_=CARDS.=_ Rams is played with the euchre pack, thirty-two cards, which rank as at Écarté, K Q J A 10 9 8 7. It has lately become the fashion, however, to adopt the rank of the cards in the piquet pack, A K Q J 10 9 8 7. _=PLAYERS.=_ Any number from three to six may play; but when six play the dealer takes no cards. The general arrangements for the players, first deal, counters, etc., are exactly the same as at Spoil Five. _=THE POOL.=_ Each successive dealer puts up five counters, to form or to augment the pool. _=DEALING.
It would be a little better, but still very bad play, for him to discard the 8 and 6, leaving himself a sequence of four cards and a fifteen, 6 points altogether. He might do a little better by discarding the 10 and 8, leaving himself a run of four, and two fifteens, 8 points altogether. If he discards either the 10 and 9, or the 10 and 6, he will leave himself a double run of three, a pair, and two fifteens, 12 altogether. Of these two discards, that of the 10 and 6 is better than the 10 and 9, because the 10 and 9 might help to form a sequence in the adversary’s crib, whereas the 10 and 6 are so far apart that they are very unlikely to be of any use. Cards which are likely to form parts of sequences are called _=close cards=_, and those which are too widely separated to do so are called _=wide cards=_. _=METHOD OF PLAYING.=_ The crib laid out and the starter cut, the pone begins by playing any card he pleases. The card he selects he lays face upward on the table on his own side of the cribbage board, and at the same time announces its pip value; two, five, or ten, whatever it may be. It is then the dealer’s turn to play a card from his hand, which is also laid face upward on the table, but on the dealer’s side of the cribbage board. Instead of announcing the pip value of this second card, the dealer calls out the total value of the two cards taken together.
_=8.=_ Should the player strike the wrong ball, he pays the same forfeit to the person whose ball he should have played at as he would have done if he had pocketed it himself. _=9.=_ If the striker miss the ball he ought to play at, and by the same stroke pocket another ball, _he_ loses a life, and not the person whose ball he pocketed; in which case the striker’s ball must be taken up, and both balls remain in hand until it be their several turns to play. _=10.=_ If the player inquire as to which is his ball, or if it be his turn to play, the marker or the players must give him the information sought. _=11.=_ If the striker, while taking aim, inquire which is the ball he ought to play at, and should be misinformed by the marker or by any of the company, he does not lose a life. His ball must in this case be replaced and the stroke played again. _=12.
=_ When trumps are not led for the purpose of exhausting them immediately, but simply as the longest suit, the fourth-best may be led from the following:-- [Illustration: 🂱 🂾 🂷 🂶 🂴 | 🃎 🃍 🃆 🃅 🂡 🂨 🂧 🂤 🂢 | 🃞 🃛 🃚 🃖 ] If the Ten accompanies the King and Queen, in the third combination, it is best to adhere to the usual lead of the King. In leading trumps from combinations containing a winning sequence, such as the following:-- [Illustration: 🂱 🂾 🂽 🂻 🂷 | 🃁 🃎 🃍 🃄 🃃 ] many players begin with the lowest of the winning cards, continuing with the next above it. _=Speculative Trump Leads.=_ The whist player will often find himself with a single good suit, a card of re-entry, and few trumps. Certain conditions of the score may prompt him to make a speculative trump lead from such a hand. If his trumps are high, such as A K x, he may safely begin by leading them; but if they are weak, and he is depending largely on his partner’s possible strength, he should show his suit first by leading it once. _=Over-trumping=_ is generally regarded as bad policy when a player has a good suit, and sufficient trump strength to justify him in hoping to do something with it. The refusal to over-trump, unless the trump played is a high one, should be regarded by the partner as a call. It is sometimes necessary to over-trump partner in order to get the lead. For instance: A player holds the two best trumps, and all winning cards of a plain suit, while the player on his right has a losing trump.
The players take sides, and each is provided with three markers of different colours, such as red and white poker chips. Only one die is used, and it is thrown from a box. The captains of the teams throw for the first time at the bat, the higher throw winning the choice. Each player in turn of the side at the bat has one throw, and a marker is placed on the base he reaches. Ace, deuce, and trey count for first, second, and third bases respectively; four is a home run. When a five or six is thrown, the result depends on the number of men on bases, but the striker is always out. If there are no men on bases, or if all the bases are full, the player is out if he throws five or six. If there is only one man on the bases and a five is thrown, the striker is _=caught out=_, and the man on the base is also caught. If six is thrown, only the striker is caught out, and the man holds his base. If there are two men on bases, they must be in one of three positions: on first and second; on first and third; or on second and third.