Every time that it enters the hole, he who has the club at that hole loses the club, and he who threw the Cat gets possession both of the club and of the hole, while the former possessor is obliged to take charge of the Cat. If the Cat be struck, he who strikes it changes places with the person who holds the other club; and as often as these positions are changed one is counted in the game by the two who hold the clubs, and who are viewed as partners.--Jamieson. (_b_) This is not unlike the Stool-Ball described by Strutt (_Sports and Pastimes_, p. 76), but it more nearly resembles Club-Ball, an ancient English game (ibid., p. 83). The game of Cat, played with sticks and a small piece of wood, rising in the middle, so as to rebound when struck on either side, is alluded to in _Poor Robin s Almanack_ for 1709, and by Brand. Leigh (_Cheshire Glossary_) gives Scute as another name for the game of Cat, probably from _scute_ (O.W.
--Bottesford and Anderly (Lincolnshire), and Nottinghamshire (Miss M. Peacock). (_b_) This is virtually the same game as Ambassador, described by Grose as played by sailors on some inexperienced fellow or landsman. Between the two chairs is placed a pail of water, into which the victim falls. Cashhornie A game played with clubs by two opposite parties of boys, the aim of each party being to drive a ball into a hole belonging to their antagonists, while the latter strain every nerve to prevent this.--Jamieson. Castles A game at marbles. Each boy makes a small pyramid of three as a base, and one on the top. The players aim at these from a distant stroke with balsers, winning such of the castles as they may in turn knock down (Lowsley s _Glossary of Berkshire Words_). In London, the marble alluded to as balser was called bonsor or bouncer (J.
No complaint respecting an adversary’s time can be considered, unless this rule be strictly complied with. But nothing herein is intended to affect the penalty for exceeding the time limit as registered. _=Abandoning the Game.=_ If either player abandon the game by quitting the table in anger, or in any otherwise offensive manner; or by momentarily resigning the game; or refuses to abide by the decision of the Umpire, the game must be scored against him. If a player absent himself from the table, or manifestly ceases to consider his game, when it is his turn to move, the time so consumed shall, in every case, be registered against him. _=Disturbance.=_ Any player wilfully disturbing his adversary shall be admonished; and if such disturbance be repeated, the game shall be declared lost by the player so offending, provided the player disturbed then appeals to the Umpire. _=The Umpire.=_ It is the duty of the Umpire to determine all questions submitted to him according to these laws, when they apply, and according to his best judgment when they do not apply. No deviation from these laws can be permitted by an Umpire, even by mutual or general consent of the players, after a match or tournament shall have been commenced.
=_ The cards are cut to the left, and dealt to the right, and two cards are given to each player, one at a time, face down. _=Method of Playing.=_ Each player in turn, beginning on the dealer’s right, examines his hand, and if satisfied with it he says: “Enough.” If not satisfied, he may discard one or both of his cards, and receive others from the top of the pack. In either case he places two white counters in the pool for his ante. All having decided to stand or to draw, the remainder of the pack, exclusive of the discards, is reshuffled and cut; each player is then given two more cards, one at a time, and face down. Each in turn examines his four cards, and if satisfied he says: “I play;” if not, he says: “I pass.” If all pass, the dealer has the choice of two things: He may gather the cards and deal again, each player putting another counter into the pool, or he may put up two white counters himself, and compel the players to retain the cards dealt them, the dealer keeping his also. Any person announcing to play may put up as many counters as he pleases within the betting limit. If no person will stay with him, he takes back his raise, leaving the antes, and is paid two counters by the last player who refuses.
), p. 147, the following early allusions to the game from old dictionaries:-- Gouldman, London, MDCLXIV.-- _Ascoliasmus_, Empusæ ludus: a kind of play wherein boys lift up one leg and hop with the other, where they beat one another with bladders tied to the end of strings. Fox to thy hole. Holyoke, MDCLXXVII.-- _Empusa_. [Greek: para to heni podizein], quòd uno incedat pede. Hence _empusam agere_ is used for a play, hopping on one leg; with us, Fox to his hole. Id. _Ascoliasmus.
With Q 10 x, Dummy having Ace or King, the Queen should be led. With K 10 x, Dummy having Jack, the suit should not be led. With such combinations as K x x x, Dummy having Q x, the suit should not be led. When you have a suit which is both long and strong, such as A K x x x, and Dummy has no honour in the suit, it is a common artifice to underplay, by beginning with the smallest, if playing against no-trumps and you have a card of re-entry. This should not be done unless you have the general strength to justify such a finesse. If you open a long suit, Dummy having only small cards, and your partner wins with Q, J, or 10, and does not return it, he has evidently a finesse in the suit and wants it led again. _=End Games.=_ In the end game there are several variations which are made possible by the fact that the cards on your right are exposed. With A J x, Dummy having Q x x, the small card should be led. With Q x, and an odd card, Dummy having K x x of the first suit; it is better to play the odd card; but if for any reason this should not be done, lead the Q, hoping to find A 10 with your partner.
Y-Z’S, 1 GAME, 0 POINTS.] In the next hand let us suppose clubs to be cayenne. Y deals, and plays in colour, spades. Y-Z win 6 by cards, and 4 by honours; 10 points multiplied by 3, = 30. For this they score three games, the first being a triple, and the others quadruples. These three games win the rubber, for which they add 8 points, and 4 points for the little slam. This is all put down on the score-sheet:-- A-B | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | = 10 Score: | | | | | | | | Y-Z | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 4 = 25 Both scores being added up, the value of the rubber won by Y-Z is found to be 15, after deducting the 10 points made by A-B. _=CUTTING IN.=_ If there are more than four persons belonging to the table, those waiting cut in, as at Whist. _=METHODS OF CHEATING.
If the adversaries have reached three or four, the winners mark one, for a _=single=_. The rubber points having been marked, all other scores are turned down. The side winning the rubber adds two points to its score for so doing. The value of the rubber is determined by deducting from the score of the winners any rubber points that may have been made by their adversaries. The smallest rubber possible to win is one point; the winners having scored two singles and the rubber, equal to four; from which they have to deduct a triple made by their adversaries. The largest rubber possible is eight points, called a _=bumper=_, the winners having scored two triples and the rubber, to their adversaries’ nothing. It is sometimes important to observe the order of precedence in scoring. For instance: if, at the beginning of a hand, A-B have three points to Y-Z’s nothing, and A-B make two by honours, Y-Z winning three by cards, Y-Z mark first; so that A-B win only a _=single=_, instead of a _=treble=_. On the contrary, should A-B make two by cards, Y-Z claiming four by honours, A-B win a treble; as their tricks put them out before it is Y-Z’s turn to count. In America, where rubbers are played without counting honours, it is not usual to reckon rubber points; but simply to add some agreed value to the score of those winning the odd game.
This was called taking a grudge. He then held either his own or the victim top and knocked the other against the wall, the object being to split the victim. He was allowed three grudges. If the top did not give way, the other players tried in turn. If the top did not split, it was returned to its owner, but any boy who succeeded in splitting it through the middle, so that the peg fell out, took possession of the peg. I have seen a top split at the side in such a way as to be quite useless as a top, though no peg was gained. I remember, too, a schoolfellow of mine drawing from his pocket some seven or eight pegs, the trophied memorials of as many tops.--London (J. P. Emslie).
If you know in advance where this operator is going to hit you, you can nail him. There s a dozen techniques. Peno Rose looked at me from under lowered brows. Are _you_ a PC, Lefty? he asked me. No, I said shortly. The Lodge had proved that several times, in spite of my strong feelings that I had flashes of precognition. Why should I resent not having PC? How many Psi personalities have more than one power? Not many. And as for precognition, as Simonetti said, more than their fair share is possessed by wild-looking women. Like Sniffles, I thought suddenly. Well, Rose said, turning back to his partner.
The game spread rapidly, and soon became popular all over Germany, but with many minor variations in the details of play. To settle these, a Skat congress was finally held in Altenburg in 1886. This was succeeded by others in Leipzic and Dresden, and the result of these meetings has been to weed out all the minor differences in play, and to settle upon a universal code of laws for the game, which is called Reichs-Skat. In America, Reichs-Skat is no longer played; the value of some of the games is changed, and all the bidding is by Zahlen-reizen. In all the text-books on Skat which we have examined, this fact has been entirely overlooked. SKAT. The etymology of the word Skat, sometimes spelt Scat, is a matter of doubt, but the most plausible explanation is that it is a corruption of one of the terms in the parent game of Taroc; “scart,” from “scarto,” what is left; or “scartare,” to discard or reject. “Matadore” is another word from the game of Taroc, still retained in Skat. Others attribute the word to “Skatt,” the Old-German or Anglo-Saxon for money; the modern German, “Schatz,” a treasure, referring to the forms of the game in which good counting cards are laid aside in the skat for the count at the end of the hand. This derivation would account for both spellings of the word, with a “k” and with a “c.
In the formation of new tables candidates who have not played at an existing table have the prior right of entry. Others decide their right to admission by cutting. 24. When one or more players belonging to an existing table aid in making up a new one, which cannot be formed without him, he or they shall be the last to cut out. 25. A player belonging to one table who enters another, or announces a desire to do so, forfeits his rights at his original table, unless the new table cannot be formed without him in which case he may retain his position at his original table by announcing his intention to return as soon as his place at the new table can be filled. 26. Should a player leave a table during the progress of a rubber, he may, with the consent of the three others, appoint a substitute to play during his absence; but such appointment becomes void upon the conclusion of the rubber, and does not in any way affect the rights of the substitute. 27. If a player break up a table, the others have a prior right of entry elsewhere.
FORMATION OF TABLE. 16. If there are more than four candidates, the players are selected by cutting; those first in the room having the preference. The four who cut the lowest cards play first, and cut again to decide on partners; the two lowest play against the two highest; the lowest is the dealer, who has choice of cards and seats, and, having once made his selection, must abide by it. 17. When there are more than six candidates, those who cut the two next lowest cards belong to the table, which is complete with six players; on the retirement of one of those six players, the candidate who cut the next lowest card has a prior right to any aftercomer to enter the table. CUTTING CARDS OF EQUAL VALUE. 18. Two players cutting cards of equal value, unless such cards are the two highest, cut again; should they be the two lowest, a fresh cut is necessary to decide which of those two deals. 19.
B. Gomme), Cambridge (Mrs. Haddon), Hampshire (Miss Mendham), Frodingham (Miss Peacock), Cowes, Isle of Wight (Miss E. Smith), Sulhampstead, Berks (Miss Thoyts), and Platt, Kent (Miss Burne). These versions are so similar to the Hanwell version, with the exception of the Very well, ladies, that it is needless to print them in full; special differences are noted hereafter. In some places the game is said in a sing-song manner. Some of the versions differ from the general type in two ways--first, in the method of playing; secondly, in the wording of the verses. The differences in the method of playing direct attention to the connection of the game with ancient custom. The game is always played by the players taking sides; but one method is for one side to consist of only two children (Mother and Jenny Jones), and the other side to consist of all the other players; while the other method is for the players to be divided into two sides of about equal numbers, each side advancing and retiring in line when singing their part. Jenny Jones in some cases walks with the girls in her line until the funeral, when she is carried to the grave, and in others she stands alone behind the line.
While a player with the lead, and seven certain tricks in one suit, should double a no-trumper, his partner would be very foolish to do so, unless he had, in addition to his long suit, the heart ace; for it is a conventionality of the game for A to lead hearts if B doubles a no-trumper. The original maker of the trump should be very strong to justify him in redoubling the adversary. If he had four probable tricks originally, he may count the adversary who doubles for five, and of the four doubtful tricks remaining, the odds are against partner having the three which would be necessary to win the odd trick. _=Opening Leads.=_ The first lead must necessarily be made in the dark, but the selection of the suit will often depend on the trump, and whether it was named by the dealer or by his partner. If the dealer has made it red, and A has the A K of any plain suit, he should play the King, so as to retain the lead until Dummy’s hand is exposed. If the dealer passes it to his partner, he is probably weak in red. If Y makes it hearts, A should lead a supporting diamond, unless he has strength in another suit. If Y has made it diamonds, A should lead a supporting heart. But in either case, if A has in his hand such cards as A K, even of a black suit, he should play the King, and wait to see the Dummy’s hand.
Colour blindness may lead them to take over a blue instead of a white in a close game. _=SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY.=_ The general principles of play are much the same in all the Bézique family of games. It is usually best to give your adversary the deal, because the first lead is often an advantage, especially if the turn-up is valuable, and you have a dix, or if you want to make the trump in Rubicon Bézique. It is seldom right to make the trump unless you have one or two of the sequence cards with the marriage. _=The Lead=_ is a disadvantage unless you have something to declare, or there is a brisque in the trick, or you can get home the Ten of a plain suit. The Tens are of no value in plain suits except as brisques, for they enter into no combination with other cards except in Penchant, Cinq-cents, and Rubicon. If the trick is of no value, or you have nothing important to declare, get rid of your small cards, and lead them when you do not want to retain the lead. The lead is sometimes necessary to prevent your adversary from declaring, especially toward the end of the hand. If you have led a brisque and won the trick, it is better to lead another brisque in the same suit than to change.
C and D pass, and E, pretending not to know that B has opened it, announces that he will open it for the limit, although he has not a pair in his hand. He is of course immediately informed that it has been opened, upon which he unhesitatingly raises it for the limit. Whatever the others do, E stands pat, and looks cheerful. The author has never known this bluff to be called. Holding a strong hand, a player may often coax another to raise him, by offering to divide the pool. The successful bluffer should never show his hand. Even if he starts the game by bluffing for advertising purposes, hoping to get called on good hands later, he should not show anything or tell anything that the others do not pay to see or know. Bluffing is usually more successful when a player is in a lucky vein than when he has been unfortunate. POKER LAWS. _=1.
It is alluded to in Cotton s Works, 1734, p. 184. I ll venter on their heads my brindled cow, With any boy at dust-point they shall play. --Peacham s _Thalia s Banquet_, 1620. Nares (_Glossary_) suggests that this game and blow-point resembled the game of Push-pin. See also Halliwell s _Dictionary_. Eller Tree A number of young men and women stand in a line, a tall girl at one end of the line representing the tree. They then begin to wrap round her, saying, The old eller tree grows thicker and thicker. When they have all got round her (the tree), they jump all together, calling out, A bunch of rags, a bunch of rags, and try to tread on each other s toes.--Sheffield, Yorks (S.