.
D. Sweeting). [Music] --Belfast (W. H. Patterson). I. I m come to court Janet jo, Janet jo, Janet jo, I m come to court Janet jo, How s she the day? She s up the stair washin , Washin , washin , She s up the stair washin , Ye canna see her the day. [Then follow verses, the words of which are not given by Chambers, representing Jenny as bleaching, drying, and ironing clothes. At last they say--] Janet jo s dead and gane, Dead and gane, dead and gane; Janet jo s dead and gane, She ll never come hame! --Chambers _Popular Rhymes_, pp. 140-41.
Taste John, taste John, don t say nay, Perhaps to-morrow morning will be our wedding-day. The bells shall ring and we shall sing, And all clap hands together (round the ring). Up the lane and down, It s slippery as a glass, If we go to Mrs. ---- We ll find a nice young lass. Mary with the rosy cheeks, Catch her if you can; And if you cannot catch her, We ll tell you her young man. --Hanging Heaton (Herbert Hardy). A ring is formed by the children joining hands, one child in the centre. The first verse is sang. Two children from the ring go to the one in the centre and _ask_ her who is her love, or as they say here [Yorks.], who she goes with; after that the rest is sung.
When that is accomplished the King is said to be _=mated=_, and the player who first succeeds in giving mate to the adversary’s King wins the game, regardless of the number or value of the pieces either side may have on the board at the time the mate is accomplished. When an adverse piece is moved so that it could capture the King on the next move, due notice must be given to the threatened King by announcing “_=Check=_,” and the player must immediately move his King out of check, interpose a piece or a Pawn, or capture the piece that gives the check. If he cannot do one of these three things he is mated, and loses the game. A very simple example of a mate is given in Diagram No. 8. [Illustration: _No. 8._ +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | ♖ | | | | ♚ | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | ♝ | | | | | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | ♞ | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | ♔ | | | | | ] The white Rook has just been moved down to the edge of the board, giving “check.” As the black King can move only one square at a time, he cannot get out of check by moving, because the only squares to which he could go would still leave him in check from the Rook. Neither the Knight nor the Bishop can interpose to shut out the Rook’s attack; neither of those pieces can capture the Rook; and the Pawns cannot move backward; so the black King is mated, and White wins the game.
If he turns a Jack, he may change to Grand, but not to Grand Ouvert. Neither schneider nor schwarz can be announced in any game in which the skat cards are used. A tourné player must lay out two skat cards to reduce his hand to ten cards. If the player neither turns over nor takes into his hand either of the skat cards, he may play any of the suit Solos, Grand Solo, Grand Ouvert, Nullo, or Null Ouvert. He may announce schneider or schwarz in any Solo. Any player looking at the skat cards before the beginning of the play is debarred from bidding that deal, and is penalised ten points in the score. In addition to this penalty, either of the other players may demand a fresh deal. If a player looks at the skat cards during the play of a hand the play is immediately stopped, and if he is the single player he can count only the points taken in up to that time, exclusive of the skat. These points are deducted from 120, and his adversaries claim the difference. The game is then settled, according to this count, exactly as if the hand had been played out.
If too many cards are given to either player, there must be a new deal. If too few, the pone may claim a fresh deal, or allow the dealer to supply the missing cards from the top of the stock, without changing the trump card. If any card but the trump is found faced in the pack, there must be a new deal. If a card faced in the stock is not discovered until the first trick has been played to, the exposed card must be turned face down, without disturbing its position. If a pack is found to be imperfect, the deal in which the error is discovered is void, but all previous cuts or scores made with that pack stand good. _=METHOD OF PLAYING.=_ The pone begins by leading any card he chooses, to which his adversary may play any card he pleases. A player is not obliged to follow suit, nor to trump; but may renounce or trump at pleasure until the stock is exhausted, after which the method of play undergoes a change. If a player follows suit, the higher card wins the trick, and if identical cards are played to the same trick, such as two Jacks of clubs, the leader wins. Trumps win plain suits.
=_ The play must often be varied on account of the state of the score, either to save or win the game in the hand. If the adversaries appear to be very strong, and likely to go out on the deal, all conventionalities should be disregarded until the game is saved; finesses should be refused, and winning cards played Second Hand on the first round. If the adversaries are exhausting the trumps, it will often be judicious for a player to make what winning cards he has, regardless of all rules for leading, especially if they are sufficient to save the game. It often happens that the same cards must be played in different ways according to the state of the score, and the number of tricks in front of the player. A simple example will best explain this. Hearts are trumps; you hold two small ones, two better being out against you, but whether in one hand or not you cannot tell. You have also two winning Spades, one smaller being still out. The game is seven-point whist. The importance of playing to the score will be evident if you consider your play in each of the following instances, your score being given first: Score 6 to 6; you have 5 tricks in front of you. Score 6 to 6; you have 4 tricks in front of you.
_=G=_ finds in his hand four good spades and the Joker, but neither Bower. He may safely bid 5 or 6, taking _=E=_ for a partner if successful, as _=E=_ very probably has one or both the black Bowers. If he bids 5 only, the dealer, _=A=_, would have an excellent chance to bid 6 in hearts, and to take _=B=_ and _=F=_ for two of his partners, and _=G=_ for the third, trusting to find him with the Joker, or at least protection in one or both black suits. If the successful bidder has had no previous bids to guide him in his choice of partners, he should take those who have the lowest scores, if the scores are known; because it is to his advantage to avoid advancing those who are perhaps already ahead. When the scores are not known, there is nothing but luck to guide one, unless a person has a very good memory, and knows which players are probably behind. _=Leading.=_ If the successful bidder wants 6 or 7 tricks, and holds the Joker, he should lead it at once. If he has not the Joker, he should begin with a low trump, and give his partners a chance to play the Joker on the first round. If the leader cannot exhaust the trumps with one or two rounds, it will sometimes be to his advantage to lead any losing card he may have in the plain suits, in order to let his partners win the trick if they can. In playing alone, it is absolutely necessary to exhaust the trumps before opening a plain suit.
The tune of the Platt version sent by Miss Burne, and the Ogbourne and Manton (H. S. May), are almost identical, except the termination. This seems to be the most general tune for the game. The Lancashire tune is the same as the London version. Miss Burne says of the Madeley version: I never knew Green Gravel and Wallflowers played together as in this way elsewhere (I had not got this variant when I wrote _Shropshire Folk-lore_), except at Much Wenlock, where they reverse the two verses, and only sing _one line_ (the last) of Green Gravel. But I feel sure they must have been _meant_ to go together (see my note in _Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 510), and I can explain them, I think. The ring of girls are dancing on the green grass plot in the middle of an old-fashioned sixteenth-century walled garden: each gets the news of her lover s death, and turns her face to the wall, the old token of hopeless sorrow. Then they apostrophise the wallflowers in the border surrounding the grass plot against the old high wall; and here another variant explains the lament (second line)-- Wallflowers, wallflowers, growing up so high, _We shall all be maidens_ [and so], we shall all die; Except the youngest (who will meet with another lover), whether as an instance of the proverbial luck of the youngest born, or as a piece of juvenile giddiness and inconstancy, I cannot say; but considering the value set on true love and hopeless constancy in the ballad-lore, and the special garland which distinguished the funerals of bereaved but constant maidens, and the solemnity of betrothal in old days, the latter seems probable, especially considering the for shame.
(5) The penalty for a declaration out of turn is that each of the other players receives 50 points in his honour score. A declaration out of turn does not affect the right of the player whose turn it is to declare, unless both he and the other player, either by passing or declaring, accept the improper declaration. (6) If a player declare out of turn, and the succeeding player either pass or declare, the third player may demand that the mistake be corrected as is provided in Law 5. In such case the player who first declared out of turn is the only one penalized. (7) The player making the final declaration, _i.e._, a declaration that has been passed by both of the others, plays his own hand and that of the dummy against the two others, who then, and for that particular hand, assume the relationship of partners. (8) It is advisable that the game be played at a round table so that the hand of the dummy can be placed in front of the declarer without obliging any player to move; but, in the event of a square table being used, the two players who become the adversaries of the declarer should sit opposite each other, the dummy being opposite the declarer. At the end of the play the original positions should be resumed. (9) If, after the deal has been completed and before the conclusion of the declaration, any player expose a card, each of his adversaries counts 50 points in his honour score, and the declarer, if he be not the offender, may call upon the player on his left to lead or not to lead the suit of the exposed card.
All sorts of odd little difficulties arose too, connected with the use of the guns as a shelter from fire, and very exact rules had to be made to avoid tilting the nose and raising the breech of a gun in order to use it as cover.... We still found it difficult to introduce any imitation into our game of either retreat or the surrender of men not actually taken prisoners in a melee. Both things were possible by the rules, but nobody did them because there was no inducement to do them. Games were apt to end obstinately with the death or capture of the last man. An inducement was needed. This we contrived by playing not for the game but for points, scoring the result of each game and counting the points towards the decision of a campaign. Our campaign was to our single game what a rubber is to a game of whist.
For an example of this, see B’s play in Illustrative Hand No. 2. Where you have a certain safe card, and others of another suit not absolutely safe, it is better to keep the safe card, in order to be sure of getting rid of the lead if you are put in on your dangerous suit. In following suit, the most annoying hand that one can hold is one containing at least three cards of each suit, none of them below a 6. There is no hope of a discard, unless two players make a fight in some one suit, which they lead four or five times in order to load each other, regardless of the escape of the other players. This very seldom occurs, and never among good players. With such a hand escape is almost impossible, and it is usually best to make the losses as small as possible. Many good players, with such a hand, will deliberately take in hearts on the plain suits, hoping to escape with only one or two in each trick, instead of having to carry the whole load by getting into the lead at the end. It should never be forgotten that when you must inevitably take some hearts it is cheaper to take them in on plain suits than to win heart tricks. _=CONTROL OF THE LEAD.