The position of the lead is often a serious consideration with a player calling a solo or a misère. In all calls except misères and slams, the hands must be played out, in order to give each side an opportunity to make all the over-tricks they can. The moment a misère player takes a trick, or a slam player loses one, the hands are thrown up, and the stakes paid. When a spread is called, the trump is taken up, and the eldest hand leads. As soon as all have played to the first trick, the caller spreads his remaining twelve cards face upward on the table, so that each of his adversaries may see them; but they have no control of the order in which they shall be played. The adversaries play their hands in the usual manner, with no further guidance than that possible by inference from the play and the exposed hand. The caller plays according to his best judgment. When a slam is called, the player proposing it has the original lead; but that does not alter the position of the deal for the next hand. _=REVOKES.=_ A revoke is a serious matter in Solo Whist.
With less than three aces, Dummy cannot make it no-trumps under any circumstances; but must name the longest suit. If two suits are equal, the pips on each are counted, reckoning aces as 11 each, other honours at 10 each, and the larger number of pips is the suit. If this is still equal, the more valuable suit must be declared. No one but the eldest hand may double, and no one but the dealer may redouble. In order to make this fair for both sides, it is usual to let the pone sort and declare on Dummy’s cards, so that the dealer shall not see them until the first card is led. No matter what points are made for tricks, the dealer only can score them below the line, to count toward game. If the adversaries make the odd trick, they score above the line, in the honour column, so that no one can go out except on his own deal. After the deal is finished and scored, the players move, so as to bring about a change of partners. The one on the left of the vacant place moves into it, and the player on his right deals. Three of these movements bring about the original position.
=_ Bézique is played for so much a game, 1,000 points up; or for so much a point, the score of the loser being deducted from that of the winner. When a partie of five games is agreed upon, it is usual to have an extra stake upon the odd game, and when three games have been won by the same player, the partie is at an end. It is usual to count it a double game if the loser has not reached 500 points. _=PLAYERS.=_ Bézique is played by two persons, one of whom is known as the _=dealer=_, and the other as the _=pone=_. They cut for choice of seats and deal, the player cutting the highest card having the first choice, and electing whether or not to deal himself. In cutting, the cards rank as in play, and the ace is the highest. If a player exposes more than one card, he must cut again. _=DEALING.=_ The cards are thoroughly shuffled, and presented to the pone to be cut.
The Hob and Scop are usually three yards apart. The Cot was a button off the waistcoat or trousers, the Twy one off the coat, and, as its name implies, was equal to two Cots. Formerly, when cash was much more rare than now it is amongst boys, these formed their current coin. The game about 1820 seems to have been chiefly one of tossing, and was played with buttons, then common enough. Now, metal buttons being rare, it is played with pieces of brass or copper of any shape. The expression, I haven t a cot, is sometimes used to signify that a person is without money.--Easther s _Almondbury and Huddersfield Glossary_. See Banger, Buttons. Course o Park The game of Course of the Park has not been described, but is referred to in the following verse:-- Buff s a fine sport, And so s Course o Park. --_The Slighted Maid_, 1663, p.
It is not necessary to play down and out with an honour, because the leader can read the situation without it. Suppose third hand holds the J 5. He plays the 5 to the first round, because one of his two cards is an honour. The leader goes on with the Ace, and the Jack falls. Now the third hand must have the Queen or no more, and no matter which it is he can win the third round, with the Queen or with a trump. _=Against No-Trumpers.=_ When there is no trump, the third hand uses what is called the _=Foster echo=_. This consists in playing always the _=second-best=_ of the suit, when no attempt is made to win the trick. Suppose the leader begins with the King. Third hand holds 10 8 7 4, and plays the 8.
_=7.=_ If the player touches the cue-ball more than once in any way, or hinders or accelerates it in any other way than by a legitimate stroke of the cue; or if, during a stroke or after it, he in any way touches, hinders, or accelerates an object-ball, except by the one stroke of the cue-ball to which he is entitled. _=8.=_ As touching any ball _in any way_ is a stroke, a second touch is a foul. _=9.=_ It is a foul against the striker if any ball be disturbed, hastened, or hindered by an opponent or any one but himself, whether the ball or balls are at rest while he is aiming or striking, in motion after he has struck, or at rest again after he has struck, and pending his again taking aim. _=10.=_ Should a ball that has once come to a standstill move without apparent cause, while the player is preparing to strike, it shall be replaced. Should it move before he can check his stroke, it, and all other balls set in motion by that stroke, shall be replaced, and the player shall repeat his shot, inasmuch as but for the moving of the ball, he might have counted where he missed, or missed where he counted. _=11.
I sent a letter to my love, I carried water in my glove, And by the way I dropped it. I did so! I did so! I had a little dog that said Bow! wow! I had a little cat that said Meow! meow! Shan t bite you--shan t bite you-- Shall bite you. --Cornwall (_Folk-lore Journal_, v. 52). VIII. I sent a letter to my love, I carried water in my glove, I dript it, I dropped it, and by the way I lost it. --Hersham, Surrey (_Folk-lore Record_, v. 87). IX. I have a pigeon in my pocket, If I have not lost it; Peeps in, peeps out, By the way I ve lost it; Drip, drop, By the way I ve lost it.
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_=Eight=_, Acht. _=Seven=_, Sieben. The most common terms are; Bube, As, Zehn, König, Dame, etc. The words Unter and Ober for the Jack and Queen, refer to the manner of marking the suits on the German cards. In the Queens, the mark of the suit is always above the figure, which has a single head; in the Jacks the suit mark is always under the figure. This distinction is necessary, because in the German cards the Queen is a male figure. The King has two suit marks, one on each side of the head. When the French or American double-head cards are used, with suit-marks in both corners, the words “ober” and “unter” have no meaning; Dame and Bube being used instead. _=Rank of the Suits.=_ In addition to the rank of the cards themselves, the suits outrank one another, except in Nullo, clubs being always the best, then spades, hearts and diamonds.
In case of equal natural pairs, the highest card outside the pair wins. 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.
Knight Player, one who can give the odds of a Knight to weak players, at Chess. Last Trick, an expression used to distinguish the last trick when all the cards are played from the last when all the cards are not played, especially in Bézique and Sixty-six. Last Turn, the three cards left in the box at the end of the deal at Faro, the order of which may be bet upon. Lead, to play the first card in any trick. Levée, F., a trick. (Tric, is the odd trick.) Liées, F., to play rubbers. Limit, the amount by which one player may increase his bet over that of another.
=_ The position which we have first to consider is that of the eldest hand, usually designated by the letter “A,” who sits on the declarer’s left. [Illustration: Pone +-------+ | B | Dummy |Y Z| Declarer | A | +-------+ Leader ] _=Selecting the Suit to Lead.=_ If your partner has declared a suit, lead the best card you hold of it, regardless of number, unless you have an ace-king suit of your own, in which case lead the king first and have a look at dummy. If partner has not declared anything, lead your own suit. With high cards not in sequence, such as ace-queen, king-jack, or even queen-ten, in every suit but trumps, lead the trump. There is a great difference between playing against a trump declaration and against no-trumpers; because in the first case the leader is opposed to unusual trump strength and his object must be to make what he can of his winning cards, before the declarer gets into the lead and discards his weak suits, so as to be ready to trump them. But in the second case, there being no trumps, the leader’s object should be to get a suit established against the dealer, if he can, and the longer the suit is, the better. The dealer’s strength in a no-trumper is usually scattered, and he may often be found with a weak or missing suit, which is generally the suit in which the eldest hand or his partner is long. We shall first consider the leads against trump declarations, because they are more common and are also the more useful. If a player makes a trump-hand lead against a no-trump declaration, he will not do nearly so much harm as if he make a no-trump-hand lead against a trump declaration.