; ‘yy A ey aon yy igateaey Swit Xe a 4 , " y ; ‘ st pat A - Voy OM . ; . , ; Fa ed ‘be : ; : oN yr) ea ami) ; : = ‘ rane, , Wied +a ae ij ; « ue i Ten” ’ . ‘, f ci ~. * CaaS. \ uae Rs . ~ r , { el | , aeLA Eas | 8: ' i | sy N fil Hi iN ( i th : ithe | Hy . . Pr t ity | Wes itt tel \ i it | | hte sdawclitivuts! a Ua ; ! WILL BID Four — WITHOUT THE LATEST SIGNAL Apoereo BY THEMAN WHOSE | | WIFE tS A CHRONIG | Over wBIDODER. I yarns WEBSTER’S BRIDGE THIRTY-SIX CARTOONS BY H. T. WEBSTER With Some Unsolicited Advice on HOW NOT TO PLAY BRIDGE BY WILLIAM JOHNSTON NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY MCMXXIV it a NB 1 \ hee wise WN " uit oy ae Ye the Me He is BS SUA Huan C1 se a ) 7 Maa pois at Fat ena, 4) Tae iM . be 2 ; Gs Unt ’ Wy Ay. mo: Copyright, 1924, by , Saat _ Freperick A, SToKEs COMERS Copyright, 1921, 1922, by H. T. Weuares Copyright, 1923, by PRESS PUBLISHING Co. Hames All rights ees) Published, February 20, 1924 Second Printing, February 15, 1924 (before rd Printing, December 7, 1925 Fourth Printing, February 3, 1928 Printed in the United States of America FOREWORD There have been many books written on how to play auction bridge. So far as I know never before has there been anything written on “How Not to Play Bridge.” | : The introduction of the double was a great im- _ provement on the game. Mr. Wilbur C. White- head’s more recent invention of the informatory — negative double was a still greater improvement. So I am hoping that what I have here written on how not to play bridge will have as much value, as what has been written on how to play it. In any event Mr. H. T. Webster’s humorous pic- tures in this little volume illustrate the evils of play- ing bridge badly and the violations of auction eti- quette much more vividly and humanly than any mere words could do. Any bridge player who looks at Webster’s bridge pictures will laugh—and learn. 7 WILLIAM JOHNSTON. Knickerbocker W hist Club, 26 West 4oth Street, New York. EDITOR’S NOTE BY WILBUR C. WHITEHEAD Author of “Auction Bridge Standards” and “Auction Bridge—Authoritative Leads” The more one thinks about it the more it would strike one as extremely curious that with so many players better qualified to write on “How not to play auction,’ my friend William Johnston should be the first to do so. When he asked me if I would edit this book—he has written many, this, however, being his first on auction—I was only too happy to do so. To edit a _ book, it should be understood, the editor is expected merely to go over it carefully, not with the idea of picking a quarrel with the author over any of his pet theories, but to make sure that he has said what he meant to say and not something else. Although I may disagree with Mr. Johnston on some few of his viewpoints, such as his—in my opinion—excessive requirements for original club and diamond bids, the fact remains that ‘How Not to Play Bridge” is not only amusing but sound in its fundamental principles, something that can- not be said of many books on the game. And I’ve chuckled heartily over Webster’s pictures. W. C. WHITEHEAD. ae CONTENTS PAGE I. Wuy Do You Pray Bripce?. . . . I II]. Wuich Kinp oF A PLAYER ARE You? . 5 II]. Ir Marrizp To Your PaRTNER . . . 13 IV. Are You Aa Goop ParTNER? . . . . 19 Semeenour ORGINAL Bips . . . 2). 6, | 25 VI. Brwpinc Seconp Hanp Lae yA aceon ig ty wether Peto eneouUT THE Luirp HAND ... . . 9. 37 Wilt PourtH HAND Bippinc . ... . 4! MeMNESIDDING OTREAK. . 0 206k ew AS Memmreranm OF CLUBS 6 fe i ee i AQ XI. Watcu Out For Diamonps . . . ._ 5I eee AT NOT TO LEAD...) 0.06 ek 87 eeebae BUSINESS DOUBLE . ....00%) .), 67 MivevaMPORMATORY DOUBLING . . . (. . °° 93 eee TIAND-HOG)) che) og XVI. Asout THis Luck THING .. . ._ 83 iv XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX, XXI. CONTENTS FREAK HANDS Asout SIGNALS . TRICKY PLAYERS SOME PITFALLS To AvorD UNFORGIVABLE SINS PAGE 89 93 97 IOI 108 ' By me! NAW, ENEey BODY By me! No Dower! WHOSE Bro! LAT DEAL? C mors, HA A HAND Fort Le’s HANE A _ Am™ HOUR. LET'S | Lu Action! Tey A NEw }, i cane ice SAN mete Ree ace ee a. "=. be > we a = Seer or * ee” iF WE LOOKED ANDO ACTEO INA BRIDGE GAME AS WE De is POKER. -—- WEBSTER’S BRIDGE I WHY DO YOU PLAY BRIDGE? AUCTION bridge is a game. Games are supposed to be played for amusement. If you find that bridge irritates you and makes you lose your temper, what do you play it for? Maybe you took up the game expecting to make money at it. Don’t! There are many easier ways of getting rich. Horse racing and oil stock are much surer. But there is a good reason why bridge should be played by everybody. It is the one perfect test of what constitutes a lady or gentleman. Bridge etiquette has no penalties attached to it. So your observance of the etiquette of auction is a guide to how well-bred you are. You're neither a good bridge player nor a perfect lady WEBSTER’S BRIDGE If you fidget or scowl when your partner makes a lead you didn’t expect or takes you out of a busi- ness double. If when you shuffle the cards you fail to put them in the right place. If you persist in peeping at the cards as they are dealt to you. If you purposely hesitate before playing a card to mislead an opponent. If when you are caught revoking you vociferously — try to lie out of it. If, after the hand is played, you hiladies un- asked for and unwelcome advice on how your part- ner could have made another trick. In fact, if you do any of these things, you shouldn’t be allowed to play bridge. There is only one thing worse—standing or sitting around a game you are not in, and criticizing the various plays. If you do nS that—well, it’s too bad they gave up burning people — alive. Some folks still need it. Remember, bridge, like golf, is a game to be played, not talked about. There’s nothing more boring than to have some one tell you in detail how he played a four-trump hand day before yesterday. Play bridge—don’t talk it. a ye “THE Dummy WHo, WHEN HE SEES HIS a sh ers PARTNER START To _ HA-RA-A AFF! LEAD A CARDIN THE .. H OPPONENTS SUIT, AWFF-F -~ FPH. COUGHS VIGOROUSLY HA-WAFM! ng ea: \ i em AS . Ss i} \\ ‘ / by S eae \ \\is\\ U Ss RSS 7 a PSI eee es =e es i nS =I NS . x \) ; NS \\ SRO WS ss: e S \ 2 -\) ? LIRQRASRASRCRRS ~ " N SS S ~ Los Ss \ INSSESSESESSS SSS \ saa," conattnencedbenesanadaatenasoraticntinteinteeatnta \\ SS ; Ss Se a Se ot AG YGGSEQVQGG Stes see] THE CARD TAGLE II WHICH KIND OF A PLAYER ARE YOU? IF you have been playing bridge for any length _ of time you will have discovered that there are sev- eral different kinds of bad bridge players. Have you ever taken the trouble to analyze your own game and see which kind of a player you are? The six kinds of bad players I have run across are The Dub—She has an idea that rules are unim- portant. “All you have to do to win at bridge is to use your common sense,”’ is one of her pet phrases. She has heard of the “rule of eleven” but never could get it through her head. She is always asking what is trump, and pays no attention to her partner’s signals. She’ll tell you confidentially that Mah Jongg is a much better game than bridge. She’s right. For her it is. It takes brains to make a good bridge player. The Gab—She looks upon a bridge game solely as an excuse for conversation. Just when you are 5 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE trying to remember how many trumps have been played she begins describing somebody's new gown. She starts telling about her latest operation right in the middle of the game. She never knows what the score is nor whose turn it is to play nor whether she is dealing with the red or the blue cards. She may get some fun out of the game herself but none of the other three players do. The Scold—She thinks she was born to rule the world and that she knows more about bridge than Whitehead, Work and Florence Irwin combined. No matter what her partner does, she never is suited and scowlingly tells what card in her opinion should have been played. If she overbids and her partner gets set two tricks — doubled, she loses her temper and talks like a fish- wife. If she happens to revoke she indignantly de- nies it, and if convicted is sure to insist that it was dummy’s fault for not asking her about it. A player of this type can ruin an otherwise pleas- ant afternoon for anybody. | The Skin—She’s out to make money out of the game. She always wants to play for a bigger stake than the rest of the players. She keeps an eagle eye on the score and is a martinet at enforcing pen- alties. 6 ( Don’ Tv LET Tear BoTHER You. *™ USEO To IN DIFFERENT PLAYERS You'lt HAVE Yo ovee- Look My PLAYING, PARTNER. IM NOT VERY GOOD. WHAT ARE THE VALUES ? Do CLuGS COUNTS OR to 2 To SAVE MY tree t CANTY 1 LEAD You 4 DECLARATIVE Caros! DOESN'T THAT MEAN ANYTHING WHY ON EARTH DION T Nou SANE A RE ENTRY 3 WHAT 00 1 LEAD? My 4H HIGHEST? Buy ¢ HAVEN YT \ ANY THING HIGHER “THam A JAC<- You wout onc CALE THAT HIGH _ WwrouLod You? i TOOK THAT TRICK WITH THE ACE ANDO LEAD You THE THREE WHICH SHOULD INDICATE To ANY ONE OF AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE THAT 1 HAD NO 4 way t THOUGHT SFADES WERE WHICH KIND OF A PLAYER ARE YOU? Her favorite pastime is to arrange a set game when she has a partner who thoroughly understands her game, and their opponents are some beginning bridge players. Her ambition in life is to make the game pay her rent. A partner whose playing causes her to lose a few hundred points arouses her enmity. If a player of this type had a little more courage or a little more capital she’d be running a bucket- shop. The Brash—He is always over-optimistic. If he has no good cards in his own hand, he takes it for granted that his partner must have them. One of the worst of this sort I ever knew when he dealt and discovered that he had a bad hand always promptly bid two no-trump. He argued that it drove the opponents to three bids and made it easier to set them. Generally, however, they would double his two no-trump and his innocent partner would be set several hundred points. Brash players are always doubling the opponents’ bids, figuring on two tricks in their partner’s hands. Watch out for them. They'll cost you a lot of points. The No-Bid—There’s nothing worse than having an over-confident partner, except having one that is 7 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE too timid to bid. Once in a while you run across players who with three aces and four of the suit you have bid, sit still and say “no bid.” When they are sure of setting their opponents at least two tricks, they are afraid to double. You can’t ever win games and rubbers at auction unless you bid when you have the cards. A “no-bid” partner is ruinous. PRECIOUS, WON'T You RECITE THE PIECE You ARE on, WE'D LOVE To HEAR Tt) 1 Kxnow MR TEewks BURY WOULD Love PLEASE REecitEe IT FoR Us, marce! rvosT Know hs Vike iy We MRATEWKSBURY HAS | Just BIOS WtiHoOUT: DouBLlEDd AND” RE-DoUSLED Til IF MARRIED TO YOUR PARTNER THERE is one peculiar situation that frequently arises at the bridge table, which no book on auction hitherto issued gives any rules for—that is when husband and wife happen to cut each other as part- ners. No American couple ever has satisfactorily settled the question as to which is the better bridge player. The battle is renewed each time husbands and wives play together. If there is no practical way of avoiding having a husband and wife play together, these rules should be strictly observed: A husband, having his wife as a partner, should— a. Treat her as politely as he would the cook or his stenographer. b. Conceal that pained look at a wrong lead behind a poker face. c. Wait until after the guests are gone to tell his wife what he thinks of her. 13 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE A wife, having her husband as a partner, should— a. Remember that letting a man support you doesn’t give you the right to insult him. b. Be as sweet when your husband makes an error in play as you would be to a feminine opponent in an afternoon game. 7 c. Take it for granted that the man you married still has as much common sense as when he selected you as his wife. Harsh as these rules may seem, anyone who ever has played bridge against a husband and wife will realize the importance and necessity of them. = YES WHAT WAS - DOLLARS AND FrietTy CENTS. THAT FOR.? —— \ \ is 3 > y= et a. e p FE a2 < 37 w BS wo 3& « So 5 vg Se © 22 z7 9 cr £* ray w IW Nas uber a7) iia E si Be aoe MA S 4 eae aw (ex eunane —4 4 “a (LES=S== ——— Q Zz ¢ a i) Y a , z é 5 W wb iL ALBERT, WHO 15 WipLiAm FORTY EIGHT =——— ———— 53 , oat oe No Use PLAYIN’ Em, NES, Know, + WE NE Got ‘EM AtL. But LETS PLAY Give us ALITTLE ‘Em ANYWAY SET You THREE! THAT S A TRIFLE DIFFERENT FROM A LUTTLE SLAM -WHAT « Pale trethas? IV ARE YOU A GOOD PARTNER? BRIDGE is essentially a partnership game. You may play your best but if you have a partner that always throws you, you will lose a lot of points. In bridge the greatest asset you can possibly have is a thoroughly dependable partner. The qualifications of a good partner are :— You can bank on his original bids. If he says “fone diamond”. you can rely on his being able to take two tricks if you lead him that suit. If you bid two spades over a no trump you can be sure that his first lead will be his highest spade if he has two, or a little one if he has three or four to an honor. You can depend on a good partner never to make original bids on king-jack suits, never to bid “two hearts” as an original bid when he has six or seven to the queen. A good partner always heeds your signals and leads you the suit you call for at the first oppor- tunity. 19 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE | If he bids an original no trump, you may know that he has as good as three aces or af least three suits amply stopped. a If you have a dependable partner and he makes a shut-out bid of four spades, you need not worry even if you haven’t a spade in your hand. © Dependable partners, however, rarely make shut- ae out bids in either clubs or diamonds, unless well able _ to go game with average help or Jess from partner. What’s the use? | SO MA0DGE WALKS RIGHT Here sa TAZZ i aphalnaglh Kaock YA FoR A Row oF ARCTIC t rage To Tens ¢ ‘ el | A on i th mn hi “s lie WE ae ‘oF Sag i ———— OS sah LE, hee WOMAN t MARRIEP 19 — ‘ UCB NX, eee Amecee'! {4 CANT GAint! THs 15 Terrie BELIEVE IT Common G MADGE A A PLAYING CARDS FoR Cie Vor Tece ME THE og 7 THE ZA == rare | eT = Wy “ BF at Sg — -teis PRIZE AT wa WS SS SSS SSS SSS eS el a ul a a en ‘ pea Ss V ABOUT ORIGINAL BIDS IF you want to be a good bridge player, the first thing to do each morning when you get up is to look at yourself in the glass and say aloud :— “What is the purpose of making an original bid?” If you ask yourself this question often enough you will presently come to realize that there is only one correct answer to this question—divided into two parts. First—I make an original bid because I believe that with average help from my partner I can make my contract, and possibly go game. Second—While this hand is not strong enough in itself to go game I want my partner to know that if he leads me the suit I mention I can in all prob- ability take at least two tricks. Frequently you will find a poor player who will make a weak original bid and then attempt to defend it by saying— “Partner, I was trying to save game.”’ That’s tommyrot. You can’t expect to win every game of bridge. If you have a bad hand, take your medi- 25 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE cine and be hopeful that the next deal will bring — you some aces and kings. Over-bidding a weak hand only deceives your partner and is apt to get you set, and make you lose several hundred points on the rubber. When you have finished dealing, study your hand to see whether it is an offensive or a defensive hand. Consider what may happen if you bid a heart or a spade and the other side doubles. Unless you see a chance to go game, give your partner whatever reliable information you can, then sit back and wait to see what happens. Don’t ever, when you are dealer, bid initially a long suit without the tops, unless it is backed up heavily with aces and kings of other suits. Unless your partner has a bid, you can’t do much with it anyhow. Suppose you have six spades to the queen, if he bids no trump you have an ideal “take out.” If he indicates that he has some sure tricks in clubs or diamonds, bid your six spades to the queen on the second round, if you have an outside trick to back them up or are blank in the suit he mentioned. And one thing more—don’t ever bid no trump if you can make an honest bid of a major suit. ‘“‘No trumps” are the hardest to make. Never bid them if you can bid a major suit legitimately. 26 ie — ‘dm Ryne Getue )( 1 PLAY AT Ir! ]1( PaRoon me, BUT Co, a A Covece or Tastes 0f_ |} HaAwlHaw! ¢ |} vou PLAY Beioce? |} Pat peyery aes Bei pee. Vo You PLAY: he TRYING To — c HAT, . Geeee ~— Ha-Ha Hal ‘You PLay BR1DGE_ ig yp — OFCOURSE, ™ISS KWeet 7 | ee ore A 1\ Do You PLAY BRIDGE, | OH, DEAL. No! i a PERFECTLY | 1 | mes, Amece 7 ) 4 MERELY PLA meer | WRETCHED Fat i! GAME Alle 1 | Nov ONLY PLAY BRIDGE But) PLAY THe BEST } —tl -se— “Cit — GAME | (in ters Crvy! Do You PLAY / BRIOGE 7 WELL, OLLIE, 1 “> ah Too THE Boys OVER sunviality FoR EIGHT BUCKS : ANO You ) This EveninG! NOT topo D,En? ) Teen — Ee Ml (TANI WELL, How MUCH DID You WIN OR Lose To-nNIGuT 7 T A Penny! : PRETTy Lucky AT THAT. BEForE tH LAST RUBBER. t WAS YS Bucks ( Out 1 ny. Cu Zl “diac tld Ch sr Biso oe Goop ee ee VI BIDDING SECOND HAND THERE are many fairly good bridge players who fail to recognize what a wonderfully strategic posi- tion the second hand is. Suppose the dealer bids “no trump,” and the second hand sits there with six spades or six hearts to the ace-king. Many foolish players rush right in and bid the suit, but it is a great mistake. As likely as not their partner will be blank in that suit and they will go down a trick or two. What if there is no other bidding and the dealer plays his no trump. If second hand opens his long suit there is little likelihood of the dealer going game. You stand a good chance of taking five or six tricks, and, if your partner has anything at all, of setting your opponents a trick or two. What if the dealer’s partner bids two in one of the minor suits. There’s still plenty of time to men- tion your spades or hearts without increasing the contract. 31 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE Or suppose your own partner mentions a minor © suit. That will give you all the more confidence in bidding on the second round if you know your partner has something. But if you are second hand and decide to bid, © make sure that in addition to the suit you bid you have what is known as a “get in,’—an ace, or a king-queen in another suit, so that in case the other side go on with their no-trump, and you fail to estab- lish your suit on the first two or three rounds, you can get back in and lead it again. Second-hand, too, is a favorite position for doubling, but we’ll talk about that later. So many people double these days without having genuine doubles that the subject needs a chapter or two all by itself. THeee's JUST QNE CARD For. ] HE GuMMED pe THE HAND By eet Him To LEAD: DISCARDED His Beh OF = Be BAA =, - Z = = : g . si! what f lt You WArcrt To REMEMBER. THE MEANING OF A Posimve NOW, WILBUR, FoR HEAVEN'S SAKE, Dousre ! USUALLY You Don’T. Don’ FORGET To TAKE ME ANO LISTEN = Dont Go AnD OUT ON A NEGATIVE DouBte! Bid No TRUMPS UNLESS YOu YLL DUST NATURALLY KILL You iF | HAVE FOUR QUICK TRICKS You Dat AND DON'T ForcEeT @)\ im Your HAND! Dorr | WHEN You SHUFFLE To PLACE 4 SPECULATE ON MINE. FLL THE CAROS AT THE L€rr Do THAT OF THE PLAYER WHOSE NExT DeAe rvist LVL SE ee Bi en ee ina Sa S SSsss ONASE UNS A1508:< Ate aa | ‘i | = ' th Ht z tT Am EVENING OF RELAXATION AT THE HOME OF Two BRIDGE SttAeK | ! hf 4 { lj } | i ! ' ibis AANA MSs, hi ult 6 ca5t6k/ . oe. a i Vil ABOUT THE THIRD HAND Many hours spent over the bridge table have convinced me that the chief function of third-hand is to “‘take out” the dealer of whatever he has bid. If the dealer bids no-trump, I have found that it pays to take him out under these circumstances: Whenever I have a singleton of any suit. Whenever I have five of a major suit or six of a minor to a high honor. Of course there come times when third hand will hold a regular Yarborough without a single trick in it, and the only thing to be done then is to keep quiet. Any bid you make under those circumstances ‘increases the contract, deceives your partner and doubles the likelihood of getting set. There are some bridge authorities these days who oppose the take-out in spades or hearts, unless you have enough honors to have warranted an originai bid. Personally I do not agree with them. Most players these days are bidding an original no trump on rather weak cards. If you are third 37 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE hand with five spades or hearts, take them out and make sure they mean it. If they go back to no trump, despite your warning that you'd rather play a major suit, it’s up to them. But make it your invariable rule to take out on something if you have a singleton, unless such take- out would deceive your partner and leave him in worse shape than if you said nothing. Most people bid an original no-trump on three suits well-stopped. If you have a singleton, that may be the very suit in which they, too, are shy. Second-hand very likely is sitting back, with seven of them to the ace-king- queen, gleefully waiting to set you. But no rule can be absolute. Sometimes when your partner bids no-trump you have a lot of aces and kings yourself. Use your common sense ~ then, and try to figure out what he has in his hand to warrant a bid. Sometimes under those circum- stances, you can take a chance of leaving him in, even if you have a singleton in some suit. S INS LESS SSNS K GAs S ZX To DE 2 GWIhHA Like YOU A +4! 1 SAS NAN RASS y eee OH, MR, FOSKETT, t PLAY So Foorty! tp BE SCARED PLAYIN y 'N ? BRipEect GE ie i Q a 3 y a <{ You Uke To MAKE A FouRTH AT You AND ' wiee PARTNER S { 5 Ji GEORGE A IMAEInE! tov -HA-A-A SHE CALLED : FEV S ae? HA-HA DON'T YOu SHARK Vill FOURTH HAND BIDDING THE fourth hand in the deal is no place for an optimist. There’s one maxim that every bridge player ought to keep constantly before him in big letters, and say it aloud three times a week. Here it is: Never start the bidding fourth hand unless with no more than average help from partner you are certain you can go game. To bid at all you ought to be two sure tricks stronger than you would need to for an original bid by dealer. Your partner, by not bidding, has already told you he has nothing in his hand worth mentioning. And if you are going to make an original bid fourth hand, by all means bid a suit, if you can, rather than a no-trump. Consider, before you bid, what is going to happen if one of your opponents doubles for a bid. Is there any suit they could go to, that would leave i in a hole. 41 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE Generally when three hands have made no bid, the cards are so distributed that game is not ee i for anyone. Fourth hand is a bad place to double a Nealon S no-trump, too. If he goes two no-trump, all you have done is to give him information as to where the strong cards lie. The best advice that can be given about fourth- hand bidding can be summed up in a slight para- phrase of a famous political saying: Step softly OR carry a big stick! SSS : spp s LZ. ss WOO MMM ANA NANA \ MANY rH WN THE Commu TER. HAS TAKEN A THROUGH TRAIN “To HIS NILLAGE. WHILE WALKING Down THE PLATFOR™- HE GLANCES AT THE WINDow OF A DRAWING ROOM AnD RECALLS THAT THis VERY EVENING HE 15 SCHEDULED To PLAY BRIDGE WITH His CERES WIFE AND Two MAIDEN ZEEE LADIES AT 254A CORNER. y IX A BIDDING STREAK EVERY once in a while players, even fairly good players, get what is known as a bidding streak. Time after time they will overbid their hands, each time getting set. [he higher the score gets to be against them, the more desperately they will bid, trying vainly to win the rubber. So far as I am aware, no successful way has ever been discovered of curing partners of these terrible bidding streaks. All a partner can do under such circumstances is keep his temper if he can, and keep quiet even when he has aces and king strength in his own hand. If you give a man in a bidding streak the slight- est encouragement he goes mad. He immediately imagines that you must have all the aces in the pack. If your opponents have made a spade bid, and it has been doubled, and you, being blank in spades bid on six clubs to the queen, to deny spades, a part- 45 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE ner in a bidding streak is just as likely to carry you to four clubs. The fact that clubs is the cheapest suit means nothing, you can go down as many points in clubs as you can in spades. Make a practice of studying the kind of bidding your partners do. When you find a dependable partner, sing a hymn of thanksgiving. If you get hooked up with a partner addicted to bidding streaks, the best advice I know is to take a correspondence course in temper control. They’re terrible—and incurable. Wes, BuT | DIONT Y( IF You HAs. (1 WAS Meo OF MAKE A FREE Bi0, Lamas lain PLAYING My MINOR mine WAS A IEMULTIMATE | / TENACE INSTEAD OU WW BECAMDARY 10. ()anee ance / (oe MATOR { SHOULD THINK You WOULD pteo st ’ ADE A PRE-EMeCTINE o10 witht THAT HAND. tT WAS ALMOST A PIANOLA aN SS SS oy WS SLES, t , Z Zz WY '‘t y / Y You MAY MOT BELIEVE No TE — THE 7 BuT LAST WEEK t DEFINITION OF HELO A YARBOROUGH — Be aie cast See Pa are Amo WrHiced THREE TIMES IN ONE” CONTAINS NO CARD HIGHER THAN Nine N NN —_ Wass SSS —-) A —— xX BEWARE OF THE CLUBS THERE are four suits in each pack of cards, and the most dangerous suit of all is clubs. If you try to make a game in clubs you have to take five tricks, and then it only counts thirty. On the other hand, if you get set in three clubs doubled it costs you just as much as if you had been spades or no trump. If you are the dealer and find five clubs to the ace-king in your hand and nothing else, don’t men- tionthem. They’re worth mighty little to you unless you have another ace or a king-queen in your hand. Then you can cautiously say “‘one club,’”’ hoping your partner may want to try a no-trump. If dealing and you find six clubs to the king-jack, even if you have a trick in some other suit, sit still and wait. Never, never, never bid a king-jack suit of any sort as an opening bid, no matter what its length. Generally you’ll get a chance to bid them later, and if you don’t you probably are lucky that you didn’t get a chance to make the bid. 49 —— ; = y Nils Al i | o/ f} l S| f d \S 4 i} A 7 ifs A (Sf f \ N\A G RS | Guess I've ECT ENOUGH Books To LAST me THROUGH THE EVENING Pa) t ie) oF £ 2 WU 9 Z>a o So WASN'T DOING A THING - Just READING. You VE GoT Fine! SAME CLO | iad Swill XI WATCH OUT FOR DIAMONDS DIAMONDS, like clubs, are more to be talked about than played. It seldom pays to make a diamond bid, expecting to play them, unless you are something on the score. Never bid diamonds or any other suit originally unless you have the tops of the suit. ' Even if you read in a bridge book that ‘‘with six diamonds in your hand to the queen-jack, you should make an original bid of two diamonds,” don’t you believe it. They quit doing that about the time that nullos were born and died. Be mighty careful, too, about attempting a shut- out bid in diamonds even if you have seven or eight of them with four honors solid. If all the diamonds are bunched in your hands, it means that somebody — else has the spades and hearts. Very likely it is your opponents. 51 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE Suppose you bid four diamonds right off. What are you going to do if the other side goes four hearts or four spades? Always look before you leap into a shut-out bid. Diamond honors are useful in helping your part- ner make a no-trump bid. The ace and king of diamonds generally each take a trick. But many a woman has lost many a rubber because she couldn’t resist the temptation to keep on bidding diamonds or clubs. OH, CHestee, 1m SO Gtao YoUNE GIVEN UP THAT HoRRIO Foxer Game! SO CENT LIMIT . _\ WAS TOO MUCH LIKE GAMBLING. HBX You CAN’ T AFFORD IT. Now, JA YOuR tiv Tce BRIOGE GAME AT S CEnrs A Point Is REASONABLE ~ You Quit EARty ANO You CANT Losé GuTA Few CENTS. rs A GENTLEMAN'S PASTIME Not A Low GAMBLING GAME = SS SSS ' j . al HEINE if, tev = ~ \ i) x eee Yh \) yl} X I \ - Syl) y Vy 4 i } y Y ] CHESTER HAS usr \ BEEN HOOKED FoR. =\ 29,00 IN AUCTION ; ENTS A FOINTt eam AE OS Eid ilnlgs TONLE AYA AALERRAONA LR ceases t SEE WHERE TH PRESIDENT'S — ge WELL, How ARE YOU MARGE. ANO ! ARE WIFE 1S Quite Domestic~ 6%, Pena 4 ian he pees BASS nee ok DARMS HER HUSBANDS I\ Aerennoon ? Be Gerd iy hala * ) GRACES AND: PLAY A FEW » CKS An’ SEWS ON HS ‘ < | OBBER SOF BRWGE, I'L Ff é BE Home BYFH WAY, 1 NOTICE A COUPLA BUT Tors MISSING FRom HS SUIT OF UNCER WEAR. JUSSA MINUTE BEFORE ] | WELL, Foe HEAVEN 5 Saes wey Don't You FT ON ANOTHER PAIR 7 15 THAT ALL YOU HAVE 7 AMYONE WOULD Titi YOU Owne 0 ONE You Go -LOooK ATF XII WHAT NOT TO LEAD ANYBODY who plays bridge at all these days ought not to have much difficulty in knowing which cards to lead. The leads have become pretty well stand- ardized, and if you don’t wish to have your partner “talk at you” for leading the wrong card, all that is necessary for you to do is to go to any book store and buy a Whitehead’s ‘‘Authoritative Leads.”’ What not to lead is infinitely more important, but there has been very little written about it. There are few bridge players whose game will not be helped by avoiding some of the ‘“‘worst leads” that follow: Never lead away from an ace. Did you ever stop to ask yourself what good such a foolish lead does anybody? Yjour opponent, looking at dummy and his own hand, knows that he hasn’t it. Your partner knows he hasn’t it. As you haven’t led it, and it isn’t in dummy, he takes it for granted your opponent must have it. Your partner is the only person you 57 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE are fooling. And frequently when you underlead, or lead away from an ace, you never do get a chance to make it. By the time you get around to playing it somebody may trump it. This of course applied only when you are playing a suit. In no-trump you generally underlead an ace, if you are lucky enough to have one. If in a trump declaration you’ve got ace and one, it sometimes pays to lead out your ace, but generally it is better to lead another suit. Beware of the doubleton lead. Nothing is more annoying or confusing to a partner than to have you lead him the top card of a doubleton. He tries to count up from the pips on the card to see what you are leading from and gives it up. He decides it must have been a singleton. He returns your lead expecting you to trump it, and instead your opponent gets in and goes game before you can stop him. Not only do you lose the game, but your partner thinks a lot of hard things about you, and sometimes he says them right to your face. Be careful about singletons. The singleton lead is coming more and more into disfavor. Sometimes it is profitable, but the objection to it is, that right away it enables your opponent to place all the cards in that suit. The longer you can keep an opponent 58 SUPPOSE You ASK CLARA WHAFM ? Mo - CLARA'S ONE OF THESE PLAYERS WHo TRIES To PLAY EVERY HANO. SHE'S IMPOSSIBLE. *™ SuReE NANCY woutgon'T CARE To MEET HER Amy BATHMATTE MIGHT — No - Amy Bios FoveTH HANNO WHEN SHE HAS Onry Two SURE TRICKS. 3 WoOULON'T INSULT MANCY BY INVITING A womaAm oF THAT CHARACTER You MIGHT ASK MALDE HooPLAats- Mo - 1M WRONG!.MAUDE SATS— “yunSH 1 Couto RE-DOUBLE AGAIN > You CovLDeT ASK Nancy To CLAY WITH A WOMA™ wHo DoEsS THAT Peeuars HELEM KooKoO — NO- rt FORGETS RETURN HER e°S LEAD AND THE DISCARDS} Here PAR TNE MEA MOTHING IN HER. Youn G LIFE. 1 SHOULON T ASK HER TH Meet Amyome « REALLY CARED ABOUT PARTy. W QUIVVERING Soutcs - “He “THREE OF US WHAT NOT TO LEAD guessing about where the cards are the more likely you are to defeat him. Lead your partner’s suit. Many players sitting on the second hand of the dealer, have an annoying habit of trying to establish their own suit instead of leading the one their partner has bid. This is especially true if the dealer has bid two no-trump over a fourth-hand suit bid. Remember, the reason your partner bid was be- cause he wanted and expected you to lead him what he called for. The dealer may have the suit stopped once, or possibly twice, but if it is led, the chances are your partner has “‘get-in’ cards enough to establish it eventually. Of course if you have a set-up suit in your own hand against a two-no trumper, that is six or seven to the ace-king-queen, jump right in and lead them first, but unless you have, lead what your partner asked you to. Why take a plunge in the dark? If you lead your own weak suit, instead of his, very likely you are headed for disaster. Be nice to your partner and do what he asks you to. It used to be the practice when leading to your partner a suit that he called for, invariably to lead him the highest of his suit that you happened to have 61 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE in your hand. Recently it has been discovered by the experts that it generally works out better, if you have three or four of his suit to an honor, to lead him the lowest, and let him lead it back to you. This is especially advisable in playing against a no-trump declaration. And last of all, and this is primer class stuff, Don’t lead out all your aces and kings right off the reel. They are valuable “key cards.’’ As long as you have them in your hand, you have a wonderful control. The sooner your opponent finds out where the aces and kings are, the better he can plan his game. OH,1Ss aT MY LEAD? - 1 BEG Your FARDor! t THOUGHT tT WAS —~} YES, YOURE RIGHT - rs My LEAD. HM- Mm-m— YES, 17's Your , LEAO. AH-H - DJUusSTA MinuTE , NOW — — HM-m- LES SEE NOw - UH - NO, THAT Wor’v DO-- HM-M- WELL, NOW, Aw — THAT WAS AN AWFULLY Comcar MuevEer HAT TOOK PLACE AT THE WHIST CLUB LAST NIGHT, AL. A MAN SHOT Dowm Like A 00G FoR BEING 50 Slow in PLAYING “lle Hm-m! Deacer B19 A SPADE ANO EVERYONE PASSED. HM! AND It’s My LEAD ISNT IT Kj WELL, Now, LEMME LOOK THIS OVER A MimvTe - HM-™ YEAH THAT WAS ONE OF ys + Tue’ FUNNIEST MURDERS 1 EVER HEARD OF, "vE BEEN Q LAUGHING EVER Since ~ | READ ABOUT (tT Y ANAS S RSSeAs— awn dice, g TRY AND PLAY A SANE GAME OF BRIDGE To-miGHT ! BE CONSERVATIVE 1h YouR BIDDING! WHEN You B10 CounT THE i TRICKS YOU ARE GOING To tose! THe BROWNS ARE EXPERT PLAYERS - REMEMBER THAT t ADO A DIGGER, OF PINEAPPLE JUICE. HELPS ALOT NONSENSE | . MoO! No: Bice Ive HAD FINE {VE HAD Four mM secur! rior ALREAoy! WHuP! SHAKE UP SOME Tua’s PLENTY! MORE*N A MInuTEe HERE'S ‘To ceime ! tus SAY SIX SPADES! waa ya THimte OF THAT 7 AN’) HAVEN'T MuCH OF A HANO EITHER -= XIII THE BUSINESS DOUBLE More rubbers at auction have probably been lost by foolish doubles than for any other cause. Doubling is trying to outguess the fellow who is doing the bidding, and the chances are he is-as good a guesser as you are. Besides the bidder always has the advantage of you. He knows what he has in his hand and you don’t. Suppose he has bid three spades. Yov’re sitting there with the ace of spades, the ace-king of hearts and the ace-king of diamonds. Your partner has put in a club bid. You count up the sure tricks in your own hand, five, and consider that your partner having made a bid has probably a trick or two in clubs. It looks safe, so you confidently announce “T double.” But wait a minute. STOP and THINK. Why did the bidder go to three spades, when he didn’t even have the ace? The chances are he has seven or eight spades, and no diamonds whatever. That 67 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE ace and king of diamonds that you counted as sure tricks turn out to be just mere decorations. And your partner, it turns out, was bidding on six clubs to the queen-jack. Frequently in just such cases as this the bidder makes his contract doubled, with sometimes an extra trick or two. So here’s a rule you will not find in any bridge book, but it’s a good one: Before announcing a business double, try to put yourself in the other fellow’s place. Try to picture his hand to see if you can con- jecture what the situation is that makes him bid so confidently. And keep in mind that though “chicane” doesn’t count any more in the score, it frequently doubles the strength of a hand. Another thing about business doubles—be careful whom you double. Some players are conservative, always making sound bids. Beware of doubling them, they’re apt to make it. But there are players who try to combine poker and bridge, who are always flag-flying and game- saving—they’re the ones that it pays to double. But be cautious about doubling when the bidding gets up to five or six. That always means that there 68 7% -* a le YES (nNUDEED. WE HAVE A LITTLE CvLUB IN OUR TOWN AND ! PLAY EVERY SATURDAY. My WIFE SAYS VM A SHARK AT tT BuT _ You Puay BR:0GE OF Course 7? “IFTHE PLAYER DOuBLE 5 NEGATWWELY Ant AOVERSE NO-Trume Bio ANO PARTNERS Woard You Mino CARO S WARRANT THE N 1G PRE SUMPTION THAT, oo, IF DOUBLE IS TAKEN OUT WITH Two NO -Teumes, 1 DOUBLER ANDO PARTNER CAN MAKE Woe No-Teumes ANO, THEREFORE IF LEFT InN OPPONENTS CAN BE PENALIZED 200 PoinTrs — itt? MR.FANG SAYS ' 1 You Evér Visi MIRACULOUS: HONG KONG You 1, 00N'T SEE MUST PLAN TO tow You 0o Visit HIM FoR. rr! ATLEAST A MonTtH BY DOING THAT WE WERE PENALIZED 300 f POINTS. IF You HAD DOUBLED MAU0E'S BID LESs THAN OF Two HEARTS AND AF theurct 1 | Mavde HAD BO 3 TRIcK$ SO HEART S TO SHUT OUT, | Teirtk You You SHOULO || FRANK ,HAO You HAVE — DouBLed 3 HEARTS \ {BID 4 SPADES FRANK WOULD {17 SHUT OUT \ Have MADE \! A sur Novw HEeE F OIAMONOS|T Oi CATION 1s A CASE FBy PARTNER | WHERE THE OF NO-TRUMPS THiRO HANO |; ! Bios OVER A NEGATIVE DOUBLE= AY NY ANN SSS SS SSS SSS SS ee SS SSS SS WAS RAR WSS TS Se NS SSS SSS UL XVI ABOUT THIS LUCK THING ONE of the most distinguished bridge players I know insists that there is no such thing as luck, and asserts that he has no superstitions, yet every time, when he wins the cut, he’ll change to the win- ning direction. Once when I twitted him about it, he said: ‘That isn’t superstition. That’s just plain fact.” And it is a fact. ‘There are times when the players who sit east and west will win every rubber. At other times the north and south players will be ~ consistent winners. Sometimes the luck seems to follow the cards. The holders of the red cards will be the big win- ners. At other times luck will seem to follow a certain player, no matter where he sits, which cards he uses, or who is his partner. Bridge players have all sorts of theories about luck. A distinguished artist I know maintains that everything in the universe runs in rhythm. If you 83 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE are in rhythm with the fall of the cards, you will win. So firmly does he believe this theory that if he was sitting with his feet crossed, and was win- ning, he would not change his position even if his feet went to sleep, for fear of getting out of rhythm. Frequently, too, you will hear players bewail their luck—‘‘Did you ever see anyone who holds such bad cards as I do?’”’ Often, too, people will say of a player that he or she is “‘a wonderful holder.” As a matter of fact, if a record were kept for a given period it would be found that everybody holds about the same average of aces and kings. If four players, fairly equally matched, play a series of rubbers, the difference in their score can nearly always be traced to errors they have made, overbidding, bad leads, doubling at the wrong time. When you hear a person say, “I’m a bad holder,” it nearly always means he’s a bad player. Luck may run in a certain direction for a time, the red cards may win for a time, but in the long run, everybody holds about equal cards. Good players lose less when they have bad cards, and win more when they have good cards—and that’s about all there really is to bridge luck. 84 MY NAME tS KALLOW~WILBUR H. KALLOW,. 1 Don’ T PLAY BRIOGE VERY WELL WILL You MAKE A . FOURTH AT BRIDGE mR. ~ | 0OnN'T BetiEeve WE VE EVER MET. MY NAME 'S BounVDER it GtvE You My WOoRO OF Honor 1M NoT A SHARK, my Wire SAYS Mm ABSOLUTELY fvE NOTICED THAT EVERY MAN WHO KNOCKS _HIs GAME ALWAY TWRNS OUT To BE A SHARK NOT A CHANCE! WE'RE Att FPooR PLAYERS. You AND I Witt BE PARTNERS IF THAT wit MAKE YOU FEEL ALITTLE MORE ComFoeTtAa BLE 1G / tm AFEaAr0 NLL $Patl YouR. GAmeE.1M™ ReEALLy A NONSENSE! fet BET You PLAY A BETTER GAME “THAN Tet REST OF US. You'RE JusT A SHRINKING. LIL VioLeT- Haw! HAW! NO,REALLY (MA POOR PLAYER. Aa), —- Y es Ly y VA YouR WiEE SAYS You RE A ROTTEN PLAYER, EH? Haw! HAW! “eHA’s Goop! wy, EVERY MAN IS A RotTEm PLAYER TO HIS WIFE: WELL, 1 THINK ) ts TRUE tm jy CASE SAY, You —!1-s¢- FATHEAOD! 1 DISCARDED A’Seven oF Cues! DOESNT THAT MEAM ANYTHING ty YOUR. YOUNG LIFE“ ANYONE GuT An 1DIET WOULD KNOW THAT | WANTED A CLus reetuened! WAKE UP ANO Tey To OIS CLAY A LITTLE INTELLIGENCE (ie Any ! _ outst, RASCALS You'Re Kind ee npba Cardoen a WHAT © WELL, Oty FEELING DER FOR YOU WOULON T “Tear wite BE HEAVEN'S is be mor, You vA SPADE ? DIAMONDS tt ¢ THE FIRST PACE. | NEVER EXPECTED ‘lA DMuwe HO SEE qT AnoTHER Cou WHAT 1 | DION T LEAD A SPADE fF ARE YOU PERFECT t NOTICE YOU'RE NOT GETTING FF ROUND SHOULOERED CRREYING fF AROUND YouR. BRAIN Far! { ONOM'T WAST TO PLAY WITH You Anyway! x Ss SS WV" Cy oT Send XVII FREAK HANDS Four people make up a table of bridge. There are in each pack of cards four of the aces, kings, queens, and jacks. So an average hand contains one of each. There are four suits, so the average hand of thirteen cards contains three cards of three of the suits, and four of the others. But it is seldom that each of the four players has an average hand. Whenever that happens, nobody is likely to make a bid. Most of the bidding is done on five-card or six-card suits, which are common. Frequently one of the players will have a freak hand, seven or eight of one suit, and singletons or none in others. Sometimes a hand will be a two-suiter, with five or six spades, and five or six diamonds. Two-suiters and freak hands often lead to un- usually high bidding, but it is well to remember that when the cards are so distributed that you have a freak hand, one of your opponents is likely to have 89 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE > a freak hand, made up of the suits in which you are short. When a two-suiter has been indicated . the bid- ding, it is dangerous indeed to make a business double. Under such circumstances aces that you counted as sure tricks are likely to be trumped on the first round. Freak hands, too, are responsible for “shut-out bids,” which someone once defined as “bidding four of the suit of which your partner has none.” Shut-out bids are dynamite except in the hands of very good players. Always consider before making a shut-out bid, what will happen: If your partner is void in the suit you bid. If your opponents overbid you in another suit. Before you make a shut-out bid, count your losing tricks—and don’t rely on your partner for anything, and bid the full strength of your hand at once. ™ —— ead a ; he “ fre ee ae eM ee ae a en ae oe, te ? pam saree nia het See s ry WAS Your. PLAYING THAT POLLED US THROUGH « You REALLY PLAVE D A iN WHY, HELEN, | PLAYED. LIKE A Dus! 4] {Ht h ALWA Beie . Tes EventnG You OUTOWO YouRsece. SASS SS tN SSS ie ig (LE Wy) wy DRAWN ENTIRELY FROM IMAGINATION ——— FLAWLESS GAME FeOoMm STarr To WoRK, FosTeR ,FERGOSON OF THE EXPERTS COLLONT HAVE PLAYEO Ss —_—_ sigh Unset Hil} TT i ' E> it Ter mil XVIII ABOUT SIGNALS IN most parts of Europe when they play bridge, they do not use signals. Each player leads what- ever he feels like, without regard to what his partner wants him to do. Every once in a while, here in America, you run across a player who seems to like the European method, and simply will not pay attention to your signals. Sometimes it is just plain carelessness. You dis- card an eight of spades, and sit back hoping for your partner to lead through the king-jack of spades in dummy. Instead he leads clubs. Being only human, you are apt to make a wry face. Then he gets a worried look, and says: “I’m sorry, I didn’t notice your first discard.” There’s only one kind of a partner worse than that—the one who always believes his opponent rather than his partner. 93 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE He makes an opening lead of a king of clubs. You put on an eight, inviting him to come on. Fourth hand, having a lot of clubs, carelessly drops _ on a jack. Your partner falls for it and leads — another suit, and you having had but two clubs never _ do get a chance to get in your little trumps. This sort of partner often throws you, too, when | the dealer has bid a no-trump. You, sitting fourth — hand, bid two diamonds. Your only purpose in — bidding is because that is the only suit you want led to you. The dealer, with only the ace of diamonds, — takes a chance, and goes two no-trumps. Then your — partner, confound him, terrified and intimidated, refuses to lead your suit. To play successful bridge you must watch for your partner’s signals. If he discards an unneces- sarily high card in any suit, lead him that suit. Trust your partner and you'll win more rubbers. WHER You LEAD THE Severs OF DiAMONO S YOUR FARTHER WHEN MR, WORMOIL pas 4, a oo act DISCARDED THE TeEy THE EIGHT, TEs, JACK AnD | OF pee ree ‘arhiet ave QUEEN, YOU SHOULD HAVE HAVE Known A : LED Him THE Four HEARTS To THE Stat ON THE SECOMO HAND OF - RUBBER INONICED wou ONLAROED The ON THE FIRST HAND OF THE THIRD RLEGER Sty OF CLUBS ON THE SECOND HEART LEAD. You HELO THE JACK, TEN, Mine , DEUCE OF THE EIGHT OF CLUG 5 WAS THE ONLY HIGHER. HEARTS, THEKING, QUEEN, DEUCE OF CLUGS, CARD OUT. IF YOU HAG HELO Your Si¥ THE EIGHT, SEVEN, TREY OF DIAMONDS ANO WOULD HAVE MADE BoTH YouR. THE NINE, S\¥, FOUR OF SPADE S. You LEAD YyouR FourTH BEST IN HEARTS. YOu you Foue AMO DEUCE OF CLUGS GooD SHOULO HAVE LED By Tee way, PROFESSOR, How MuCH 010 You Wirt t CLEANED UP AM EVEN THIs EverinG 7 #50%, WEL, Oot rT GEV DISCOURAGED, PROFESSOR. 1 LOSE MYSELF NOW AND XIX TRICKY PLAYERS IT pays to make a study of the kind of game played by each individual you are likely to be pitted against at bridge. Some players are obvious, play- ing almost mechanically, counting up each hand, bidding according to rule. They make wonderful partners, but there is little excitement playing either with or against them. A crafty player adds zest to the game. The tradition of the bridge clubs about a player of this sort runs to this effect: He was sitting fourth-hand, and the dealer had bid notrump. The crafty player had seven diamonds headed by the ace-king-queen-jack, and also the ace of clubs alone. Did he bid the diamonds? Not he. He bid two clubs, although he had only the singleton ace. The dealer, who had the four other club honors in his hand, promptly went two no-trumps. The crafty 97 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE 3 player doubled the two no-trumps. The dealer re- doubled. The partner of the crafty player led him the club he had called for and then he proceeded to — make his seven diamonds tricks, setting the bidder — 600 points. To be a crafty player, however, requires expert _ knowledge of the game. When an amateur tries — unusual methods he usually comes to grief. A crafty player sometimes will deduce from the — bidding that both his opponents are short of hearts, _ and without enough strength in hearts to really — warrant a bid, will put in a heart bid just to drive his opponents up to a point where he can set them. — He’ll watch the fall of the cards and finesse with — a nine-spot and get away with it. One of his favorite tricks is the backward — finesse—when he has the ace of a suit in his hand, and the queen is in dummy, he'll lead up to the queen, and sometimes in this way he'll trap a guarded king. But crafty players always run the risk of arousing — their partner’s wrath. Sometimes when they make — a phony bid to deceive their opponents, their own _ partners take them seriously. Don’t be too crafty. 98 ee ee ee eee IT'S PERFEcTay toy! TuRm ARouNO AND LETS see Howrr LOOKS tm BCACK OH, MADGE, How Do You CiKE My New Fue Coar? five BEEN THL0 No ONE SHOULD Buy FURS WITHOUT TAKING ALONG AN ExPERT. ITS SO EASY To Foo THE ORDINARY BUYER. ; {mM NOT INSINUATING, MY DEAR, THAT YOUR COAT tS RABBIT. IT MAY GE MOLE AS You Teen iT iS. PM Tus TELLING You WHAT PVE HEARD AGOUT FuRs. M1 SURE tm Good 1ENO OF YOURS . QuUGH FR cael To SPEAR FRANKLY WELL, | HOPE You BouGHT TAT \: A RELIABLE PLACE. SOMANY SHOPS MISREPRESENT THELRFURS Y y! ; UA i ; tUNDERSTAND THEY Cart tmiTATe ANY Fue WitH PLAIN, EVERY DAY KAGBIT, THey CAN EVEr IVIAKE ATIGER SKIN OUT OF Iv THAT WouLd Foot ANYONE : LETS PHONE JIM ANNO MADGE AND MADGE GABCON'S NAME HAVE 'EM Come OVER} (Tp mE AGAIN AS LONG AM PLAY BRIOGE AS you tive! t HATE THIS EVENING HER! ran Zin Ti Duo “sosepagteme 650 COGS ALO OS { ) Cenc, \ Cys XX SOME PITFALLS TO AVOID IF you consistently lose more often than you win _at bridge, there’s only one explanation of it—you're not a good player. You frequently hear people say: ‘I never have any luck at cards,” or “I’m a very poor holder.” All that those phrases mean is that the person speak- ing is a poor player, and generally is so conceited about his game that he doesn’t know it. If four people played bridge four hours a day for a hundred days and an accurate record was kept of the hands each one held, you would find very little difference in the distribution af aces and kings. You would find, however, considerable difference in their scores. In duplicate games where forty people play a series of boards where all have the same hands there are sometimes widely varying scores. If you check back over an evening’s play you will find that your losings are largely attributable to your own errors, overconfidence in bidding, optimism in IOI WEBSTER’S BRIDGE doubling, or slipping a trick here and there that you might have had. In order to avoid some of the pitfalls that make you a loser, here are some things to remember: Be Quick at Arithmetic. Always keep count of how many trumps have __ been played. Always notice the pips on your part- ner’s first lead and try to discover from what he led. When it comes to deciding which of your opponents to throw the lead to, stop and count up how many cards they have left in the suit they bid. If you are good at arithmetic and have listened carefully to the bidding you ought always when it gets down to the last three or four cards to know with fair certainty what each opponent still holds in his hand. Be a Conservative Bidder. | Never open the bidding with a king-jack suit or a suit headed by the queen, even if you have seven of them. Wait for the second round. Of course, if you have compensating tricks, all the other aces and kings, you can sometimes take a chance, but even then surprises may happen. The trumps may all be bunched against you. Never bid a no-trump when you have a good suit bid in your hand. No trumps are the hardest to make. 102 (1 NEED SOMETHING —— : 1 COME HoMmeE From BeivGE? to BAD! Too BAD: ok THE OFFICE AT MIGHT ugetHar. «™ GREAT GAME AND A WoN- ALL FAGGED OUT AND UNDER AN AwEuL waging Sg x Adighogs a, Seale Di SENOS STRAIN Act TAY : UGet ¢ MAY ee salad BRLOGE | FEELLUWEA NEw MAN, (T'S MIGHTY RESTFUL Bie cacti gong pe) I pried ene aoa, ‘ EIGHT AMO OF HEARTS THE JACK, Ten ANO NTH On THe 128 a bce SOIT WARE ne St¥ OF CLUBS, THE EIGHT ANDO THREE oF DIAMONGS } _ on fog, deuce ce OF HEARTS, ||| Ano THE EIGHT, 31% ANO FINE OF SPADES, te doce Goud Se OiaonOd AMO Ure Pune, || HIS Wire HELO THE SEVEN, 3% ArtO THREE OF Foug Ano THREE OF SPADES BA cept She i og emma a tN THREE OF CLUGS =~ TACK, “ OH,Gtaoys! | Four tm Not DEAD on FIVE AND FOUR OF DIAMONDS AND THE ACE, KING, , oy You Antt ? é } QUEEN OF SPADES, My WIFE DEALT AND EID 4 1 HAvEreT oT you INOTRUMP AND WE ALL PASSED, BILL LEAO y ; Z) SINCE | WENT THE KING OF HEAFTS AMD — \ Ga THROUGH THE AS | CENTER WICKET D Ly 5 —# Mdtuiihddedltdide SOME PITFALLS TO AVOID Never, when you are fouth-hand, open the bidding unless you are sure of going game. Never bid a fourth hand no-trumper if you can possibly bid a suit. | | Be Careful About Doubling. Never double three clubs or three diamonds. Even if you make the double, it isn’t worth the risk of doubling your opponents into a game. Never make a business double except on the sure tricks in your own hand. Your partner may be a liar, and if he lied to you by his bidding, you may get set. Never make an informatory double without stop- ping to consider what your partner is likely to bid. Figure out what you will do if he bids your weakest suit and one of your opponents double. Never make an informatory double without having both the major suits well-stopped, for the informatory double is generally recognized as a call for your partner’s longest major suit, provided he has one of four cards. Keep Quiet with Bad Cards. Don’t, when you are having bad hands, try to force your luck. Don’t bid on six to a queen of something hoping to drive your opponents up. They may double and drive you to destruction. 105 WEBSTER’S BRIDGE Don’t bid to save game. Don’t bid a major suit over an original no-trump. Wait and give your partner a chance. Anybody who avoids pitfalls here pointed out, if they do not become a good player, will at least lose less. Nei: JACK SOMS Br LISTEN, AUCeS THE — JACKSON S ARE 4 SHACKS AY BGai0GE ANn®O t WANT You To: PLAY WITH A tatTtce IN TECK cence, TONIGHT, PO BE ASHAMED To HAVE THEM SEE . You 619 FourTs .y HANO WrTe ONLY ~ Two ANNO A HALF Sure TRICKS z plea att 4 “THe j SUFFERNS / Now , LUTHER ,WHEN THE | PLAYA S SUF FERNS PLEASE Tey ANO ENStBLE GAME, REMEMBER THeEy ARe SHARKS AT BRiOGE AND IF You PLAY Your. USUAL CHILOTSH GAmeE Hey'te GE DISGUSTED AND it wWon'T BLAME THEM, DON'T OVER BID Amo wHer | DOUBLE A SUIT BID OF THREE TAKE ME ouT = UNLESS YOU RE Post TIVE YOU Can OGFEAT THE CONTRACT COME OVER THIS EVENING NGS 9 OSS Don You FoeGceTt To WATCH THE 01S CAR OS AS You ALWAYS NEGtect To Vo ANO WANT To ASK You AS A SPECIAL FAVOR NOT To RAISE, MY SUIT Bid WHEN } YOU ONLY BOLO ONE AND A HALF TRtcks. WOULDN'T rT GE A GOOD PLAN Fo You To RUN eee te civTce OOK OM AUCTION EMGBARRA SS me BEFORE THOSE EXPERTS XXI UNFORGIVABLE SINS HAVE you ever been playing bridge with a nicely- gowned woman with manicured hands and perma- nently waved hair as a partner, and when you have made the lead that seemed best in your judgment, had her all at once set her face in wrath? Have you had her scream across the table at you in shrill, angry tones— “What did you lead me that diamond for? Didn’t you know I wanted to trump a club?” If you ever have had that sort of experience, you know what I mean by unforgivable sins. People who screech at their partners when something hap- pens they do not like, don’t really belong at the bridge table. Husbands and wives are particularly strong on this “why” business. When they cut each other as partners, no wife ever seems able to play to please her husband, and vice versa. If they waited to talk about it after they got home it wouldn’t be 108 a Nov Such A GAD HANO, PARTNER.) HAD THEIR SPADES STOPPED TWICE | ANO HERE'S A GOOD LINE OF CLUGS IF YOu CA™ CLEAR: uP THE Suit, | WOULD HAVE HESITATED ABOUT Goins TO THREE THOUGH, WHAT Do You THINI< ed Ye “ “a HOw THEY Live 15 & MysTery To ME,.CHARLEY ZELLS ME ED CANT POSSIBLY MAKE OVER *6,000 A NEAR. VET THE DOG STELLA Puts ON YouD THiInsie THEY WERE MILLIONAIRES OR SOMETHING... THEY BOUGHT ANEW CAR THE OTHER DAY “ * SALLY, DID You HEAR A@BouT MAUD CALORIE 7 No? my DEAR! SHE WAS LUNCHING WITHA ACTOR ONE DAY LAST WEEK ANDO WHO SHOULO MOVIE WALK IN ANO S'T AT THE NEXT TASLE CUT — ” “D1O You SEE HER IN THAT COMEDY THE PINK, CORSET ? SHE WAS PERFECLY ADORABLE In THAT. | DIDN'T CARE FoR HER Air ALL IN THe CROCODILE TEAR. “THE LEAD IS In Du PARTNER... DO You THE G of HEARTS HIGH 1 THINIS” MmMy, WANT. PTHAT S 71 PICKED UP A DARLING “r ELINOR WORE A STUNNING Gown, tT HAO A CORSAGE OF WHITE VELVET BEAOE O WITH CRYSTAL ANDO A GODET SkIRT OF BLACK SATIN BEADED WITH JET, SHE LOOKED LIKE THE DEVIL In tT Fy TIP TABLE YESTERDAY AT AN AUCTION .'T WouLD Cost AT LEAST #50°%2 AT Any DEALER'S ANO 1 Got ty FoR *6.50. ARE WE SET, PARTNER Ff Too BAD, PERHAPS ISHOULONT g, HAVE RAISED You. BuTt— ad la halttiors rel Rte SP ee tot sates ies men UNFORGIVABLE SINS so bad. If they even would be as courteous to each _ other as they are to the rest of the company, it might ‘be forgiven. But even the most loving of couples, _ over the bridge table jaw at each other and shriek questions back and forth, till one or the other gets angry and breaks up the game. And that’s an unforgivable sin. There are other players who hold their tongues, who would be horrified if anyone accused them of cheating, who nevertheless manage to express their displeasure at their partner’s bidding or leads by _ wriggling in their seats, by assuming a pained expression. They’re signalling to their partner just as plainly as if they were tramping his toes under the table. Seldom have the other players courage enough to put them out of the game, although that is what ought to be done. The distress signals in players’ faces are another unforgivable sin. In such a category might also be included many of the petty little tricks many players resort to— peeping into hands if they get a chance, hesitating before playing a card to deceive their opponents, or when they have only a singleton of a suit led, delay- ing and apparently debating which card they shall Itt WEBSTER’S BRIDGE play. It’s almost as bad, too, when players vate from the accepted terms of bidding with a phrases as “I kick it” for “I double,” “Two — JHE DEN for ‘“Two spades,” or “I'll venture one no-trump.”’ a In most cases when players use such expressions, . they merely are trying to be funny. It does sound — funny to a stranger who happens to play with them. ~ He can’t help wondering if the phrases they use have — a hidden meaning that the partner understands and he doesn’t. ay If you’re going to play bridge, play it with the ‘ recognized vocabulary, play it conservatively, and a keep your temper. a Remember the game is supposed to be an amuse- a, q ment. * ee Samra ash aii ; oe} Kip aks