If he has four of a kind, and the joker, he can beat a royal flush by calling his hand five of a kind. In case of ties, the hand with the mistigris wins; that is to say, an ace and the joker will beat two aces. A player holding the joker may even call it a duplicate of a card already in his hand. For instance; he might hold the A J 8 5 of hearts and the joker against the A K Q 7 3 of clubs. If he calls the joker the king of hearts, the club flush still beats him as it is queen next. He must call it the ace, which makes his flush ace-ace high. _=PROBABILITIES.=_ In estimating the value of his hand as compared to that of any other player, before the draw, the theory of probabilities is of little or no use, and the calculations will vary with the number of players engaged. For instance: If five are playing, some one should have two pairs every fourth deal, because in four deals twenty hands will be given out. If seven are playing, it is probable that five of them will hold a pair of some kind before the draw.
If it is the Jack, it is worth ten hearts; if it is the Queen, it is worth thirteen hearts. After the cards are dealt, each player in turn lays out three cards which he does not want, and the player on his left is obliged to take them, after having discarded himself. No player may look at what he is going to get until he has discarded himself. The Black Jack or Lady holds its rank as a spade when spades are led; but the moment any other suit is led, of which the player is void, he can discard the Black Jack or Lady, just as he would get rid of a heart. If hearts are led and the player has no hearts, he can play the Black Jack or Lady to the trick, as it ranks below the deuce of hearts. _=PROGRESSIVE HEARTS.=_ The general arrangements for the players and their positions are exactly the same as those already described in connection with Progressive Euchre. The players at each table cut for the deal, and play begins with the tap of the bell at the head table. Only one deal is played at each table. There are no counters.
In the following paragraphs the words _=dealer=_ and _=player=_ will be used to distinguish the adversaries at Écarté. The principle underlying the jeux de règle is the probable distribution of the cards in the trump suit, and the fact that the odds are always against the dealer’s holding two or more. There are thirty-two cards in the Écarté pack, of which eight are trumps, and one of these is always turned up. The turn-up and the player’s hand give us six cards which are known, and leave twenty-six unknown. Of these unknown cards the dealer holds five, and he may get these five in 65,780 different ways. The theory of the jeux de règle is that there are only a certain number of those ways which will give him two or more trumps. If the player holds one trump, the odds against the dealer’s holding two or more are 44,574 to 21,206; or a little more than 2 to 1. If the player holds two trumps, the odds against the dealer’s holding two or more are 50,274 to 15,506; or more than 3 to 1. It is therefore evident that any hand which is certain to win three tricks if the dealer has not two trumps, has odds of two to one in its favour, and all such hands are called jeux de règle. The natural inference from this is that such hands should always be played without proposing, unless they contain the King of trumps.
Suppose two black and one red card are left. These may come:-- B B R B R B R B B The bets are placed on the dealer’s right for red first; on his left for black and red, and in front of him for two blacks. _=CHEATING.=_ If Faro were honestly played, it would be one of the prettiest banking games in the world; but unfortunately the money to be made at this game is so great that the richest prizes in the gambling world are offered to the men who can so handle the cards as to “protect the money of the house.” All systems are not only worthless, but dangerous to use, when opposed to the skill of the modern faro dealer. A first-class “mechanic” can get from one to two hundred dollars a week, and a percentage of the profits; but it is hardly necessary to say that he is not paid that amount simply for pulling cards out of a box. Before venturing to “buck the tiger” get some one to show you how fifty-three cards are shuffled up, so as to make the last turn come the way that there is most money in it for the house. Watch the movements carefully, so that you will know them the next time you see them in a fashionable house, which you imagine to be “dead square.” If you see a dealer with a shuffling board as thick as his dealing box, don’t play against that game. If you see a dealer take up the cards already taken from the box, slipping them one under the other, as if to straighten them up, the sooner you cash your chips the better, for you are up against a brace game, no matter where it is dealt.
[24] See Law 50. The same ruling applies to Law 54. [25] This includes a double or redouble out of turn. See Law 57. TEXT BOOKS. Bridge, and How to Play It, by A. Dunn, Jr., 1899. Foster’s Bridge Manual, by R.F.
1st game; 10 to 6 2nd game; 4 to 16 3rd game; 14 to 8 Rubber; 10 -------- Totals 38 to 30 This is a good game for superstitious people, who believe that certain trump suits are favourable to them. TEXT-BOOKS. The following list of works on _=whist=_, alphabetically arranged, contains the principal standard text-books on the game. Those marked * are especially for the beginner. Those marked x are chiefly devoted to the Short-suit game. Art of Practical Whist, by Major Gen. Drayson. * Foster’s Whist Manual, by R.F. Foster.
Game is 150 points. _=Widow Cinch.=_ Six players cut for partners, two on a side. Each player has two adversaries between himself and his partner. The dealer gives each player eight cards, four at a time, and four are dealt to the table after the first round to the players. These four cards are the widow. The successful bidder can take the widow before he names the trump, and then all the players discard down to six cards. _=SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY.=_ There is a great diversity of opinion on bidding. Some persons always bid six on an ace, if they hold neither of the Pedroes.
The Partners seemed to take the attitude that human minds were complex and fouled up beyond belief, anyhow. No Partner ever questioned the superiority of the human mind, though very few of the Partners were much impressed by that superiority. The Partners liked people. They were willing to fight with them. They were even willing to die for them. But when a Partner liked an individual the way, for example, that Captain Wow or the Lady May liked Underhill, the liking had nothing to do with intellect. It was a matter of temperament, of feel. Underhill knew perfectly well that Captain Wow regarded his, Underhill s, brains as silly. What Captain Wow liked was Underhill s friendly emotional structure, the cheerfulness and glint of wicked amusement that shot through Underhill s unconscious thought patterns, and the gaiety with which Underhill faced danger. The words, the history books, the ideas, the science--Underhill could sense all that in his own mind, reflected back from Captain Wow s mind, as so much rubbish.
A bystander, by agreement among the players, may decide any question. 90. A card or cards torn or marked must be either replaced by agreement, or new cards called at the expense of the table. 91. Any player may demand to see the last trick turned, and no more. Under no circumstances can more than eight cards be seen during the play of the hand, _viz._: the four cards on the table which have not been turned and quitted, and the last trick turned. ETIQUETTE OF WHIST. The following rules belong to the established Etiquette of Whist. They are not called laws, as it is difficult--in some cases impossible--to apply any penalty to their infraction, and the only remedy is to cease to play with players who habitually disregard them: Two packs of cards are invariably used at Clubs; if possible, this should be adhered to.
_=Scoring.=_ Instead of playing 100 points up, six deals is a game, each player dealing three times. The lower score is then deducted from the higher, and 100 points added to the difference to determine the value of the game, which is usually played for so much a point. If the result of the six deals is a tie, two more deals must be played. If they also result in a tie, the game is void. _=Rubicons.=_ If either or both players fail to reach 100 points in the six deals, the one having the most is the winner, and adds to his own score all the points made by the loser, with 100 in addition for game. For instance: A has 113 scored, and B 80. A wins 113 + 80 + 100 = 293 altogether. Again; A has 88, B has 84.
228. III. Here comes an old woman from Baby-land, With all her children in her hand. Pray take one of my children in. [Spoken] What can your children do? [Sung] One can bake, one can brew, And one can bake a lily-white cake. One can sit in the parlour and sing, And this one can do everything. --Tong, Shropshire (Miss R. Harley). IV. Here comes a poor woman from Baby-land With three small children in her hand.
The spirit of prophecy was believed to exist in a dying person. See Handy Croopen. How many Miles to Babylon I. King and Queen of Cantelon, How many miles to Babylon? Eight and eight and other eight. Will I get there by candle-light? If your horse be good and your spurs be bright. How mony men have ye? Mae nae ye daur come and see. --Chambers _Popular Rhymes_, p. 124; Mactaggart s _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_. II. How many miles to Babylon? Three score and ten.
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. Let Sime and me talk it over. Maybe we should get a PC. Nuts, Simonetti told him. I ll think it over, too, I said. See you tomorrow. I turned to go. Simonetti and Smythe followed me out, each for his own reasons, I guess, leaving Rose behind in the cube of glass on the roof, looking like he was going to turn belly-up and take a bite out of the PBX on his desk.
531). In Conquer-nuts obbly was probably nobbly or knobbly, expressing the appearance of the string of nuts; and onkers was probably invented as a rhyme to conquers (_Upton-on-Severn Words and Phrases_, by R. Lawson). Contrary, Rules of I. Here I go round the rules of contrary, Hopping about like a little canary. When I say Hold fast, leave go; When I say Leave go, hold fast. --Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 52). II. Here we go round the rules of contrary, When I say Hold fast! let go, and when I say Let go! hold fast.
Sixty Bridge Hands, by C.S. Street, 1903. Laws and Principles of Bridge, by “Badsworth,” 1903. Bridge Whist in Brief, by Fisher Ames, 1904. Bridge at a Glance, by W. Dalton, 1904. The Gist of Bridge, by R.F. Foster, 1904.
|One go rush and the | -- | -- | | |other go hush. | | | |13.| -- |Give a gold ring and a|A guinea gold ring and| | | |silver watch. |a silver pin. | |14.|Pretty young lady, bop|Pray, young lady, pop |Pray, young lady, pop | | |under my bush. |under. |under. | |15.| -- | -- | -- | |16.
COMMERCE. This old English game is evidently the forerunner of Whiskey Poker. It is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, and the arrangements for the seats, counters, etc., are the same as at Draw Poker. Three to twelve players may form a table. There are two methods of playing Commerce; with and without a widow. We shall take the older form first. _=Without a Widow.=_ The counters have a money value, and each player deposits one in the pool. The dealer then distributes the cards one at a time, face down, until each has three.
I came out, and tipped the dice to eleven. I kept the dice, but lost my chips, which is what I wanted. Throwing six more down on the Don t Pass side, I rattled the ivories in my left hand. Tears began to roll down her unhealthy cheeks. Lose! she cried nasally, and sniffled. Billy Joe! Listen to me, darlin Billy! You ll lose! Her eyes rolled up toward the top of her head as I ignored her and came out. Sniffles gasped, Hit s a seven! Well, that s the number I d tipped them to, but she called it before the dice stopped rolling. That left me thirteen chips. Half absent-mindedly, I put three of them on the Pass side of the line and tipped the dice to twelve. Mostly I was looking at this scarecrow beside me.
_=A cheval=_, on the line between two numbers, which pays 17 for 1. Betting limit on this chance is 360 francs. 3. _=Un carré=_, on a cross line, taking in four numbers. This pays 8 for 1. Limit is 750 francs. 4. _=Transversale=_, at the end of any three numbers, and taking them in horizontally. Pays 11 for 1. Limit is 560 francs.
The numbers represent the husbands, and the letters the wives, the couples being a-1, b-2, etc. The couple a-1 always sit still; the ladies go to the next higher letter of the alphabet, and the men to the next higher number; _=h=_ going to _=b=_, as _=a=_ sits still; and 8 to 2. [Illustration: N N N N +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ | 6 | | 3 | | f | | c | W|a 1 2|E W|d 2 8|E W|1 3 b|E W|4 4 h|E | g | | e | | 6 | | 5 | +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ +-----+ S S S S ] One hand is dealt at each table, and overplayed at each of the others. A different point of the compass should deal at each table, in order to equalise the lead. _=Scoring.=_ The score of each four hands should be added up by each individual player, and the results tabulated at the end of every four hands, in the manner described for eight individuals. The winner is the player who loses the fewest tricks. This is the only known system for deciding whether or not a man can play whist better than his wife. _=PROGRESSIVE DUPLICATE WHIST=_ is the generic name by which those systems of duplicate are known in which the purpose is to have as many as possible of the players meet one another during the progress of the match. Most of the systems we have been describing belong to this class.
_=PLAYERS.=_ Écarté is played by two persons, who sit opposite each other. One is known as the dealer, and the other as the pone, the adversary, the elder hand, the non-dealer, the leader, or the player. _=THE GALLERY.=_ In clubs that make a feature of Écarté, and in which there is a great deal of betting on the outside by the spectators, it is not usual to allow more than one game between the same players, the loser giving place to one of those who have been backing him, and who is called a _=rentrant=_. This is known as playing the _cul-levé_. Any person in the gallery is allowed to draw attention to errors in the score, and may advise the player he is backing, or even play out the game for him, if he resigns. The player need not take the advice given him, which must be offered without discussion, and by pointing only, not naming the suit or cards. If a player will not allow the gallery to back him, taking all bets himself, no one may overlook his hand nor advise him without his permission, and he need not retire if he loses the game. _=CUTTING.