Whoever catches him is then Bull.--Liphook, Hants (Miss Fowler). The Bull in the Barn is apparently the same game. The players form a ring; one player in the middle called the Bull, one outside called the King. Bull: Where is the key of the barn-door? Chorus: Go to the next-door neighbour. King: She left the key in the church-door. Bull: Steel or iron? He then forces his way out of the ring, and whoever catches him becomes Bull.--Berrington (Burne s _Shropshire Folk-lore_, pp. 519, 520). Another version is that the child in the centre, whilst the others danced around him in a circle, saying, Pig in the middle and can t get out, replies, I ve lost my key but I will get out, and throws the whole weight of his body suddenly on the clasped hands of a couple, to try and unlock them.
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.=_ The great difficulty in Misère is not in playing it; but in judging what hands justify such an undertaking. _=Calling.=_ As a general proposition it may be stated that misère should not be called with a long suit not containing the deuce. But the longer the suit the less the danger there is for a player who is determined to risk it; because the deuce is more likely to be found alone in some adversary’s hand.
[Dummy.] x Whist, and its Masters, by R.F. Foster. * Whist, A monthly journal; pub. Milwaukee, Wis., U.S.A. DUPLICATE WHIST.
VIII. Stepping on the green grass Thus, and thus, and thus; Please may we have a pretty lass To come and play with us? We will give you pots and pans, We will give you brass, No! We will give you anything For a bonny lass. No! We will give you gold and silver, We will give you pearl, We will give you anything For a pretty girl. Yes! You shall have a goose for dinner, You shall have a darling, You shall have a nice young man To take you up the garden. But suppose this young man was to die And leave this girl a widow? The bells would ring, the cats would sing, So we ll all clap together. --Frodingham and Nottinghamshire (Miss M. Peacock). IX. Stepping up the green grass, Thus, and thus, and thus; Will you let one of your fair maids Come and play with us? We will give you pots and pans, We will give you brass, We will give you anything For a pretty lass. No! We won t take your pots and pans, We won t take your brass, We won t take your anything For a pretty lass.
The first two verses are sung first by one and then by the other of the two girls. At the finish of these the girl then going through the arch is stopped, and the third, fourth, and fifth verses are sung by the two girls alternately. Then finally both girls sing the last verse, and the child is sent as prisoner behind one or other of the two girls. The verses are then begun again, and repeated afresh for each of the troop marching through the arch until all of them are placed behind one or other of the two girls. The two sides thus formed then proceed to tug against each other, and the strongest side wins the game. The Belfast version is practically the same, except that the verses are not sung as a dialogue, but by all the players together, and the prisoner, when caught, has the choice of sides, by being asked, Which will you have, a golden apple or golden pear? and according to the answer given is sent behind one of the leaders. The Norfolk and Shropshire games are different. Miss Matthews thus describes the Norfolk game: Two girls take hold of hands, and another, the prisoner, stands between them. The rest form themselves into a line opposite, and advance and retreat while singing the first verse, the gaolers singing the next verse, and so on alternately. [At the end of the last verse but one] the children break the line, form themselves into a ring, and dance round the prisoner, singing the final verse.
_=METHODS OF CHEATING.=_ Under the rule for dealing the cards one at a time, the greek must be very skilful to secure any advantage at Hearts. But when it is the practice to deal the cards three at a time, and four on the last round, it is an easy matter to get four small hearts together on the bottom of the pack. Any person who is observed to hold three or four small hearts every time he deals, should be carefully watched, and it will usually be found that he gathers the small hearts from the hands of the other players while the pool is being divided. Marked cards are of little use to the greek at hearts, because so much depends on what a player holds, and so little on his play. VARIETIES OF HEARTS. Before proceeding to suggestions for good play, it will be better to describe some of the variations of the game in common use, because what would be good play in one variation would not be in another. _=TWO-HANDED HEARTS.=_ The two players having cut for the deal, thirteen cards are given to each, one at a time, and the remainder of the pack is left on the table, face down. The dealer’s adversary, usually called the pone, begins by leading any card he pleases, and the dealer must follow suit if he can, as in the ordinary game.
The Isle of Man version is played, Mr. Moore says, the same as other Thread the Needle games. (_c_) The game is evidently dramatic in form, and perhaps is illustrative of some fact of history, such as the toll upon merchandise entering a walled town. The changes in the words of the different versions are not very great, but they show the influence of modern history upon the game. The appearance of King George evidently points to the date when it was frequently played, though the older versions are doubtless those in which his Majesty does not do duty. Mactaggart has the following quaint note which perhaps may supply the origin, though it seems a far cry to the Crusaders:-- This sport has something methinks of antiquity in it; it seemeth to be a pantomime of some scenes played off in the time of the Crusades. King and Queen o Cantilon evidently must be King and Queen of Caledon, but slightly changed by time. Then Babylon in the rhyme, the way they had to wander and hazard being caught by the infidels, all speak as to the foundation of the game (Mactaggart s _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_). In the _Gentleman s Magazine_ for December 1849, in a review of the _Life of Shirley_, it is stated that in many parts of England the old game of Thread the Needle is played to the following words, which refer to the gate of the city of Hebron, known as the needle s eye. How many miles to Hebron? Three score and ten.
In some games Old Nick keeps all he wins for himself, and then most frequently wins the game.--London (A. B. Gomme). See Corsicrown, Kit-Cat-Cannio, Nine Men s Morris. Nur and Spel A boys game in Lincolnshire, somewhat similar to Trap Ball. It is played with a kibble, a nur, and a spell. By striking the end of the spell with the kibble, the nur, of course, rises into the air, and the art of the game is to strike it with the kibble before it reaches the ground. He who drives it the greatest distance wins the game.--Halliwell s _Dictionary_.
The Keeper replies-- My next-door neighbour s got the key; Ask him and he ll give it to you. This is repeated by each one in the circle. Then the inside child comes again to the Keeper and says-- None of the neighbours have got the key, So you must let me go through. The Keeper answers-- I ve lost the key of the garden gate, And cannot let you through. Then all the ring say-- You must stop all night within the gate, Unless you have strength to break through. The child inside then attempts to break through, and if he succeeds in breaking any of the clasped hands the one who first gives way has to take the place in the centre.--Roxton, St. Neots (Miss Lumley). See Bull in the Park. Gegg To smuggle the Gegg, a game played by boys in Glasgow, in which two parties are formed by lot, equal in number, the one being denominated the Outs, the other Ins.
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The Forest of Dean and the Earls Heaton versions are played the same as the Lancashire. In the West Cornwall version, as seen played in 1884, a ring is formed, into the middle of which goes a child holding a stick; the others with joined hands run round in a circle, singing the verses. When they have finished singing they cease running, whilst the one in the centre, pointing with his stick, asks them in turn to spell Bingo. If they all spell it correctly they again move round singing; but should either of them make a mistake, he or she has to take the place of the middle man (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 58). In the Hexham version they sing a second verse, which is the same as the first with the name spelt _backwards_. The Berks version is practically the same as the Tean version. The Eckington (Derbyshire) version is played as follows:--A number of young women form a ring. A man stands within the ring, and they sing the words. He then makes choice of a girl, who takes his arm.
The method of doing this is entirely different when there is a trump from that which is adopted when there is no trump. In the first case, all your partner wants to know is, who is going to trump his suit if he goes on with it. In the second case, what he wants to know is his chance for getting his suit cleared or established. _=With a Trump.=_ When third hand makes no attempt to win the trick, either because his partner’s or Dummy’s card is better than any he need play, he plays the higher of two cards only, the lowest of three or more. This is called playing _=down and out=_. Suppose third hand holds 7 and 2 only, and the lead is a King. The 7 is played. The leader goes on with the Ace, denying the Queen, and the third hand plays the deuce. If the Queen is not in the Dummy, the declarer must have it.
This process may be repeated _ad libitum_. Should the second stroke fail to send a ball out it does not count, the striker’s hand is out, and the next striker plays at the balls as he finds them. [Illustration] The great art in baulk-line nursing is to get the object and carrom balls astride the line, and then to follow the principle of the rail nurse. The _=anchor=_ shot is now barred in championship games. It consisted in getting two balls frozen to the cushion astride of one end of a line, and then just rubbing their faces with the cue ball. In the baulk-line nurse there are three principal positions, and two turns, as shown in the diagram. In No. 3 the red ball must be driven to the rail and back with great accuracy, leaving the balls in position No. 1 again. The turns are very difficult.
. 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. We made the end of a war 200, 300, or 400 or more points up, according to the number of games we wanted to play, and we scored a hundred for each battle won, and in addition 1 for each infantry-man, 1-1/2 for each cavalry-man, 10 for each gun, 1/2 for each man held prisoner by the enemy, and 1/2 for each prisoner held at the end of the game, subtracting what the antagonist scored by the same scale. Thus, when he felt the battle was hopelessly lost, he had a direct inducement to retreat any guns he could still save and surrender any men who were under the fire of the victors guns and likely to be slaughtered, in order to minimise the score against him. And an interest was given to a skilful retreat, in which the loser not only saved points for himself but inflicted losses upon the pursuing enemy.
When Third Hand plays Queen on a Ten led, it should be a certainty that he has no more of the suit. If he holds A K and only one small card, the King should be played on a Queen led. If he holds Ace and only one small card, the Ace should be played on the Jack led. If Third Hand has four trumps and a card of re-entry, the Ace should be played on Jack led, regardless of number, in older to lead trumps at once, to defend the suit. _=When Partner Leads Low Cards=_, the Third Hand should do his best to secure the trick. If he has several cards of equal trick-taking value, such as A K Q, or K Q J, he should win the trick as cheaply as possible. The only _=finesse=_ permitted to the Third Hand in his partner’s suit, is the play of the Queen, when he holds A Q and others; the odds being against Fourth Hand having the King. _=Foster’s Eleven Rule.=_ By deducting from eleven the number of pips on any low card led, the Third Hand may ascertain how far his partner’s suit is from being established. For instance: if the card led is the Seven, Second Hand playing the Eight, and Third Hand holding A J 6 3, from which he plays Ace, Fourth Hand playing the Five; the only card against the leader must be the King or Queen; he cannot have both, or he would have led one.
_=CARDS.=_ Scotch Whist is played with a pack of 36 cards, which rank in plain suits, A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6; the Ace being highest both in play and in cutting. In the trump suit the Jack is the best card, the order being, J A K Q 10 9 8 7 6. _=MARKERS.=_ There are no suitable counters for Scotch Whist, and the score is usually kept on a sheet of paper. _=PLAYERS.=_ Any number from two to eight may play. When there are five or seven players, the spade 6 must be removed from the pack. In some places this is not done; the thirty-fifth card being turned up for the trump, the thirty-sixth shown to the table, and then laid aside. _=CUTTING.
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If Dummy has A J, and leads J, put on the Queen; it may make the 9 or 10 good in your partner’s hand. With A x x, Dummy leading Jack, play the Ace. With any fourchette, cover the card led. If Dummy remains with one or two small cards of a suit that has been led, and you have the best, play it on the second round. Dummy’s play is evidently for the ruff, and if the declarer has not the second best, your partner has. If you have King, and only one or two small cards, Dummy leading Queen from Q 10 x x, play your King. You cannot save yourself; but you may make the 9 good in partner’s hand. If you have three or more small cards, do not play the King, for either partner or the declarer must be short in the suit. So if Dummy leads Jack from J 10 and others, play the King with a short suit. If partner has Queen you establish it; if not, you cannot make a trick in the suit.
| -- | -- | -- | |23.| -- |Build it up with wood | -- | | | |and clay. | | |24.| -- |Wood and clay will | -- | | | |wash away. | | |25.| -- |Build it up with stone| -- | | | |so strong. | | |26.|Get a man to watch all| -- | -- | | |night. | | | |27.|Perhaps that man might| -- | -- | | |fall asleep.
Practical Poker, with complete laws, by R.F. Foster, 1905. Treatise on Poker, by E.P. Philpots, 1904. Poker probabilities, by Alleyne Reynolds, 1901. The Game of Draw Poker, Mathematically Illustrated, by H.T. Winterblossom, 1875.
=_ The eldest hand has the first say, and after examining his hand, and deciding on the bid most appropriate to it, if any, he makes his announcement. If his proposal is to win a certain number of tricks with a certain suit for trumps, he must name the suit, saying, “Eight Spades,” or “Seven Diamonds,” as the case may be. If he proposes to play without any trump suit, he announces, “Seven Grand,” or whatever the number may be. Such a bid over-calls one of the same number in diamonds. If the eldest hand has no proposal to make, he says, “I pass,” and the others in turn have an opportunity to bid. The bids outrank one another according to their order in the foregoing table, and the rank of the suits in which they are made. The players bid against one another, until all but one declare to pass, he then becomes the single player against the three others. A player having once passed cannot come into the bidding again, even to call a misère. In this respect the game differs from Boston. A player is not compelled to bid the full value of his hand, but it is to his interest to do so, and he should make the full announcement the first time he bids, because if he has had a good hand for ten tricks, and begins with a bid of seven, he cannot increase his proposal unless some player bids over him.
The simplest way for the beginner to learn the Knight’s move is to observe that he must go two squares, neither more nor less, in a vertical or a horizontal direction, and must then change the colour of the square he stands on by going one square either to the right or left, which will complete the L shaped movement. Diagram No. 4 will show that when the Knight is away from the side of the board, he may go to any one of eight different squares; but when he is in a corner he can go to two only. For that reason Knights are much more powerful when placed near the centre of the board. [Illustration: _No. 4._ +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | 8 | | 1 | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | 7 | | | | 2 | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | ♞ | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | 6 | | | | 3 | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | 5 | | 4 | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | 1 | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | 2 | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | ♞ | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ ] The peculiarity of the Knight’s move is that it is not retarded by other pieces, because the Knight can jump over them, a privilege which is not given to any other piece on the board. In Diagram No. 5, for instance, the Knights have been legitimately moved, but no other piece could be moved until the Pawns had made way for it. [Illustration: _No.
When a series of games is played between the same individuals, it is usual to keep the net results on a sheet of paper, setting down the hundreds only, and to settle at the end of the sitting. _=Suggestions for Good Play=_ will be found in Binocle. * * * * * _=CHINESE BÉZIQUE=_ is Rubicon Bézique with six packs of cards shuffled together and used as one. The counts run into enormous figures, and 6000 is not an uncommon score for the winner. In _=CHOUETTE BÉZIQUE=_, one of several players agrees to take all bets, and has the choice of deal and seats without cutting. His adversaries may consult together in playing against him. If the chouette player wins, one of his opponents takes the loser’s place; but if he loses, the same player opposes him for the next game. The adversaries usually cut to decide which of them shall play the first game against the chouette player, the highest card having the privilege. If there are four players, two may play against two, each consulting with his partner and sharing his bets. BINOCLE.
_=Pair.=_ That the number will be even. 11. _=Manque.=_ That the number will be from 1 to 18. 12. _=Passe.=_ That the number will be from 19 to 36. 13. _=Rouge=_ or _=Noir=_.