A player may even miscall his hand when he shows it; the cards speak for themselves, just as the counters do, and what a player says does not affect either in the slightest. If a player says: “I raise you two blues,” the statement amounts to nothing until the blues have been placed in the pool, and the owner’s hand removed from them. There is no penalty if a player, during the betting, tells his adversaries exactly what he holds; nor is he likely to lose anything by it, for no one will believe him. _=JACK POTS.=_ The addition of jack pots has probably done more to injure Poker than the trump signal has injured Whist. In the early days, when poker parties were small, four players being a common number, it was frequently the case that no one had a pair strong enough to draw to, and such a deal was regarded as simply a waste of time. To remedy this, it was proposed that whenever no player came in, each should be obliged to ante an equal amount for the next deal, and just to demonstrate that there were some good hands left in the pack no one was allowed to draw cards until some one had _=Jacks or better=_ to draw to. The result of this practice was to make jack pots larger than the other pools, because every one was compelled to ante, and this seems to have prompted those who were always wanting to increase the stakes to devise excuses for increasing the number of jack pots. This has been carried so far that the whole system has become a nuisance, and has destroyed one of the finest points in the game of Poker,--the liberty of personal judgment as to every counter put into the pool, except the blind. The following excuses for making jack pots are now in common use: _=After a Misdeal=_ some parties make it a jack; but the practice should be condemned, because it puts it in the power of any individual player to make it a jack when he deals.
If an odd number of tables are engaged in play, the changes may take place in regular order to the end. If even, a dummy must be put in; but as that is objectionable in a social gathering, it is better to adopt one of the two systems following, unless half the number of tables is an odd number, when the method already described may be used. _=1st Method.=_ Some table in the series, which must not be either the first or the last, deals no original hands, but overplays all the hands coming from the other tables to the East of it. The four players sit still, taking no part in the progression; thus obliging those whose turn it would be to play at their table to pass on to the next. _=2nd Method.=_ Each gentleman should carefully note the number of the hand originally dealt at the table from which he starts. He progresses until he meets this hand again. The first to observe this should give notice to the company by a bell tap, as all the gentlemen must meet their original hands at the same time. Instead of stopping at the table at which this tray is encountered, all the gentlemen move on to the next, leaving the trays as they are.
If a player make a declaration (other than passing) out of turn, either adversary may demand a new deal, or may allow such declaration to stand, in which case the bidding shall continue as if the declaration had been in turn. If a player pass out of turn, the order of the bidding is not affected, _i.e._, it is still the turn of the player to the left of the last declarer. The player who has passed out of turn may re-enter the bidding in his proper turn if the declaration he has passed be overbid or doubled. 50. If a player make an insufficient or impossible declaration, either adversary may demand that it be penalized. The penalty for an insufficient declaration is that the bid is made sufficient in the declaration named and the partner of the declarer may not further declare unless an adversary subsequently bid or double. The penalty for an impossible declaration is that the bid is made seven in the suit named and the partner of the declarer may not further declare unless an adversary subsequently bid or double. Either adversary, instead of penalizing an impossible declaration, may demand a new deal, or that the last declaration made on behalf of his partnership become the final declaration.
2.] (_c_) Versions of this game, almost identical with the Leicester version given here (with the exception that the word wealth ends the second line instead of pelf ), have been sent me from East Kirkby, Lincolnshire (Miss K. Maughan); Epworth, Doncaster (Mr. C. C. Bell); Settle, Yorks. (Rev. W. S. Sykes); Derbyshire (Mrs.
In combining cards, those already on the table are gathered together; in building, or increasing a build, a card must be played from the hand. If one player has made a build of any description, it cannot be interfered with or increased except by other cards from a player’s hand, those from the table not being available. For instance: One player has built a 5 by combining two Aces on the table with a 3 from his hand. On the table are also a 2 and 4 and a following player holds a 9 and 7. He cannot use the deuce on the table to increase the build from 5 to 7, nor the 4 to increase it to 9; because that would not be building from his hand; but if he held the 4 and 9 in his hand, he could build on the 5. The simple rule to be remembered is that no combination of cards once announced, and left on the table, can be changed, except by the addition of a card from the hand of some player. _=Taking In.=_ Any player who has made a build is obliged either to win it, when it is next his turn to play, or to win something else, or to make another build. For instance: He has built a 5 into a 9 with a 4, and holds another 4; if another 5 appears on the table before it comes to his turn to play, he may build that into a 9 also, with his other 4, announcing, “Two Nines.” Or if some player should lay out a 4 he could pair it and take it in, leaving his 9 build until the next round.
A “stack of whites” is $5. Starter, the cut card at Cribbage. Stechen, G., to trump. Still Pack, the one not in play when two are used. Stock, cards left after the deal is complete, but which are to be used in the following play. Stool Pigeon, a hustler. Straight Whist, playing a hand and immediately shuffling the cards for another deal, as distinguished from Duplicate. Strength in Trumps, enough to justify a player in passing a doubtful trick; usually four or five at least. Strengthening Cards, those which are of no practical trick-taking value to the leader, but which may be useful to the partner; usually restricted to Q J 10 9.
| -- | -- |Give a silver pin for | | | | |a golden ring. | |14.|Please, young lady, |Please, old woman man,|Pray, young lady, pop | | |come under my bush. |creep under the bush. |under. | |15.| -- |The bush is too high, | -- | | | |the bush is too low. | | |16.| -- |Please, old woman, | -- | | | |creep under the bush. | | |17.
But of all people, I could least afford to sneer at the power of Psi. For the first time, I guess, I realized the awful helplessness that comes over the Psiless when a TK invokes his telekinetic power. I wanted no part of the future this corn-fed oracle had conjured up. But it might be the only future I d ever have. I tried to recall her looks. Thinking about them, they really added up to no more than hysterical sniffles, not enough to eat, and the pathetic evidence that there hadn t been any money for orthodonture. Fatten her up, straighten her teeth and--Talk about _religious_ rationalization! I snapped out of it. Maybe she could call the turn of dice. But I d be damned if she could call the turn of people. Let her try _me_.
In _=CHOUETTE BÉZIQUE=_, one of several players agrees to take all bets, and has the choice of deal and seats without cutting. His adversaries may consult together in playing against him. If the chouette player wins, one of his opponents takes the loser’s place; but if he loses, the same player opposes him for the next game. The adversaries usually cut to decide which of them shall play the first game against the chouette player, the highest card having the privilege. If there are four players, two may play against two, each consulting with his partner and sharing his bets. BINOCLE. The word Binocle is spelt in many different ways, all of which, are, however, phonetic equivalents of the correct one. The word is probably derived from the French word “binage,” which was the name given to the combination known as “binocle,” and which seemed a better term than “cinq cents” as the game was no longer 500 points up. In all German works on card games the name is spelt as we give it; but the pronunciation of the initial “b” in the German is so near that of “p,” that “Pinocle” is nearer the correct spelling than any other form. There is no authority for the introduction of the “h,” which has led some persons to think the word a compound of “bis” and “knochle,” and has given rise to the forms: binochle, pinochle, pinuchle, pinucle, penucle, penuchle, penuckle and pinuckel, all of which may be found in various works on card games.
_=With Four Players=_, we can best describe the arrangement by numbering them 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively, the lowest number, 1, having cut the lowest card, and the others having the right to play Vivant in their numerical order. The initial arrangement would be as follows:-- [Illustration: 4 4 +---------+ +---------+ | Mort. | | Mort. | 2 | | 3 or this:-- 3 | | 2 | Vivant. | | Vivant. | +---------+ +---------+ 1 1 ] For the three succeeding games the arrangement would be:-- [Illustration: 1 2 3 +---------+ +---------+ +---------+ | Mort. | | Mort. | | Mort. | 3 | | 4 4 | | 1 1 | | 2 | Vivant. | | Vivant.
Each player in turn to the left then has the privilege of passing, bidding higher, or doubling. When three players pass a bid, it is the highest made and is known as the _=Winning Declaration=_ or _=Contract=_. In order to understand the principles that govern the players in their declarations, one should be thoroughly familiar with the values attached to the tricks when certain suits are trumps. The first six tricks taken by the side that has made the winning declaration do not count. This is the “book,” but all over the book count toward making good on the contract, according to the following table: When Spades are trumps, each trick counts 2 points. ” Clubs ” ” ” ” ” 6 ” ” Diamonds ” ” ” ” ” 7 ” ” Hearts ” ” ” ” ” 8 ” ” Royal Spades ” ” ” ” ” 9 ” ” there are no trumps, ” ” ” 10 ” The game is 30 points, which must be made by tricks alone, so that three over the book, called three “by cards,” will go game from love at no trump, or four by cards at hearts or royals. These are called the _=Major=_ or _=Winning Suits=_. As it takes five by cards to go game in clubs or diamonds, and on account of the difficulty of such an undertaking, these are called the _=Minor=_ or _=Losing Suits=_. An original bid of one spade can be made only by the dealer, and it simply means, “I pass.” That is, the dealer has nothing to declare on the first round of the bidding.
The adversaries may elect which shall be played. III. Any card named by the player holding it. _=25.=_ If an adversary of a person playing alone exposes a card, the lone player may abandon the hand, and score the points. Should the partner of the lone player expose a card, the adversaries may prevent the lone hand by compelling the player in error to play with his partner, leaving the exposed card on the table. _=26.=_ _=CALLING EXPOSED CARDS.=_ The adversary on the right of an exposed card must call it before he plays himself. If it will be the turn of the player holding the exposed card to lead for the next trick, the card, if wanted, must be called before the current trick is turned and quitted.
Red was at a disadvantage, he had failed to capture the farm, and his business now was manifestly to save his men as much as possible, make a defensive fight of it, inflict as much damage as possible with his leftmost gun on Blue s advance, get the remnants of his right across to the church--the cottage in the centre and their own gun would have given them a certain amount of cover--and build up a new position about that building as a pivot. With two guns right and left of the church he might conceivably have saved the rest of the fight. That, however, is theory; let us return to fact. Figure 8 gives the disastrous consequences of Red s last move. Blue has moved, his guns have slaughtered ten of Red s wretched foot, and a rush of nine Blue cavalry and infantry mingles with Red s six surviving infantry about the disputed gun. These infantry by the definition are isolated; there are not three other Reds within a move of them. The view in this photograph also is an extensive one, and the reader will note, as a painful accessory, the sad spectacle of three Red prisoners receding to the right. The melee about Red s lost gun works out, of course, at three dead on each side, and three more Red prisoners. Henceforth the battle moves swiftly to complete the disaster of Red. Shaken and demoralised, that unfortunate general is now only for retreat.
=_ Beginning on the dealer’s left, each player in turn bids for the privilege of naming the trump suit, stating the number of tricks he proposes to win, playing single-handed against the three other players, and leading a trump for the first trick. In bidding, the trump suit is not named, only the number of tricks. If a player proposes to win all five tricks he bids _=nap=_, which is the highest bid possible, and precludes any further bidding, except in some of the variations which will be described later on. If a player will not make a bid, he says “_=I pass=_,” A bid having been made, any following player must either increase it or pass. If all pass until it comes to the dealer, he is bound to bid at least one trick, and either play or pay. The hands are never abandoned except in case of a misdeal. In some places a _=misère=_ bid is allowed, which outranks a bid of three tricks, and is beaten by one of four. There is no trump suit in misère, but the bidder, if successful, must lead for the first trick. Any bid once made can neither be amended nor recalled, and there is no second bid. _=METHOD OF PLAYING.
The player should open his own suit, as if he were the original leader. If he is strong enough to lead trumps under ordinary circumstances, he may be deterred from so doing if the adversaries have declared a strong suit against him. The same consideration may prevent his leading trumps in the hope of making a suit of his own, as the adversaries might reap the benefit by bringing in their suit instead. On the contrary, when the Second or Fourth Hand holds command of the adverse suit, they may often risk a trump lead which would otherwise be injudicious. Having once started a suit, it should not be changed, except for one of the reasons already given for the guidance of the First Hand. _=When the Adversaries Lead Trumps=_, and the Second Hand has a chance either to establish a suit against them or to force his partner, he should stop the trump lead if he can. If his partner has led trumps, the Second Hand should generally play his winning cards on his right hand opponent’s plain-suit leads, to stop them; and continue the trumps. These are about all the conventionalities necessary for the beginner. After at least a year’s practice with them, he will either discover that he has no aptitude for the game, or will be ready to go into further details. A beginner who attempts to handle the weapons of the expert simply plays with edged tools, which will probably cut no one but himself and his partner.
.. what does it take to catch a psi-gifted thief?_ What do you hate and fear the most? I know a girl who gags and throws up at the mere sight of a bird. Poor kid, when she was a barefoot moppet she stepped on a fledgling robin in the grass. She hasn t gotten over the squish of it yet. Birds don t trouble me. I can look at them all day. It takes snakes to give me the green shudders. I hate them. She was getting better at them, I decided.
Three cards are given to each player the first round, then two are laid off for a widow, then four to each player, and then three to each. Beginning on the dealer’s left, each player in turn may name the trump if he thinks he can take at least six of the ten tricks to be played for. Bids outrank one another in the order of the suits, hearts being preference always. The number of tricks is not mentioned. In case there are no bids, each in turn has a second chance to bid for the widow. These bids are made in counters, to be put into the pool. The highest bidder takes the widow, lays out two cards, and then names the trump suit. The players agree upon a value for the tricks won, and payments are made from the pool accordingly. These payments may vary according to the rank of the trump suit. ODD GAMES.
II. Bonny lass, canny lass, Wilta be mine? Thou s nowder wesh dishes Nor sarra the swine: But sit on thy crippy, &c. --Dickinson s _Cumberland Glossary_. (_b_) Two children, a girl and a boy, separate from their fellows, who are not particularly placed, the boy caressing the girl s curls and singing the verses. (_c_) This game is evidently a dramatic representation of wooing, and probably the action of the game has never been quite completed in the nursery. The verses are given as nursery rhymes by Halliwell, Nos. cccclxxxiii. and ccccxciv. The tune is from Rimbault s _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 70.
Donne, the time occupied in playing the cards distributed during a deal, but “coup” is the term generally used. Double Pairs Royal, four cards of the same denomination. Doubleton, two cards only of a suit. Doubling Up, betting twice the amount of a lost wager. Doubtful Card, a card led by the player on your right, which your partner may be able to win. Draw Shot, any shot which makes the ball return toward the cue; in English, a “screw-back.” Duffer, one who is not well up in the principles of the game he is playing. Dummy, the exposed hand in Dummy Whist, Bridge, or Mort. Duplicate Whist, a form of Whist in which the same hands are played by both sides, and as nearly as possible under the same conditions. Dutch It, to cross the suit at Euchre.
|And ye shall get a |You shall have a nice |Ye sall get a bonny | | |young prince. |young man. |prince. | | 25.| -- | -- | -- | | 26.| -- | -- | -- | | 27.|A young prince for | -- |For your ain sake. | | |your sake. | | | | 28.| -- | -- | -- | | 29.
” The first player to lay down another King would say: “There is one as good as he.” The player holding the third King would say: “There’s the best of all the three,” and the holder of the fourth would then triumphantly exclaim: “And there’s the Earl of Coventry.” The fortunate holder of the Earl of Coventry in each round has the privilege of leading a card for the next trick, and the first player to get rid of all his cards wins one counter from the others for every card they hold. The words, “Snip, Snap, Snorem,” may be substituted for the foregoing rhymes if time is short. _=Jig=_ is a variation of Earl of Coventry in which the next higher in sequence and suit must be played, if the player has it, until four cards are shown. The one who lays down the last of the sequence of four cards starts a fresh sequence, and the winner is the one who can first get rid of all the cards originally dealt him. All the others then pay him a counter for each card they have left. COMMIT. The etymology of this word has been quite overlooked by those who have described the game. The word is from the French, cométe, a comet; but instead of being an equivalent in English, it is simply a phonetic equivalent; Commit, instead of Comet.
=_ The following rules regarding the deal should be strictly observed:-- If any card is found faced in the pack, the dealer must deal again. Should the dealer turn over any card but the trump, while dealing, the adversaries may, if they please, demand a new deal. A player dealing out of turn may be stopped before the trump card is turned; but after that, the deal must stand, afterwards passing to the left in regular order. On the completion of the deal, each player should take up and count his cards to see that he has thirteen; if not, it is a misdeal, and unless the pack is found to be imperfect, the deal passes to the player on the misdealer’s left. The dealer loses the deal:--if he neglects to have the pack cut; if he deals a card incorrectly, and fails to remedy the error before dealing another; if he counts the cards on the table, or those remaining in the pack; if he looks at the trump card before the deal is complete; or if he places the trump card face down, on his own or on any other player’s cards. _=STAKES.=_ When stakes are played for, it should be distinctly understood at the beginning whether the unit is for a game, for a rubber, for rubber points, or for tricks. The English game is invariably played for so much a rubber point; sometimes with an extra stake upon the rubber itself. In America, it is usual to play for so much a game; but in some cases the tricks are the unit, deducting the loser’s score from seven, or playing the last hand out and then deducting the loser’s score. A very popular method is to play for a triple stake: so much a trick, playing each hand out; so much a game; and so much a rubber.
[The bells shall ring, and we shall sing, And all clap hands together.][2] --Earls Heaton (Herbert Hardy). (_b_) A full description of this game could not be obtained in each case. The Earls Heaton game is played by forming a ring, one child standing in the centre. After the first verse is sung, a child from the ring goes to the one in the centre. Then the rest of the verses are sung. The action to suit the words of the verses does not seem to have been kept up. In the Hampshire version, after the line As a bird upon a tree, the two children named pair off like sweethearts while the rest of the verse is being sung. (_c_) The analysis of the game rhymes is as follows:-- +---+----------------------+----------------------+----------------------+ | | Hants. | Deptford (Kent).
If five or six play it is usual for the dealer to give himself no cards. _=CUTTING.=_ The players draw from an outspread pack to form the table, and for choice of seats. A lower cut gives preference over all higher; the lowest cut has the first choice of seats, and deals the first hand. Ties cut again, but the new cut decides nothing but the tie. In some places the players take their seats at random, and a card is then dealt to each face upward; the lowest card or the first Jack taking the deal. _=DEALING.=_ Any player has a right to shuffle the cards, the dealer last. They are then presented to the pone to be cut, and at least four cards must be left in each packet. Beginning at his left, the dealer gives each _player_ in rotation two cards on the first round, and three on the next; or three on the first and two on the next.
, the player who takes the place of the loser in a previous game. Renvier, F., to raise the bet, to improve. Retourne, F., any card turned on the talon, or for a trump. Revoke, failure to follow suit when able to do so, as distinguished from a renounce or renege. Ring In, to exchange any unfair for fair gambling implements during the progress of the game. See Cold Deck. Robbing, exchanging a card in the hand for the turn-up trump, or discarding several for the trumps remaining in the pack. See Cinch and Spoil Five.
--Keith (Rev. W. Gregor). A fellow lies on all fours--this is the Block; one steadies him before--this is the Study; a third is made a Hammer of, and swung by boys against the Block (Mactaggart s _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_). Patterson (_Antrim and Down Glossary_) mentions a game, Hammer, Block, and Bible, which is probably the same game. Blow-point Strutt considers this to have been a children s game, played by blowing an arrow through a trunk at certain numbers by way of lottery (_Sports_, p. 403). Nares says the game was blowing small pins or points against each other, and probably not unlike Push-pin. Marmion in his _Antiquary_, 1641, says: I have heard of a nobleman that has been drunk with a tinker, and of a magnifico that has played at blow-point. In the _Comedy of Lingua_, 1607, act iii.
_=VALUE OF THE HANDS.=_ The various hands possible in poker are given a counting value, supposed to be in proportion to the difficulty of getting them. There are three systems of counting in common use, the English differing slightly from the American, both in value and in rank. The various scoring values are here given: One pair 2 1 1 Two pairs 5 2 3 Triplets 10 7 6 Straights 15 9 12 Flushes 20 5 5 Full hands 25 12 10 Four of a kind 50 20 16 Straight flush 75 30 30 Royal flush 100 50 30 The first column given is the American system of counting by fives, after one pair, retaining the regular poker rank of the hands. The second column is the American system that puts the straight next to the full hand, and the flush between two pairs and a triplet. The third column is the English system, which ranks the straight above the full hand. As no person has as yet come forward with any figures to show which combination is easier to get in patience poker, nor the proportion of one hand to the other, these figures are all guess work; and players may adopt any values they please. As soon as the tableau is complete, with five rows of five cards each, the value of each of the ten hands the tableau contains is found and the total put down. The object of the solitaire player usually is to see how many tableaus he needs to reach a grand total of 500 points. _=SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY.
Pick up. Hop, having one foot in No. 2 and the other in No. 3. Step into No. 4. Hop, having one foot in No. 5 and the other in No. 6. Jump round.
If no one will call, the player making the bet takes the pool, and the next deal. If a bet is made and called, those in the call do not show their down cards, but are each given another card, face up, and the same betting process is gone through, the best hand showing face up making the first bet in each round. As long as two or more players remain in the pool they are given more cards until they have five. Then the final betting is done, and if a call is made, the down cards are shown, and the best poker hand wins the pool. Straight flushes do not count. WHISKEY POKER. The arrangements for the cards, seats, etc., are the same as in Draw Poker. Each player is provided with an equal number of white counters, which may have a value attached to them, or which may simply represent markers. If the counters represent money, each player should have at least twenty; if they are only markers, five is the usual number.
This may be continued until he draws one of those cards. Carte blanche cannot be scored at all unless held before a card is played; that is, it must be dealt to the player originally. All combinations announced and scored must be left face upward on the table, but the cards still form part of the player’s hand, and may be led or played at any time, although they must not again be taken in hand until the stock is exhausted. The first marriage announced and scored, no matter by which player, makes the _=trump suit=_ for that deal; but a player with a marriage on the table is not obliged to announce it if he does not wish to make that suit the trump. _=Irregularities in Play.=_ If a player leads out of turn, and his adversary plays to the lead, whether intentionally or otherwise, the trick stands good. If the adversary calls attention to the error, the card led out of turn may be taken back without penalty. If, after playing to the first trick, one player is found to have more than his right number of cards, the English rules say that the game is to be immediately abandoned, and the adversary of the player in error is to add 1300 points to his score at the time the error is discovered, together with all the points already scored by the player in error; but the latter amount must not exceed 900. The same penalties are enforced if one player has too many cards and the other too few; but in the latter case the hand is played out, the player not in fault scoring all he can. If both players have more than their right number of cards, the deal is void.