PIQUET A ÉCRIRE. This game somewhat resembles Skat in the manner of playing and settling. Any number from three to seven persons sit around the table; but only two play, and the losses of each individual are charged to him on a score sheet ruled off for the purpose. The players may take turns, each playing two deals, the first with the person on his left, and the second with the one on his right. Or it may be agreed that the loser in each deal shall give way to a new player, the winner of the majority of points in each deal to continue. The game is generally arranged for a certain number of tours or deals, at the end of which the scores are balanced and settled for. RUBICON PIQUET, FOR TWO PLAYERS. The chief difference between this game and the usual form, Piquet au cent, is in the manner of declaring. The usual method in England and America is as follows:-- _=The Point=_ is scored by the player holding the greatest number of cards in the suit, and the pip value is resorted to only to decide ties. This is done in order to conceal, if possible, the nature of the cards held.
It is the men with systems who have to borrow a stake before they can begin to play. Such matters as calculating the probability of a certain horse getting a place, the odds against all the horses at the post being given, would be out of place in a work of this kind; but those interested in such chances may find rules for ascertaining their probability in some of the following text books. TEXT BOOKS. Calcul de Probabilité, by Bertrand. Philosophy of Whist, by Dr. Pole. Winning Whist, by Emory Boardman. Chance and Luck, by R.A. Proctor.
Underhill had been amused one time when he found one of the most sluggish of the Partners coming away happy from contact with the mind of the girl named West. Usually the Partners didn t care much about the human minds with which they were paired for the journey. 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.
Let us suppose him to hold five good trumps, with the Six and Two of a suit of which his partner leads King, then Jack. By playing first the Six, and then the Two, he calls upon his partner to quit the suit, and lead a trump. Among some players, the lead of a strengthening card when an honour is turned, is a call for trumps to be led through that honour at the first opportunity, but it is not good play. Passing a certain winning card is regarded by most players as an imperative call for trumps. The discard of any card higher than a Seven is known as a single-card-call. Even if it was not so intended, it is assumed that a trump lead cannot injure a player with nothing smaller than a Nine in his hand. _=Answering Trump Signals.=_ In response to partner’s call, a player should lead the best trump if he holds it; one of the second and third best if he holds them; the highest of three or less; the lowest of four; and the fourth-best of more than four. Holding any of the regular high-card combinations in trumps, he should lead them in the regular way in answer to a call. _=After a Force.
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. The player who remains to the end, having a card when his adversary has none, wins the pool.
The student will find the following useful:-- The Westminster Papers, Vols. IV to XI, inclusive. Bohn’s Handbook of Games; any edition. Écarté and Euchre, by Berkeley, 1890. Cavendish on Écarté, 1886. Jeux de Cartes, (Fr.), by Jean Boussac. Règles de Tous les Jeux, (Fr.), M. Dreyfous, Edit.
The position of the players does not imply any partnership; for, as we shall see presently, any player may have any one of the others for a partner, without any change taking place in their positions at the table. The players having once taken their seats are not allowed to change them without the consent of all the others at the table. _=DEALING.=_ The cards having been properly shuffled, are presented to the pone to be cut. Beginning on his left, the dealer distributes the cards three at a time, until only four remain. These he deals one at a time, turning up the last for the trump. When two packs are used, the player sitting opposite the dealer shuffles the still pack while the other is dealt. The deal passes in regular rotation to the left. When three play with a pack of forty cards, the last card is turned up for trumps, but it does not belong to the dealer, and is not used in play. The general rules with regard to irregularities in the deal are the same as at Whist; except that a misdeal does not pass the deal.
That screamed out loud the table was having trouble. Big gambling layouts know within minutes if a table is not making its vigorish. A Nevada crap layout, with moderately heavy play, should make six per cent of the amount gambled on every roll. That s its vigorish--its percentage. If the take falls below that, the suspicion is that the table is being taken to the cleaners by a crooked gambler, or cross-roader. The table I had picked was the only one in the Sky Hi Club s casino with more than one stick-man working it. The girl sniffled, and her long skinny arm reached around behind me to snag a couple sandwiches the size of postage stamps from a waiter s tray. She wolfed them down, wiping at the end of her long nose with a wadded-up hunk of cambric. She d done it before, and plenty, for her nose was red and sore. She made cow-eyes at me.
When all were thus paired, they formed into line, facing each other, and danced somewhat like the country dance of Sir Roger. [Illustration: Fig. 1.] [Illustration: Fig. 2.] [Illustration: Fig. 3.] [Illustration: Fig. 4.] (_c_) Chambers _Popular Rhymes_, p.
Should there be more than one flush, the pips win, counting ace for 11, and other court-cards for 10 each. If no player has secured a flush after two rounds of exchanges, the hands are shown, and the highest number of pips in the two-card flushes wins the pool. The elder hand wins ties. BOUILLOTTE, OR BRELAN. This is an old and famous French gambling game, often referred to in stories of fast life in European society. It was the rage during and long after the French Revolution, but has lately had to share public attention with Baccara, and even with Le Poker Américain. It has many points in common with three-stake Brag, and is evidently descended from the same stock. By many persons Bouillotte is considered superior to Poker, because it offers the player many opportunities to speculate on winning by the aid of cards that are not in his own hand. _=Cards.=_ Bouillotte is played with a piquet pack, reduced to twenty cards, only the A K Q 9 8 of each suit being retained.
217-18. In Lancashire the children stand in line behind each other, holding each other by the waist. One stands facing them and calls out-- My mother sits on yonder chimney, And she says she _must_ have a chicken. The others answer-- She _can t_ have a chicken. The one then endeavours to catch the last child of the tail, who when caught comes behind the captor; repeat until all have changed sides.--Monton, Lancashire (Miss Dendy). A version of this game played at Eckington, Derbyshire, is played as follows:--A den is chalked out or marked out for the Fox. A larger den, opposite to this, is marked out for the Geese. A boy or a girl represents the Fox, and a number of others the Geese. Then the Fox shouts, Geese, Geese, gannio, and the Geese answer, Fox, Fox, fannio.
A summer-house will do, if there is no window for the Giant to see out of. The others then have to knock at the door with their knuckles separately. The Giant rushes when he thinks all the children have knocked, and if he succeeds in catching one before they reach a place of safety (appointed beforehand) the captured one becomes Giant.--Bitterne, Hants (Mrs. Byford). See Wolf. Giddy Giddy, giddy, gander, Who stands yonder? Little Bessy Baker, Pick her up and shake her; Give her a bit of bread and cheese, And throw her over the water. --Warwickshire. _(b)_ A girl being blindfolded, her companions join hands and form a ring round her. At the word Yonder the blindfolded girl points in any direction she pleases, and at line three names one of the girls.
_ The alleys upon which the game shall be played shall not be less than 41 nor more than 42 inches in width. The length from the centre of No. 1 pin spot to the foul line shall be 60 feet. Back of the foul line there shall be a clear run of not less than 15 feet. The pin spots shall be clearly and distinctly described on or imbedded in the alleys and shall be so placed 12 inches apart from centre to centre. They shall be 2¼ inches in diameter. The pin spots numbered 7, 8, 9 and 10 shall be placed 3 inches from the pit edge of the alleys, measuring from the edge to the centre of such pin spots. The pins shall be spotted on the pin spots placed upon the alleys according to the following diagram, and the pins and spots shall be known by the numbers as follows: [Illustration: 7 8 9 10 4 5 6 2 3 1 ] The pins shall be of the following design and measurements: 15 inches in height, 2¼ inches in diameter at their base, 15 inches in circumference at a point 4½ inches from their base, 11⅝ inches in circumference at a point 7¼ inches from their base, 5¼ inches in circumference at the neck, a point 10 inches from the base; 8 inches in circumference at the head, a point 13½ inches from the base. The taper from point to point shall be gradual, so that all lines shall have a graceful curve. The balls shall not in any case exceed 27 inches in circumference nor exceed 16 pounds in weight.
When the Hood is about to be thrown up, the Plough-bullocks or Boggins, as they are called, dressed in scarlet jackets, are placed amongst the crowd at certain distances. Their persons are sacred, and if amidst the general row the Hood falls into the hands of one of them, the sport begins again. The object of the person who seizes the Hood is to carry off the prize to some public-house in the town, where he is rewarded with such liquor as he chooses to call for. This pastime is said to have been instituted by the Mowbrays, and that the person who furnished the Hood did so as a tenure by which he held some land under the lord. How far this tradition may be founded on fact I do not know, but no person now acknowledges to hold any land by that tenure.--Stonehouse s _Isle of Axholme_, p. 291. W. J. Woolhouse (_Notes and Queries_, 2nd series, v.
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=_ Besides the white counters won and lost by the players individually, the successful player takes the pool. Successful partners divide it equally, regardless of the number of tricks bid or taken by each. If the partners fail, they must contribute to the pool an amount equal to that which they pay to one adversary. For instance: A calls seven diamonds, and asks for a partner. Y accepts him, and the pair win only nine tricks. Each pays 135 counters to the adversary sitting next him, and then they make up 135 more between them for the pool. Asking for a partner is not a popular variation of the game, and is seldom resorted to unless the successful bid is very low, or has been made on a black suit. If the adversaries of the caller declare to pay, before playing to the second trick, they can save nothing but possible over-tricks. The pool goes with every successful play. If the single player is unsuccessful, he does not double the pool, as in Boston, but pays into it the same amount that he loses to each adversary, over-tricks and all; so that he really loses four times the amount shown in the table.
The Game of Draw Poker, Mathematically Illustrated, by H.T. Winterblossom, 1875. THE EUCHRE FAMILY. This family embraces four of the best known and most popular games in the world, each of which has been considered the national game in its own country: Écarté in France; Napoleon in England; Spoil Five in Ireland; and Euchre in America. It has always been the custom to trace the origin of Euchre to a variety of Triomphe, or French Ruff, probably introduced to America by the French of Louisiana; and to claim Écarté as its cousin, and the French survivor of the parent game. In the opinion of the author, both the game and its name go to show that Euchre is of mixed stock, and probably originated in an attempt to play the ancient Irish game of Spoil Five with a piquet pack. “Euchre” is not a French word, but the meaning of it is identical with “Spoil Five”; both names signifying that the object of the game is to prevent the maker of the trump from getting three tricks. In the one game he is “spoiled;” in the other he is “euchred.” In the old game of Triomphe, in Écarté, and in the black suits in Spoil Five, the order of the court cards in plain suits is the same, the ace ranking below the Jack.
In the latter case he must announce it when he plays it, and before his left-hand adversary plays to the trick. If the dealer transfers the right of making the trump to his partner, he must use the phrase, “You make it, partner.” If a player makes the trump out of turn, his adversaries may consult as to the propriety of demanding a new deal. _=METHOD OF PLAYING.=_ The trump suit, grand, or nullo having been announced, the player on the dealer’s left begins by leading any card he pleases, and the others must all follow suit if they can. The penalty for a revoke is the loss of three tricks; or the value of three tricks in points; or the addition of a like amount to the adversaries’ score. The side making a revoke cannot win the game that hand, no matter what they score; but they may play the hand out, and count all they make to within one point of game, or 9. Revoking players cannot count points for slams. The rules for cards played in error, leading out of turn, and all such irregularities, are the same as in Whist. The last trick turned and quitted may be seen.
When the result is a tie, it is called _=paying in cards=_. _=The Banker.=_ The banker for the next deal may be decided upon in various ways. The old rule was for one player to continue to act as banker and to deal the cards until one of his adversaries held a natural, the dealer having none to offset it. When this occurred, the player who held the natural took the bank and the deal until some one else held a natural. Another way was to agree upon a certain number of rounds for a banker, after which the privilege was drawn for again. Another was for one player to remain the banker until he had lost or won a certain amount, when the privilege was drawn for again. The modern practice is for each player to be the banker in turn, the deal passing in regular rotation to the left. When this is done there must be a penalty for dealing twice in succession, and it is usually fixed at having to pay ties, if the error is not discovered until one player has drawn cards. If before that, it is a misdeal.
He may take up the ace when he plays to the first trick, or may leave it on the pack until got rid of in the course of play. When an ace is turned, the eldest hand, before leading, should call upon the dealer to discard if he has not already done so. If the dealer does not want the trump, he answers: “I play these.” If the trump card is not an ace, any player at the table holding the ace of trumps is bound to announce the fact when it comes to his turn to play to the first trick. The usual plan is for him to pass a card to the dealer face downward, and in return the dealer will give him the turn-up trump. If the holder of the ace does not want the turn-up, he must tell the dealer to turn the trump down, which shows that he could rob, but does not wish to. If the holder of the ace of trumps plays without announcing it, he not only loses his right to rob, but his ace of trumps becomes of less value than any other trump for that deal, and even if it is the ace of hearts he loses the privileges attached to that card. _=METHOD OF PLAYING.=_ The eldest hand begins by leading any card he pleases. It is not necessary to follow suit except in trumps; but if a player does not follow suit when he is able to do so, he must trump the trick, or it is a revoke.
=_ All the dominoes with the same number upon either end belong to the same suit; the seven bones with a 4 forming the 4 suit; those with a 6 the 6 suit, and so on. The number of pips in each suit may be easily remembered by observing that the ace suit has the same number of pips as the pieces in the set, 28; and that each suit above the ace has seven pips more than the number of pieces in the set, while the blank suit has seven pips less, so that each suit progresses in regular order, seven pips at a time, as shown in the margin. Blank 21 Ace 28 Deuce 35 Trey 42 Four 49 Five 56 Six 63 _=Shuffling and Cutting.=_ Dominoes are provided with a small brass pin in the centre of the face, which enables one to spin them round, push them about on the table, and so to shuffle them thoroughly. There are three methods of determining who shall have the first play, or _=set=_, as it is called: _=1.=_ The player having the higher double; or, failing any double in either hand, the _=heavier=_ domino, that is, one with a greater number of pips on its face than any held by his adversary. _=2.=_ One player selects any two dominoes, face down, and pushes them toward his adversary, who chooses one. Both are then turned up, and whichever gets the lighter domino has the first set. _=3.