In _=Cayenne=_, a game consists of ten points, each trick above six counting towards game according to the table of values. Honours and Slams also count towards game. Every hand must be played out, and all points made in excess of the ten required to win the game are counted on the next game; so that it is possible to win two or three games in one hand. In Nullo, every trick over the book is counted by the adversaries. Players cannot count out by honours alone; they must win the odd trick or stop at the score of nine. If one side goes out by cards, the other cannot score honours. The rubber is won by the side that first wins four games of ten points each. 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.
The player to the left of the caller should not lead from suits headed only by the King; nor from those containing major or minor tenaces. The best leads are from suits headed by Q J or 10, even if short. With such high-card combinations as can be used to force the command in one round, such as K Q, or K Q J, the regular whist leads should be used. With suits headed by winning sequences, held by the player on the left, it is often right to lead them once, in order to show them, and then to lead a weaker suit to get rid of the lead. It is sometimes better to play winning sequences as long as it seems probable that the caller can follow suit. Many persons use the Albany lead to indicate a wish for trumps to be led through the caller. In response to such a signal the best trump should be led, whatever it is. When the adversary who leads in any trick is not on the left of the solo player, the caller will, of course, not be the last player, as at least one adversary must play after him. In such cases it is best to lead the longest suits. _=MISÈRE.
If two kenos are made on the same number, they divide the pool equally. As an illustration of the profitable nature of the game for the house, it may be remarked that if ten men were to play keno for a dollar a card, and each of them made keno ten times, they would all be “dead broke;” because on each of the hundred kenos at ten dollars each, the bank would have taken out its dollar percentage. CHUCK-LUCK. This game is sometimes called _=Sweat=_, and again, but erroneously, _=Hazard=_. It is played with three dice, which are usually thrown down a funnel in which several cross-bars are placed. The player is offered five different forms of betting, all of which appear on the _=Layout=_, and which cover all the combinations possible with three dice. [Illustration: +-----------------------+ | Single Numbers. | HIGH. +---+---+---+---+---+---+ LOW. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | +---+---+---+---+---+---+ +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | 18| 17| 16| 15| 14| 13| 12| 11| 10| 9| 8| 7| 6| 5| 4| 3| +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ |180| 60| 29| 18| 12| 8| 6| 6| 6| 6| 8| 12| 18| 29| 60|180| +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ +-----------------------+ | Raffles.
(_b_) Dr. Tylor says: It is interesting to notice the wide distribution and long permanence of these trifles in history when we read the following passage from Petronius Arbiter, written in the time of Nero:-- Trimalchio, not to seem moved by the loss, kissed the boy, and bade him get up on his back. Without delay the boy climbed on horseback on him, and slapped him on the shoulders with his hand, laughing and calling out, Bucca, bucca, quot sunt hic? --_Petron. Arbitri Satiræ_, by Buchler, p. 84 (other readings are _buccæ_ or _bucco_). --_Primitive Culture_, i. 67. Buck i t Neucks A rude game amongst boys.--Dickinson s _Cumberland Glossary_. Buckerels A kind of play used by boys in London streets in Henry VIII.
After the first trick, some other player may become the leader; the one on his left being the second hand; his partner the third hand, and the player on his right the fourth hand. B is the pone. _=DEALING.=_ The cards having been properly shuffled, the dealer presents them to the _=pone=_ to be cut. The American laws require that after separating the pack, the pone shall place the cut part, which he lifts off, nearer the dealer. Beginning at his left, the dealer distributes the cards one at a time in rotation, until the pack is exhausted. The last card is turned face up on the table, and the suit to which it belongs is the trump for that hand. When two packs are used, one is shuffled by the dealer’s partner while the other is dealt, and the shuffled pack is placed on the left of the player whose turn it will be to deal next. Each player deals in turn until the conclusion of the game or rubber. _=IRREGULARITIES IN THE DEAL.
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. One of the commonest devices in America is the use of what are known as “jack strippers.” These are two Jacks, usually both of the same colour, which can be withdrawn from any portion of the pack by the fingers of an expert, and placed on the top. When the sharp deals, he places cards enough on these to supply the other players on the first round, so that the strippers will come to him. When only two are playing, he strips them out and leaves them on the top when he cuts the cards, so that they shall be dealt to him. Never play Euchre or Écarté with a man who cuts the pack with both hands. Any person who is tempted to bet on any game in the Euchre family should remember the advice of the worldly-wise Parisian to his son: “Until you have four eyes in your head, risk not your gold at Écarté.” _=SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY.=_ The chief points for the beginner to understand are.
Cards with a star over them add nothing to the value of the hand, and may be discarded. The figures on the right are the odds against such a hand being dealt to any individual player. Five cards of various suits; not in sequence, and without a pair. [Illustration: 🂡* 🃘* 🂶* 🂴* 🂢*] Even _=One Pair.=_ Two cards of one kind and three useless cards. [Illustration: 🂨 🃘 🃞* 🂭* 🂴*] 34 to 25 _=Two Pairs.=_ Two of one kind; two of another kind; and one useless card. [Illustration: 🂫 🃋 🂣 🃓 🂹*] 20 to 1 _=Threes.=_ Three of one kind, and two useless cards. [Illustration: 🃉 🂹 🃙 🂭* 🂢*] 46 to 1 _=Straight.
Remainders of 3 or 4 count as 5; those of 1 or 2 as nothing; so that 12 pips would count as 10; but 13 would count as 15. The players usually settle at the end of the game for the difference between their scores. Muggins is sometimes varied by playing from both ends of the first doublet set, as well as from the sides. It is not necessary to play on the ends of the first set until one cannot play on the line; but any of the four points may be played to at any time. The end of the first doublet does not count in making multiples of five, but the ends of any dominoes played to it must be counted. If only one end of the first doublet has been played to, there will be three ends to count to make multiples of five; and if both ends of the first doublet have been played to, there will be four ends. Every count must take in all the ends that are in play. The highest count possible is 35; all four lines open, with the 6-6, 4-4, 5-5, and 0-5 at the ends. _=ALL THREES.=_ Muggins is sometimes played by making the object to get multiples of three at the ends, instead of multiples of five.
12, for instance, the move would be recorded: S f 3 n e 5, that is, the Springer at f 3 “nimmt” whatever it found at e 5. A check is indicated by a plus sign, +, following the move. In Diagram No. 11, for instance, the last move of the white Queen would be: D e 8-c 6 +; and Black’s reply would be: D b 8-b 7. _=THE OPENINGS.=_ Time and experience have shown that it is best for each player to adopt certain conventional openings, in order to develop his pieces. White always has the advantage, usually believed to be equal to 55%, counting drawn games as one half. This is because White can usually take more risks in offering a gambit than Black can in accepting it, and the best judges say that they would rather give a Knight and take the white pieces, than give Pawn-and-move and take the black. _=Gambit=_ is a term used in Italian wrestling, and means that the adversary is given an apparent advantage at the start, in order more successfully to trip him up later on. There are a great many chess openings, all of which have been analysed as far as the tenth move, including every possible variation on the way.
393). Father s Fiddle This is a boys game. One boy says to another, Divv (do) ye ken (know) aboot my father s fiddle? On replying that he does not, the questioner takes hold of the other s right hand with his left, and stretches out the arm. With his right hand he touches the arm gently above the elbow, and says, My father had a fiddle, an he brook (broke) it here, an he brook it here (touching it below the elbow), an he brook it throw the middle, and comes down with a sharp stroke on the elbow-joint.--Keith, Fochabers (Rev. W. Gregor). This is probably the same game as that printed by Halliwell, No. cccxxxv., to which the following rhyme applied:-- My father was a Frenchman, He bought for me a fiddle; He cut me here, he cut me here, He cut me right in the middle.
If held by the dealer, it may be made with the assistance of the turn-up trump; and any player may make it with the assistance of his partners best; but it does not count unless the holder of it has made the trump. If a player with a pat Jamboree is ordered up, all he can score is a euchre. As in other forms of Euchre, no one but the maker of the trump can play alone, or announce Jambone or Jamboree. Lone hands are very common in Railroad Euchre, and ordering up to prevent lone hands is commoner still. SEVEN-HANDED EUCHRE. _=Cards.=_ Seven-handed Euchre is played with a full pack of fifty-three cards, including the Joker. The cards in plain suits rank as at Whist; but the Joker is always the best trump, the right and left bowers being the second and third-best respectively. _=Counters.=_ One white and four red counters are necessary.
One is chosen to be the Hen, and one to be the Fox. The rest are the Chickens. The Chickens take hold of each other s waists, the first one holding the Hen s waist. At the end of the dialogue the Fox tries to get hold of one of the chickens. If he succeeds in catching them, they all with the Fox try to dodge the Hen, who makes an effort to regain them. It is known at Winterton under the name of Pins and Needles. The players stand in a row, one behind another, with one of the party as their Leader. Another player, called Outsider, pretends to scratch the ground. The Leader asks, the questions, and the Outsider replies-- What are you scratching for? Pins and needles. What do you want your pins and needles for? To mend my poke.
He would then play another club, announcing 22. This his partner would win but would not count, as he is on the same side that has already counted for the lead. If the play is followed up it will be found that A-B make a capot. The adversaries will then score 15 for their three sequences of four, and one of three. No point of less than 30 can be announced. _=Pic and Repic.=_ If one player, or two partners together, reach 20 in counting, without playing, they count 90 for the repic. If they reach 20 in declarations and play together, they count 60 for the pic. Carte blanche in the hand of one or other partner may count toward pic or repic; and if two partners each held carte blanche, they would be entitled to 90 points for the repic, no matter what the adversaries held, because carte blanche takes precedence of all other scores. PIQUET A ÉCRIRE.
_=A SOLO.=_ Vorhand has refused a bid of 18, and announces spade Solo with the following cards:-- [Illustration: 🂫 🂡 🂪 🂩 🂨 🂱 🂺 🃑 🃈 🃇 ] A SOLO. +---+-------+-------+-------+-----+ | | A | B | C | A | | | | | |wins.| +---+-------+-------+-------+-----+ | 1 | 8♠ | K♠ | _♡J_ | - | | 2 | _♣A_ | ♣K | ♣7 | 15 | | 3 | 9♠ | _Q♠_ | 10♢ | - | | 4 | 7♢ | _A♢_ | Q♢ | - | | 5 | 8♢ | _K♢_ | ♣Q | - | | 6 | _♡A_ | ♡K | ♡8 | 15 | | 7 | _♡10_ | ♡7 | ♡9 | 10 | | 8 | _10♠_ | 7♠ | ♣8 | 10 | | 9 | J♠ | _♣J_ | ♡Q | - | |10 | A♠ | _J♢_ | ♣9 | - | +---+-------+-------+-------+ + | ♢9 and ♣10 in the Scat. | 10 | +---------------------------+-----+ | A wins 60 | +---------------------------------+ He has the lead for the first trick, and of course begins with the trumps. The play is given in the margin. C wins the first trick, and leads his long suit through the player. In the last three tricks A coaxes B to win the Ten of trumps; but if B does so he gives up the advantage of his tenace over the player, which is now the only chance to defeat him. B knows that if he wins the Ten of trumps, B and C can make only 59 points, because A will save his trump Ace. A, having failed to reach 61, loses a spade Solo without one; twice 11, or 22 points, which was the game he must have won to be as good as the offer of 18 which he refused.
Mischen, G., to shuffle. Misdeal, any failure to distribute the cards properly. Mise, F., the layout, or the original pool. Misère Ouverte. There is no such expression as this in French; the proper term is Misère sur table. See Boston. Mittelhand, G., the second player on the first trick, in Skat.
One of the stick-men followed us into the room, taking his apron off as he closed the door behind him, shutting out the roaring clatter of the casino. Cross-roader! he hissed at me. I should have known what was coming, but I missed it. He slapped me hard across the face, saving his knuckles, but not doing my jaw a whole lot of good. I would have fallen clean over, but the bouncers were still tight on my elbows. Wait! I tried to say, but he cuffed me with the other hand, harder, if that were possible. This is the moment when you have to stop and think. A Blackout is quite effective--it s hard to hit what you can t see. And there s something mighty unnerving about being stricken suddenly blind. Oh, face it, I suppose the real reason I felt for the arteries supplying blood to his retinas was that so few TK s can do it.
The eldest daughter pretends to be very busy putting the house to rights, sweeps the floor, and makes everything tidy; the younger children pretend to play, and get in the elder sister s way. She gets angry with them, and pretends to beat them. Now, the girl who personates the Witch comes and raps with her knuckles on a supposed door. The Witch stooped when walking, and had a stick to help her along. Come in, says the eldest sister. What do you want? Let me light my pipe at your fire? My fire s out. Yes! if you ll not dirty the hearth. No, certainly; I ll be careful. While the eldest sister pretends to look on the shelf for something, the Witch dirties the hearth, catches hold of Monday and runs off with her; and at this moment the pot boils over. The child who is the pot makes a hissing and fizzing noise.
SOLO WHIST, OR WHIST DE GAND. _=CARDS.=_ Solo Whist is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, which rank as at Whist, both for cutting and playing. Two packs are generally used, the one being shuffled while the other is dealt. _=MARKERS=_ are not used in Solo Whist, every hand being a complete game in itself, which is immediately settled for in counters representing money. At the beginning of the game each player should be provided with an equal number of these counters. They are usually white and red, the red being worth five times as much as the white. Twenty white and sixteen red is the usual allotment to each player when the game begins. Some one player should be the banker, to sell and redeem all counters. _=PLAYERS.
The fool becomes a definite Dog, and the players _wish_ for any thing they choose; the Dog has apparently to find out their wishes. See All the Birds, Fool, Fool. Lobber There are three or more players on each side, two stones or holes as stations, and one Lobber. The Lobber lobs either a stick about three inches long or a ball--(the ball seems to be a new institution, as a stick was always formerly used)--while the batsman defends the stone or hole with either a short stick or his hand. Every time the stick or ball is hit, the boys defending the stones or holes must change places. Each one is out if the stick or ball lodges in the hole or hits the stone; or if the ball or stone is caught; or if it can be put in the hole or hits the stone while the boys are changing places. This game is also played with two Lobbers, that lob alternately from each end. The game is won by a certain number of runs.--Ireland (_Folk-lore Journal_, ii. 264).
Barney was in on it, of course. And after the joint had lost enough dough that way, Rose and Simonetti would have had to sell out. Only the buyer would have been a dummy for Rose and Smythe, using money Smythe had lifted off the tables. The whole TK business was just a smoke screen to keep matters confused, I concluded. How come they dared send for a TK like you? Why weren t they scared you d catch them, just like you did? It took a little more than TK, I reminded her. TK is just a power, one more ability in life. It doesn t make you God. Once in a while it gives you a little more vigorish than the other guy has, that s all. And sometimes it s not enough. But you had enough vigorish to catch them, she pointed out.
PROGRESSIVE POKER. There are several ways to play Progressive Poker, but the description of one will suffice. The simplest method of arranging the players is to take two packs of cards, one red and one blue, and to select two aces from each for the four positions at the head table; three deuces, treys, etc., for the six positions at each of the other tables until the last or booby table is reached, at which there must be only four players at starting. If there are not enough players to make exactly six at each of the intermediate tables, the numbers may be varied from four to seven, cards being selected to agree with the number required; but the head and booby tables must start with four only. The cards thus selected are then thoroughly shuffled, and presented face downward to the ladies to draw from. Each lady takes a red-backed card, the gentlemen drawing the blue cards only. The number of pips on the card drawn will indicate to each person the table at which they are to sit. Should the number of men and women not be equal, some of the men must represent women or _vice versa_. Each player is provided at starting with a certain number of counters, usually fifty.
--Barnes (A. B. Gomme). This game is called King-sealing in Dorsetshire. See King of Cantland, Lamploo. King Come-a-lay A game played by boys. Two sets of boys, or sides, strive which can secure most prisoners for the King.--Shetland (Jamieson). King of Cantland A game of children, in which one of a company, being chosen King o Cantland, and two goals appointed at a considerable distance from each other, all the rest endeavoured to run from one goal to the other; and those whom the King can seize in their course, so as to lay his hand upon their heads (which operation is called winning them), become his subjects, and assist him in catching the remainder.--Dumfries (Jamieson).