There are two principal varieties of this game; straight bridge, in which the dealer or his partner must make the trump, their opponents having nothing to say about it except to double the value of the tricks. The dealer’s partner is always the dummy, and either side may score toward game by making the odd trick or more. Auction bridge, in which the privilege of making the trump is bid for, the highest bidder playing the hand with his partner as dummy, regardless of the position of the deal, and his side being the only one that can score toward game, the adversaries scoring nothing but penalties in the honour column if they defeat the contract. As this is the more popular form of bridge at the present time, it will be given first. Since the adoption of the higher value for the spade suit under the name of royal spades, and the change in the value of the suits, the game gradually came to be known as royal auction, but as that change is now universal, the name has slipped back to its original title. AUCTION BRIDGE, OR AUCTION. _=CARDS.=_ Auction is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, ranking A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2, the Ace being the highest in play, but ranking below the deuce in cutting. Two packs should be used, the one being shuffled while the other is dealt. _=MARKERS=_ suitable for scoring the various points made at Bridge have not yet been invented.
King Card, the best card remaining unplayed of the suit. King Row, the four squares on the checker board which are farthest from the player’s own side. Kitty, the percentage taken out of a pool to pay for refreshments, or for the expenses of the table. 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.
All that can be done to assist the beginner is to state certain general principles which are well recognised as fundamental, and to leave the rest to experience and practice at the whist table. _=GENERAL PRINCIPLES.=_ Nothing obstructs the progress of the beginner so much as his attempts to cover all the ground at once. The more ambitious he is, the greater his necessity for keeping in view the maxim; “One thing at a time: all things in succession.” One must master the scales before he can produce the perfect melody. The novice should first thoroughly understand the object, and the fundamental principle of the game. _=The Object=_ is to win tricks. Not to give information, or to count the hands, or to remember every card played; but simply and only to win tricks. _=The Principle=_ is to secure for certain cards a trick-taking value which does not naturally belong to them; either by getting higher cards out of the way of lower, or by placing the holder of intermediate cards at a disadvantage with regard to the lead. If any person will take the trouble to deal out four hands, and after turning them face up on the table, count how many tricks each side will probably take with its high cards and trumps, he will find that the total will hardly ever be exactly thirteen tricks.
Hide and Seek (1). Hide and Seek (2). Hinch-Pinch. Hinmost o Three. Hirtschin Hairy. Hiry-hag. Hiss and Clap. Hitch, Jamie, Stride and Loup. Hitchapagy. Hitchy Cock Ho.
If any player exposes any of his cards before the trump suit is named, the adversaries may elect to have a new deal by the same dealer. _=Discarding.=_ The trump named, each player must put out at least three of his cards, and may discard as many more as he pleases. All such discards must be placed on the table face up. Should a player discard a trump, his partner may call his attention to it, and it may be taken back, provided the player has not been helped to cards, or has not lifted the cards drawn. _=Drawing.=_ The players having discarded, the dealer, beginning on his left, must give to each in turn from the top of the pack, face down, as many cards as may be necessary to restore the number in each hand to six. _=Robbing the Deck.=_ When it comes to the dealer’s turn to draw cards, instead of taking them from the top of the pack, face down, he may search the remainder of the pack, and take from it any cards he pleases to restore the number in his hand to six. Should he find in his own hand and in the remainder of the pack, more than six trumps, he must discard those he does not want, face upward on the table.
See Nursing. Geben, G., to deal the cards. Sometimes “Vertheilung der Karten” is used. Gegner, G., the adversary. Grand Coup, trumping a trick already won by partner; or playing a small trump on a trick which he has already trumped. Greek, (grec) a card sharp. Guarded Cards, cards which cannot be caught by higher cards unless they are led through. Hand, the cards dealt to one player; the distribution of the cards in any one deal.
This was called kissing, and was not allowed by some players. When one player succeeded in sending the top into the Gully, he took it up and fixed it by its peg into a post, mortar of a wall, or the best place where it could be tolerably steady. Holding it by one hand, he drove the peg of his own top as far as he could into the crown of the victim top. This was called taking a grudge. He then held either his own or the victim top and knocked the other against the wall, the object being to split the victim. He was allowed three grudges. If the top did not give way, the other players tried in turn. If the top did not split, it was returned to its owner, but any boy who succeeded in splitting it through the middle, so that the peg fell out, took possession of the peg. I have seen a top split at the side in such a way as to be quite useless as a top, though no peg was gained. I remember, too, a schoolfellow of mine drawing from his pocket some seven or eight pegs, the trophied memorials of as many tops.
It wasn t a hard blow, but an upsetting one. Fowler Smythe grinned at him from where he was sitting in one of the leather divans. Sit down and shut up, Sime, he suggested coolly. Simonetti sagged with defeat. Look, Rose, he gasped. I want out. Bad enough that our losses can t be stopped by this creep Smythe. Now you drag in another TK. Buy me out! What s a business worth that s losing its shirt? Rose sneered. We were in clover, you fool, till this cross-roader got to us.
It is sometimes played with pegs, bits of paper, or wood, or stone. It is called Peg Morris by Clare, the Northamptonshire poet. The ancient game of Nine Men s Morris is yet played by the boys of Dorset. The boys of a cottage, near Dorchester, had a while ago carved a Marrel pound on a block of stone by the house. Some years ago a clergyman of one of the upper counties wrote that in the pulling down of a wall in his church, built in the thirteenth century, the workmen came to a block of stone with a Marrel s pound cut on it. Merrels the game was called by a mason.--Barnes _Additional Glossary; Folk-lore Journal_, vii. 233. Nine Men s Morris, in Gloucestershire called Ninepenny Morris, was, says a correspondent in the _Midland Garner_, largely practised by boys and even older people over thirty years ago, but is now, as far as I know, entirely disused. Two persons play.
Lincolnshire.--Cole s _Glossary_. The following letter relating to this game is extracted from the _Worcestershire Chronicle_, September 1847, in Ellis s edition of Brand:-- Before the commons were taken in, the children of the poor had ample space wherein to recreate themselves at cricket, _nurr_, or any other diversion; but now they are driven from every green spot, and in Bromsgrove here, the nailor boys, from the force of circumstances, have taken possession of the turnpike road to play the before-mentioned games, to the serious inconvenience of the passengers, one of whom, a woman, was yesterday knocked down by a _nurr_ which struck her in the head. Brockett says of this game, as played in Durham: It is called Spell and Ore, Teut. spel, a play or sport; and Germ. knorr, a knot of wood or ore. The recreation is also called Buckstick, Spell, and Ore, the buckstick with which the ore is struck being broad at one end like the butt of a gun (_North Country Words_). In Yorkshire it is Spell and Nurr, or Knur, the ore or wooden ball having been, perhaps, originally the knurl or knot of a tree. The _Whitby Glossary_ also gives this as Spell and Knor, and says it is known in the South as Dab and Stick. The author adds, May not tribbit, or trevit, be a corruption of three feet, the required length of the stick for pliable adaptation? Robinson (_Mid-Yorkshire Glossary_), under Spell and Nur, says: A game played with a wooden ball and a stick fitted at the striking end with a club-shaped piece of wood.
, frozen out; the entire amount of the original stake being lost. Défausser, se, F., to discard. D’emblée, F., on the first deal; before the draw. Despatchers, dice which are not properly marked, having two faces alike, such as double fives. Devil’s bed posts, the four of clubs. Discarding, getting rid of a card in plain suits when unable to follow suit and unwilling to trump. Donne, (avoir la) to have the deal. Donne, the time occupied in playing the cards distributed during a deal, but “coup” is the term generally used.
This is called _=taking the pot=_, and the cards are gathered, shuffled, and dealt again, the deal passing to the player who was the age. _=DRAWING CARDS.=_ All those who have made the ante good have the privilege of discarding, face downward, as many cards as they please, in the place of which they may draw others. The age has the first draw, and can take any number of cards from one to five, or he may _=stand pat=_, refusing to draw any. A player cannot receive from the dealer more or less cards than he discards; so that if a person is allowed to play with a short hand, of four cards only, he will still have only four cards after the draw. If his hand was foul, it will remain so after the draw. In drawing, a player may keep or discard what cards he pleases. There is no rule to prevent his throwing away a pair of aces and keeping three clubs if he is so inclined; but the general practice is for the player to retain whatever pairs or triplets he may have, and to draw to them. Four cards of a straight or a flush may be drawn to in the same way, and some make a practice of drawing to one or two high cards, such as an ace and a king, when they have no other chance. Some hands offer opportunities to vary the draw.
Go out, ----; who shall he be? ---- made a pudding, She made it so sweet, And never stuck a knife in Till ---- came to eat. Taste, love, taste, love, don t say nay, For next Monday morning is your wedding day. He bought her a gown and a guinea gold ring, And a fine cocked hat to be married in. --West Haddon, Northamptonshire; Long Itchington, Warwickshire (_Northants Notes and Queries_, ii. 105). III. Down in the valley the violets grow. Dear little ----, she blows like a rose. She blows, she blows, she blows so sweet. Come along in.
The same penalties are enforced if one player has too many cards and the other too few; but in the latter case the hand is played out, the player not in fault scoring all he can. If both players have more than their right number of cards, the deal is void. If either has less than his proper number, his adversary having the right number, the deal stands good, and there is no penalty except that the player with the right number of cards wins and scores for the last trick. If both have less than the right number, the deal stands good, and the actual winner of the last trick scores it. It will be observed that these rules are quite different from the French rules, which have been given in connection with the ordinary game of Bézique. In France, it is always the custom to establish the _status quo_, if possible, and to assume that the error was quite unintentional. In England, all laws are based on the assumption that your adversary is a rogue, and the penalties are absurdly severe, but we have no authority to change them. _=Irregularities in Drawing.=_ If a player has forgotten to take his card from the talon, and has played to the next trick, the English laws compel him to play the remainder of the hand with eight cards; the French laws give his adversary the option of calling the deal void, or allowing the player in error to draw two cards from the stock next time. If a player draws two cards from the stock, instead of one, he must show the second one to his adversary if he has seen it himself.
=_ The players draw from an outspread pack for partners, seats, and deal. The two lowest play against the two highest; the highest cut has the choice of seats and cards, and deals the first hand. Partners sit opposite each other. _=DEALING.=_ Each player has the right to shuffle the pack, the dealer last. The cards are then presented to the pone to be cut, and at least four cards must be left in each packet. Beginning on his left, the dealer gives nine cards to each player, three at a time in three separate rounds. No trump is turned, and the remainder of the pack is left on the table face downward. _=MISDEALING.=_ If any card is found faced in the pack, the cards must be reshuffled and dealt again.
If the dealer is interrupted in any manner by an adversary, he does not lose his deal. _=15.=_ _=THE TRUMP CARD.=_ After the trump card is turned, each player in turn, beginning with the eldest hand, has the privilege of passing, assisting, or ordering up the trump. Should a player pass, and afterward correct himself by ordering up or assisting, both he and his partner may be prevented by the adversaries from exercising their privilege. If a player calls his partner’s attention to the fact that they are at the bridge, both lose their right to order up the trump. _=16.=_ The dealer may leave the trump card on the pack until it is got rid of in the course of play. If the trump card has been taken up or played, any player may ask, and must be informed by the dealer, what the trump suit is; but any player naming the trump card may be called upon by an adversary to play his highest or lowest trump. _=17.
See Hockey. Chuck-farthing Strutt says this game was played by boys at the commencement of the last century, and probably bore some analogy to Pitch and Hustle. He saw the game thus denominated played with halfpence, every one of the competitors having a like number, either two or four; a hole being made in the ground, with a mark at a given distance for the players to stand, they pitch their halfpence singly in succession towards the hole, and he whose halfpenny lies the nearest to it has the privilege of coming first to a second mark much nearer than the former, and all the halfpence are given to him; these he pitches in a mass toward the hole, and as many of them as remain therein are his due; if any fall short or jump out of it, the second player--that is, he whose halfpenny in pitching lay nearest to the first goer s--takes them and performs in like manner; he is followed by the others as long as any of the halfpence remain (_Sports_, pp. 386, 387). There is a letter in the _Spectator_, supposed to be from the father of a romp, who, among other complaints of her conduct, says, I have catched her once at eleven years old at Chuck-farthing among the boys. Chuck-hole, Chuck-penny Same game as Chuck-farthing, with this difference, that if the pennies roll outside the ring it is a dead heat, and each boy reclaims his penny.--Peacock s _Manley and Corringham Glossary_; and see Brogden s _Lincolnshire Words_. Chucks A game with marbles played by girls (Mactaggart s _Gallovidian Encyclopædia_). A writer in _Blackwood s Magazine_, August 1821, p. 36, says Chucks is played with a bowl and chucks--a species of shells (_Buccinum lapillus_) found on the sea-shore [ bowl here probably means a marble].
2, where they are doubled; then the four devices are repeated in the same order. The game, formerly popular at Christmas, can be played by any number of persons. Each has a bank of pins or other small matters. A pool is formed; then in turn each rolls the Long Lawrence. If No. 1 comes up the player cries Flush, and takes the pool; if No. 2, he puts down two pins; if No. 3, he says Lave all, and neither takes nor gives; if No. 4, he picks up one. The sides are considered to bear the names, Flush, Put doan two, Lave all, Sam up one.
And I m the one? Yes! Not that again! I growled, grabbing her thin shoulders and shaking her. Her glasses bobbled on her nose. I m _not_ your darlin Billy, and you well know it. Admit it! She closed her lips over her buck teeth and sniffled. I reckon not, she said, raising her head and looking at me without flinching. I lied to you. Why? Kind of made me feel more decent about bein divorced. I gave her a last shake for the lie. Let s have it, I went after her. How much of what you ve been feeding me is just window dressing? She shrugged, but stayed silent.
The turned trump is not taken up by the dealer, but is left on the pack. The eldest hand leads for the first trick and every man is for himself, each holding his own tricks. At the end of the hand, each player that has not taken a trick receives a counter from each of the others, whether they have taken tricks or not. Then all those that have won tricks put back into the pool a counter for each trick they have taken. The first player to get rid of his twelve counters wins the game. AUCTION EUCHRE. This form of the game is sometimes erroneously called _=French Euchre=_. The French know nothing about Euchre in any form. Auction Euchre is exactly the same as the ordinary four or six-handed game, except that the trump is not turned up, the players bidding in turn for the privilege of naming the trump suit. The bidder names the number of tricks he proposes to take.
With two men still to bid, a good player would probably make himself safe by shutting out A’s bid, probably offering 26. Let us suppose B then to examine his hand, finding ♡ J 10; ♣ Q 9 8 7; ♢ A 10 9; ♠ 10 9 8 2. Being unsafe in everything, he passes, and practically submits to his fate, his only hope being that the pool will result in a Jack. Z then examines his hand, finding ♡ Q 9 7 5 2; ♣ none; ♢ Q J 6 2; ♠ A K Q J. He sees at once that on spades he would lose everything, and on diamonds he would have a very poor chance. On clubs the result would depend on how often spades were led. In hearts, he has a very good hand, especially as he has a missing suit to discard in. As he is the last bidder he can make sure of the choice for 27, which he bids, and pays into the pool. The result of the play is given in Illustrative Hand No. 4.
Battledore and Shuttlecock See Shuttlefeather. Bedlams or Relievo [Illustration: Fig. 1.] [Illustration: Fig. 2.] [Illustration: Fig. 3.] A number of boys agree to play at this game, and sides are picked. Five, for example, play on each side. A square is chalked out on a footpath by the side of a road, which is called the Den; five of the boys remain by the side of the Den, one of whom is called the Tenter; the Tenter has charge of the Den, and he must always stand with one foot in the Den and the other upon the road; the remaining five boys go out to field, it being agreed beforehand that they shall only be allowed to run within a prescribed area, or in certain roads or streets (fig.
MORT. WHIST À TROIS; OR FRENCH DUMMY. _=MORT=_ means simply the dead hand; and is the equivalent of the English word Dummy; the partner being known as _=Vivant=_, or the living hand. In these words the English usually sound the _=t=_, as they do in such words as _=piquet=_, and _=valet=_. _=CARDS.=_ Mort is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, ranking as at whist for cutting and playing. Two packs are generally used. _=MARKERS=_ are necessary to count the game points only. Four circular counters for each side, preferably of different colours, are employed, or the ordinary whist markers may be used. At the end of each game, the score of the points won or lost by each player must be transferred to a score-sheet, kept for that purpose.
--Northall s _English Folk Rhymes_, p. 386. This is a marching game for very little children, who follow each other in a row. (_b_) Halliwell gives the first two lines only (_Nursery Rhymes_, No. dxv., p. 101), and there is apparently no other record of this game. It is probably ancient, and formerly of some significance. It refers to days of bows and arrows, and the allusion to the killing of the wren may have reference to the Manx and Irish custom of hunting that bird. All in the Well A juvenile game in Newcastle and the neighbourhood.
In the following examples the player should begin with the longest suit:-- ♡ A 4 3; ♣ J 10 9 8 3; ♢ A K Q; ♠ K 2. ♡ K 10 8 3; ♣ 4 2; ♢ K Q 10 8 2; ♠ A Q. In the following the four-card suit should be selected:-- ♡ J 3; ♣ 6 5 4 3 2; ♢ J 10 5 3; ♠ Q 8. ♡ Q 4 2; ♣ 7; ♢ 10 6 4 3 2; ♠ A K Q 10. The principle which should guide in the selection of a plain suit for the original lead is, that if there are a number of small cards in one suit, and a few high cards in another, by leading the long suit first, the higher cards in it are forced out of the way, and the high cards in the shorter suit will then bring the holder of the established small cards into the lead again. But if the high cards of the short suit are first led, the long suit of small cards is dead. Having determined whether to lead the trump or the plain suit, the next point is to select the proper card of the suit to lead. At first the beginner need not trouble himself about making any distinction between trumps and plain suits; that will come later. _=Rules for Leading High Cards.=_ Having a strong suit, but without cards of re-entry or trump strength to support it, the best policy is to make tricks while you can.
Fowler Smythe grinned at him from where he was sitting in one of the leather divans. Sit down and shut up, Sime, he suggested coolly. Simonetti sagged with defeat. Look, Rose, he gasped. I want out. Bad enough that our losses can t be stopped by this creep Smythe. Now you drag in another TK. Buy me out! What s a business worth that s losing its shirt? Rose sneered. We were in clover, you fool, till this cross-roader got to us. This is our only chance to get even.
If any of the other suits is the one bid on, B has as good a chance for the pool as any one, at least to divide it. With two men still to bid, a good player would probably make himself safe by shutting out A’s bid, probably offering 26. Let us suppose B then to examine his hand, finding ♡ J 10; ♣ Q 9 8 7; ♢ A 10 9; ♠ 10 9 8 2. Being unsafe in everything, he passes, and practically submits to his fate, his only hope being that the pool will result in a Jack. Z then examines his hand, finding ♡ Q 9 7 5 2; ♣ none; ♢ Q J 6 2; ♠ A K Q J. He sees at once that on spades he would lose everything, and on diamonds he would have a very poor chance. On clubs the result would depend on how often spades were led. In hearts, he has a very good hand, especially as he has a missing suit to discard in. As he is the last bidder he can make sure of the choice for 27, which he bids, and pays into the pool. The result of the play is given in Illustrative Hand No.