The exact number of each suit should be a certainty, if not the exact rank of the cards. Until you can depend on yourself for this, you are not a good player. The last thirteen tricks are usually a problem in double-dummy; but the advantage will always be found to be with the player who has carefully prepared himself for the final struggle by preserving certain safe suits, and getting rid of those in which it became evident that his adversary had the small and safe cards. Some very pretty positions arise in the end game, it being often possible to foresee that four or five tricks must be played in a certain manner in order to ensure the lead being properly placed at the end, so that the odd hearts may be avoided. _=AUCTION HEARTS.=_ The cards having been cut and dealt, the player to the left of the dealer, whom we shall call A, examines his hand, and determines which suit he would prefer to play to get clear of. Let us suppose his hand to consist of the ♡ A K 8; ♣ J 6 5 4 3 2; ♢ K 4; and the ♠ 7 3. If the suit remains hearts, he is almost certain to take in a number; but if it is changed to clubs, he is almost as certain of getting clear. The hand is not absolutely safe, as hearts might be led two or three times before the clubs in the other hands were exhausted by the original leader, whose game would be to lead small clubs. As the pool will contain thirteen counters to a certainty, he can afford to bid in proportion to his chances of winning it for the privilege of making clubs the suit to be avoided, instead of hearts.
530. (_b_) The hands are closed, some small article is put in one of them behind the back of the player. The closed fists are then turned rapidly round one another while the rhyme is being said, and they are then placed one on top of the other. A guess is then made by any one of the players as to which hand the object is in. If correct, the guesser obtains the object; if incorrect, the player who performs Handy dandy keeps it. (_c_) This game is mentioned in _Piers Plowman_, p. 69 of Wright s edition. Douce quotes an ancient MS. which curiously mentions the game as men play with little children at handye-dandye, which hand will you have (ii. 167).
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Whether old or young, handsome or ugly, good or bad, she was his wife till the next anniversary of this custom (Guthrie s _Scottish Customs_, p. 168). Another old wedding superstition is alluded to by Longfellow:-- While the bride with roguish eyes, Sporting with them, now escapes and cries, Those who catch me, married verily this year will be. See Joggle Along. Jolly Rover [Music] --Derbyshire (Mrs. Harley). Here comes one jolly rover, jolly rover, jolly rover, Here comes one jolly rover, jolly rover, jolly rover, A roving all day. And what do you rove for, rove for, rove for? And what do you rove for? Lily white and shining. I rove for my pleasure, my pleasure, my pleasure, I rove for my pleasure, my pleasure, my pleasure, Lily white and shining. And what is your pleasure, your pleasure, your pleasure? What is your pleasure? Lily white and shining.
Should all have played to the erroneous lead, the error cannot be corrected, and no penalty remains. The methods of _=Taking Tricks=_; _=Scoring=_; _=Claiming and Counting Honours=_; _=Marking Rubber Points=_, etc., are the same as in whist, and the counters are used in the same manner. _=Cutting Out.=_ As already observed, there is no change of partners, or of the rotation of the deal, until the completion of a rubber; but at the beginning of each rubber, dummy must deal the first hand. Should one side win the first two games in any rubber, the third is not played. At the end of the tournée, should any player wish to retire, and another offer to take his place, the cards must be shuffled and cut as at the beginning; a player’s position in one tournée giving him no rights in the next. There is nothing in the English game to recognize that there may be more than three candidates for dummy; as it is supposed that if four were present, they would prefer playing whist. _=Suggestions for Good Play.=_ As these are equally proper to any form of dummy, we shall postpone their consideration until we have described the other varieties of the game; French dummy, and Bridge; giving them all at the end of the chapter on “Bridge.
Dinah was a Christy Minstrel song in the fifties. It is probable that the game, which resembles Buff, has been played to the tune of the song. Singing a chorus would soon follow. See Buff, Muffin Man. Dip o the Kit A rustic game, undescribed and marked as obsolescent.--Peacock s _Manley and Corringham Glossary_. Dish-a-loof A singular rustic amusement. One lays his hand down on a table, another clashes his upon it, a third his on that, and so on (fig. 1). When all the players have done this, the one who has his hand on the board pulls it out and lays it on the one uppermost (fig.
With four or more of the suit, the third-best is played to the lead of a high card, or when no attempt is made to win the trick. In retaining the suit, the second-best is led if three or more remain, and on the third round, or in a discard, the highest is played, always retaining the fourth-best and those below it. For instance: With the 8 7 5 2 of a suit which partner leads, the 5 is played to the first round. If the suit is returned, the 7 is played; and next time the 8. Holding only three originally, the lowest is played to the first round, and the higher of two returned, in the usual way. The chief value of this signal is that the return of the lowest of a suit shows absolutely no more, instead of leaving the original leader in doubt as to whether it is the only one, or the lowest of three remaining. It is also a great exposer of false cards. _=Discard Signalling=_ is another method of indicating plain suits. When a player is known to have no trumps, and therefore cannot be calling for them, he may use the trump signal in any plain suit which he wishes led to him. As a general rule, a player should not use this signal unless he has a certain trick in the suit in which he signals.
Bell). XIII. How many miles to London? Three score ten. Can I get there by candle-light? Yes, and back again. Open the gate and let me through. Not unless you re black and blue. Here s my black and here s my blue, Open the gates and let me through. Dan, Dan, thread the needle; Dan, Dan, sew. --_Suffolk County Folk-lore_, p. 63.
If any player takes the widow, those following him must play the hand dealt them or pass out. In some clubs the eldest hand is obliged to play, either with his own hand or with the widow. If all pass except the pone, he must play against the dealer, either with the cards dealt him, or with the widow. If he declines to play, he must pay the dealer five counters, and the pool remains. The dealer must play if he is opposed by only one player; but if two others have announced to play, the dealer may play or pass as he pleases. If he plays, he may discard and take up the trump card. No other player may rob the trump. _=METHOD OF PLAYING.=_ The eldest hand of those who have declared to play begins by leading any card he pleases. Each player in turn must head the trick; that is, play a higher card if he can.
_=Flushes.=_ If any player in a double pool holds three trumps, whether dealt him or found in the widow, he must announce it as soon as all have declared whether or not they will play. The usual custom is to wait until the dealer declares, and then to ask him: “How many play?” The dealer replies: “Two in;” “Three in;” or: “Widow and one;” as the case may be. The player with the flush then shows it, and claims the pool without playing, each of those who are “in” being looed three red counters. If two players hold a flush in trumps, the elder hand wins, whether his trumps are better or not; but the younger hand, holding another flush, is not looed. _=Leading.=_ In all double pools, the eldest hand of those playing must lead a trump if he has one. If he has the ace of trumps he must lead that; or if he has the King and the ace is turned up. The old rule was that a player must lead the higher of two trumps, but this is obsolete. The winner of a trick must lead a trump if he has one.
Bummers--a thin piece of wood swung round by a cord (_Blackwood s Magazine_, Aug. 1821, p. 35). Jamieson says the word is evidently denominated from the booming sound produced. Bun-hole A hole is scooped out in the ground with the heel in the shape of a small dish, and the game consists in throwing a marble as near to this hole as possible. Sometimes, when several holes are made, the game is called Holy. --Addy s _Sheffield Glossary_; _Notes and Queries_, xii. 344. Bunch of Ivy Played by children in pairs (one kneeling and one standing) in a ring. The inner child of each pair kneels.
=_ A table is complete with four players, and if there are more than four candidates for play the selection must be made by cutting. All the rules for formation of tables, cutting, ties, etc., are the same as at bridge. The lowest cut takes the deal. Partners sit opposite each other. _=Dealing.=_ The dealer presents the pack to be cut, and then gives thirteen cards to each player, one at a time. No trump is turned. The deal passes to the left. All irregularities are governed by the same laws as bridge.
Very properly Red decided upon retreat. His second gun had to be abandoned after one move, but two of the men with it escaped over his back line. Five of the infantry behind the church escaped, and his third gun and its four cavalry got away on the extreme left-hand corner of Red s position. Blue remained on the field, completely victorious, with two captured guns and six prisoners. There you have a scientific record of the worthy general s little affair. V EXTENSIONS AND AMPLIFICATIONS OF LITTLE WAR Now that battle of Hook s Farm is, as I have explained, a simplification of the game, set out entirely to illustrate the method of playing; there is scarcely a battle that will not prove more elaborate (and eventful) than this little encounter. If a number of players and a sufficiently large room can be got, there is no reason why armies of many hundreds of soldiers should not fight over many square yards of model country. So long as each player has about a hundred men and three guns there is no need to lengthen the duration of a game on that account. But it is too laborious and confusing for a single player to handle more than that number of men. Moreover, on a big floor with an extensive country it is possible to begin moving with moves double or treble the length here specified, and to come down to moves of the ordinary lengths when the troops are within fifteen or twelve or ten feet of each other.
Dr. Rimbault has, in his _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 34, reconstructed a copy of the original rhyme from the versions given by Halliwell and the _Mirror_, and gives the tune to which it was sung, which is reprinted here. The tune from Kent is the one generally used in London versions. The tune of a country dance called London Bridge is given in Playford s _Dancing Master_, 1728 edition. [4] Another informant gives the refrain, Grand says the little Dee. [5] I have identified this with a version played at Westminster and another taught to my children by a Hanwell girl.--A. B. G.
LIFT SMOKE. The number of players must be limited to six, each of whom deposits a counter in the pool. A full pack of fifty-two cards is used. The cards rank from the ace down to the deuce, as at Whist. If there are four players, six cards are dealt to each, one at a time; if five play, five cards to each, and if six play, four cards to each. The last card that falls to the dealer is turned up for the trump, and the remainder of the pack is placed in the centre of the table as a stock to draw from. The eldest hand leads for the first trick, and the others must follow suit if they can. The highest card played, if of the suit led, wins the trick, and trumps win all other suits. The winner of each trick draws the top card from the talon, and leads again. When any player’s cards are exhausted he withdraws from the game, and the others continue.
=_ This is simply a movement of the players, very popular in social games, which requires that the four originally seated at a table shall remain at that table until the game is ended, and shall not cut for partners after the first rubber, but change in regular order. The usual way is for the first dealer to sit still all the time, the three other players moving round her in a circle at the end of each rubber. This will compel the player on her left to pass behind her and take the seat on her right. At the end of three rubbers, each will have had each of the others for a partner. When there are a number of tables in play, it will be necessary to have a prize for each, giving the first choice to the player who has the highest score in the room. When this method is adopted, it is not necessary to deduct the lower score from the higher at the end of each rubber, so that each player can keep what she gets, the comparative result being the same if the players remain at the same table. This method is open to the objection that if two strong players are opposed to weak ones all the time, it is a great advantage. It is also liable to abuse, if four players agree to double everything, so that some one at the table shall be high score. _=PROGRESSIVE BRIDGE.=_ This is simply a movement of the players from table to table, much as described under the heading of _=compass whist=_.
When a player gives the odds of his King’s or Queen’s Rook, he must not Castle (or more properly speaking leap his King) on the side from which the Rook is removed, unless before commencing the game or match he stipulates to have the privilege of so doing. IV. When a player undertakes to give check-mate with one of his Pawns, or with a particular Pawn, the said Pawn must not be converted into a piece. V. When a player accepts the odds of two or more moves, he must not play any man beyond the fourth square, _i.e._, he must not cross the middle line of the board, before his adversary makes his first move. Such several moves are to be collectively considered as the first move of the player accepting the odds. VI. In the odds of check-mating on a particular square it must be the square occupied by the King mated, not by the man giving the mate.
--Sheffield (S. O. Addy). V. Mother, come buy me two milking-pails, Two milking-pails, two milking-pails, Mother, come buy me two milking-pails, O sweet mother o mine. [Then verses beginning with the following lines--] Where shall I get my money from, O sweet daughter o mine? Sell my father s feather beds. Where shall your father sleep? Sleep in the servant s bed. Where shall the servant sleep? Sleep in the washing-tub. Where shall I wash the clothes? Wash them in the river. Suppose the clothes float away? Take a boat and go after them.
A plays his double four, and the dominoes on the table present the following appearance:-- [Illustration] B, having neither 4 nor 0 on any of his remaining dominoes, says: “_=Go=_,” which signifies that he is blocked, and cannot play. A can now play at either end, and with either of two dominoes; but it would be bad policy to play the 4-5, because his adversary might be able to play to the 5; but it is a certainty that he cannot play to either 0 or 4. If A plays the 4-5, B gets rid of all his dominoes before A can play again. If A plays the 4-0 on the blank end, he will have to play again with his 4-5; but if he plays it on the 4 end he blocks himself. Whether to block the game or not depends on the probable comparative value of the dominoes held by A and B. If A blocks the game by making both ends blank, both players show their remaining dominoes, and the one with the greater number of pips loses as many points as he has pips in excess of the other player. In order to judge whether to block or play, it should be remembered that as there are 147 pips in the entire set, the average value of each domino will be 5¼. If A blocks the game, he will have 17 pips left in his hand, which is above the average value of two dominoes; but his adversary will have four dominoes to count, and it is probable that they will be worth about 21 points. The fact that the seven dominoes already played are 13 pips above the average will reduce the probable value of B’s dominoes to about 20. On the other hand, A knows that B has no blanks, which would slightly increase the weight of B’s dominoes.
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I figger first you ll have them straighten my teeth, she said. You d like a pretty wife. If it s got to be, I said weakly. That would help. I just wish there was some way to handle that hysterical sniffle of yours, that s all. But I guess that s the price you have to pay for that awful load of Psi power you have. Oh, that, she said. I ought to be over that by tomorrow. I hardly ever get a cold, darlin Billy, and when I do, I throw it off in a few days. Well, I guess it s a cinch I m no PC.
The game is also played in Lancashire (_Reliquary_). See Bob-Cherry. Luggie A boys game. In this game the boys lead each other about by the lugs, _i.e._, ears; hence the name (Patterson s _Antrim and Down Glossary_). Jamieson says that the leader had to repeat a rhyme, and if he made a mistake, he in turn became Luggie. The rhyme is not recorded. Luking The West Riding name for Knor and Spell. Playing begins at Easter.
_=Four of a Kind=_; such as four 10’s and an odd card. _=Full Hand=_; three of a kind and a pair, such as three 8’s and a pair of Q’s, which beats a _=Flush=_; five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence. _=Straight=_; five cards in sequence, but of various suits. In straights, the Ace cannot be used to form such combinations as Q K A 2 3; but it may be used as the bottom of 5 4 3 2, or the top of 10 J Q K. Straights beat _=Three of a Kind=_; such as three K’s and two odd cards. _=Two Pairs=_; such as two 9’s and two 7’s, with an odd card. _=A Pair=_; such as two Aces and three odd cards. If no pair is shown, the _=Highest Card=_ wins. A short hand, such as four cards, cannot be claimed as either a straight or a flush. _=36.
If B raises the limit, it is obvious that he has placed in the pool twice the amount of the betting limit; but his _=raise=_ over A’s bet is within the betting limit. If another player should raise B again, he would be putting up three times the limit; A’s bet, B’s raise, and his own raise. In the absence of any definite arrangement, it is usual to make the betting limit fifty times the amount of the blind. That is, if the value of the blind, or one white counter, is five cents, the limit of a bet or raise will be two dollars and a half, or two blue counters. This fixes the ante at two white counters, or ten cents, in the absence of straddles, and limits the straddling to the fourth player from the age, or sixteen white counters. This proportion makes a very fair game, and gives a player some opportunity to vary his betting according to his estimate of the value of his hand. Where the blind is five cents, the ante ten, and the limit twenty-five, the game ceases to be Poker, and becomes a species of _=show-down=_. It is universally admitted by good judges that a player can lose more money at twenty-five cent show-down than he will at two-and-a-half Poker. There are several other variations in the manner of arranging the stakes and the betting limits, but they will be better understood after the game itself has been described. _=DEALING.
They both walk round the circle while the others sing the same lines again. The girl who has been chosen makes choice of a young man in the ring, who in his turn chooses another girl, and so on till they have all paired off. (_c_) The first verse of the Shropshire version is also sung at Metheringham, near Lincoln (C. C. Bell), and Cowes, I. W. (Miss E. Smith). The Staffordshire version of the words is sung in Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire (Miss Matthews), West Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 58), Earls Heaton, Yorkshire (H.
12, for instance, both the Pawns that have been moved would be spoken of as on K 4. The Knight that has been moved is on K B 3, because it is a white Knight. If it was a black Knight it would be on K B 6, reckoning from the black side of the board for the black pieces. In order to test your understanding of this system of notation, which is very important in following published games or problems, take the board and men, white side next you, and set up the following position, remembering that when no number is given, the piece stands upon the square originally occupied by the piece which gives its name to the file:-- Black men;--King on Q R’s; Queen on Q Kt’s; Pawns on Q R 2, and Q Kt, 3; Rook on Q R 3. White men;--King on Q Kt 5; Queen on Q B 6. Now look at Diagram No 11, and see if you have it right. In addition to the notation of position, there is that of action. If a dash is placed between the initials of the piece and the definition of the square, it shows first the piece moved, and then the square to which it is moved. In Diagram No 11, for instance, Black’s only move to cover the check would be given: Q-Q Kt 2; and White’s continuation would be given; Q-K 8. The first of these might be abbreviated by saying, Q-Kt 2, because there is only one Kt 2 to which the Queen could be moved.
] The method of using counters for scoring 10-point games has already been described in connection with Whist. In addition to either markers or counters, there must be a sheet of paper to keep the final results of the games. In scoring, the revoke penalty counts first, tricks next, and honours last. The side first reaching 10 points wins a _=quadruple=_, or game of 4, if their adversaries have not scored; a _=triple=_, or game of 3, if their adversaries have not reached 4; a _=double=_, or game of 2, if the adversaries have not reached 7; and a _=single=_, or game of 1, if their adversaries are 8 or 9 up. These game points are put down on the score-sheet, and all the points on the _=adversaries’=_ marker are then turned down. If the winners make any points in excess of 10, such points are left to their credit on the marker, and count toward the next game. For instance: The score is A-B, 6; and Y-Z, 8; shown on the markers thus:-- [Illustration: A-B 6 POINTS. Y-Z 8 POINTS.] Let us suppose that Z announces cayenne, and makes 2 by cards; A-B claiming two by honours. Y-Z multiply by 4, making them 8, and bringing their total score on the marker to 16; that is, a game, and 6 points to their credit on the second game.
_=Trick 3.=_ _=A=_ returns the Club, reading _=B=_ for the Q or no more. _=B=_ still avoids the lead, and _=Z=_ is marked as not having the trump Ten, or he would have saved it. _=Trick 4.=_ _=Z=_ plays to win what cards he can. _=Trick 5.=_ _=B=_ throws ♢A to avoid the lead, knowing _=Y=_ has the trump Ten; for _=A=_ would have made it on the second round of Spades. _=A=_ also marks it with _=Y=_, as _=B=_ does not save it. _=Trick 6.=_ _=B=_ is not sure whether _=Y=_ has a Diamond or a Club left, and discards the winning card.