=_ The misère player should never discard from his long suits. The high cards of short suits, and single intermediate cards, such as 5’s and 6’s, should be got rid of at every opportunity. _=Adversaries of the Misère.=_ In playing against a misère the chief difficulty is to prevent the caller from discarding, and to place the lead with the player who can probably do him the most harm. It is an axiom with solo-whist players that every misère can be defeated, if the weak spot in it can be found; because if the misère was absolutely safe, it would be played as a spread, which would pay the caller twice as much. This is not true, however, for it often happens that the cards are so distributed in the other hands that the call cannot be defeated, however risky it may have been. The weak point in a misère is usually a short suit with one high card in it; or a suit of intermediate length, without the deuce. As it is probable that the caller is short in suits in which the adversaries are long, and long in those in which they are short, he is less likely to get a discard if they lead their shortest suits first. If the misère player has over-called a proposal or a solo, he is likely to be short in the trump suit, or at least safe in it. It is not good play to lead a single Ace; but a King may be very effective; for if no one plays the Ace on it, that card may be absolutely marked in the caller’s hand.
Fly-catchers is played like One-ers, except that the stone thrown into the air while the others are being picked up, is not simply caught by being allowed to fall into the hand, but by an outward movement of the hand is _pounced on_, hawk-fashion, from above. Magic Fly-catchers is played in precisely the same way, except that as in simple Magic, not one stone, but all are thrown up and caught--that is, if there are four on the ground one only is thrown up for the first, two for the second, three for the third, and so on until they are all picked up. This is, of course, the most difficult part of all, and, in fact, only experts were expected to do it. Every failure means out, and then your opponent has his turn. The winner is the one who gets through first. Such is the game as I remember it, but I have an uneasy suspicion that I have missed something out. I seem to remember one trick in which all the stones on the ground had to be picked up at once _where they lay_--scrambled up so to speak. Or it may be (and, in fact, I think it was) that sometimes, to add to the difficulty of the game, we picked up the groups of two, three, and four in Two-ers, Three-ers, and Four-ers in this fashion, instead of first placing them together.--Epworth, Doncaster (C. C.
As it is, C is decavé, and must purchase another stake, or retire from the game. If C had lost this pool with a brelan in his hand, he would not be decavé; because after losing the pool, and all he had staked therein, B, who had passed out, would have to pay him for the brelan, and with this one white counter he would have to call for a sight in the next pool he entered. _=Methods of Cheating.=_ As in all games in which winning depends entirely on the cards held, and not on the manner of playing them, Bouillotte offers many opportunities to the greek. The small number of cards in the pack, and the consequent ease with which they may be handled, enable even the clumsiest card sharpers to run up brelan carrés, make false shuffles, and shift cuts. There is one trick, called the poussette, which consists in surreptitiously placing more counters on the table when the player finds he has a hand worth backing. Marked cards, and packs trimmed to taper one way, biseautés, are among the most common weapons of the French tricheurs. As in Poker, it is best to avoid playing with strangers. _=Suggestions for Good Play.=_ Beyond the usual qualifications necessary to succeed with any member of the poker family, Bouillotte requires some study of the probable value of the point, which value will vary with the number of players engaged in the coup.
Kings can also go on for any number of squares beyond the captured piece, and then turn a corner to capture another piece. In Diagram No. 12, for instance, the black King could capture all six of the white men by going over the first one only, and then turning to the left, and continuing to turn to the left after every capture, as shown by the squares with the numbers on them, which indicate his five successive turning-points. [Illustration: No. 12. +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | 5 | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | ⛀ | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | 1 | | ⛀ | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | ⛀ | | ⛀ | | 4 | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | 2 | | | | ⛀ | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | ⛀ | | | | | | ⛃ | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ | | | 3 | | | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+ ] _=DEVIL AMONG THE TAILORS.=_ This is hardly a variation of the game of Draughts, although it is played on a checker board. Four white men, the tailors, are placed upon 29 30 31 and 32; and one black man, the devil, on 1. The men can move only one square at a time, diagonally; the white men forward only, the black man forward or backward. There is no jumping or capturing, and the object of the tailors is to pin the devil in, so that he cannot move.
_=PLAYERS.=_ Skat is played by three persons. If there are four at the table the dealer takes no cards, but shares the fortunes of those who are opposed to the single player, winning and losing on each hand whatever they win and lose. If there are five or six at the table, the dealer gives cards to the two on his left, and the one next him on the right. Those holding no cards share the fortunes of the two who are opposed to the single player. After the table is formed, no one can join the game without the consent of all those already in, and then only after a _=round=_; that is, after each player at the table has had an equal number of deals. Should any player cut into a table during the progress of a game, he must take his seat at the right of the player who dealt the first hand. When six persons offer for play, it is much better to form two tables, but some persons object to playing continuously, and like the rest given to the dealer when more than three play. There are always three active players in Skat. The one who makes the trump is called _=the player=_, or Spieler; the two opposed to him are called the _=adversaries=_, or Gegners; while those who hold no cards are called _=im Skat=_, or Theilnehmer.
Gomme). Strutt (_Sports_, p. 84) describes this, and says, A sport of this kind was in practice with us at the commencement of the fourteenth century. He considers it to bear more analogy to wrestling than to any other sport. He gives illustrations, one of which is here reproduced from the original MS. in the British Museum. The game is also described in the Rev. J. G. Wood s _Modern Playmate_, p.
Equalities do not save the repic. Take the following hands:-- Elder:--♡ A J 10 9 8; ♣ 10; ♢ 10; ♠ A J 10 9 8. Dealer:--♡ K Q; ♣ A K Q; ♢ A K Q J 7; ♠ K Q. The point is equal. The quatrième to the Jack is not good and the four Tens are not good; so elder hand leads a card, and counts, “One.” The dealer then claims repic, 95 points, which is good, although the elder hand had an equal point. _=PIC.=_ If either player can reach 30 in hand and play combined, before his adversary scores anything, 30 are added for the pic. Pic can never be made by the dealer unless the elder hand leads a card smaller than a Nine; he must make repic if anything. To make pic the elder hand must reach 30 in the regular order of scoring.
Don’t play the side ball until you have mastered the centre delivery. Don’t swing the ball more than once before delivering it. Don’t start with a jump; walk one and run two steps. Don’t deliver the ball with the right foot in front. Don’t step on or over the foul line. Don’t think you can change the course of the ball after it has left your hand. Don’t expect a “strike” every time you hit the head pin. Don’t blame the pin boys if you get a split. They will spot any pin you call their attention to. Don’t throw away a “spare” because you think you were entitled to a “strike.
V. How many miles to Babylon? Three score and ten. Can I get there o candle-light? There and back again. Here s my black [raising one foot], And here s my blue [raising the other], Open the gates and let me through. --Annaverna, Ravendale, co. Louth, Ireland (Miss R. Stephen). VI. How many miles to Barney Bridge? Three score and ten. Will I be there by candle-light? Yes, if your legs are long.
He thinks the Knights should be first brought out, and posted at B 3, and then the K’s B, somewhere along his own diagonal. The great mistake made by beginners is that they rush off to the attack and try to capture some of the adverse pieces before they have properly prepared themselves for re-inforcement or retreat. It should never be forgotten that the game is not won by capturing the adversary’s pieces, but by check-mating his King. Take the board and pieces, arrange them with the white men next you, and play over the following simple little game. Remember that the figures above the line are for the white men; those below for the black. P-K4 Kt-KB3 Kt-QB3 B-B4 1 ---- 2 ------ 3 ------ 4 ----- P-K4 P-Q3 P-KR3 B-Kt5 The third move made by Black accomplishes nothing, and is simply a waste of time. He should have continued by bringing his Knights into play. His fourth move is also a mistake; he should develop the Knights before the Bishops. KtxP BxKBP ch Kt-Q5 mate 5 ---- 6 -------- 7 ---------- BxQ K-K2 On his fifth move, Black jumps at the chance to win White’s Queen, but this is not of the slightest benefit to him, because the object of the game is not to win the Queen, but to mate the King. At the seventh move the beginner will see that the black King cannot move out of check, neither can he move into check by taking the Bishop.