Partners sit opposite each other. 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.
I shrugged. Smoke screen, Pheola. Every time there s a run of luck on a crap table, somebody yells TK! And I suppose there s a number of TK s who aren t in the Lodge, and who figure to make a killing here and a killing there by tipping the dice. But any decent TK, even a Fowler Smythe, can spot them. There was TK in this, but not tipping dice. Smythe is a skunk. He s no Twenty-fifth, or he wouldn t have any need to go crooked. He saw a chance to make a killing. He suggested it to Rose, who fell for it and went along. Rose decided to steal Simonetti s half of the business from his partner with Smythe s help.
There s a mad dog that way! She then insists on entering the house to look for her children. The Witch will not admit her, and says-- Your boots are too dirty. I ll take my boots off. Your stockings are too dirty. I ll take them off. Your feet are dirty. I ll cut them off. The blood will run over the threshold. I ll wrap them up in a blanket. The blood will run through.
A courtesy to you, and a courtesy to you, If you please will you let the king s horses through? Through and through shall they go, For the king s sake; But the one that is the hindmost Will meet with a great mistake. --Halliwell s _Popular Rhymes_, p. 217. X. How many miles to Barney Bridge? Three score and ten. Will I be there by Candlemass? Yes, and back again. A curtsey to you, another to you, And pray, fair maids, will you let us through? Thro and thro shall you go for the king s sake, But take care the last man does not meet a mistake. --Dublin (Mrs. Lincoln). XI.
Patterson (_Antrim and Down Glossary_) mentions a game called Leap the Bullock, which he says is the same as Leap-frog. Dickinson s _Cumberland Glossary Supplement_, under Lowp, says it means a leap or jump either running or standing. The various kinds include Catskip --one hitch, or hop, and one jump; Hitch steppin --hop, step, and lowp; a hitch, a step, and a leap; Otho --two hitches, two steps, and a leap; Lang spang --two hitches, two steps, a hitch, a step, and a leap. See Accroshay, Knights, Leap-frog. Lubin [Music] --Hexham (Miss J. Barker). [Music] --Doncaster (Mr. C. Bell). [Music] --London (A.
The pool goes with every successful play. If the single player is unsuccessful, he does not double the pool, as in Boston, but pays into it the same amount that he loses to each adversary, over-tricks and all; so that he really loses four times the amount shown in the table. At the end of the game, or on the twelfth hand, if the caller does not succeed, he pays the pool as usual, and his adversaries then divide it amongst themselves. The _=Suggestions for Good Play=_, etc., are given in connection with Solo Whist and need no further amplification for Boston de Fontainbleau. The _=Laws=_ vary so little from those used in the regular game of Boston that it is not necessary to give an additional code, either for Fontainbleau or for French Boston, which follows. FRENCH BOSTON. _=CARDS.=_ French Boston is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, which rank as at Whist, both for cutting and playing; except that the diamond Jack is always the best trump unless diamonds are turned up, in which case the heart Jack becomes the best trump, and the diamond Jack ranks next below the diamond Queen. _=COUNTERS=_ are used as in Boston, their value being a matter of agreement before play begins.
The foregoing are the payments at Monte Carlo; but wheels with less numbers are scaled down accordingly. The players can bet on the zero if they choose, and they will be paid if it comes up, 35 for 1, but all other bets are lost. In wheels with two zeros, red and black, the bank wins on the colour which does not come, and the bets on the right colour are neither paid nor taken, but must remain until the next turn of the wheel. This is now the practice at Monte Carlo, with the single-zero wheels. _=Systems.=_ As at Faro, gamblers at Roulette are never tired of devising systems to beat the game; but none of them are of any further use than to afford a little passing amusement to their inventors. Persons who are interested in systems will find in the New York Sun, July 5, 1896, a very interesting tabulation of every roll of the ball at Monte Carlo for seven successive days, 4,012 in all, of which 120 were zeros. If they can find a system that will beat the wheel for seven days, and have a return ticket, Monte Carlo will take care of all their spare cash. One curious fallacy about some systems is to imagine that they will win if the player will quit when he is a certain amount ahead, and not play again until next day. Until some rule can be given by which the exact hour can be fixed to begin play, all such systems must be delusions, as there is no reason why a second man should not begin where the first left off, and therefore no reason why the first should not continue playing all the time.
] A number of boys agree to play at this game, and sides are picked. Five, for example, play on each side. A square is chalked out on a footpath by the side of a road, which is called the Den; five of the boys remain by the side of the Den, one of whom is called the Tenter; the Tenter has charge of the Den, and he must always stand with one foot in the Den and the other upon the road; the remaining five boys go out to field, it being agreed beforehand that they shall only be allowed to run within a prescribed area, or in certain roads or streets (fig. 1). As soon as the boys who have gone out to field have reached a certain distance--there is no limit prescribed--they shout Relievo, and upon this signal the four boys standing by the side of the Den pursue them, leaving the Tenter in charge of the Den (fig. 2). When a boy is caught he is taken to the Den, where he is obliged to remain, unless the Tenter puts both his feet into the Den, or takes out the one foot which he ought always to keep in the Den. If the Tenter is thus caught tripping, the prisoner can escape from the Den. If during the progress of the game one of the boys out at field runs through the Den shouting Relievo without being caught by the Tenter, the prisoner is allowed to escape, and join his comrades at field. If one of the boys out at field is tired, and comes to stand by the side of the Den, he is not allowed to put his foot into the Den.
The play is continued in this manner until some player gets rid of all his cards, and so wins the game. Enflé is usually played for a pool, to which each player contributes an equal amount before play begins. The game requires considerable skill and memory to play it well, it being very important to remember the cards taken in hand by certain players, and those which are in the tricks turned down. THE LAWS OF HEARTS. 1. Formation of table. Those first in the room have the preference. If more than the necessary number assemble, the choice shall be determined by cutting, those cutting the lowest cards having the right to play. Six persons is the largest number that can play at one table. The player cutting the lowest card has the deal.
_=Leading.=_ It is quite unnecessary to follow any system of leads, further than to distinguish between the combinations from which high or low cards are led. But it is important to remember that although a high-card combination may be divided, it should be played as if in one hand. For instance: The declarer holds Q J x x x of a suit; Dummy having A x x. By leading Q or J, Dummy is enabled to finesse, as if he held A Q J. The declarer holds K J x x x; Dummy having Q x x. The play is to force the Ace, as if the combination of K Q J x x were in one hand. Many opportunities arise for leading the Ace first from a short suit, in order to secure a ruff on the second or third round. _=Second Hand Play.=_ If any card is led by the adversaries which the fourth hand cannot win, the second hand should cover it if possible; for unless he does so, his weakness will be exposed, and the suit will be continued.
173). Pulman says this means Blind buck and have ye (Elworthy s _Dialect_). Blind Harie A name for Blind Man s Buff. --Jamieson. Blind Hob The Suffolk name for Blind Man s Buff. --Halliwell s _Dictionary_; Moor s _Suffolk Glossary_. Blind Man s Buff I. Come, shepherd, come, shepherd, and count your sheep. I canna come now, for I m fast asleep. If you don t come now they ll all be gone.
72. V. Here is a poor widow from Sandy Row, With all her children behind her. One can knit and one can sew, And one can make the winder go. Please take one in. Now poor Nellie she is gone Without a farthing in her hand, Nothing but a guinea gold ring. Good-bye, Nellie, good-bye! --Belfast (W. H. Patterson). VI.
3rd. To add three points to their own game score. The penalty cannot be divided. A revoke may be corrected by the player making it before the trick in which it occurs has been turned and quitted. The card played in error must be left face up on the table, and must be played when demanded by the adversaries, unless it can be got rid of previously, in the course of play. In America, the revoke penalty is two tricks. _=The Honours=_ are the four highest trumps, A, K, Q, and J; and _=after tricks have been scored=_, partners who held three honours between them are entitled to count two points towards game; four honours counting four points. If each side has two honours, neither can count them. It is not enough to score them; after the last card has been played, they must be claimed by word of mouth. If they are not claimed before the trump is turned for the following deal, they cannot be scored.
Toward the end of the stock each player should know what the other holds in his hand by the cards which have not appeared in the drawing. If a player has not a good chance to get eleven down himself, he should play for a tableau, by using nothing that will compel him to discard cards which may put his adversary out. It should be remembered that a player cannot get eleven down in one suit, and careful observation of the cards passed will often show that his runs are blocked, the cards necessary to continue them having been turned down. One peculiar feature of the game is that a player cannot block his adversary and at the same time win the game, because so long as he holds up the card that his adversary wants he cannot get eleven down himself. His only chance is that he may be able to use the card that his adversary needs. For instance: He holds two 8’s, one of which will make his adversary eleven down by completing a sequence. If there is another 8 to come, the player with the pair may use both his 8’s, and win; but if there is no other 8 to come, it is impossible for the player with the two 8’s to win without first putting his adversary out. There are no _=Text Books=_ on Conquian, and this is the first complete description of it ever published. CALABRASELLA. This is a very popular game with the middle classes and the unoccupied clergy in Italy, and it is one of the very few good games of cards for three players.
1._ BLACK. +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | ♜ | ♞ | ♝ | ♛ | ♚ | ♝ | ♞ | ♜ | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | ♚ | ♚ | ♚ | ♚ | ♚ | ♚ | ♚ | ♚ | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | ♖ | ♘ | ♗ | ♕ | ♔ | ♗ | ♘ | ♖ | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ WHITE. ] It will be observed that the two Queens are opposite each other, and that each Queen stands upon a square of the same colour as herself. For irregularities in setting up the men, see the Laws of Chess. The _=players=_ are designated by the colour of the men with which they play, Black or White, and White always has the first move. In a series of games each player alternately takes the white men with the first move. It is usual to draw for the first game, one player concealing in each hand a pawn of a different colour, and offering the choice of hands to his adversary. Whichever colour the chosen hand contains is the one the chooser must take for the first game. The duplicate pieces of each colour are distinguished by their position with regard to the King or Queen; those on the King’s side being called the King’s Bishop, the King’s Knight, and the King’s Rook.
The subject of discards has been very fully illustrated by examples from actual play, especially in the _Westminster Papers_, but no one has yet given us any simple rules like the jeux de règle at Écarté. PIQUET NORMAND, FOR THREE PLAYERS. In this form of the game the players cut for seats and deal. The cards are dealt by twos and threes until each has ten, two cards remaining for the talon. The dealer may lay out any two cards in exchange for these, but no other player is allowed to touch them, nor to see the discards. The elder hand makes the first declarations. He makes repic and counts 90 if he can reach 20 without playing a card; and he makes pic, 60, if he can reach 20 in hand and play, under the same conditions as in the game for two players. The majority of tricks counts 10; if it is a tie, each counts 5. Capot counts 40 if all the tricks are taken by one player; but if two take them all between them, they count 20 each. The game may be played for a pool, first man out to take all; or it may be agreed that after one has retired the others shall decide it between them by playing it out at the ordinary two-handed game.
If the boy guessed wrongly, he made a forfeit; but if rightly, he was released.--_Notes and Queries_, 4th series, ix. 262. The sport is noticed by Gay-- As at hot-cockles once I laid me down, I felt the weighty hand of many a clown; Buxoma gave a gentle tap, and I Quick rose and read soft mischief in her eye. Halliwell describes it rather differently. The blindfolded boy lies down on his face, and, being struck, must guess who it is that hit him. A good part of the fun consisted in the hardness of the slaps, which were generally given on the throne of honour. He quotes from a MS. play as follows-- It is edicted that every Grobian shall play at Bamberye hott cockles at the four festivals. Indeed a verye usefull sport, but lately much neglected to the mollefieinge of the flesh.
A violation of this law subjects the offender’s side to the same penalty as in case of a lead out of turn. In _=Boston=_, _=Cayenne=_, and _=Solo Whist=_, it is still the custom to permit looking at the last trick, except in Misères. The penalty in a misère game is the same as for a lead out of turn. 38. If a player is lawfully called upon to play the highest or lowest of a suit, or to trump or not to trump a trick, or to lead a suit, and unnecessarily fails to comply, he is liable to the same penalty as if he had revoked. 39. In all cases where a penalty has been incurred, the offender must await the decision of the adversaries. If either of them, with or without his partner’s consent, demands a penalty to which they are entitled, such decision is final. If the wrong adversary demands a penalty, or a wrong penalty is demanded, none can be enforced. * * * * * The following rules belong to the established code of Whist Etiquette.
In the following examples the weakest hands are given, and the trumps are always the smallest possible. If the player has more strength in plain suits than is shown in these examples, or higher trumps, there is so much more reason for him to stand. But if he has not the strength indicated in plain suits, he should propose, even if his trumps are higher, because it must be remembered that strong trumps do not compensate for weakness in plain suits. The reason for this is that from stand hands trumps should never be led unless there are three of them; they are to be kept for ruffing, and when you have to ruff it does not matter whether you use a seven or a Queen. The King of trumps is of course led; but a player does not stand on a hand containing the King. The first suit given is always the trump, and the next suit is always the one that should be led, beginning with the best card of it if there is more than one. The figures on the right show the number of hands in which the player or the dealer will win out of the 65,780 possible distributions of the twenty-six unknown cards. These calculations are taken, by permission of Mr. Charles Mossop, from the eighth volume of the “_Westminster Papers_,” in which all the variations and their results are given in full. PLAYER WINS.
Baddin is the name given to it in Holland s _Cheshire Glossary_. Another name is Doddart (Brockett, _North Country Words_). (_c_) An old custom in vogue in bygone days was Rotherham Fair, or what was called Whipping Toms, which took place in the Newarkes every Shrove Tuesday. So soon as the pancake bell rang men and boys assembled with sticks having a knob or hook at the end. A wooden ball was thrown down, and two parties engaged in striving which could get the ball by striking it with their sticks to one end of the Newarke first--those who did so were the victors. This game was called Shinney, or Hockey. About one o clock the Whipping Toms appeared on the scene of action. These were three men clad in blue smock frocks, with very long waggon whips, who were accompanied by three men with small bells. They commenced driving the men and boys out of the Newarkes. It was very dangerous sometimes; they would lash the whip in such a manner round the legs of those they were pursuing as to throw them down, which produced laughter and shouting.
Only one declaration can be scored at a time, so that a trick must be won for every announcement made, or the combination cannot be scored. This does not prevent a player from making two or more announcements at the same time, but he can score only one of them. A player cannot make a lower declaration with cards which form part of a higher one already made in the same class. For instance: Marriages and sequences belong to the same class. If the sequence has been declared, a player cannot take from it the King and Queen and score a marriage; neither can he add a new Queen to the King already in the sequence, and announce a marriage; because the higher combination was scored first. But if the marriage is first announced, the A 10 J may be added and the sequence scored, after winning another trick. Cards once used in combination cannot again be used in combinations of equal value of the same class. For instance: Four Kings have been declared, and one of them afterward used in the course of play. The player cannot add a new King to the three remaining, and announce four Kings again. A marriage in spades has been declared, and the King got rid of in play.
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. 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 banker has 8 or 9, and neither of the others has so many, the bank wins everything on the table. If either player has more than the banker, all the bets on that side of the table must be paid. If either player has as many as the banker, all the bets on that side of the table are a stand-off. If either player has less than the banker, all the bets on that side of the table are lost. If a player wrongly announces 8 or 9, he cannot draw cards unless his point was 10 or 20. _=Drawing.=_ If none of the three can show 8 or 9, the banker must offer a card to the player on his right. The card must be slipped off the pack and offered face down. If the player on the right refuses, it is offered to the player on the left, and if he also refuses, the banker must take it himself. If the player on the right takes it, the player on the left may ask for a card also; but whether he does so or not, the banker is not obliged to draw unless he chooses, after the first card offered has been taken by either player.
If the turn-up card is an ace, the dealer takes the pool immediately, and the deal passes to the left. If the turn-up is a K Q or J, the dealer offers it for sale, before a card is looked at, and he may accept or refuse the amount offered. Whether the card is sold or not, all the cards that have been dealt out are turned face up, and the highest card of the turn-up suit wins the pool. If the card is not an honour, the dealer proceeds to sell it before any player is allowed to look at any of the cards dealt. If any one buys the dealer’s turn-up card, the purchaser places it on his own cards, leaving it face up. Whether it is sold or not, the elder hand proceeds to turn up the top card of his three. If this is not a trump, the next player on his left turns up his top card, and so on until a trump is turned that is better than the one already exposed. The player who possesses the original turn-up, does not expose any more of his cards until a better trump is shown. As soon as a better trump appears it is offered for sale, and after it is sold or refused, the cards are turned up again until a better trump appears, or all the cards have been exposed. The holder of the best trump at the end takes the pool.
Scattergood’s Game of Draughts. Lyman’s Selected Problems. Backgammon and Draughts, by Berkeley. Anderson’s Checkers. Dunne’s Draught Proxis. Kear’s Sturges. BACKGAMMON. OR TRIC-TRAC. Backgammon is played by two persons, each of whom is provided with fifteen men, two dice, and a dice-box. The men on each side are of different colours, black and white, and the players are distinguished by the colour of the men with which they play.
Let us suppose the N & S partners of the O team to make 7 tricks at table No. 1; the E & W partners of the X team making 6. Each pair enters on its own score-card the number it makes. The E & W partners of the O team now come to table No. 1, and play the 26 cards which the other members of their team did not hold. They are not permitted to look at the score-card until the hand has been overplayed. Then they enter the result, which should be 6 tricks. If the total of the tricks taken by the same team on the N & S and the E & W hands is not 13, it must be a loss or a gain. At the end of the 24 hands, the result of the match can be immediately ascertained by laying side by side the score cards of the East and West hands played at the same table. The North and South scores are not compared, because the laws say they may be incorrect, but the East and West must be, officially, right.
_=THE GALLERY.=_ In clubs that make a feature of Écarté, and in which there is a great deal of betting on the outside by the spectators, it is not usual to allow more than one game between the same players, the loser giving place to one of those who have been backing him, and who is called a _=rentrant=_. This is known as playing the _cul-levé_. Any person in the gallery is allowed to draw attention to errors in the score, and may advise the player he is backing, or even play out the game for him, if he resigns. The player need not take the advice given him, which must be offered without discussion, and by pointing only, not naming the suit or cards. If a player will not allow the gallery to back him, taking all bets himself, no one may overlook his hand nor advise him without his permission, and he need not retire if he loses the game. _=CUTTING.=_ The player cutting the highest écarté card deals the first hand, and has the choice of seats and cards. If a person exposes more than one card in cutting, the lowest is taken to be his cut. If he does not cut, or will not show his cut, he loses the first deal.
Directly behind the farm in the line of vision is another outbuilding. This is more distinctly seen in other photographs. Behind, the chalk back line is clear. Red has won the toss, both for the choice of a side and, after making that choice, for first move, and his force is already put out upon the back line. For the sake of picturesqueness, the men are not put exactly on the line, but each will have his next move measured from that line. Red has broken his force into two, a fatal error, as we shall see, in view of the wide space of open ground between the farm and the church. He has 1 gun, 5 cavalry, and 13 infantry on his left, who are evidently to take up a strong position by the church and enfilade Blue s position; Red s right, of 2 guns, 20 cavalry, and 37 infantry aim at the seizure of the farm. Figure 2 is a near view of Blue s side, with his force put down. He has grasped the strategic mistake of Red, and is going to fling every man at the farm. His right, of 5 cavalry and 16 infantry, will get up as soon as possible to the woods near the centre of the field (whence the fire of their gun will be able to cut off the two portions of Red s force from each other), and then, leaving the gun there with sufficient men to serve it, the rest of this party will push on to co-operate with the main force of their comrades in the inevitable scrimmage for the farm.
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.=_ All five cards in sequence, but of various suits. [Illustration: 🃉 🂸 🃗 🃆 🂥] 254 to 1 _=Flush.