=_ In play they are distinguished as the _=cue ball=_, which is the one struck by the player; the _=object ball=_, which is the one that the cue ball first comes into contact with; and the _=carrom ball=_, which is the second ball struck by the cue ball in making a carrom. _=THE SHOTS.=_ There are three shots common to billiards: The _=carrom=_ or _=cannon=_, in which a count is made by the cue ball striking both the other balls on the table. The _=winning hazard=_, in which the object or the carrom ball is driven into a pocket. The _=losing hazard=_, in which the cue ball goes into a pocket after contact with another ball. There are five ways of making the principal shots at billiards, and they should be thoroughly mastered by every player. These are: The force, the follow, the draw, the massé, and the side stroke. [Illustration] The first great principle in billiards is that the cue ball will always travel in the _=direction=_ in which the cue is pointed. Holding the cue upward, downward or sidewise makes no difference; the line of travel will be a prolongation of the line of the cue. In the three ways of striking the cue ball shown in the diagram in the margin, the ball will go in the direction of the arrow in each instance.
The dealer, E, says: “I pass for a jack.” A then puts up three counters, one of which is added to his blind, the other two paying D’s ante in the ensuing jack. D takes down his two counters, and the cards are redealt. This cannot be done if more than one player has anted, nor if the ante has been raised or the blind straddled. In the example just given, had D raised the ante to five counters and E passed, the age would have had to put up four more white counters and draw cards, or allow D to win his blind. _=Progressive Jacks.=_ In some localities it is the custom to make the pair necessary to open a jack pot progress in value; Jacks or better to open the first round; Queens the next; then Kings; then Aces; and then back to Kings, Queens, and Jacks again. This is very confusing, and is not popular. _=Fattening Jacks.=_ When the original ante is two counters only, and no one holds Jacks or better on the first deal, each player must contribute another white counter to “fatten,” and the cards are dealt again.
As soon as three men on each side have struck or been caught out by throwing five or six, the side is out, and all men left on bases count for nothing. As long as three men are not out, the side continues to send its men to the bat in regular order. GOING TO BOSTON. This game is known in the colonies as Yankee Grab, or Newmarket. Each player has three throws with three dice, and the highest die in each throw is laid aside. If two are equally high, only one is retained. The others are returned to the box and thrown again. The higher of these two is retained, and the third die is thrown again. The final total of the three dice is the player’s score, and the highest wins. In the colonies the ace counts as seven.
XII. Mother, buy the milk-pail, mother, dear mother of mine. Where s the money to come from, children, dear children of mine? Sell father s feather bed, mother, dear mother of mine. Where s your father to sleep in? Father can sleep in the servant s bed. Where s the servant to sleep in? Servant can sleep in the pig-sty. Where s the pig to sleep in? The pig can sleep in the wash-tub. Where shall we wash our clothes? Wash our clothes at the sea-side. If our clothes should swim away? Then take a boat and go after them. O what should we do if the boat should sink? O then we should all of us be at an end. --Swaffham, Norfolk (Miss Matthews).
He cannot have both, for A drew only two cards. If A has both, Y must catch his Pedro, no matter how A plays; and as long as Y does not get into the lead himself, he cannot lose his own Pedro. At trick 5, A naturally places the Pedro with Z, as Y did not save it on the King, and it is perfectly natural for A to trump with his Pedro, intending to lead the Ten to catch Z’s. A-B score nothing, not having made good their bid. Y-Z score Right and Left Pedro, and Low, 11 points; adding the 8 points bid but not made by A-B, 19 altogether. CINCH LAWS. _=Formation of Table.=_ A cinch table is complete with six players. If more than four assemble, they cut for preference, the four highest playing the first game. Partners and deal are then cut for, the two lowest pairing against the two highest.
=_ Should a player lead out of turn, he may take back the card without penalty. If the adversary has played to the erroneous lead, the trick stands good. _=Gathering Tricks.=_ The tricks must be turned down as taken in, and any player looking at a trick once turned and quitted may be called upon to play with the remainder of his hand exposed, but not liable to be called. _=Abandoned Hands.=_ If, after taking one or more tricks, a player throws his cards upon the table, he loses the point; if he has not taken a trick, he loses two points. But if the cards are thrown down claiming the point or the game, and the claim is good, there is no penalty. If the cards are abandoned with the admission that the adversary wins the point or the game, and the adversary cannot win more than is admitted, there is no penalty. _=SCORING.=_ A game consists of five points, which are made by tricks, by penalties, and by marking the King.
In addition to winning the pool, the holder of a brelan carré receives from each player four white counters. _=A Simple Brelan=_ is three of a kind in the player’s hand, three aces being the highest, and three eights the lowest. In addition to winning the pool, the holder of a simple brelan receives one counter from each of the other players at the table. If two are shown, neither pays the other. Should the brelan be formed by uniting the retourne with two cards in the player’s hand, it is a _=brelan favori=_, and the holder of it receives an extra counter from every player at the table, whether he wins the pool or not. For instance: The retourne is an eight; a brelan of Queens is shown, and wins the pool. Another player holds a pair of eights, and claims brelan favori. He does not pay the winning brelan, but receives one counter from its holder, and also from each of the other players. If the brelan favori wins the pool, it is paid two counters by each player. If two simple brelans are shown, the higher wins the pool; but both must be paid by each of the other two players, who did not hold brelans.
If the adversary could use this King, he would have to discard in his turn, and the card so thrown out would be at the disposal of the other player, just as if it had been drawn from the stock. _=Forcing.=_ A player need not use any card drawn, but if he has upon the table any combination in which it can be used, his adversary may force him with it, even after it has been declined. For instance: A player has eight cards down, two sequences of four small cards each, and in his hand a pair of Kings. Another King will make him game; but if he has to depend on his sequences to put him out, he will have to get three more cards. Suppose he draws a card that will fit one of his sequences; it is to his advantage to pass it; but upon laying it on the table his adversary may take it up and force him with it, by placing it at the end of his sequence, at the same time saying: “Discard.” In the same manner a player holding one of the cards of his adversary’s show-down sequence or triplet may force after using a card, by placing his discard on his adversary’s sequence, instead of laying it on the table. If it is laid on the table, the adversary may pass it at once, by turning it down, and it is then too late to compel him to use it. Suppose you think your adversary holds two cards of an unplayed sequence, and has a triplet on the table. If you can use one of those sequence cards in his hand to advantage, and can force him by giving him the fourth card of his triplet, which is of no use to you, you should do so; but you must remember that you cannot force except after using a card yourself, because you are not allowed to discard under any other circumstances.
4. _=Transversale=_, at the end of any three numbers, and taking them in horizontally. Pays 11 for 1. Limit is 560 francs. 5. _=Transversale Six=_, placed on the line at the end, taking in the three numbers horizontally above and below. This pays 5 for 1. Limit is 1,200 francs. 6. _=Bas.
| | . | | . | | . | | +-.-+---+-.-+---+-.-+---+-.-+---+ | . | | ⛂ | | . | | .
The pool is won by any player winning two games in succession. If the winner of the first game won the second also, he would take the pool, which would then contain five stakes; the three originally deposited, and the two added by the losers of the two games. A new pool would then be formed by each of the three depositing another stake, and all cutting to decide which should sit out for the first game. In some places only the two players actually engaged contribute to the pool, the loser retiring without paying anything further, and the rentrant contributing his stake when he takes the loser’s place. The outsider is not allowed to advise either player during the first game, nor to call attention to the score; but on the second game he is allowed to advise the player who has taken his seat and cards. This is on the principle that he has no right to choose sides on the first game; but that after that he has an interest in preventing his former adversary from winning the second game, so as to preserve the pool until he can play for it again himself. NAPOLEON, OR NAP. This is one of the simplest, and at the same time most popular of the euchre family. Few games have become so widely known in such a short time, or have had such a vogue among all classes of society. So far as the mere winning and losing goes, the result depends largely upon luck, and skill is of small importance.
To win 8 of the 13 tricks, with the assistance of a partner. This is called a _=Proposal=_; the partner’s share is an _=Acceptance=_. 2nd. To win 5 of the 13 tricks, against the three other players combined. This is called a _=Solo=_. 3rd. To take no tricks, there being no trump suit, and the three other players being opposed. This is called _=Misère=_, or Nullo. 4th. To win 9 of the 13 tricks against the three other players combined; the single player to name the trump suit.
Great confusion seems to have existed when the game of Bézique was introduced to England, in the winter of 1868-9, owing to the fact that so many persons rushed into print with their own private opinions of the rules, which were first given by Dr. Pole, in 1861. No one knew whether “the last trick” was the absolute last, or the last before the stock was exhausted. Whether the highest or lowest cut dealt was also a matter of dispute. “Cavendish” got both these wrong in the first edition of his “Pocket Guide,” but corrected himself without explanation or apology in the second edition. It was then the custom of many players to attach no value to the trump suit until the stock was exhausted; so that until the last eight tricks there was no such thing as trumping a trick in order to win it. Disputes also arose as to counting double combinations, many contending that a double marriage should be as valuable as a double bézique. Time and experience have finally settled all these points, and the rules of the game are now practically uniform in all countries. BÉZIQUE, OR SIXTY-FOUR-CARD BINOCLE. There are two forms of Bézique in common use; the ordinary game, which will be first described, and the variation known as Rubicon Bézique, which is to Bézique proper what Railroad Euchre is to Euchre.
Huckie-buckie down the Brae. Huckle-bones. Hummie. Hundreds. Hunt the Hare. Hunt the Slipper. Hunt the Staigie. Hunting. Hurling. Hurly-burly.
Playing _=break even=_, these bets would have been exactly reversed, as all the cards would have played either to win and lose an equal number of times, or to _=win=_ or _=lose out=_; that is, to do the same thing all four times. Another favourite system is colours. The player takes some definite card, such as the soda, or the first winner or loser, as his starter, and whatever the colour of the third card of each denomination, that is, the card that makes it a case, he plays it to win or lose, according to the system of colours he is playing. Many players reverse on the last turn. When a player bets one card to lose and another to win, and loses both bets on the same turn, he is _=whipsawed=_. _=The Last Turn.=_ If three different cards are left in for the last turn, the players can _=call the turn=_, naming the order in which they think the cards will be found. Suppose the three cards left in the box are the 9 8 2, these may come in six different ways:-- 9 8 2 9 2 8 8 9 2 8 2 9 2 9 8 2 8 9 The odds against any one of these ways are 5 to 1; but the dealer pays 4 for 1 only. In calling the turn, the bet is strung from the selected loser to the selected winner. If the third card intervenes, the bet is strung away from it, to show that it goes round the layout to the other card.
=_ In the event of either player using his opponent’s ball and scoring, the red must be spotted and the balls broken again by the non-striker; but if no score is made, the next player may take his choice of balls and continue to use the ball he so chooses to the end of the game. No penalty, however, attaches in either case unless the mistake be discovered before the next stroke. _=18.=_ No person except an opponent has a right to tell the player that he is using the wrong ball, or to inform the non-striker that his opponent has used the wrong ball; and if the opponent does not see the striker use the ball, or, seeing him, does not claim the penalty, the marker is bound to score to the striker any points made. _=19.=_ Should the striker [whose ball is in hand], in playing up the table on a ball or balls in baulk, either by accident or design, strike one of them [with his own ball] without first going out of baulk, his opponent may have the balls replaced, score a miss, and follow on; or may cause the striker to play again, or may claim a foul, and have the red spotted and the balls broken again. _=20.=_ The striker, when in hand, may not play at a cushion within the baulk (except by going first up the table) so as to hit balls that are within or without the line. _=21.=_ If in hand, and in the act of playing, the striker shall move his ball with insufficient strength to take it out of baulk, it shall be counted as a miss to the opponent, who, however, may oblige him to replace his ball and play again.
Can we get there by candle-light? Yes, and back again. Open your gates as wide as you can, And let King George and his family go through. Not without a back, not without a bow, Not without a curtsey, and then I ll let you through. --South Shields (Miss Blair). V. How many miles to Babylon? Three score and ten. Can I get there o candle-light? There and back again. Here s my black [raising one foot], And here s my blue [raising the other], Open the gates and let me through. --Annaverna, Ravendale, co. Louth, Ireland (Miss R.
With three sure tricks, some players make it a rule to play alone, provided the two other cards are both of the same suit. _=MAKING THE TRUMP.=_ When the trump is turned down, the general rule is for the eldest hand to make it next. The exceptions are when he has nothing in the next suit, but has at least two certain tricks in the cross suit, and a probable trick in a plain suit. It is safer to make it next with a weak hand than to cross it on moderate strength, for the presumption is that neither the dealer nor his partner had a bower in the turn-down suit, and therefore have none in the next suit. Such being the case, it is very likely that one or both may be strong in the cross suits, and it is not considered good policy to cross the suit unless so strong in it as to be reasonably certain of three tricks. Some players invariably make it next, regardless of their hands, unless they can play alone in the cross suit. Such a habit exposes them to the common artifice of the dealer’s turning it down for a euchre. A dealer holding a bower and three cards of the next suit, will often turn it down, and trust to the eldest hand making it next, which will give the dealer four trumps instead of two. The eldest hand should be on his guard against this when the dealer’s side has 3 scored.
Here stands a Young Man I. Here stands a young man who wants a sweetheart, With all his merry maids round him; He may choose from east, he may choose from west, He may choose the prettiest girl that he loves best. Now this young couple is married together, We propose they kiss each other. --Glapthorn (_Northants Notes and Queries_, i. 214, A. Palmer). II. Here stands a young lady [lass] who wants a sweetheart, Wants a sweetheart, wants a sweetheart, And don t know where to find one, find one, find one. Choose the prettiest that you loves best. Now you re married I wish you joy, First a girl and then a boy, Seven years after son and daughter, Pray you come to kiss together.
E below. 1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it without charge with others. 1.D.