The dealer, having examined his hand, must declare to win at least one odd trick,[8] either with a specified suit, or at no trump. 43. After the dealer has declared, each player in turn, beginning on the dealer’s left, must pass, make a higher declaration, double the last declaration, or redouble a declaration which has been doubled, subject to the provisions of Law 54. 44. A declaration of a greater number of tricks in a suit of lower value, which equals the last declaration in value of points, is a higher declaration; _e.g._, a declaration of “three spades” is higher than “one club.” 45. A player in his turn may overbid the previous adverse declaration any number of times, and may also overbid his partner, but he cannot overbid his own declaration which has been passed by the three others. 46.
The French Defence and the Petroff are good openings for Black. The theory of opening is to mobilise your forces for the attack in the fewest possible moves. Lasker thinks six moves should be enough for this purpose, and he recommends that only the King’s and Queen’s Pawns should be moved, after which each piece should be placed at once upon the square from which it can operate to the best advantage. He thinks the Knights should be first brought out, and posted at B 3, and then the K’s B, somewhere along his own diagonal. The great mistake made by beginners is that they rush off to the attack and try to capture some of the adverse pieces before they have properly prepared themselves for re-inforcement or retreat. It should never be forgotten that the game is not won by capturing the adversary’s pieces, but by check-mating his King. Take the board and pieces, arrange them with the white men next you, and play over the following simple little game. Remember that the figures above the line are for the white men; those below for the black. P-K4 Kt-KB3 Kt-QB3 B-B4 1 ---- 2 ------ 3 ------ 4 ----- P-K4 P-Q3 P-KR3 B-Kt5 The third move made by Black accomplishes nothing, and is simply a waste of time. He should have continued by bringing his Knights into play.
Piquet, and Rubicon Piquet, by Berkeley. Laws of Piquet, by “Cavendish.” _Westminster Papers_, Vols. II. to IX. inclusive. There are excellent articles on the Laws in Vols. III. and VI., and on discards in Vol.
The dealer loses the deal:--if he neglects to have the pack cut; if he deals a card incorrectly, and fails to remedy the error before dealing another; if he counts the cards on the table, or those remaining in the pack; if he looks at the trump card before the deal is complete; or if he places the trump card face down, on his own or on any other player’s cards. _=STAKES.=_ When stakes are played for, it should be distinctly understood at the beginning whether the unit is for a game, for a rubber, for rubber points, or for tricks. The English game is invariably played for so much a rubber point; sometimes with an extra stake upon the rubber itself. In America, it is usual to play for so much a game; but in some cases the tricks are the unit, deducting the loser’s score from seven, or playing the last hand out and then deducting the loser’s score. A very popular method is to play for a triple stake: so much a trick, playing each hand out; so much a game; and so much a rubber. These three stakes are usually in the proportion of 10, 25, and 50. In clubs it is customary to have a uniform stake for whist, and to fix a limit for all betting on the game beyond the “club stake.” Good usage demands that those at the table should have the refusal of any bet made by a player, before it is offered to an outsider. _=METHOD OF PLAYING.
If the dealer is interrupted in any way by an adversary, he does not lose his deal. _=Bidding.=_ After receiving his nine cards, each player in turn, beginning on the dealer’s left, announces the number of points he will undertake to win if he is allowed to name the trump suit. No player is allowed to bid more than fourteen. If he will not bid, he must say: “I pass.” A bid having been regularly made, any following player must bid higher or pass. There are no second bids. A bid once made can neither be amended nor withdrawn. _=Irregular Bids.=_ If any player bids before the eldest hand has bid or passed, both the player in error and his partner lose their right to bid; but the side not in error must bid to decide which of them shall name the trump.
Hickety-hackety. Hick, Step, and Jump. Hide and Seek (1). Hide and Seek (2). Hinch-Pinch. Hinmost o Three. Hirtschin Hairy. Hiry-hag. Hiss and Clap. Hitch, Jamie, Stride and Loup.
If the card led is the best of the suit, he should certainly do so; but if it is not, and there is any uncertainty as to who will win the trick, it is usual for the Second Hand to pass when he has four trumps. With five trumps, there should be some good reason for keeping the trumps together, as a player with so many can usually afford to trump. If he does not trump, his play comes under the rules for discarding. _=FOURTH-HAND PLAY.=_ The Fourth Hand is the last player in any trick. He is the partner of the Second Hand, but has not so many opportunities for the exercise of judgment, his duties being simply to win tricks if he can, and as cheaply as possible. If he cannot win the trick, he should play his lowest card. A bad habit of Fourth-Hand players is holding up the tenace A J when a King or Queen is led originally. This is called the _=Bath Coup=_, and the suit must go round three times for it to succeed in making two tricks. The holder of the tenace should equally make two tricks by playing the Ace at once, provided he does not lead the suit back.
In the 36 possible throws with two dice there are 6 which will show a total of seven pips. The probability of throwing seven is therefore 6/36, or 5 to 1 against it. A complete list of the combinations with two dice were given in connection with Craps. _=Poker.=_ In calculating the probability of certain conflicting events, both of which cannot occur, but either of which would be favourable, we must make the denominator of our fraction equal in both cases, which will, of course, necessitate a proportionate change in our numerator. Suppose a poker player has three of a kind, and intends to draw one card only, the odds against his getting a full hand are 1/16; against getting four of a kind, 1/48. To find the total probability of improvement, we must make the first fraction proportionate to the last, which we can do by multiplying it by 3. The result will be 3/48 + 1/48 = 4/48; showing that the total chance of improvement is 1 in 12, or 11 to 1 against it. _=Whist.=_ To calculate the probable positions of certain named cards is rather a difficult matter, but the process may be understood from a simple example.
| -- | -- |Round the green | | | | |gravel. | | 3.| -- | -- | -- | | 4.| -- | -- | -- | | 5.| -- | -- | -- | | 6.| -- | -- | -- | | 7.| -- | -- | -- | | 8.| -- |Fairest young lady | -- | | | |ever seen. | | | 9.| -- | -- |All pretty fair maids | | | | |are fit to be seen.
Whist laws govern the deal and its errors. _=METHOD OF PLAYING.=_ The dealer’s adversary has the first lead; the other must follow suit if he can, and the highest card of the suit led wins the trick. Trumps win all other suits. _=SCORING.=_ Each trick above six counts one point towards game. Of the four honours, A K Q J of trumps, if each player holds two, neither can count. But if one player has only one honour, or none, the other counts 2 points for two honours, if he holds them; 3 points for three; and 4 points for four. The honours count towards game as in whist. The penalty for a revoke is three tricks, and it takes precedence of other scores; tricks count next, honours last.
II. Green gravel, green gravel, the grass is so green, The fairest young lady that ever was seen; I ll wash you in milk, And I ll clothe you with silk, And I ll write down your name with a gold pen and ink. O Sally, O Sally, your true love is dead, He sent you a letter to turn round your head. --Berrington, Oswestry (_Shropshire Folk-lore_ p. 510). 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.
Mactaggart alludes to this game as Bumpkin Brawly, an old dance, the dance which always ends balls; the same with the Cushion almost. Wha learned you to dance, You to dance, you to dance, Wha learned you to dance A country bumpkin brawly? My mither learned me when I was young, When I was young, when I was young, My mither learned me when I was young, The country bumpkin brawly. The tune of this song is always played to the dance, says Mactaggart, but he does not record the tune. _To bab_, in Lowland Scottish, is defined by Jamieson to mean to play backward and forward loosely; to dance. Hence he adds, Bab at the bowster, or Bab wi the bowster, a very old Scottish dance, now almost out of use; formerly the last dance at weddings and merry-makings. Mr. Ballantyne says that a bolster or pillow was at one time always used. One correspondent of _N. and Q._, ii.
The eldest hand must begin by laying out the Five or Nine of some suit to start the first sequence. If he has neither of those cards he must pass, and the first player on his left who has a Five or a Nine must begin. The next player on the left must then continue the sequence in the same suit if he can, but he may play either up or down, laying the card on the right or left of the starter. If a Five is led, he may play a Four or a Six. Only one card is played at a time by each person in turn. Any person not being able to continue the sequence may start another if he has another Five, but he cannot start one with a Nine unless the first starter in the game was a Nine. He is also at liberty to start a new sequence with a Five or Nine instead of continuing the old, but he must play if he can, one or the other. If he is unable to play, he must pay one counter into the pool, which is won by the first player who gets rid of all his cards. The winner is also paid a counter for every card held by the other players. FAN TAN.
=_ The cards have the same rank as at whist; they are dealt in the same manner, and the same rules apply to all irregularities in the deal, except that a misdealer must deal again. The objects of the game are the same, and so are all the suggestions for good play. The only differences that require attention are the positions of the players, the manner of counting the tricks, and the methods of keeping and comparing the scores. _=THEORY.=_ It may briefly be stated that duplicate proceeds upon the principle that if two partners have made a certain number of tricks with certain cards, under certain conditions with respect to the lead, distribution of the other cards in the adversaries’ hands, etc., the only way to decide whether or not two other players could have done better, or cannot do so well, is to let them try it, by giving them the same cards, under exactly similar conditions. This comparison may be carried out in various ways; but in every instance it depends entirely upon the number and arrangement of the players engaged. The most common forms are: club against club; team against team; pair against pair; or man against man. The reason for the arrangement of the players will be better understood if we first describe the method. _=METHOD OF PLAYING.
They sing the first, third, and every alternate verse, advancing and retiring in line while doing so. The Mother sings the answers to their questions, standing still and hiding Jenny Jones all the time from view. When the verses are finished, Jenny Jones lies down as if she were dead, and the Mother stands aside. Two of the other players then take up Jenny Jones, one by the shoulders and the other by the feet, and carry her a little distance off, where they lay her on the ground. All the players follow, generally two by two, with their handkerchiefs at their eyes and heads lowered, pretending to grieve. This is the more general way of playing the game. In those versions where the reply, Very well, ladies, occurs, this is sung by the line of children just before they sing, We ve come to see Jenny Jones. Sometimes, as in the Berrington and Chirbury game, two lines of children facing each other advance and retire, singing the verses. They then carry Jenny Jones to a corner, lay her down, stand in a circle round, and sing to her the last verse. In the Hants versions sent by Miss Mendham, six or eight children carry Jenny stretched out and flat, lay her down, cover her over, and then sing the last lines.