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. Long-duck A number of children take hold of each other s hands and form a half-circle. The two children at one end of the line lift up their arms, so as to form an arch, and call Bid, bid, bid, the usual cry for calling ducks. Then the children at the other end pass in order through the arch. This process is repeated, and they go circling round the field.
If the caster wins he shoots again, but when he loses he passes the dice to the next player in turn. The old game of Hazard was a very complicated affair compared to modern craps, an intimate knowledge of odds and probabilities being requisite for success. The game was generally against the caster, and certain throws were barred when a certain number was the point. Those interested in the subject will find it exhaustively treated in George Lowbut’s “Game of Hazard Investigated.” POKER DICE. If ordinary dice are used, the aces rank above the sixes, the deuces being the lowest. Any number of persons may play, and five dice are used. Each in turn takes the box and has three throws, the first being made with all five dice. After the first throw the caster may lay aside any of the five dice he chooses, putting the others back in the box for a second throw. The same process of selection is allowed for the third throw, any or all five of the dice being available for the last throw.
In any games to which these eccentric hands are admitted, the rank of all the combinations would be as follows, if poker principles were followed throughout:-- DENOMINATION. ODDS AGAINST. One pair 1¼ to 1 Two pairs 20 to 1 Three of a kind 46 to 1 Sequence or straight 254 to 1 Skip or Dutch straight 423 to 1 Flush 508 to 1 Tiger [Big or Little Dog] 636 to 1 Full hand 693 to 1 Round-the-corner straight 848 to 1 Blaze 3008 to 1 Four of a kind 4164 to 1 Straight flush 72192 to 1 Royal Flush [Ace high] 649739 to 1 When the true rank of these eccentric hands is not allowed, local custom must decide what they will beat. _=JOKER POKER=_, or _=MISTIGRIS=_. It is not uncommon to leave the joker, or blank card, in the pack. The player to whom this card is dealt may call it anything he pleases. If he has a pair of aces, and the joker, he may call them three aces. If he has four clubs, and the joker, he may call it a flush; or he may make the joker fill out a straight. 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.
This is called jumping. In the fourth plan (fig. 4) the game is:--Throw stone into No. 1. Pick it up. Hop from No. 1 to No. 8, not touching lines. So successively into Nos. 2, 3, 4, &c.
2.] [Illustration: Fig. 3.] [Illustration: Fig. 4.] [Illustration: Fig. 5.] This is the Deptford version. The Clapham version is almost identical; the children take hold of each others skirts and make a long line. If the brave soldier is not able to break the clasped hands he goes to the end of the line of soldiers.
Bar To play at Bar, a species of game anciently used in Scotland.--Jamieson. This game had in ancient times in England been simply denominated Bars, or, as in an Act of James IV., 1491, edit. 1814, p. 227: That na induellare within burgh . . . play at bar, playing at Bars. See Prisoner s Base.
43. Angel and Devil One child is called the Angel, another child the Devil, and a third child the Minder. The children are given the names of colours by the Minder. Then the Angel comes over and knocks, when the following dialogue takes place. Minder: Who s there? Answer: Angel. Minder: What do you want? Angel: Ribbons. Minder: What colour? Angel: Red. Minder retorts, if no child is so named, Go and learn your A B C. If the guess is right the child is led away. The Devil then knocks, and the dialogue and action are repeated.
=_ Mort offers even less opportunity to the greek than whist, as the deal is a disadvantage, and nothing is gained by turning up an honour, beyond its possession. CAYENNE, OR CAYENNE WHIST. _=CARDS.=_ Cayenne is played with two full packs of fifty-two cards, which rank as at Whist, both for cutting and playing. _=MARKERS=_ are necessary, and must be suitable for counting to ten points. A sheet of paper is used for scoring the results of the games. _=PLAYERS.=_ Cayenne is played by four persons. When there are more than four candidates for play the selection of the table must be made as at Whist. Partners and deal are then cut for.
After having thrown it into No. 5, begin to reverse by throwing stone into No. 1 while standing at No. 5--return with it on your thumb. Throw into No. 2--return with stone on your eye. Throw into No. 3--return with stone in your palm. Throw into No. 4--return with stone on your head.
Great anticipations. Seven. Trifling love affairs. _=R.=_ They will get you into trouble. _=DIAMONDS.=_ Ace. A letter, or a written notice. King. A person to beware of.
A player who intends to take the widow, but no partners, can bid _=eight=_ and one who intends to take neither widow nor partners can bid _=fifteen=_. In this form of Euchre the scores are generally known, and 100 points is game. In some clubs it is the practice for the successful bidder to select one of his partners by asking for the holder of a certain card. For instance: B has the lead, and has bid five in hearts, holding the three best trumps, the club ace, and a losing spade. Instead of selecting his partners at random, he asks for the spade ace, and the player holding that card must say, “Here”; upon which the bidder will pass him a counter, marking him as one of his partners. CALL-ACE EUCHRE. In this variety of euchre, each player is for himself so far as the final score goes. The one who takes up the trump or orders it up, or who makes it after it is turned down, may call upon the best card of any suit but the trump. The player holding the best card of that suit must be his partner, but he does not declare himself. When the highest card of the suit asked for falls in play, the partner is disclosed.
_=THE POOL.=_ Before play begins each player deposits one counter in the pool, and to this amount each successive dealer adds a counter until the pool is won, when all contribute equally to form a new one. In some places it is the practice for each successive dealer to put up for all the players, whether the pool is won or not. This simply makes larger pools. _=DEALING.=_ Any player has the right to shuffle the pack, the dealer last. The cards are then presented to the pone to be cut, and as many cards as there are players must be left in each packet. Beginning on his left, the dealer gives five cards to each player; two on the first round and three on the next, or three and then two. After all are helped, the next card is turned up on the remainder of the pack, and the suit to which it belongs is the trump for that deal. _=MISDEALING.
Opening.=_ After the cards are dealt, each player in turn, beginning on the dealer’s left, may open the pot for any amount he pleases within the betting limit, provided he holds a pair of Jacks, or some hand better than a pair of Jacks. If he does not hold openers, or does not wish to open the pot with them, he must say: “I pass;” but must not abandon his hand, under penalty of paying five counters to the pool. _=39. False Openers.=_ Should a player open a jack without the hand to justify it, and discover his error before he draws, his hand is foul, and he forfeits whatever amount he may have already placed in the pool. Those who have come into the pool after the false opening, stay in and play for the pot, regardless of the value of the hands dealt them. _=40. Fattening.=_ If no player will open, the cards are reshuffled, cut, and dealt, usually by the same dealer, and each player adds one counter to the pool.
This being so, each player having had a deal, their scores should be about 29. If a player is 29 or more, he is said to be _=at home=_; and if he is seven or more points ahead of his adversary on even deals, he is said to be _=safe at home=_. When a player is safe at home, he should play off; that is, take no chances of scoring himself that might give his adversary a chance to make a still better score. This is usually found in the method of playing sequences. A player who avoids playing cards that might lead up to a run is said to play off. If he invites the run, hoping to make it longer himself, he is said to play on. When a player is behind, it is better for him to play on, and to seize every chance to score, especially with sequences. As it is considered an advantage to be ahead on the first deal, most players prefer a forward game on the opening hand. _=Playing Off.=_ In this it is best to play cards on which it is unlikely that your adversary can score.
Throw into No. 3--return with stone in your palm. Throw into No. 4--return with stone on your head. Throw into No. 5--return with stone on your back. In each case, upon reaching the goal without dropping it, throw up and catch it as it falls. In the second plan (fig. 2) the game is:--Throw stone into No. 1.
If they are divided, A can catch both by cinching this trick with the King and leading the Ace; but if Y has both Pedroes, such a course would lose Jack, Game, and one Pedro. If A cinches this trick with the Ten, allowing Y to win with the Jack, A must catch both Pedroes, no matter how they lie, provided Y leads the trump Seven, for A will refuse to win it. Y sees his danger, and by leading a Pedro to A, forces him either to pass it, or to get into the lead and free the other Pedro. A-B score nothing: Y-Z score 7 for Jack, Game, Pedro; and 8 in addition, for points bid but not made by A-B; 15 altogether. _=No. 2.=_ At trick 2, Y sees that he cannot save Low, and the lead would be a great disadvantage, because either A has all the remaining trumps, or Y’s partner has an unguarded Pedro. At trick 3, A knows that if Y has Ace, and Z Pedro, A can still make his bid by catching Jack, and saving his own Pedro. If the Pedro was not with Z the small trump is still the best lead, for it puts the lead on A’s left. B gets rid of cards which might get him into the lead to his partner’s disadvantage.
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.
No call is good until every player who has not already passed does so, by saying distinctly, “I pass.” _=STAKES.=_ The losses and gains of the players are in proportion to the difficulties of the tasks they set themselves. The most popular method of settling is to pay or take red counters for the various calls, and white counters for the tricks under or over the exact number proposed. If the callers succeed in their undertakings, their adversaries pay them; if they fail, they pay their adversaries. A red counter is worth five white ones. Proposal and Acceptance wins or loses 1 red counter. Solo wins or loses 2 red counters. Misère, or Nullo, wins or loses 3 red counters. Abundance, of any kind, wins or loses 4 red counters.