While the parent game has been pursuing this prosperous course, many variations have been introduced. One of the most radical changes in the game itself has been cutting down the points from ten to five, which occurred about 1810. Mathews mentions it in 1813 as having occurred since the publication of his first edition in 1804, and Lord Peterborough, the unlucky gambler, for whose benefit the change was introduced, died in 1814. Another great change took place in America, where they played for the tricks alone, the honours not being counted at all. Turning the trump from the still pack was first tried by a Welsh baronet, and is mentioned by Southey in his “Letters of Espriella.” This custom was revived for a time by the Milwaukee Whist Club, and is still sometimes seen in Europe under the name of “Prussian Whist.” Altogether we can trace nineteen games which are clearly derived from whist. Duplicate, Drive, and Progressive whist are simply changes in the arrangement of the players and in the methods of scoring. Prussian whist introduces the cutting of the trump from the still pack. Dummy and Double-dummy are simply whist with a limited number of players, necessitating the exposure of one or more hands upon the table.
If the cards have been mixed, the claim may be urged and proved, if possible; but no proof is necessary and the revoke is established, if, after it has been claimed, the accused player or his partner mixes the cards before they have been examined to the satisfaction of the adversaries. 33. The revoke can be claimed at any time before the cards have been presented and cut for the following deal, but not thereafter. MISCELLANEOUS. 34. Any one, during the play of a trick and before the cards have been touched for the purpose of gathering them together, may demand that the players draw their cards. 35. If any one, prior to his partner playing, calls attention in any manner to the trick or to the score, the adversary last to play to the trick may require the offender’s partner to play his highest or lowest of the suit led or, if he has none, to trump or not to trump the trick. 36. If any player says “I can win the rest,” “The rest are ours,” “We have the game,” or words to that effect, his partner’s cards must be laid upon the table and are liable to be called.
Figure, F., K, Q or J. Fille, F., see Widow. Finesse, any attempt to take a trick with a card which is not the best of the suit. First, Second, or Third Hand, the positions of the players on any individual trick. Five Fingers, the five of trumps at Spoil Five. Flèches, the points upon a backgammon board. Fluke, making a count that was not played for. Flush, cards of the same suit.
* Whist, A monthly journal; pub. Milwaukee, Wis., U.S.A. DUPLICATE WHIST. Duplicate whist is not a distinct game, but is simply the name given to that manner of playing whist in which a number of hands are played over again with the same cards, but by different persons. _=CARDS.=_ The cards have the same rank as at whist; they are dealt in the same manner, and the same rules apply to all irregularities in the deal, except that a misdealer must deal again. The objects of the game are the same, and so are all the suggestions for good play.
The holder of the best trump at the end takes the pool. OLD MAID. Strange to say, this oft-quoted and continually derided game is not mentioned in any work on cards, a singular omission which we hasten to supply. Any number of young ladies may play, and a pack of fifty-one cards is used, the Queen of hearts having been deleted. Any player can deal the cards, which are distributed one at a time until the pack is exhausted; if every player has not the same number it does not matter. Beginning with the eldest hand, each player sorts her cards into pairs of the same denomination; such as two Fives, two Jacks, etc., and all pairs so formed are laid upon the table face down, without showing them to the other players. All the cards laid out in this manner are left in front of the player, in order to discover errors, if any. Three of a kind cannot be discarded, but four of a kind may be considered as two pairs. The discarding of pairs complete, the dealer begins by spreading her remaining cards like a fan, and presenting them, face downward, to her left-hand neighbour, who must draw one card at random.
=_ If the striker’s ball touch the one he has to play at, he is at liberty either to play at it or at any other ball on the table, and such stroke is not to be considered foul; in such a case, however, the striker loses a life by running his ball into a pocket or forcing it over the table. _=20.=_ If, after making a hazard, the striker takes up his ball, or stops it before it has done running, he cannot claim the life for the ball pocketed. _=21.=_ If, before a star, two or more balls, each having one life, are pocketed by the same stroke, the owner of the first ball struck can star; but if he refuse, the other player whose ball was pocketed may star. _=22.=_ Should the striker’s ball stop on the place from which a ball has been taken up, the ball which has been removed must remain in hand until the spot is unoccupied, when it is to be replaced. _=23.=_ Should the striker’s ball miss the ball played at, no person except the striker is allowed to stop the ball till it has ceased running or struck another ball. _=24.
Should the striker in pocketing any ball hole the white, he cannot score, and is penalized in the value of the ball pocketed. Should the striker (excepting as provided in _Rule_ 9) pocket a ball other than the one aimed at, he cannot score, and is penalized in the value of such ball unless the ball pocketed is of lower value than the ball aimed at, in which case the penalty is governed by the value of the ball aimed at. 25. If the striker play at or pocket a ball except in the proper rotation, he shall be penalized in the value of the ball so played at or pocketed unless the ball so played at be of lower value than the ball which should have been selected, in which case the penalty is governed by the latter ball. 26. If the striker strike simultaneously a pool ball and a red ball, or two pool balls, he shall be penalized in the value of the higher ball. 27. If the striker pocket the white ball after contact with another, he shall be penalized in the value of the ball struck, unless the object ball so struck be out of order, in which case the penalty shall be governed by the ball of the higher value. 28. Should the striker give an intentional miss, he shall be penalized in the value of the black ball, and be compelled to play the stroke again.
--Bottesford and Anderly (Lincolnshire), and Nottinghamshire (Miss M. Peacock). (_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.
The player who knocks down a pin or pins with his own ball before striking another ball loses two for every pin so knocked down. The player who pockets his own ball without hitting another ball forfeits three points; for missing altogether he forfeits one point. The striker who forces his own ball off the table without hitting another ball forfeits _three_ points, and if he does so after making a carrom or pocket he loses as many points as he would otherwise have gained. The rules of the American Carrom Game, except where they conflict with the foregoing rules, govern this game also. BOTTLE POOL. The game of Bottle Pool is played on a pool table with one white ball, the 1 and 2 ball, and pool-bottle. The 1 and 2 balls must be spotted, respectively, at the foot of the table, at the left and right diamond nearest each pocket, and the pool-bottle is placed standing on its neck on the spot in the centre of the table, and when it falls it must be set up, if possible, where it rests. Carrom on the two object-balls counts 1 point; Pocketing the 1 ball counts 1 point; Pocketing the 2 ball counts 2 points; Carrom from ball and upsetting bottle counts 5 points. The game consists of 31 points. The player having the least number of points at the finish of the game shall be adjudged the loser.
| | | |33.|Suppose the pipe | -- | -- | | |should fall and break.| | | |34.|We ll give him a bag | -- | -- | | |of nuts to crack. | | | |35.|Suppose the nuts were | -- | -- | | |rotten and bad. | | | |36.| -- |Set a dog to bark all | -- | | | |night. | | |37.| -- |If the dog should meet| -- | | | |a bone.
But no, I could see one more bimbo working her way through the laughing, drink-flushed crowd toward me. She had hair-colored hair, which was sort of out of character for a barroom hustler. I put plenty of TK on the heel of her right slipper, and she stepped right out of it. It might as well have been nailed to the floor. Nothing was going to discourage this one, I saw. I let her pick it off the floor, squeeze it back on her skinny foot, and come toward me. This new babe leaned over toward me and stuck her nose up against mine. It was long, thin, and not a little red. Billy Joe! she said, and sniffled loudly. My darlin Billy! How near-sighted can you get? I don t think there s such a thing as a case of mistaken identity around a guy like me.
Bittle-battle The Sussex game of Stoolball. There is a tradition that this game was originally played by the milkmaids with their milking-stools, which they used for bats; but this word makes it more probable that the stool was the wicket, and that it was defended with the bittle, which would be called the bittle-bat.--Parish s _Sussex Dialect_. See Stoolball. Bitty-base Bishop Kennet (in _MS. Lansd._ 1033) gives this name as a term for Prisoner s Base. --Halliwell s _Dictionary_. Black Man s Tig A long rope is tied to a gate or pole, and one of the players holds the end of the rope, and tries to catch another player. When he succeeds in doing so the one captured joins him (by holding hands) and helps to catch the other players.
” Tricks +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---- bid. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10| 11| 12| 13 --------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---- Five | 10| 20| 30| 40| 50| | | | | | | | Six | 15| 25| 35| 45| 55| 65| | | | | | | Seven | 20| 30| 40| 50| 60| 70| 80| | | | | | Eight | 25| 35| 45| 55| 70| 85|100|115| | | | | Nine | 35| 45| 55| 65| 80| 95|110|125|140| | | | Ten | 45| 55| 70| 80| 95|110|125|140|155|170| | | Eleven | 70| 80| 95|110|125|140|155|170|185|200|220| | Twelve |120|130|145|160|180|200|220|240|260|280|300|320| Thirteen|180|200|220|240|260|280|300|320|340|360|390|420|450 --------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---- If a misère is bid, the caller wins from, or loses to each adversary according to the following table, there being no over-tricks:-- Little Misère, 20 white counters. Grand Misère, 40 white counters. Little Spread, 80 white counters. Grand Spread, 160 white counters. It may be observed that each of these is twice the amount of the next lower. When misère partout is played, the person winning the largest number of tricks is the only loser, and he must pay each of the other players the difference between the number of his tricks and theirs in red counters. The number of red counters lost will always be found to be three times the number of tricks taken, minus the number of tricks not taken. For instance: A wins 4 tricks, three times which is 12; from which he deducts 9, the number he did not take, and finds his loss to be 3 red counters. Again; A wins 7 tricks; three times which is 21; minus 6 tricks not taken, a net loss of 15.
30. The penalty for revoking is the transfer of two tricks from the revoking side to their adversaries; it can be enforced for as many revokes as occur during the hand. The revoking side cannot win the game in that hand; if both sides revoke, neither can win the game in that hand. In _=Cayenne=_ and _=Solo Whist=_, as a penalty for a revoke, the adversaries of the revoking player may take from him three tricks; or may deduct the value of three tricks from his score; or may add the value of three tricks to their own score. The revoking players cannot score slams or game that hand. All slams must be made independently of the revoke penalty. In _=Boston=_, the penalty for a revoke on the part of the bidder is that he is put in for one trick, and must pay four red counters into the next pool. Should an adversary of the bidder revoke, he must pay four red counters into the next pool, and he and his partners must pay the bidder as if he had been successful. On the discovery of a revoke in Boston the hands are usually abandoned; but the cards should be shown to the table, in order that each player may be satisfied that no other revoke has been made. A player revoking in Misère Partout pays five red counters to each of his adversaries and the hands are then abandoned.
It is increased from time to time by penalties, and is won or lost by the players, just as in Boston. There is no limit to the pool. If any player objects to dividing it at the end of the game, it must be played for until some player wins it. _=PLAYERS.=_ The number of players, their arrangement at the table, etc., is precisely the same as at Boston. _=CUTTING.=_ Instead of cutting for the first deal, any one of the players takes a pack of cards, and gives thirteen to each player in succession, face up. The player to whom he gives the diamond Jack deals the first hand, and has the choice of seats and cards. The others sit as they please.
If a player thinks he would have a better chance to reach 66 first if his adversary was compelled to follow suit, he may close the stock. For instance: A’s mental count is 35, and he holds in his hand a marriage, and the Ace of another plain suit; but no trumps. If he closes at once, and leads the Ace, his adversary will have to follow suit, and the 11 points will put the closing player to 46. He can then show his marriage, without leading it, and claim 66. But if the adversary should turn out to have none of the suit led, and should trump the Ace, A might never reach 66, and B would count two points. A player may close, hoping to make schneider or schwartz. For instance: A knows his score is 13, while B has 32. A has royal marriage and Ace of trumps in his hand, and the Nine is turned up. If A closes, and so compels B to follow suit, he must catch the Jack or Ten of trumps by leading the Ace. If he catches the Jack, that will put him to 26, and showing the royal marriage will put him 66, and make B schneider.
586, says it was formerly the custom at weddings, both of the rich as well as the poor, to dance after dinner and supper. In an old Court masque of James I. s time, performed at the marriage ceremony of Philip Herbert and Lady Susan (MS. in the writer s possession), it is directed that, at the conclusion of the performance, after supper the company dance a round dance. This was dancing the bride to bed. William Chappell (_Notes and Queries_, ii. 442) says, I have a tune called A round dance to dance the bride to bed. It dates from about 1630, or earlier, and resembles that of The Hunt is up. Dancing was considered so essential at weddings (according to Grose) that if in a family the youngest daughter should chance to be married before her elder sisters, they must dance at her wedding without shoes. May not the custom of throwing of old and worn-out shoes after the bride have arisen from the practice of dancing? The danced-out shoes may have been the ones used.
If the dealer gives too many or too few cards to any player, he must shuffle and deal again. If the error is not discovered until the hand is partly played out, the deal is void, and the misdealer deals again. A misdeal does not lose the deal under any circumstances, but it is usual to exact a penalty of ten points for a misdeal. _=OBJECTS OF THE GAME.=_ The object of each player is to obtain the privilege of attempting to accomplish a certain task, which is known as his “game,” and which he must be able to carry through successfully against the combined efforts of the two other players. The more difficult the task undertaken, the greater the number of points scored for it, and the player who will undertake the game which is of the greatest value of those offered must be allowed the privilege of trying it. In order to determine which player this is, they may all bid for the privilege by naming a certain number of points, usually well within the actual value of the game they intend to play. If a bidder meets with opposition, he gradually approaches the true value of his game, and the player whose game is worth the most will of course be able to bid the greatest number of points, and must be selected as the player, the two others being his adversaries. _=Games.=_ These games are divided into two principal classes, those in which the player undertakes to win, and those in which he tries to lose.
After jingling or shaking them together, they are thrown on the ground; and he who has most heads when it is his turn to jingle, gains the stakes which were put into the bonnet.--Jamieson. Halliwell (_Dictionary_) says this is a northern name for the game of Shake Cap, and Brockett (_North Country Words_) speaks of it as a game much practised among the young pitmen and keelmen. Jingo-ring Here we go by jingo-ring, jingo-ring, jingo-ring, Here we go by jingo-ring, and round by merry-ma-tansy. --Sporle, Norfolk (Miss Matthews). Sung to the Mulberry or Ivy bush tune. The children form a ring and dance round singing. At the last word they all fall down. See Merry-ma-tansa. Jinkie A game among children, in which they run round a table trying to catch one whose business is by quick turns to elude them.
Do as before. And so successively into Nos. 3 and 4. Next balance stone on shoe, then on the palm of hand, then on the back of hand, then on the head, then on the shoulder, then on the eye (tilt head back to keep it from falling). In each case walk round once with it so balanced and catch at end. In the third plan (fig. 3) the game is:--Put pebble in No. 1. Pick up. Hop, having one foot in No.
Every trick possible should be made sure of at once, before the calling players get any chance to discard. Weak suits should be protected, as they are in Whist when opposed to strong hands. If an adversary has the first lead, it is usually best for him to make what winning cards he has at once, unless he is pretty sure that the proposal will be defeated. It is very seldom right for the adversaries to lead trumps. Some exceptions will naturally present themselves, such as an eldest hand leading to his partner’s turned-up King. In the middle or end game, it may be advantageous to bring down the caller’s trumps together, or to draw two for one. If an adversary finds himself with a pretty strong hand, he should utterly disregard his partner, and play as false as he can; for if the callers have eight probable tricks between them, it is impossible for the fourth player to have anything, unless there has been some mistake in the call. _=In General.=_ There are one or two exceptions to the methods of playing sequences at Whist, dependent on the position of the players holding them. For instance: If first or second hand holds any sequence of high cards, he should play the highest if his partner sits next him on the left, and the adversaries are to play after him; otherwise the partner might think the higher cards of the sequence were against the leader.
Not you, not you (&c.), but you! --Much Wenlock (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 512). III. I lost my supper last night, and the night before, And if I lose it this night, I shall never have it no more. --Berrington (_Shropshire Folk-lore_, p. 512). IV. I ve come to borrow the riddle (= sieve), There s a big hole in the middle. I ve come to borrow the hatchet, Come after me and catch it.
(H. Hardy). I. I sent a letter to my love, And on the way I dropped it; And one of you have picked it up And put it in your pocket. --Dorsetshire (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 213); Penzance (Mrs. Mabbott). II. I wrote a letter to my love, and on the way I lost it. Some one has picked it up.
The Lincolnshire and Norfolk versions are played practically in the same way. In the Liphook version the children stand in two and two opposite to each other; the children on one side of the square hold hands up at the third line, and the other two children run under the hands of the first two. There is no pause, but the verse is sung time after time, so that the four children are nearly always moving. In the other Hampshire version four girls stand in a square, each holding the hands of the one opposite to her, pulling each other s hands backwards and forwards singing the lines. Two arms are then raised, and one girl comes under; this is repeated till all four girls have come under the arms, then their arms encircle each other s waists and they dance round. In the Scottish version there are only two girls who join hands and pull each other backwards and forwards, repeating the words. Halliwell describes a different action to any of these. A string of children, hand in hand, stand in a row. A child stands in front of them as leader; two other children form an arch, each holding both of the hands of the other. The string of children pass under the arch, the last of whom is taken captive by the two holding hands.
Gambling houses and poker rooms are supposed to derive their entire revenue from this source, and those of the lowest class invent endless excuses for taking out for the kitty. In many houses there is a sliding scale for various hands; one counter being taken for two pairs; two counters for triplets; three for straights or flushes; and a red for fours, jack pots, and misdeals. It is not uncommon for the proprietors of such games to find thirty or forty dollars in the kitty after a night’s play with five-cent chips. _=TABLE STAKES.=_ This is one of several variations in arranging the stakes and the betting limit. In some localities it is the custom to allow each player to purchase as many counters as he pleases; in others it is the rule to compel each to buy an equal number at the start, usually two hundred times the amount of the blind. In table stakes the betting limit is always the amount that the player has in front of him; but no player is allowed either to increase or diminish that amount while he has any cards in front of him. Before the cards are dealt for any pool he may announce that he wishes to buy counters, or that he has some to sell to any other player wishing to purchase; but for either transaction the consent of all the other players must be obtained. No player is allowed under any circumstances to borrow from another, nor to be “shy” in any pot; that is, to say, “I owe so many.” If he has any counters in front of him, his betting is limited to what he has; if he has none, he is out of the game, for that hand at least.
3. If two suits are equal in number, play for the one in which you have the greatest number of cards massed in one hand. That is, if you have two suits of eight cards each, select the one that has six of those cards in one hand, in preference to the suit with four in each hand. 4. Everything else being equal, play for the suit which is shown in the Dummy, so as to conceal from the adversaries as long as possible the strength in your own hand. A suit is said to be _=established=_ when you can win every remaining trick in it, no matter who leads it. As it is very important that the hand which is longer in the suit should be able to lead it without interruption when it is established, good players make it a rule always to _=play the high cards from the shorter hand=_ first, so as to get out of the way. With Q 10 and three others in one hand, K J and one other in the other hand, the play is the K and J from the short hand, keeping the Q 10 in the long hand. If there is any choice, that suit should be selected which contains the longest sequence, or the sequence with the fewest breaks. It should be noticed that the sequence need not be in one hand; for it is almost as valuable if divided, and it is especially advantageous to have the higher cards concealed in the declarer’s hand.
I could feel you more clearly after you got the dice, and later, while that scarecrow with you was handling your chips. You were building a stack. So I fingered you. Careful, I said sourly. You re talking about the woman I love. There was a strained moment of silence, and then they all laughed. She d been a sight, all right. Simonetti came back alive with that one. His husky voice cut in on the laughter. Where does that bag fit? he demanded.
In Sweepstake Hearts it is a great mistake to play the high cards of a suit in which you are safe; for no matter how small the risk, it is an unnecessary one. In the case we are considering, when you have six cards of the suit, the odds are 7 to 1 against your getting a heart if you play the ace first round. That is to say, you will probably lose one pool out of every eight if you play it. Take the greatest odds in your favour, when you have only four cards of a suit; they are 22 to 1 against your getting a heart the first round, so that you would lose by it only once in 23 times. But this is a heavy percentage against you if you are playing with those who do not run such risks, for you give up every chance you might otherwise have in 5 pools out of every 110. When you have a dangerous hand in hearts, but one absolutely safe long suit, it is often good play to begin with your safe suit, retaining any high cards you may have in other suits in order to get the lead as often as possible for the purpose of continuing your safe suit, which will usually result in one or more of the other players getting loaded. When you have at least three of each plain suit it is obvious that you cannot hope for any discards, and that you must take into account the probability of having to win the third round of one or more suits, with the accompanying possibility of getting hearts at the same time. If you have the lead, this probability must be taken into account before any of the other players show their hands, and as it may be set down as about 5⅛ to 1 that you will get a heart, any better chance that the hand affords should be taken advantage of. It will often occur that a player’s attention must be so concentrated on getting clear himself that he has no opportunity to scheme for “loading” the others. But if it unfortunately happens that he is compelled to take in one or more hearts, he should at once turn his attention to taking them all, or to loading the other players, with a view to making a Jack of the pool.
_=Underplay=_ is often resorted to by the Fourth Hand in suits in which the Third Hand has shown weakness. For instance: A small card is led; Third Hand playing the Ten, and Fourth Hand holding A Q J x. It is a common artifice to win with the Queen, and return the small card. When the original leader is underplayed in his own suit, he should invariably put up his best card. _=Finessing.=_ The expert may finesse much more freely than the beginner. Having led from such a suit as K J x x and partner having won with Ace and returned a small card, the Jack may be finessed with strong trumps. If the adversaries lead trumps, and the Ace wins the first round, a player holding the King second hand on the return, may finesse by holding it up, trusting his partner for the trick. In all cases that mark the best of the suit against a player, and on his left, he may finesse against the third best being there also. For instance: A player leads from K 10 x x x.