_=SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY.=_ The chief things to master in Skat are the values of the hands, the principles of bidding on them, the best methods of playing them, and the proper methods of combining forces with your partner for the time being, in order to defeat the single player. _=Bidding.=_ Some persons attach a great deal of importance to the odds for and against certain cards being in the Skat. If a player without three is forced to risk finding a Matadore in the Skat, it is usually enough for him to know that the odds are about 3 to 1 against it. It is much more important for him to consider what cards may make against him, and what they would count. It is often necessary to estimate very closely the number of points that must fall on a certain number of leads. For instance: You are Vorhand, and hold these cards:-- [Illustration: 🂫 🂻 🃋 🃞 🃝 🃙 🃘 🃗 🃇 🂧 ] Even if you find the Ace and Ten with the best Wenzel in one hand against you, you have an almost certain club Solo, for if you lead a Wenzel, your adversary must either take it, or give you the Ace or Ten. If he wins it, and his partner gives him a Ten of another suit, and they then proceed to make both the Aces and Tens of your weak suits, that will give them only 56 points, and you will make every other trick. The only thing that could defeat you is for one player on the fourth trick to lead a suit of which his partner had none.
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. This is especially true of cases in which the second hand holds single honours, such as Jack and others, or Queen and others. Even the King should be played second hand in such cases, unless it is so well guarded that the Ace must fall before the King can be forced out. If the fourth hand can win the card led, it is seldom necessary to cover second hand. For instance: If the Jack of trumps is led, the dealer holding Q 9 7 4, and Dummy having A 6 3 2; there is no need to play the Queen. If the King is in third hand, such play would establish the Ten. If the King is with the leader, it or the Ten must make.
The top card in any descending sequence may be moved from one pile to another, or a card may be taken from an ascending sequence and placed on a descending, always provided that such a card continues the sequence in the pile to which it is removed. If any of the piles occupied by the descending sequences are exhausted, new cards may be placed there at any time the player thinks fit. Such new piles may be started from the pack, from the deadwood, or from any other pile. KLONDIKE. This game is sometimes mistakenly called “Canfield”, but that is a distinct game, described elsewhere, in which there are separate piles for stock and foundations. Shuffle the full pack of fifty-two cards, cut and turn up the top card. Lay six more cards in a row to the right of the first card, but all face down. Upon the second card of this row place another card face up, and then cards face down on the remaining five of the top row. On the third pile from the left, place another card face up, and then four more face down to the right. Continue this until you have seven cards face up, which will give you twenty-eight cards in your layout.
The stock may be slightly spread, to facilitate the process of drawing cards from it. _=Objects of the Game.=_The object of each player is to form triplets, fours, and sequences, by combining the cards dealt him with others drawn from the stock. These combinations are laid upon the table, face up, and the player wins the game who first succeeds in laying down eleven cards in this manner. _=Sequences=_ must be all of the same suit, and cannot be shorter than three cards. The Ace is not in sequence with the King, but the 7 is next below the Jack. A sequence once started can be added to from time to time as the cards are drawn from the stock. _=Triplets=_ are any three cards of the same denomination, and they may be increased to _=Fours=_ at any time, by adding the other card. _=Borrowing.=_ A player with four of a kind on the table may borrow any one of the four to use in a sequence; but he cannot borrow one of three, because no combination may consist of less than three cards.
He must allow it to remain upon the table in this position until all have played to the trick, when he must turn it over and place it face downward, nearer to himself; if he or his partner have won the trick, the card should point toward his partner and himself; otherwise it should point toward the adversaries. The declarer may either play dummy’s cards or may call them by name whenever it is dummy’s turn to play and have dummy play them for him. A trick is turned and quitted when all four players have turned and ceased to touch their respective cards. The cards must be left in the order in which they were played until the scores of the deal have been recorded. D. _The Revoke._ A revoke may be claimed at any time before the last trick of the deal in which it occurs has been turned and quitted and the scores of that deal agreed upon and recorded, but not thereafter. E. _Error in Score._ A proved error in the trick or honour score may be corrected at any time before the final score of the contestants for the deal or deals played before changing opponents has been made up and agreed upon.
If the Ace is accompanied by the King, the King is the card to lead, not the Ace. If the Ace is accompanied by other honours, such as the Queen or Jack, it is better to avoid opening the suit, unless you have five or more cards of it. But if you do lead a suit headed by the Ace, _=without the King=_, be sure that you lead the Ace, when playing against a trump declaration, or you may never make it. All such combinations as the following should be avoided, if possible, as more can be made out of them by letting them alone:-- [Illustration: 🃑 🃝 🃚 🃔 | 🃞 🃛 🃘 🃔 🂱 🂻 🂺 🂴 | 🂽 🂻 🂶 🂴 🂮 🂨 🂧 🂤 | 🂫 🂪 🂩 🂤 🃍 🃆 🃅 🃄 | 🃊 🃉 🃈 🃄 ] But with three honours, A Q J, the Ace should be led. _=Rules for Leading Short Suits.=_ It will sometimes happen that the only four-card suit in the leader’s hand will be trumps or a suit headed by honours not in sequence, which it is not desirable to lead. In such cases, if there is no high-card combination in any of the short suits, it is usual to lead the highest card, unless it is an Ace or King. Many good players will not lead the Queen from a three-card suit, unless it is accompanied by the Jack. All such leads are called _=forced=_, and are intended to assist the partner, by playing cards which may strengthen him, although of no use to the leader. The best card should be led from any such combinations as the following:-- [Illustration: 🃝 🃛 🃖 | 🃊 🃉 🃄 🃋 🃊 🃅 | 🃙 🃘 🃔 🂫 🂥 🂣 | 🂷 🂶 🂴 ] _=Small-card Leads.
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. Shall I be there by midnight? Yes, and back again. Then thread the needle, &c. The game is also described in _Notes and Queries_, iv.
Hattie A game with preens, pins, on the crown of a hat. Two or more may play. Each lays on a pin, then with the hand they strike the side of the hat time about, and whoever makes the pins by a stroke cross each other, lifts those so crossed.--Mactaggart s _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_. Hawkey A game played by several boys on each side with sticks called hawkey bats, and a ball. A line is drawn across the middle of the ground from one side to the other; one party stands on one side of the line and the opposite party on the other, and neither must overstep this boundary, but are allowed to reach over as far as their bats will permit to strike the ball. The object is to strike the ball to the farther end to touch the fence of the opposing party s side, when the party so striking the ball scores one, and, supposing nine to be the game, the party obtaining that number first of course wins the game.--West Sussex (Holloway s _Dict. of Provincialisms_). See Bandy, Doddart, Hockey.
_=Markers.=_ When a certain number of points is agreed on as a game, the score may be kept with counters, on a sheet of paper, or on a cribbage board. If each hand is a game in itself, it is settled for immediately, either in counters or in money. _=Players.=_ Any number from two to four may play, each for himself, or four may play two against two, partners sitting opposite each other. The players on the dealer’s right and left are known as the pone, and the eldest hand respectively. _=Cutting.=_ The players draw from an outspread pack for positions at the table, the lowest card having the choice and dealing the first hand. If the first cut does not decide, those tying must cut again. If a player exposes more than one card he must cut again.
_=8.=_ If the player pocket one or more of the object-balls, and his own ball goes into a pocket, or off the table from the stroke, he cannot score for the numbered balls, which must be placed on the spot known as the deep-red spot, or if it be occupied as nearly below it as possible on a line with that spot. AMERICAN PYRAMID POOL. The fifteen balls are numbered from one to fifteen respectively, and are usually colored red, but the numbers on the balls are used simply for convenience in calling the number of each ball which the player intends to pocket and do not in any way affect the score of the player, which is determined by the number of balls pocketed. Scratches pay one ball, which must be placed on the deep red spot. CONTINUOUS POOL. In Continuous Pool, the scoring of the game is continued until all the balls in each frame have been pocketed, and the game may consist of any number of balls or points up which may be agreed upon. Each ball pocketed scores one point for the striker and the game is usually scored upon the string of buttons over the table, as in regular billiards. Penalties are paid through deducting points from the offending player’s score or string of buttons, instead of forfeiting a ball to the table as in regular pyramid pool. The numbers on the balls are simply used for convenience in calling the number of each ball which the player intends to pocket, and do not in any way affect the score of the player.
The pips in each suit are then counted, the ace reckoning for 11, court cards for 10 each, and the 9 and 8 at their face value. Whichever suit has the greatest number of pips is called _=the suit that wins=_, and the player who holds the highest card of it takes the pool; provided, of course, that he was one of those who backed his hand until the last call. If the player who holds the best card of the winning suit has dropped out during the betting, his cards count for the player who has the highest card of the suit among those who backed their hands. For instance: D deals and turns the heart 8. A and B have passed out, but C has made a bet which D has called. Neither has a brelan, so all four players show their cards, and it is found that they lie thus:-- [Illustration: 🂮 🂭 🂨 +-------+ | B | 🂱 🂾 🂹 |C A| 🂡 🂩 🃙 | D | +-------+ 🃑 🃞 🃝 🂸 ] Spades are the winning suit: but neither C nor D has a spade, and as neither A nor B is in the call, the spade suit cannot win anything. As between clubs and hearts, D’s point is 40, and C’s 38; so D wins the pool. C of course had a great advantage in betting, as he knew four hearts were out, his own and the retourne; and all he feared was a brelan. A would have won the pool if he had backed his hand, because he would have had the highest card of the winning suit. _=Calling for a Sight.
(_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. P. Emslie).