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To prove both these, we must find the probability that he has neither Ace nor Queen. There being six cards apart from his three, the Ace may be any one of them, and the Queen may be any one of the remaining five. This gives us 6 × 5 = 30, and the fraction 30/72. If we now add these four numerators together, we have:--for both cards in partner’s hand, 6; for Ace alone, 18; for Queen alone, 18; and for neither, 30; a total of 72, or unity, proving all the calculations correct. In some of the problems connected with Whist, it is important to know the probability of the suits being distributed in various ways among the four players at the table; or, what is the same thing, the probable distribution of the four suits in any one hand. The author is indebted to Dr. Pole’s “Philosophy of Whist” for these calculations. As an example of the use of this table, suppose it was required to find the probability of any other player at the table holding four or more trumps if you had six. Take all the combinations in which the figure 6 appears, and add together the number of times they will probably occur. That will be your denominator, 166.
Should the pairs tied both be made with a bragger, the highest bragger wins. Two odd cards, seven high, with the club Jack, would beat two cards seven high with the diamond nine. _=Three Stake Brag.=_ In this variation each player puts up three equal amounts to form three equal pools. These amounts must be invariable, and should be agreed upon before play begins. The dealer then gives two cards to each player, one at a time, face down; and then a third card to each, face up. The highest card turned up in this manner wins one of the pools, the ace being the highest and the deuce the lowest. The diamond ace, being a bragger, outranks any other ace; the club Jack any other Jack; and the diamond nine any other nine. Ties are decided in favour of the eldest hand, or the player nearest him on the left. The players then take up the other two cards, without showing them, and proceed to brag on their hands as in single stake Brag.
39. In all cases where a penalty has been incurred, the offender must await the decision of the adversaries. If either of them, with or without his partner’s consent, demands a penalty to which they are entitled, such decision is final. If the wrong adversary demands a penalty, or a wrong penalty is demanded, none can be enforced. * * * * * The following rules belong to the established code of Whist Etiquette. They are formulated with a view to discourage and repress certain improprieties of conduct, therein pointed out, which are not reached by the laws. The courtesy which marks the intercourse of gentlemen will regulate other more obvious cases. 1. No conversation should be indulged in during the play, except such as is allowed by the laws of the game. 2.
The tune of the game, with but slight variation, in all the versions is the same as that given from Platt, near Wrotham, except the two which are printed from Northants and Belfast. Jenny Mac Jenny Mac, Jenny Mac, Jenny Macghie, Turn your back about to me; And if you find an ill baubee, Lift it up and gie t to me. Two girls cross their arms behind their backs, and thus taking hold of each other s hands, parade along together, by daylight or moonlight, occasionally turning upon their arms, as indicated in the rhyme. Another rhyme for this amusement is-- A basket, a basket, a bonny penny basket, A penny to you, and a penny to me, Turn about the basket. --Chambers s _Popular Rhymes_; p. 123. See Basket. Jib-Job-Jeremiah An undescribed Suffolk game.--Moor s _Suffolk Words_, p. 238.
Simple gambling instruments were probably very early articles of manufacture, and Chatto says that it is not unlikely that after a simple dinner of mutton some enterprising gamester may have taken the small bones from between the shank and the foot, and after burning spots in them to distinguish one from the other, put them into _a_ cow’s horn and shaken them up, afterward rolling them upon the ground. From some such beginning Astragali was developed, a game which Dr. Thomas Hyde thinks was known at the time of the Deluge. Later on, other instruments were used in connection with dice, and so the earliest forms of Backgammon were developed. Dice are still the favourite implements for deciding any matters of pure chance, such as raffling off a horse or a gold watch; but the rules governing such lotteries are but imperfectly understood by people in general. There are also a number of smaller matters, such as the payment for refreshments or cigars, which are settled by thousands of persons every day, simply by throwing dice. The various methods of throwing, and the rules governing all such games are as follows:-- _=THE DICE.=_ Although dice may be of any size, the standard pattern are half an inch square, of ivory or bone, with black spots one tenth of an inch in diameter. The opposite sides of the die always equal seven, and if the die is placed upon the table with the ace uppermost and the deuce nearest you, the four will be on the left and the three on the right. The positions of the three and four are sometimes reversed to enable sharpers to distinguish fair dice from those which have been doctored.
Horns A Horns to the Lift, a game of young people. A circle is formed round a table, and all placing their forefingers on the table, one cries, A horns to the lift! Cat s horns upmost! If on this any one lift his finger, he owes a wad, as cats have no horns. In the same manner, the person who does not raise his fingers when a horned animal is named is subjected to a forfeit.--Jamieson. Hot Cockles At Sheffield a boy is chosen for a Stump, and stands with his back against a wall. Another boy bends his back as in Leapfrog, and puts his head against the Stump. The cap of the boy who bends down is then taken off, and put upon his back upside down. Then each of the other boys who are playing puts the first finger of his right hand into the cap. When all the fingers are put into the cap, these lines are sung-- The wind blows east, the wind blows west, The wind blows o er the cuckoo s nest. Where is this poor man to go? Over yond cuckoo s hill I O.
Fox in the Fold. Fox in the Hole. French Jackie. French and English. French Blindman s Buff. Friar-rush. Frincy-francy. Frog-lope. Frog in the Middle. GAP.
Simple gambling instruments were probably very early articles of manufacture, and Chatto says that it is not unlikely that after a simple dinner of mutton some enterprising gamester may have taken the small bones from between the shank and the foot, and after burning spots in them to distinguish one from the other, put them into _a_ cow’s horn and shaken them up, afterward rolling them upon the ground. From some such beginning Astragali was developed, a game which Dr. Thomas Hyde thinks was known at the time of the Deluge. Later on, other instruments were used in connection with dice, and so the earliest forms of Backgammon were developed. Dice are still the favourite implements for deciding any matters of pure chance, such as raffling off a horse or a gold watch; but the rules governing such lotteries are but imperfectly understood by people in general. There are also a number of smaller matters, such as the payment for refreshments or cigars, which are settled by thousands of persons every day, simply by throwing dice. The various methods of throwing, and the rules governing all such games are as follows:-- _=THE DICE.=_ Although dice may be of any size, the standard pattern are half an inch square, of ivory or bone, with black spots one tenth of an inch in diameter. The opposite sides of the die always equal seven, and if the die is placed upon the table with the ace uppermost and the deuce nearest you, the four will be on the left and the three on the right. The positions of the three and four are sometimes reversed to enable sharpers to distinguish fair dice from those which have been doctored.
In round games there is no penalty. _=Exposed Cards.=_ No player can exact a penalty for his own error, so that if an adversary of the dealer exposes one of his own cards he cannot claim a misdeal, but the dealer’s side may. There should be no penalty for a player’s having exposed a card unless he can derive some benefit from the exposure, such as from his partner’s having seen it. If there is no partner, there should be no penalty, because the player injures himself only. All exposed cards must be left on the table, and may be called upon by the adversaries to be led or played. The same principles apply to _=Leading out of Turn=_. If the player in error has no partner, or his partner is a dummy, and the lead is taken back, no harm is done except to the player himself, and there should be no penalty. If the adversaries fail to observe that the lead was irregular, they are equally at fault with the player, who must be assumed to have erred unintentionally. In games in which a lead out of turn conveys information to a partner, the usual penalty is to call a suit.
Having obtained the necessary twelve cards, the more you know about the consultant’s history, hopes, and prospects, and the better you can judge her character, the less attention you need pay to the cards, and the more satisfactory the result of the consultation will be. It is not necessary to stick too closely to the meanings of the cards, nor to their combinations; the great thing is to tell your client what she wants to hear. In order to confirm the truth of the pleasing story you have built upon the twelve cards, they must be gathered together, shuffled, presented to be cut with the left hand, and then divided into four packets of three cards each. The first packet is for the Person, the second for the House, the third for the Future, and the fourth for the Surprise. Each packet is successively turned up, and its contents interpreted in connection with the part of the questioner’s life which it represents. In case there should be nothing very surprising in the last pack, it is well to have a few generalities on hand, which will be true of a person’s future six times out of ten. The expert at fortune telling has a stock of vague suggestions, supposed to be given by the cards, which are so framed as to draw from the client the drift of her hopes and fears. The scent once found, most of the fortune telling is in the nature of confirming the client’s own views of the situation. Nevertheless, when well done, by a good talker, fortune telling is very amusing, especially in a small company. BANKING GAMES.
” If he thinks he can improve his chances by drawing cards, allowing the dealer the same privilege of course, he says: “_=I propose=_;” or simply: “_=Cards=_.” In reply the dealer may either accept the proposal by asking: “_=How many?=_” or he may refuse, by saying: “_=Play=_.” If he gives cards, he may also take cards himself, after having helped his adversary. If he refuses, he must win at least three tricks or lose two points; and if the pone plays without proposing, he must make three tricks, or lose two points. The hands on which a player should stand, and those on which the dealer should refuse are known as _=jeux de règle=_, and will be found in the suggestions for good play. A proposal, acceptance, or refusal once made cannot be changed or taken back, and the number of cards asked for cannot be corrected. _=DISCARDING.=_ If the pone proposes, and the dealer asks: “How many?” the elder hand discards any number of cards from one to five, placing them on his right. These discards, once quitted, must not again be looked at. A player looking at his own or his adversary’s discards can be called upon to play with his cards exposed face upward on the table, but not liable to be called.
If it cannot be moved he must move his King. If the King cannot move, no penalty can be enforced. For playing two moves in succession, the adversary may elect which move shall stand. For touching an adversary’s man, when it cannot be captured, the offender must move his King. If the King cannot move, no other penalty can be enforced. But if the man touched can be legally taken, it must be captured. For playing a man to a square to which it cannot be legally moved, the adversary, at his option, may require him to move the man legally, or to move the King. For illegally capturing an adversary’s man, the offender must move his King, or legally capture the man, as his opponent may elect. For attempting to Castle illegally, the player doing so must move either the King or Rook, as his adversary may dictate. For touching more than one of the player’s own men, he must move either man that his opponent may name.
He quotes from a MS. play as follows-- It is edicted that every Grobian shall play at Bamberye hott cockles at the four festivals. Indeed a verye usefull sport, but lately much neglected to the mollefieinge of the flesh. --Halliwell s _Dictionary_. [Illustration] Nares _Glossary_ also contains quotations from works of 1639, 1653, and 1697 which illustrate the game. Mr. Addy says that this game as played in Sheffield is quite different from that described under the same title in Halliwell s _Dictionary_. Aubrey (p. 30) speaks of Hot Cockles as a game played at funerals in Yorkshire, and the lines here given show that this was the game. The lines-- Where is this poor man to go? Over yond cuckoo s hill I O, embodies the popular belief that the soul winged its way like a bird, and they remind one of the passing of the soul over Whinny Moor (see funeral dirge in Aubrey s _Remains of Gentilisme_, p.
At Beddgelert, Wales (Mrs. Williams), this game is called Tartan Boeth. It is played in precisely the same manner as the English game, but the words used are: Tartan Boeth, Oh ma en llosgi, Boeth iawn Hot Tart. Oh, it burns! very hot! At the words, Very hot! the handkerchief is dropped. (_b_) In this game no kissing takes place, and that this is no mere accidental omission may be shown by Mr. Udal s description of the Dorsetshire game. He was assured by several persons who are interested in Dorset Children s Games that the indiscriminate kissing (that is, whether the girl pursued runs little or far, or, when overtaken, whether she objects or not) with which this game is ordinarily associated, as played now both in Dorset and in other counties, was not indigenous to this county, but was merely a pernicious after-growth or outcome of later days, which had its origin in the various excursion and holiday fêtes, which the facilities of railway travelling had instituted, by bringing large crowds from the neighbouring towns into the country. He was told that thirty years ago such a thing was unknown in the country districts of Dorset, when the game then usually indulged in was known merely as Drop the Handkerchief (_Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 212). In other cases the rhymes are used for a purely kissing game, for which see Kiss in the Ring.
There are a great many chess openings, all of which have been analysed as far as the tenth move, including every possible variation on the way. The student who wishes to study them in detail should procure Freeborough’s “Chess Openings,” or Cook’s “Synopsis.” In these works, if either side has an advantage before the tenth move, it is indicated by a plus sign; if the position is equal, it is so marked. In studying openings, the student should be careful always to play with the winning side next him; that is, never study how to play a losing game. If the variation ends with a plus sign, showing a win for the white, play it over with the white men next you. In selecting openings for general use in play, if it is one for the white men, take those openings that have the greatest number of variations ending in favour of white. The Ruy Lopez is a very good opening for beginners, and the Evans’ Gambit may be studied later. The French Defence and the Petroff are good openings for Black. The theory of opening is to mobilise your forces for the attack in the fewest possible moves. Lasker thinks six moves should be enough for this purpose, and he recommends that only the King’s and Queen’s Pawns should be moved, after which each piece should be placed at once upon the square from which it can operate to the best advantage.
The highest card played, if of the suit led, wins the trick, and the winner leads for the next trick. If a player has none of the suit led he may discard anything he pleases. The game is sometimes varied by adding a _=general=_, or _=capot=_. Any player who thinks he can win all the tricks announces capot before the first card is led. If he is successful he loses nothing; but each of the others must pay five counters into the pool, one for each Jack, and one extra for Polignac. If the capot player fails to win every trick, each player pays for whatever jacks he has taken in. ENFLÉ, OR SCHWELLEN. When Enflé is played by four persons, the Piquet pack of thirty-two cards is used. If there are more than four players, sufficient cards are added to give eight to each person. The rank of the cards and all other preliminaries are the same as at Hearts.
If the opposite side guesses the name of the trade, the players run to their own den, being chased by their opponents. If any of the players are caught they must go to the opposite side. In turn the opposite side chooses a trade, and imitates the actions practised.--Cork, Ireland (Miss Keane). This is called An Old Woman from the Wood in Dorsetshire. The children form themselves into two ranks. The first rank says: Here comes an old oman from the wood. The second party answers: What cans t thee do? First Party: Do anythin . Second Party: Work away. This the children proceed to do, some by pretending to sew, some to wash, some to dig, some to knit, without any instruments to do it with.
| |die. | | 31.| -- | -- | -- | | 32.| -- | -- | -- | | 33.|And leave the girl a | -- |And leave his wife a | | |widow. | |widow. | | 34.| -- | -- | -- | | 35.|Bells would ring, cats| -- | -- | | |would sing. | | | | 36.
They were both designed and prepared to go into deadly battle together. One cheating had been enough. They had found him out and he had been laughed at for years. Father Moontree picked up the imitation-leather cup and shook the stone dice which assigned them their Partners for the trip. By senior rights, he took first draw. * * * * * He grimaced. He had drawn a greedy old character, a tough old male whose mind was full of slobbering thoughts of food, veritable oceans full of half-spoiled fish. Father Moontree had once said that he burped cod liver oil for weeks after drawing that particular glutton, so strongly had the telepathic image of fish impressed itself upon his mind. Yet the glutton was a glutton for danger as well as for fish. He had killed sixty-three Dragons, more than any other Partner in the service, and was quite literally worth his weight in gold.
They then cut to decide which shall play the first game, the lowest écarté card going out. The players then cut for the first deal, choice of seats and cards, etc., exactly as in the ordinary game. The winner of the first game retains his seat; the loser pays into the pool another stake, equal to the first, and retires in favour of the third player, who is called the _=rentrant=_. The rentrant takes the loser’s seat and cards, and cuts with the successful player for the first deal. The loser of the second game adds another stake to the pool, and retires in favour of the waiting player. The pool is won by any player winning two games in succession. If the winner of the first game won the second also, he would take the pool, which would then contain five stakes; the three originally deposited, and the two added by the losers of the two games. A new pool would then be formed by each of the three depositing another stake, and all cutting to decide which should sit out for the first game. In some places only the two players actually engaged contribute to the pool, the loser retiring without paying anything further, and the rentrant contributing his stake when he takes the loser’s place.
Any four Aces 100 Any four Kings 80 Any four Queens 60 Any four Jacks 40 Besides the foregoing, there is the score of fifty points for carte blanche, which may be announced only before the first trick is played to, and the score of fifty points for the winner of the last trick of all. In class A, the first marriage declared must of course count 40, as it is the trump suit for that deal. In class C, the four court cards may be of different suits, or any two or more of them may be of the same suit. The rules governing declarations are as follows:-- The player making the declaration must have won the previous trick, and must make his announcement before drawing his card from the stock. When the stock is exhausted, so that no cards remain to be drawn, no announcements can be made. Only one declaration can be scored at a time, so that a trick must be won for every announcement made, or the combination cannot be scored. This rule does not prevent a player from making two or more announcements at the same time; but he can score only one of them. A player cannot make a lower declaration with cards which form part of a higher combination already shown in the same class. For instance:--Marriages and sequences belong to the same class. If a sequence has been declared, the player cannot take from it the King and Queen, and score for the marriage; neither can he add a new Queen to the King already used in the sequence, because the higher combination was scored first.
Hardy). II. O, have you seen the muffin man, The muffin man, the muffin man; O, have you seen the muffin man Who lives in Drury Lane O? --N. W. Lincolnshire (Rev. ---- Roberts). III. Have you seen the muffin girl, The muffin girl, the muffin girl? O have you seen the muffin girl Down in yonder lane? --Congleton Workhouse School (Miss A. E. Twemlow).
E. S. W., letters used to distinguish the players at Duplicate Whist. N always leads, unless otherwise specified. Nursing, keeping the balls together at Billiards, as distinguished from gathering, which brings them together. Odd Trick, the seventh won by the same partners at Whist. Open Bets, bets at Faro which play cards to win. Openers, cards which entitle a player to open a jack-pot. Original Lead, the opening lead of a hand at Whist.
In the case of a single player against three adversaries, the caller is not liable to any penalty for cards played in error, or led out of turn; but his adversaries are subject to the usual whist penalties for all such irregularities, such as having the cards laid on the table as exposed, or a suit called, or the highest or lowest of a suit led demanded from an adversary who has followed suit out of turn. For the better protection of the single player, who is much more liable to be injured by irregularities than partners would be, he is allowed to prevent the use of an exposed trump for ruffing, and to demand or _=to prevent=_ the play of any exposed card in plain suits. If a suit is led of which an adversary has an exposed card on the table the single player may call upon him to play his highest or lowest of that suit. If any adversary of a misère player leads out of turn, or exposes a card, or plays before his proper turn in any trick, the caller may immediately claim the stakes, and the individual player in fault must pay for himself, and for his partners. _=METHODS OF CHEATING.=_ While the practice of dealing three cards at a time gives a little more opportunity to the greek than would occur if they were dealt as at Whist, there is little to be feared if two packs are used, unless two greeks are in partnership. When such partners sit next each other, there is more or less danger, if only one pack is used, that one may shuffle so that the other may cut understandingly; or that a good shuffler may run up six cards for a dealer that is not embarrassed by the cards being cut. A shrewd greek can often help a silent partner who is playing under the disguise of a single caller, especially in misère. Persons who play in the many public cafés of Europe should be especially careful to avoid this style of partnership, where it is very common. _=SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY.
Holy Gabriel, holy man, Rantum roarum reeden man, I ll do all as ever I can To follow my Gabriel, holy man.[3] --Redhill, Surrey (Miss G. Hope). III. I sell my bat, I sell my ball, I sell my spinning-wheel and all; And I ll do all that ever I can To follow the eyes of the drummer man. --Luton, Bedfordshire (Mrs. Ashdown). (_b_) In the Yorkshire version a ring is formed with one child in the middle as the Oary Man. Whatever he, or she, does, all in the ring must mimic, going round and singing at the same time. Any one found late in changing the action or idle in obeying the caperings of the central child becomes the Oary Man in place of the child taking that part.
After the hand is over, all these cards are counted over again in reckoning the point for Game, the Five of trumps counting 5. Sixty-one points is game. _=IRREGULARITIES IN PLAY.=_ The most serious error in Seven-up is the _=revoke=_. If a player does not follow suit when able, it is a revoke unless he trumps the trick. A player holding two small trumps and the Ten of a plain suit, may trump both the ace and King of that suit instead of giving up his Ten. But if on the third round the Queen is led, and he cannot trump it, he must play his Ten if he has no other card of the suit. The only points affected by the revoke are Jack and Game. _=If the Jack is not in play=_, there is only one point that can be affected by the revoke, the score for Game; and the revoke penalty is one point, which the adversary may add to his own score, or deduct from the score of the revoking player. The adversary may also score the point for Game if he makes it; but it cannot be scored by the revoking player; who may mark only High or Low if he holds either or both of those points.
A player cannot score dix and any other combination at the same time. For this reason a player whose time is short will often forego the dix score altogether unless the trump card is valuable. _=Irregular Melds.=_ If a player announces a combination which he does not show, such as fours when he has three only, which he may easily do by mistaking a Jack for a King, his adversary can compel him not only to take down the score erroneously marked, but to lead or play one of the three Kings. A player may be called upon to lead or play cards from other erroneous declarations in the same manner, but if he has the right card or cards in his hand, he may amend his error, provided he has not drawn a card from the stock in the meantime. _=The Last Twelve Tricks.=_ When the stock is exhausted all announcements are at an end, and the players take back into their hands all the cards upon the table which may remain from the combinations declared in the course of play. Should a player take up his cards before playing to the last trick, he may be called upon to lay his entire hand on the table. The winner of the previous trick then leads any card he pleases; but for the last twelve tricks the second player in each must not only follow suit, but must win the trick if he can, either with a superior card or with a trump. Any player failing to follow suit or to win a trick, when able to do so, may be compelled to take back his cards to the point where the error occurred, and to replay the hand from that point on.
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. The players then examine their cards, and each in turn, beginning with the eldest hand, may exchange one card. If he trades _=for ready money=_, he gives his card and one white counter to the dealer, and receives another card, face down, from the top of the pack. The discard is left on the table, and the counter is the dealer’s perquisite. If he trades _=for barter=_, he passes his discard to the player on his left, who must give one of his own in exchange before looking at the one he is to receive.
The play of the first round, three deals, finished, the E & W players all move one table, 2 going to 1, 3 to 2, etc. The umpire now brings into play the trays that were idle, giving trays 4, 5, 6, to tables 1 and 6; trays 10, 11, 12, to tables 2 and 7, and so on down the line, all the trays that were used in the first round lying idle. Again the players move, and now table 1 gets the 7, 8, 9, set of trays to overplay with table 6, and so on; so that all the sets move up a table after each intervening round, and table 1 will get all the trays from 1 to 30 in order. _=SCORING.=_ In both the foregoing systems, each pair should have its own score-card, and should mark the name of the team it plays against for each series of four hands. These score-cards are more for private reference than anything else in tournaments; because there is always a professional scorer, for whose use small slips are filled out and collected from the tables at the end of each round. The winner is the team that wins the most matches; not the one that gains the most tricks. In case of ties, the number of tricks won must decide. If the number of tricks taken by each side is a tie in any match, the score is marked zero, and each team counts half a match won. We give an illustration of the final score in a match between five teams.