Foster's 
 
 Br-id^e 
 
 mamal 
 
 .M.r,. 
 
Class _G^X/j_i_a 
 
 Book . F ^^ 7, 
 Copyright N"_ 
 
 COPYRIGHT DEPOSrr. 
 
BRIDGE MANUAL 
 
WORKS BY R. F. 
 
 FOSTER 
 
 
 Bridge Manual 
 
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FOSTER'S 
 
 Bridge Manual 
 
 91 Complete S^pfitem of ^fufitmction 
 in t!)e (?5ame 
 
 TO WHICH IS ADDED 
 
 Dummy Bridge and Duplicate Bridge 
 
 BY 
 
 R. F. FOSTER 
 
 Author of ''Foster's Whist Manual,'' ''Duplicate Whist'' 
 " Brentano's Pocket Library Series," etc. 
 
 5 y 
 
 3 > J 
 
 J ^ ' 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 BRENTANO'S 
 
 1907 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
[library of CONCnESS. 
 Two Copies Kec>i*vt>_ 
 
 JAN 231308 
 
 i ' /COPY a. 
 
 QV'l2.S/ 
 
 Copyright, 1900 
 By BRENTANO'S 
 
 Copyright, 1901 
 By BRENTANO'S 
 
 Copyright, 1907 
 By BRENTANO'S 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 FAGB 
 
 Preface v 
 
 Introduction viii 
 
 Description of the Game i 
 
 The Makes ..,.,... 26 
 
 Passed Makes 50 
 
 Going Over 55 
 
 Going Back 60 
 
 The Play Against a Declared Trump . . 63 
 
 The Dealer's Play with a Declared Trump . 95 
 The Leader's Play Against a No-trumper . . 104 
 Third Hand Play Against a No-trumper . .115 
 Adversaries' Play Against Dummy's Cards . 122 
 
 The Dealer's Play in a No-Trumper . . .131 
 Combining the Hands of Dealer and Dummy . 146 
 The Play of the Second Hand . . . .155 
 
 Playing to the Score 159 
 
 Luck 162 
 
 Dummy Bridge 167 
 
 Duplicate Bridge 171 
 
 The American Laws of Bridge . . . .179 
 Complete Index 199 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Bridge, although now very widely known and 
 played, is still in its infancy as a scientific game, and 
 there are many points about its minor tactics and its 
 laws which are matters of dispute among the best 
 players. Quite a number of text -books have already 
 been published on the subject of bridge, but they do 
 not agree to such an extent that any one of them 
 might be taken as a guide to a system of play that 
 would be intelligible to any partner in any part of the 
 world. 
 
 This should not be so, as there should be no diffi- 
 culty in selecting the methods which are best suited 
 to the purpose in all such matters as opening leads, 
 second-hand play, returns, echoes and discards. All 
 text-books should agree in their instructions on these 
 points, and in such matters as the correct play of 
 certain combinations of cards held between dealer 
 and dummy. It should be only when we come to 
 the finer points of the game, which are largely mat- 
 
vi i^oster's bridge manual. 
 
 ters of individual judgment and temperament, that 
 we should find it necessary to drop the text-book 
 and depend upon the best of all teachers — prac- 
 tical experience at the bridge table. 
 
 It would be very nice if the game could be reduced 
 to an exact science, with a rule to fit every possible 
 case ; but, unfortunately, the character of the game is 
 such that it is extremely difficult to lay down any 
 general rule without being compelled immediately to 
 cover it up with so many possible exceptions that the 
 original statement is practically lost sight of. So 
 much depends upon a number of minor considera- 
 tions, infinitely varied, and there is so much of the 
 element of luck running through it all, that it is dan- 
 gerous for any text-book to venture further than a 
 statement of general principles, the application of 
 which must be supplemented by long practice at the 
 table before one can hope to become an expert. 
 
 In the following pages the author has avoided all 
 the little details which lead to such differences of 
 opinion, and has endeavored to confine himself to 
 setting forth the outlines of a sound and conservative 
 game, which, if carefully studied and followed, will 
 give the student a very decided advantage over any 
 player not equally familiar with the subject. 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 In the arrangement of the opening leads at no- 
 trumpers, as distinguished from those made against 
 trump declarations, and in the classification of the 
 various combinations of cards in one suit which may 
 be held between the dealer and his dummy partner, 
 and which must be played in certain ways in order to 
 obtain the best results, the author has followed the 
 practice of the best players. 
 
 With regard to one moot point of the game, the 
 discard against a no-trumper, the author has seen no 
 reason to change the opinions expressed seven years 
 ^goj — that it is more important to keep stoppers in 
 the dealer's suits than it is to show your partner what 
 you want led. 
 
 Probably the most important change in bridge 
 tactics that the years have brought is the short-suit 
 opening against a no-trumper when the longer suits 
 are very undesirable ones to open ; but that is not an 
 established conventionality as yet. 
 
 532 Monroe St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Of all games of cards, bridge has undoubtedly en- 
 joyed the most sudden rise in popular favor, and has 
 taken a greater hold upon the affections of the more 
 intelligent class of card players than any game which 
 has hitherto engaged their attention. 
 
 There seems to be something in the development 
 of the race, in the condition of society, or in the state 
 of public morals, which induces a nation to take up 
 certain games at various periods of its history. Be- 
 fore and after the war, when people did not have 
 very much confidence in one another, and life was a 
 game of big risks and bluff, poker was the favorite. 
 During the era of carpet bags and credit, when indi- 
 viduals started to do a big business with very small 
 capital, and everyone tried to get the best of every 
 one else, euchre very properly expressed the popular 
 idea of the game of life, in which the best bower was 
 held by the man with some advantage in the way of 
 freight rates or patents. After that we come to the 
 
INTRODUCTION. IX 
 
 period of partnerships, in which men began to con- 
 solidate their interests, and business was conducted 
 upon scientific principles by combining the best ele- 
 ments in concerns that had previously been opposed, 
 and so we reach the great partnership game of whist. 
 We are now in the era of trusts, of combinations of 
 such strength that they can absolutely dictate terms 
 to their competitors. If these combinations are un- 
 sound, they are expensive errors, but if they are 
 founded on good judgment they overwhelm every- 
 thing — a condition of affairs which is exactly repre- 
 sented in the game of bridge. 
 
 There is probably no game which so fittingly 
 mirrors the attitude of the American mind in the 
 conduct of business affairs. A man looks over the 
 material in his hand and concludes that if he can 
 make certain combinations they will bring him large 
 returns. His partner opens his books to him without 
 reserve and says ; " Here are my resources, combine 
 them with yours, and let us get all there is in it," and 
 their competitors just have to sit there and pay up, 
 unless they can study up some combination strong 
 enough to beat the trust. There has never been a 
 time when there was such a premium on good judg- 
 ment in business affairs, sound combinations of re- 
 
Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 sources, and taking advantage of the mistakes made 
 by others, and there has never been a game in which 
 exactly the same qualities were so fully rewarded as 
 they are at bridge. 
 
 Bridge is a comparatively new game to the Anglo- 
 Saxon race, although a hybrid form of it has been 
 played for the past thirty years or more in Constanti- 
 nople, and later in Alexandria and the Riviera, under 
 the name of khediv^ Another variation has long 
 been popular in Holland, and something very much 
 like it is known in Russia under the name of yera- 
 lash. From the Riviera it went to Paris, but when it 
 was first brought to the attention of the old whist 
 players in the French capital they did not seem to ap- 
 preciate it, for we find in the Figaro^ of November 26, 
 1893, M. Ariem Marx stating that one evening, at the 
 home of M. Meilhac, Ludovic Hal6vy was explaining 
 the attractions of the new game to some famous whist 
 players, who were so little impressed by it that they 
 did not even care to try it. '^ Yet to-day," he adds, 
 "these same whist players are among the warmest 
 partisans of the new game." From Paris the game 
 was brought to America by a Mr. B., a prominent 
 member of the Union and the New York Whist 
 Clubs, and from New York it easily found its way to 
 
INTRODUCTION. XI 
 
 London where it is now played to the exclusion of 
 everything else. 
 
 Bridge belongs to the whist family of games, and is 
 a curious mixture of boston, cayenne, and dummy. 
 It has completely taken the place of straight whist, 
 which has had a very precarious existence since the 
 introduction of duplicate in America. Whist had the 
 serious defect that luck was a more important element 
 than skill and the best that the most skillful player 
 could hope for was to save an occasional trick. Major- 
 General Drayson, one of the best whist players in the 
 world, tells us that the result of the most careful play 
 on his part during a period of twenty years, and often 
 against very poor players, was only half a point a 
 rubber, which is an average of less than a trick on 
 each rubber of three games. Although he does not 
 say so, he may have had a little the best of the luck 
 also, and the gain, slight as it is, may not have been 
 all due to skill. As compared to this, a first-class 
 bridge player may safely reckon on picking up at least 
 a trick on every deal against poor players, and he will 
 win about a hundred points a week if he engages in 
 six or seven rubbers a day against the average run of 
 players. The number of tricks that are thrown away 
 by poor players, simply by passing no-trumpers over 
 
Xll FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 to their partners, by bad makes, and by not knowing 
 the proper way to play certain combinations of 
 cards, is something appalHng. As "Cavendish" 
 says : '* There is no game of cards in the world in 
 which skill, sound judgment, and insight into the 
 methods of the adversaries will meet with more cer- 
 tain reward than they do at bridge.'* 
 
 The judgment of human nature is one of the strong 
 points in a first-class player. Bridge has a peculiar 
 faculty for searching out the mental weaknesses of a 
 player, and an hour or two at the bridge table will ex- 
 pose a person's character more thoroughly than any 
 game known, not excepting poker. The cautious 
 man is always passing no-trumpers over to his partner, 
 only to have them made a spade, and the reckless 
 man is always making it no-trump with two missing 
 suits. The cunning man loves to pretend that he is 
 finessing when he holds in his own hand all the cards 
 finessed against. When he has the make, with eight 
 sure tricks in his fingers, he always tells his dummy 
 partner that they are " up " unless he lays down some- 
 thing very string. The candid man always shakes 
 his head sadly when he has no honor in the suit his 
 partner leads, and usually discards the very suit that 
 the dealer is most anxious to know about. The sus- 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xlll 
 
 picious man is always looking over the tricks to be 
 sure that no one has revoked, and counting over the 
 cards, four at a time, to be sure that he has not placed 
 two tricks together as one. The quiet, gentlemanly 
 man, who would not offend any person's feelings for 
 the world, never disputes the score; never questions 
 the amount that he is told he owes ; never blames his 
 partner for anything, and is almost afraid to ask him 
 if he has none of the suit to which he renounces. 
 The greedy man always insists on taking care of the 
 tricks, fights against the exaction of a penalty, but is 
 always on the watch for his pound of flesh ; swears 
 at his luck, glares at his partner, and is always in 
 a rush to get to the second game before the first one 
 is finished. The good-natured man, who plays only 
 for amusement, and therefore very badly, sits and 
 smiles quite contentedly, even when he drops two or 
 three tricks on a deal. He waives all penalties, and 
 will even let you take back a revoke. The happy-go- 
 lucky man, who takes life as it comes, keeps up a 
 continual string of remarks during the play of the 
 hand, as if he were trying to keep his courage up, or 
 persuade himself that his make was not as bad as it 
 looked. The inattentive man, who is always leading 
 out of the wrong hand, forgetting how many trumps 
 
XIV FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 are played and discarding the best of a suit because it 
 is only a seven or eight. The vain man, who always 
 gives his opinion of the play in a loud voice and tells 
 what might have been in a manner that clearly sug- 
 gests that it would have been, if he had had anything 
 to do with it. It is his favorite boast that he never 
 read a book on the game, and he is happily uncon- 
 scious of how little he knows about it. The modest 
 man is always apologizing to his partner, asking if he 
 could have done better or played differently, and 
 promising to pay more attention to the discards next 
 time. 
 
 The study of these indexes to character is most 
 important to the bridge player, because a correct esti- 
 mate of the peculiarities of the men with and against 
 whom he plays is of the greatest value in difificult 
 situations. It is useless to pass a doubtful make to a 
 timid man, in the hope that he will take a chance on 
 a no-trumper, and it is just as foolish to make it no- 
 trump on a doubtful dummy hand when the dealer 
 is a weak or inattentive player. Every person holds 
 and plays his cards in a different way, but at the end 
 of the hand his weakness and his strength are alike 
 exposed, and the opportunities that he missed or the 
 chances that he took are evident to the whole table. 
 
INTRODUCTION. XV 
 
 It is just the same with his personal characteristics, 
 no matter how much he may try to conceal them or 
 convey a false impression about them. After he has 
 played a rubber or two his general make-up will be 
 as much an open book to the others at the table as the 
 thirteen cards which he has just played. 
 
 But bridge is something more than an exposer of 
 weaknesses. It is an educator, not only for the char- 
 acter but for the judgment. It teaches patience in 
 adversity and modesty in triumph. It drills us in 
 making allowances for the shortcomings of others and 
 shows us how liable we are to fall into error ourselves. 
 It is one of the very best cures for diseases of the 
 memory and attention, because no one can play a 
 good game of bridge who allows his mind to wander, 
 even for a moment, and the player who will train his 
 powers of observation until he is able to note the fall 
 of apparently unimportant cards will find his reward 
 in the remarkable improvement of his memory for 
 other things. 
 
 Only one objection has been made to the game of 
 bridge so far, and that is, that, like poker, it cannot 
 be played for fun. This is manifestly untrue, because 
 the cases are not similar. In poker, the betting is 
 really the important part of the play, and the final 
 
XVI FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 result does not depend so much upon the cards as 
 upon the judgment with which they are bet upon. In 
 bridge, the only thing which can be affected by the 
 element of a stake is the make, and it is a popular 
 fallacy to suppose that if one is playing for fun he will 
 risk no-trumpers on almost anything, and will secure 
 gains that would not have been possible had he been 
 playing for money. If the hand really was a no- 
 trumper and more was to be made out of it that way 
 than with a declared trump, it must have been a hand 
 that would have been made a no-trumper by any good 
 player, either originally or on a pass, whether there 
 was any stake on the game or not. The thoughtless 
 player imagines that if he takes a chance on a no- 
 trumper and it comes off, that he has in some mys- 
 terious manner won tricks which were not in the cards, 
 which is absurd, because no matter how much you 
 may make it a no-trump, if you and your partner have 
 not no-trump hands you will find you could have done 
 better with a trump. The make does not win the odd 
 trick. You must have the cards to support it, and 
 you must be able to play them so as to get all there 
 is in them. In poker, you can bet so high that the 
 weakness of your hand will never be exposed, but in 
 bridge you will have to show every one of your cards 
 
INTRODUCTION. XVU 
 
 in the play, no matter how big a bluff you have made 
 in the make. 
 
 Whether it is bridge played for fun, or for such a 
 moderate stake as twenty-five cents a hundred points, 
 the real enjoyment of the game is in the play, and the 
 settling up at the end is a very unimportant matter. 
 Playing for high stakes, especially if they approach too 
 closely to the limit that one can afford, will do more to 
 spoil a person's game than anything else, for no one can 
 do himself justice, either in his makes or in his play, 
 while he is worrying about the amount he may lose on 
 the game. He is not only throwing away his own 
 money but he is robbing his partner, and every one 
 should make it a rule never to play for such an amount 
 that he cannot comfortably afford to pay for a loss of 
 at least i,ooo points in an evening. 
 
 Some of these days it is to be hoped that a satis- 
 factory method of playing bridge in duplicate will be 
 found, and when it is we shall have something which 
 the world has long waited for, a perfect game of cards, 
 in which skill and judgment are more important than 
 luck, and in which the intellectual pleasure of the play 
 is more attractive than any stake. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 
 
 The methods of bridge are neither as simple nor 
 as universally known as those of whist, and for the 
 benefit of those who have never played the game, or 
 whose introduction to it has left some points in doubt, 
 or who may wish to look up the laws governing cer- 
 tain irregularities, the following description will be 
 found particularly useful, heavy -faced type being used 
 for divisions of the subject and for technical terms. 
 
 Cards. Bridge is played with a full pack of fifty- 
 two cards, ranking AKQJio 9876543 2, the 
 ace being the highest in play, but ranking below the 
 deuce in cutting. It is always better to play with two 
 packs, one of which is shuflfled while the other is dealt. 
 
 Players. The game is played by four persons, but 
 five or six may form a table. When there are more 
 than four candidates, the selection of the four who 
 shall play the first rubber is decided by cutting. 
 These four then cut again for partners and deal, 
 choice of seats, and cards. 
 
 Cutting for Partners. The proper method of cut- 
 ting is to shuffle the pack thoroughly, and then spread 
 it face downward on the table. Each person then 
 draws a card, and turns it face upward in front of 
 him. In cutting to form the table, the four drawing 
 
Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 the lowest cards play the first rubber. The table 
 formed, the pack is again shuffled and spread, or the 
 cards first drawn may be laid aside, and the four who 
 are to play the first rubber cut for partners, the two 
 lowest pairing against the two highest, and the lowest 
 
 SPREADING THE PACK. 
 
 cut of the four having the choice of seats and cards, 
 and getting the first deal. A lower cut always wins 
 as against a higher, the king being the highest card, 
 and the ace the lowest. 
 
 In Case of Ties, either in making up the table or 
 in cutting for partners, if two persons draw cards of 
 equal value, and those cards are the highest, no new 
 cut is necessary if there are six candidates for the 
 table, because both the high cards are out. If five 
 only are cutting, the two ties must cut again to de- 
 cide which one stays out. If the two highest cards 
 are a tie in cutting for partners, they play together 
 without further cutting. 
 
 If two persons cut cards of equal value when draw- 
 ing for partners, and these cards are the lowest, they 
 are partners, but they must cut again to decide which 
 shall have the first deal. For instance : — 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 
 
 First cut is 
 
 
 o 
 o o 
 
 4. •^4, 
 
 Second cut is 
 
 
 The two sevens are partners, and the three of clubs 
 deals the first hand, and has the choice of seats and 
 cards. 
 
 If the ties are intermediate cards, they must cut 
 again, to decide which shall be the partner of the one 
 that cut the lowest card, but no matter what they cut 
 in deciding the tie, the original low cannot lose his 
 right to the first deal. For instance : — 
 
 First cut is 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Second cut is 
 
 ♦ ♦ 
 
 ♦ 
 4 4 
 
 The deuce of clubs plays with the seven of hearts, 
 but the heart seven, being the original low, still has 
 the first deal and choice of seats and cards. 
 
 When three persons cut cards of equal value, they 
 must cut again to decide which shall be the partner 
 
FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 of the fourth. If the odd card was higher than the 
 three ties, the two lowest of the new cut will be part- 
 ners, and the lower of the two will have the first deal. 
 But, if the odd card was lower than the three ties, the 
 player cutting it will take the first deal, and the lowest 
 of the new cut will be his partner. If there is a second 
 tie, it must be decided by cutting again as before. 
 For instance : — 
 First cut is 
 
 Second cut is 
 
 Third cut is 
 
 4. 4i 
 4. 4. 
 
 The five of diamonds has the first deal, and the 
 nine of clubs is his partner. 
 
 When the odd card is the original low : — 
 First cut is 
 
 ♦ ♦ 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 9? 
 
 
 4. * 
 
 * ♦ 
 
 
 
 
 
 cp 9 
 
 
 4- 
 
 ♦ ♦ 
 
 
 
 
 
 9 9? 
 
 
 4. 4- 
 
 Second cut is 
 
 
 
 @ 
 
 
 9 9? 
 
 / 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 5 
 
 The five of clubs, in the first cut, has the first deal, 
 and choice of seats and cards. The spade ace is his 
 partner. 
 
 The principal thing to remember in cutting is, 
 that a second cut does nothing but decide ties, and 
 that if a cut which is not in the tie is the lowest in 
 the first cut, it cannot be deprived of its rights. 
 
 Position at the Table. For convenience in speak- 
 ing of the various players at the table, they are usually 
 designated by their positions in the first trick of the 
 deal. The dealer and his partner, the dummy, sit 
 opposite each other. The leader, or eldest hand, is 
 on the dealer's left, and the pone, or leader's partner, 
 is on the dealer's right. 
 
 Dummy. 
 
 Leader. A B Pone. 
 
 Dealer. 
 
 In illustrative hands, showing the actual play of the 
 cards, the letters A, Y, B, Z, are usually placed at the 
 head of the columns to indicate the leader, second, 
 third, and fourth hand on the first trick. 
 
 Dealing. The dealer having selected his seat and 
 cards, the dummy proceeds to shuffle the other pack, 
 and then places it on his right hand, ready for the 
 next deal. The dealer presents the pack to the pone 
 to be cut, and at least four cards must be left in each 
 
Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 packet. The part of the pack which is lifted off 
 must always be placed nearer the dealer. Beginning 
 with the player on his left, the dealer distributes the 
 cards, one at a time, to each player in rotation, until 
 the entire pack has been given out. No trump is 
 turned up, and there are no misdeals in bridge. If 
 any irregularity occurs, the same dealer must deal 
 again with the same cards. 
 
 Irregularities in the Deal. If a card is found faced 
 in the pack there must be a new deal, but if a card is 
 faced in the operation of dealing, the adversaries may 
 consult, and they have the choice of demanding a new 
 deal or letting it proceed. If the adversaries of the 
 dealer expose any card, the dealer may demand a new 
 deal. In either case the claim for a new deal must 
 be made before the player asking for it has looked at 
 any of his cards. 
 
 After the deal is complete and before a trump is 
 declared, if the dealer or his partner expose a card, 
 either of the adversaries, without consultation with 
 his partner, may claim a new deal. If either adver- 
 sary of the dealer exposes a card before it is time to 
 lead, his partner forfeits the right to go over or to re- 
 double, and the dealer may either call the card exposed 
 or, if the pone has exposed the card demand that the 
 suit shall not be led. 
 
 Each player should carefully count his hand to see 
 that he has thirteen cards, because if he has not his 
 right number when he plays to the first trick the deal 
 stands good. If a player deals out of turn or with the 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 
 
 wrong cards, the error may be corrected at any time 
 before the first card is led or played, but not after 
 that A player is not allowed to cut, shuffle, or deal 
 for his partner, without the permission of the oppo- 
 nents If the dealer gives two cards to one player he 
 must correct the error before dealing another card or 
 there must be a new deal. If the dealer stops to 
 count the cards already dealt to any player, or counts 
 those remaining in the pack, there must be a new 
 deal [This rule is very seldom insisted on.] If at 
 any time the pack is proved to be incorrect or imper- 
 fect there must be a new deal with a complete pack, 
 but all previous scores made with the imperfect pack 
 stand good. A pack is incomplete when it has less 
 than fifty-two cards. It is imperfect when two cards 
 are duplicates, or any card is so marked or torn that it 
 can be recognized by the back. 
 
 Scoring. No one has as yet invented a bridge 
 marker, and the game must be kept on a sheet of 
 
 DIAGRAM A. 
 
 DIAGRAM B. 
 
 WE. THEY. 
 Honors. 
 
 WE. 
 Points. Honors. 
 
 Points. 
 
 THEY. 
 Points. Honors. 
 
8 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 paper or score-slip ruled for the purpose. There are 
 two forms of scoring sheet in common use, one having 
 a single column for the trick points and honors, which 
 are scored one above the other, as shown in diagram 
 A. The other has separate columns for trick points 
 and honors, as shown in diagram B. 
 
 It is usual to write the words We and They 
 at the head of the score sheet. We referring to the 
 side that keeps the score. Some persons prefer to 
 write the name of one player on each side, but We 
 and They is the better form. The score should 
 be kept with a heavy blue pencil, capable of making a 
 mark so distinct that the state of the game may be 
 easily seen by any player at the table. The method 
 of recording the score will be explained later. 
 
 Object of the Game. While there are two separate 
 scores to be played for, trick points and honors, it is 
 only the trick points that win the games, and these 
 points are made by attaching a certain value to each 
 trick above six which is taken by the same partners. 
 The first six tricks taken by one side are called a 
 book, and do not count, but every trick beyond six is 
 worth so many points, according to the suit which 
 is trumps for that deal. At the end of the hand the 
 side having the majority of the tricks announces it as 
 "Two by cards," "Three by cards,'' or whatever it 
 may be. This number is multiplied by the value of 
 the trump suit and the result is placed to the credit 
 of the players, their adversaries getting nothing for 
 trick score. As soon as either side reaches or passes 
 
o 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 9 
 
 thirty, that wins the game, but no matter how much 
 beyond thirty they may go on the deal which carries 
 them to thirty, everything they make is credited to 
 them. For instance : The dealer's score is twenty-six, 
 and he makes seventy-two on that hand, although he 
 wants only four to put him out. This brings his total 
 to ninety-eight, which is all credited to him, and as it 
 is more than thirty a line is drawn under it to show 
 that the game is won. 
 
 Rubbers. Three games of thirty or more points 
 each constitute a rubber, but if the first two games 
 are won by the same partners, the third is not played. 
 The side winning the rubber adds one hundred points 
 to its score as a bonus and then the total number of 
 points made by each side for tricks and honors is 
 added up, and the lower score deducted from the 
 higher, the difference being the value of the rubber 
 in points. An example of the process will be given 
 later on. 
 
 Making the Trump. The chief peculiarity about 
 bridge is the method of making the trump. After 
 the cards are dealt, the dealer examines his hand and 
 announces the suit that shall be the trump for that 
 deal, or he may elect to play without any trump suit. 
 In this choice he is guided by the values attached to 
 the tricks when certain suits are trumps. As alread)^ 
 stated, the first six taken by one side do not count, 
 but each trick above that number counts toward 
 game according to the following table of trick 
 values : — 
 
lO FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 When there is no trump, each trick 
 
 counts, 12 points. 
 
 When hearts are trumps, each trick 
 
 counts, 8 points. 
 
 When diamonds are trumps, each trick 
 
 counts, 6 points. 
 
 When clubs are trumps, each trick 
 
 counts, 4 points. 
 
 When spades are trumps, each trick 
 
 counts, 2 points. 
 
 As the game is thirty points, it will take three 
 tricks at no trump, four tricks in hearts, or five in 
 diamonds, to win the game. It is impossible to win a 
 game in one deal in either of the black suits. The 
 reasons which prompt the players to select one suit in 
 preference to another will be fully explained further 
 on. It will be sufficient for the present general de- 
 scription of the game to say that he will be influenced 
 in his decision chiefly by two considerations ; to win 
 as many points as he can, if he has the cards to do it ; 
 to save the game if he is too weak to hope to win 
 anything. 
 
 Honors. In addition to the possibilities of winning 
 or losing the game by the trick score, there is another 
 consideration in the selection of the trump, and that 
 is the value of the honors the hand contains. There 
 are five honors in bridge, the A K Q J lo of the 
 trump suit, so that one side or the other must always 
 have a majority. In a no-trump declaration, the four 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. I I 
 
 aces are the only honors. As between two suits of 
 equal numerical value, the one containing the greater 
 number of honors will usually be selected. Four 
 hearts with three honors is a better trump than five 
 diamonds without an honor, because the chances are 
 that, even if you win the odd trick in diamonds, the 
 adversaries will make a large honor score against you. 
 The majority of honors, three out of five, is called 
 simple honors, and is equal in value to two tricks in 
 that suit. Four honors, between partners, is equal to 
 four tricks, and five honors is equal to five tricks. 
 Holding four or five in one hand is much more valu- 
 able, as will be seen from the following table : — 
 
 Table of Honor Values. 
 
 If the trump suit is . . 
 
 Three Honors count 
 
 Four Honors count . . 
 
 Five Honors count . . 
 
 Four in one hand count 
 
 Four in one hand, 5th in partner's 1 8 36 54 72 
 
 Five in one hand .... 20 40 60 80 
 
 It will facilitate the recollection of this table if 
 we observe that simple honors are always worth two 
 tricks; four honors are worth four tricks, and five 
 honors are worth five tricks. Four or five in one 
 hand are worth double what they would be if divided. 
 Four in one hand and the fifth in the partner's is 
 always worth nine tricks. 
 
 . . ♦ 
 
 4. 
 
 
 
 Q 
 
 . . 4 
 
 8 
 
 12 
 
 16 
 
 . . 8 
 
 16 
 
 24 
 
 32 
 
 . . 10 
 
 20 
 
 30 
 
 40 
 
 . . 16 
 
 32 
 
 48 
 
 64 
 
12 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 When there is no trump suit : 
 
 Three aces between partners are worth 30 
 Four aces between partners are worth 40 
 Four aces in one hand are worth . .100 
 
 If each. side has two aces there is no honor score. 
 
 In claiming honor scores, it is usual to name the 
 value, after stating the number of tricks won, as : 
 "Three by cards and twenty-four in honors," or; 
 "Two by cards and thirty aces." 
 
 The honor score has no effect on winning or losing 
 the game, and it is always put down in a separate 
 column from the trick points. It is quite common 
 for one side to make the score for tricks while their 
 adversaries score honors, but the honor score has a 
 great effect on the ultimate value of the rubber. It 
 sometimes happens that one pair have such a large 
 honor score that they have the majority of points al- 
 though they lose the rubber game. The additional 
 bonus of one hundred points for winning the rubber 
 is supposed to prevent this, but it does not always 
 do so. 
 
 Slams. If one side wins twelve out of thirteen 
 tricks in any deal, it is called a Little Slam, and 
 twenty points are added to the score in the honor 
 column. Winning all thirteen tricks is called Grand 
 Slam and forty points are added to the honor column. 
 
 Chicane. When a trump suit is declared, if any 
 player has no trump in his hand it is called chicane, 
 and adds to his partner's honor column, or reduces the 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 1 3 
 
 amount of the adversaries' honor score, by the value 
 of simple honors. For instance : one side had four 
 honors in hearts, worth 32, but one adversary had no 
 trump, so the honor score must be reduced by the 
 value of simple honors in hearts, which is 16, leaving 
 16 to be scored. If two players have no trump, they 
 being adversaries, the one offsets the other. If two 
 partners have no trump, the adversaries' honor score 
 is reduced by twice the value of simple honors. 
 
 Going over, or doubling, has no effect on any of the 
 scores that go in the honor column. 
 
 Passing the Make. Although the dealer has the 
 first say as to making the trump he will seldom make 
 it a black suit unless the score is sufficiently advanced 
 for him to be reasonably certain of winning the game 
 on the deal, without any assistance from his partner. 
 If he is not strong enough for a no-trumper or a red 
 suit, he should pass the make to his partner. This is 
 usually done by some such expression as : *' You make 
 it, partner " ; " Left to the partner " ; or, " I pass it." 
 
 With a hand which is not good for two probable 
 tricks, good players declare spades originally, unless 
 the adversaries' score is such that they will probably 
 go out next deal. 
 
 The dealer is not allowed to consult with the dummy 
 as to whether or not he shall pass it. When asked 
 to make the trump, dummy should know that the 
 dealer is probably weak in the red suits and that his 
 strength in the black ones is problematical. If the 
 dummy is not strong enough to make it no trump or 
 
14 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 red himself, he can make it a spade or a club, spades 
 always if he is very weak ; not in the hopes of winning 
 anything on the hand, but to prevent a big score from 
 being made against him. Spades are a sort of touch- 
 down for safety ; to lose as little as possible on a bad 
 hand. 
 
 Irregularities in ttie Malce. If the dummy names 
 a trump before being asked to do so by the dealer, 
 either of the adversaries may, without consultation 
 with his partner, demand that the erroneous declara- 
 tion shall stand, or that there shall be a new deal. 
 Should the dummy say to the dealer ; " You make it," 
 or words to that effect, either of the adversaries may, 
 without consultation, claim a new deal or compel the 
 dummy to make the trump. Should either of the ad- 
 versaries of the dealer make a declaration, the dealer 
 may look at his cards and either claim a new deal or 
 proceed as if nothing had been said. 
 
 Doubling. The trump suit having been named, the 
 adversaries cannot change the make in any way, but 
 they can enhance the value of the tricks by doubling. 
 Suppose the dealer announces hearts, having five, the 
 eldest hand may have seven or eight hearts and some 
 good cards beside. Holding any cards with which 
 he feels reasonably certain that he, and not the dealer, 
 will make the odd trick, it is to his interest to make 
 the tricks as valuable as possible, and he immediately 
 says : '^ I go over." This means that he will double 
 the value of the tricks, making each one above the 
 book in hearts worth i6 points instead of 8 only. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 15 
 
 The pone cannot go over so freely, because he has 
 not the lead, and even with seven sure tricks he 
 might not get into the lead until the dealer has made 
 seven or eight tricks in other suits. It is a very com- 
 mon practice to go over spade makes, which are a 
 confession of weakness. The dealer's side is trying 
 to get off as cheaply as possible by losing only two 
 points on each trick. The adversaries, having the 
 stronger hands, naturally wish to make the tricks 
 worth as much as possible, and they go over the 
 spade, making each trick worth four points. 
 
 The modern practice is, that when spades are not 
 doubled, the hand is not played unless the dealer's 
 score is 24 or better. The old rule was to play 
 spades only when one side or the other was 20 or 
 better; but it has been found fairer to consider the 
 dealer's score only. If the adversaries do not double, 
 the dealer scores two points for the odd trick, and 
 the honors are shown and scored as held. 
 
 Order of Doubling. The order in which this doub- 
 Hng process must be conducted is very important. 
 After the trump has been announced, the eldest hand 
 has the first say as to whether or not he will double. 
 If he doubles, he says: ''I go over," but if he does 
 not wish to do so he must not play until he has ascer- 
 tained whether or not his partner wishes to go over. 
 The usual form of the question is : '' Shall I play.?" 
 That is, '' Shall we proceed to play this hand for the 
 ordinary points, or do you want to double ? " If the 
 pone says, *^If you please/' or uses any similar form 
 
1 6 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 of assent, the eldest hand proceeds by leading any card 
 he pleases and the play of the hand begins. If the 
 eldest hand leads without asking, the pone cannot 
 double, except by consent of the maker. 
 
 Going Back. If either the eldest hand or the pone 
 doubles, it is the privilege of the player who named 
 the trump to double him again, the usual expression 
 being ; ** I go back.'* If he does not wish to go back, 
 he says ; ** Enough," and his partner may then go 
 back, or signify that he also has enough. If neither 
 go back, the eldest hand leads. 
 
 If either the leader or the dummy goes back, mak- 
 ing the tricks four times their original value, the 
 player who first went over can go back again, making 
 the value eight times that shown on the table on 
 page I o. If he does not wish to pursue it further, he 
 says, ** Enough," and his partner may take it up for 
 him. If neither will go on, the play proceeds. 
 
 The principle of going over is, that the one who is 
 to play first shall have the first say as to doubling, 
 and that the one who made the trump shall have the 
 first say as to going back. When either is satisfied 
 with things as they are, he must ask his partner if he 
 also is satisfied before proceeding to play. If any 
 doubling is done, the same principles apply to going 
 back; the one who doubled having the first privilege 
 of going back if he is gone over, and having to ask 
 his partner if he is content. 
 
 Doubling has no effect on any of the scores in the 
 honor column. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 1/ 
 
 The doubling process may be continued indefinitely, 
 but there should be a rule that it should not go be- 
 yond eight times the original value of the tricks. 
 
 Irregularities in Doubling. If the pone doubles 
 before the eldest hand asks permission to play, the 
 player who made the trump shall have the right to 
 say whether or not the go over shall stand. If the 
 pone asks the eldest hand, "Shall I play," or uses 
 any similar expression to show that he does not intend 
 to double, that prevents the eldest hand from doub- 
 ling. If any player goes over or goes back, out of his 
 proper turn, the adversary who made the last declara- 
 tion has the right to say whether or not the irregular 
 go-over shall stand. 
 
 The Dummy. The trump suit announced and the 
 value of the tricks settled, the eldest hand leads any 
 card he pleases, and as soon as that card is on the 
 table the dummy spreads his thirteen cards face up- 
 ward on the table, the trump suit, if any, always on 
 his right, and the others arranged red and black alter- 
 nately. After laying down his cards in this manner 
 the dummy takes no further part in the play, and is 
 not allowed to make any remarks or suggestions or 
 even to touch a card unless asked by the dealer to 
 play it. 
 
 Should the dealer renounce to any suit, say hearts, 
 the dummy should at once ask the question ; " No 
 hearts, partner } " If this question is asked before 
 the trick is turned and quitted, it saves the revoke, 
 if one has been made. Dummy must not call his 
 
1 8 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 partner's attention to the fact that he is about to lead 
 from the wrong hand, or has done so. If the dummy 
 calls the dealer's attention to any penalty to which he 
 is entitled, such as for a lead out of turn or a revoke 
 made by the adversaries, the dealer loses his right to 
 exact such penalty. After the play of the hand is 
 finished, the dummy may call attention to any error in 
 the count of tricks or the score for honors. Up to 
 the time that the eldest hand leads and dummy's 
 cards are exposed, the dummy has equal rights with 
 the dealer in calling attention to any irregularity on 
 the part of the adversaries. 
 
 The Play. The eldest hand having led and dummy 
 exposed his cards, the dealer must play from the 
 dummy's hand or name the card which he wishes, 
 but it is better for the dealer to play the cards 
 himself, dealer gathering and stacking all the tricks 
 taken by himself and the dummy, while either of 
 the adversaries gathers all the tricks taken by 
 their side. These tricks should be so placed that 
 any player at the table may know, without asking, 
 how many tricks have been won by either side at any 
 
 stage of the play. The usual method of gathering 
 the tricks is to lay them one upon the other at a 
 slight angle, as shown in the diagram, until six have 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 1 9 
 
 been taken in. These six should then be gathered 
 into one, called the book, and any further tricks 
 should bejaid out as the first were, so that they may 
 be readily counted. 
 
 The highest card played, if of the suit led, wins the 
 trick and trumps win all other suits. The winner of 
 one trick leads for the next trick. Any player, hav- 
 ing none of a suit led, may either trump it or may 
 throw away any card of another suit, which is called 
 discarding. Any player may ask what the trump suit 
 is, and the last trick turned and quitted may be seei^, 
 but no other except the cards still face up on the 
 table. 
 
 Irregularities in Play. There is no penalty if the 
 dealer exposes any or all of his cards, but if either of 
 the adversaries expose a card, either by dropping it on 
 the table face upward, playing two or more cards to 
 the same trick, or leading out of turn, such cards 
 must be left on the table, and are liable to be called 
 by the dealer at any time, provided the play of that 
 card does not necessitate a revoke. If the exposed 
 card can be got rid of in the course of play, no penalty 
 remains. 
 
 If the dealer leads out of the wrong hand, there is 
 no penalty, and if all four have played to the trick, 
 the error cannot be corrected by either side. 
 
 If the second hand has played to the trick, the 
 dealer cannot correct his own error; but the fourth 
 player may object. 
 
 If the adversary of the dealer leads out of turn, the 
 
^ FOSTER^S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 dealer may call a suit from the one that should have 
 led ; or, if it was the turn of neither of them to lead, 
 from the one that first obtains the lead. Those who 
 have followed to a false lead of this kind may take 
 back their cards without penalty, but if all have 
 played to the trick, it is too late to correct the 
 error. 
 
 If the third hand plays before the second, the 
 fourth may play before his partner. If the fourth 
 hand, being the adversary of the dealer, plays before 
 his partner, the second hand may be called upon to 
 win, or not to win, the trick. 
 
 If the dealer plays a card and removes his fingers 
 from it, it is too late to amend his play. If he 
 touches a card in dummy's hand, he is obliged to play 
 that card, unless he prefaces the action by the an- 
 nouncement that he is simply arranging the hand. 
 The usual expression is, '^ J'adoube.'' 
 
 If any player, except the dummy, forgets to play 
 to a trick, and the error is not discovered until he 
 has played to the next trick, the adversaries may 
 claim a new deal. If any player, except dummy, 
 plays two cards to one trick and the mistake is not 
 discovered until the end of the hand, the player in 
 error is responsible for any revokes he may have 
 made. If the error is discovered during the play of 
 the hand, the tricks may be searched for the super- 
 fluous card and the card restored to its owner, who 
 is nevertheless responsible for any revokes he may 
 have made in the meantime. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 21 
 
 // two or more cards are played at once, the 
 
 dealer shall have the right to call whichever he 
 chooses to the current trick, provided it does not 
 constitute a revoke. The card which is not played 
 to the trick is exposed. 
 
 The Revoke. A revoke is a renounce in error, 
 which is not corrected in time. A revoke may be 
 corrected at any time before the trick in which it 
 occurs is turned and quitted, provided the player in 
 error, or his partner, whether in his right turn or other- 
 wise, has not led or played to the following trick. If 
 the player who corrects himself in time to save a re- 
 voke is an adversary of the dealer, he may be called 
 upon by the dealer to play the highest or lowest card 
 he holds of the suit led, or he may be required to allow 
 the card played in error to remain on the table as an 
 exposed card, but both penalties cannot be enforced 
 against him. 
 
 No penalty can be exacted from the dealer if he 
 corrects himself in time to save the revoke. It is not 
 too late if the dummy has asked him before the trick 
 is turned and quitted. There is no penalty if dummy 
 revokes. 
 
 The revoke must be claimed before the cards are 
 cut for the following deal, or, if there is no deal follow- 
 ing, before the score is agreed to and entered on the 
 score sheet. 
 
 The penalty for a Revoke is the loss of three tricks 
 for every revoke made. These tricks are taken from 
 the revoking side and added to that of the adversaries. 
 
22 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 The revoking side cannot go game on the hand, but 
 must stop at 28. Tricks taken for the revoke penalty 
 do not count toward slam or little slam. 
 
 Abandoned Hands. If either of the dealer's adver- 
 saries throws his cards on the table, face upward, all 
 those cards are exposed and liable to be called. But 
 if the dealer says : ** Balance," or, ''I take the rest," 
 or words to that effect, the adversaries of the dealer 
 are not liable to have their cards called if they expose 
 them under the impression that the dealer's claim is 
 correct, when it is not. 
 
 If any player looks back further than the last trick 
 turned and quitted, the penalty is the same as for a 
 lead out of turn. 
 
 Scoring. After the play of the hand is finished, 
 the trick score is put down in the column provided for 
 it under the name of '^points," and the honor score, 
 if any, is put down under the head of "honors." As 
 soon as either side reaches or passes 30 points, a line 
 is drawn under the trick score to show that the game 
 is at an end. If the same players win the second 
 game the third is not played. In order to show how 
 the game is kept, observe how the following results 
 are put down on the score sheet. 
 
 We dealt the first hand, made it diamonds and 
 won three by cards and four by honors, worth 18 and 
 24. Then They made it hearts, winning three by 
 cards and simple honors, worth 24 and 16. Then 
 We dealt again, passed it to the partner, who made 
 it spades, which was gone over by the other side, who 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 23 
 
 made three by cards and simple honors. As doubling 
 does not affect the value of the honors, that score 
 stands at 4, but the trick score is worth 12, which 
 wins the first game for them, and a line is drawn 
 under it. 
 
 
 We. 
 
 Tl 
 
 ley. 
 
 Tricks 
 
 ;. Honors. 
 
 Tricks. 
 
 Honors, 
 
 18 
 
 24 
 
 • • 
 
 •• 
 
 • • 
 
 • • 
 
 24 
 
 16 
 
 • • 
 
 •• 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 24 32 
 
 24 30 
 
 • • • • 
 
 56 104 
 
 42 56 116 154 
 
 254 
 370 
 
 _98 
 272 
 
 In the next deal, They made it no trump and 
 won two by cards and thirty aces, 24 and 30. Then 
 We dealt, and on a passed make named clubs, win- 
 ning six by cards, little slam, and five honors, worth 
 24, 20 and 20. From the 40 points that go in the 
 honor column 8 must be deducted, because one of 
 the adversaries had no trump, chicane in clubs, which 
 is worth simple honors. In the next deal. They 
 made it hearts, scored seven by cards, worth 56, four 
 
24 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 honors in one hand, 64, and grand slam, 40. This 
 wins the game and rubber. 
 
 The scores of both sides are now added up, and lOO 
 points bonus added to the side that won the rubber. 
 This 100 points is usually added to the total of the 
 honor score made by the winning partners, and then 
 carried under the total of their trick score. In the 
 example given, the honor score is actually 154, to 
 which 100 is added, making it 254, which is the figure 
 placed under the footing of the trick score. From the 
 grand total that follows, the 98 points made by the 
 losing side must be deducted, and the remaining 272 
 points is the value of the rubber. 
 
 Irregularities in Scoring. If any error has been 
 made in the trick score, attention must be called to it 
 and it must be proved and corrected before the end of 
 the game in which it occurs, and that game is not at an 
 end until the trump has been declared in the first deal 
 of the following game ; or, if there is no following gamCj, 
 until the final score of the rubber has been agreed to. 
 
 If any error has been made in the honor column, 
 whether for honors, chicane, or slams, the mistake 
 may be proved and corrected at any time before the 
 final score of the rubber has been agreed to. 
 
 Players should be careful not to disturb the tricks 
 they have taken in until they have seen the score 
 properly put down, because it is not uncommon for 
 one side to imagine they have taken the odd trick 
 when they have not, or to claim three by cards when 
 they have two only. If the cards have been bunched, 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME. 2$ 
 
 it is very difficult to prove such an error, especially if 
 the adversaries decline to make any admissions as to 
 how the hand was played. 
 
THE MAKES. 
 
 The make is the most confusing thing for the be- 
 ginner and the most difficult for the expert. It sounds 
 easy to say that a person shall deal the cards and then 
 pick out the trump that is best suited to his hand, but 
 in practice it is a very difficult matter to do this all 
 through a rubber without making one or two bad mis- 
 takes. The trump that will suit your hand may not 
 suit your partner's, and it may turn out that the suit 
 which looks very strong as a trump would have been 
 much better as a plain suit, if one of the weaker suits 
 in your hand had been made a trump to support it. 
 
 In his first efforts, the beginner is likely to be in- 
 fluenced too much by such results, which are often a 
 matter of luck. If he happens to hit his partner's 
 hand about right, he will think it was a good make, 
 whereas it may have been a very bad one. If he does 
 not hit his partner's hand, he will be wishing he had 
 made it something else, although his make was quite 
 right in principle, and the next time he deals he will 
 be doing something foolish in the hope that his luck 
 in finding his partner will continue, or in the belief 
 that as his make turned out badly last time, he had 
 better try something else this time. 
 
 The great principle to be kept in mind by the bridge 
 26 
 
THE MAKES. 2/ 
 
 player is, that the make which will be right in the 
 majority of cases is the one that should be made in 
 all cases. If the probabilities are, that a certain make 
 will turn out well in eight cases out of ten, and in the 
 first rubber you happen to hit two cases in which it 
 does not work, do not let that discourage you and do 
 not get impatient, because it is more than probable that 
 the same make will turn out well the next eight times 
 you try it. No one can pick out the best make every 
 time, but the good players hit it oftener than the poor 
 players, and the consequent percentage in their favor 
 is the principal cause of their success in winning 
 rubbers. Good makes are quite as important as good 
 play. 
 
 The complication which is most difficult for the 
 beginner is the element of passing. If he were com- 
 pelled to make the trump from his own hand the 
 problem would seem to have some limitations ; but 
 when he is told that with or without certain things in 
 his hand, or under certain endlessly varying conditions 
 of the score, that he should make it himself, and that 
 with certain apparently insignificant changes in these 
 conditions that he should pass the make to his partner, 
 he gets hopelessly confused. He imagines all sorts of 
 possibilities and improbabilities in his partner's hand, 
 and his judgment is often warped by the results he has 
 observed in previous deals. Twice in succession he has 
 made it a diamond, only to find his partner had a game 
 hand at no trump. The third time, when he should 
 have gone right along and made it diamonds again, he 
 
28 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 passes it, and his partner has a spade hand. Three 
 times in one rubber he makes it no trump, having two 
 aces and a third suit stopped, and finds his partner 
 with nothing at all. Next time he holds a hand like 
 that he is discouraged, and passes it. The dummy- 
 names the suit in which the dealer has nothing, and 
 they make three by cards in clubs, with simple honors, 
 when they might just as easily have made three by 
 cards at no trump, with thirty aces. 
 
 When you take a long chance on a make and it 
 comes off, thanks to your partner's good cards, just 
 stop long enough to think what the result would have 
 been if one of the adversaries had held dummy's cards : 
 and when you know your make was sound but turned 
 out unfortunately, look carefully at the cards held by 
 the adversaries and ask yourself whether it is probable 
 that you will find such a combination against you 
 another time. A little calm retrospect of this kind 
 will often show you that your success was due more 
 to good luck than to good management in one case, 
 and that your failure was very improbable in the other, 
 although it happened. 
 
 Some persons do not possess the judgment neces- 
 sary for successful makes ; perhaps because they are 
 too rash, perhaps because they are too timid. Some- 
 times because they are too impulsive to give the situa- 
 tion the thought it demands, sometimes because they 
 overlook considerations of the utmost importance. 
 How often we see a person make it no trump with a 
 missing suit, when he has a sure game hand in hearts ! 
 
THE MAKES. 2^ 
 
 How common it is to see it made a diamond, when a 
 no-trumper is the only thing that will win the rubber ! 
 
 The mental deficiencies which are found in the in- 
 dividual before he comes to the bridge table cannot 
 be made up by teaching, but the powers he has may 
 be directed into the proper channels, and he may at 
 least be shown how to use to the best advantage what 
 reasoning faculties he has. Reading a book will not 
 overcome natural timidity, nor will it cure inherent 
 overconfidence, but the presentation of certain facts 
 may encourage the timid man to regard certain hands 
 as better than he thought they were, and may result 
 in his passing fewer no-trump hands over to his part- 
 ner to have them made a spade. He may still pass 
 some, but he will improve. Repeatedly calling atten- 
 tion to certain dangers may induce the rash man to 
 stop and think it over before he jumps to conclusions 
 and makes it no trump on one suit, or goes over a spade 
 make when he wants only two points to win the 
 game. 
 
 It is impossible for any one to lay down rules which 
 will enable a person to select the best make on every 
 hand and it would be absurd to attempt to enumerate 
 all the exceptions which make a declaration good or 
 bad according to the state of the score, the character 
 of the partner who is to play the hand, the proba- 
 bilities of what it will be made if the make is passed, 
 or what will be led if one takes a chance. The reader 
 must be content if he finds in the following pages a 
 few general principles which may be relied upon as 
 
30 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 those that will win in the long run if they are con- 
 sistently followed, although they may fail disastrously 
 in certain cases. Do not be discouraged if, after read- 
 ing this chapter, your first make goes all to pieces and 
 you find that almost anything else you might have 
 done would have been better. The man who tries to 
 sail a boat just after reading a book on navigation 
 usually has to do a lot of baling. To understand a 
 principle requires ordinary intelligence ; to apply it 
 successfully requires long practice. 
 
 ORIGINAL MAKES. 
 
 There are two distinct classes of makes : original 
 and passed, each being governed by entirely different 
 considerations. It will greatly simplify the subject if 
 these are considered separately, beginning with the 
 original make, which is always by the dealer. 
 
 The Object of the Make is to secure the greatest 
 number of points possible with the cards. These 
 points go into two different columns, one for trick 
 score and one for honors, but only the trick points 
 win the games. Some very good players pay no at- 
 tention to the honor column, and insist that the points 
 that win the games and rubbers are the only ones 
 worth considering, honors being largely a matter of 
 luck or bonus. Others contend that inasmuch as 
 they are playing for points, the ultimate value of the 
 rubber is the main thing, and points in either column 
 are not to be despised. The reader will soon be able 
 
ORIGINAL MAKES. 31 
 
 to judge for himself as to the respective merits of 
 these opinions. 
 
 Three Things govern the Make: The strength 
 of the hand, the score, and the honors in one suit. 
 These are usually taken into consideration in that 
 order. If you have four aces and three kings, it is 
 a no-trumper, no matter what the score is, or how 
 many honors you have in any suit. With weaker 
 cards, and especially with missing suits, the score 
 is a very important consideration. When it is not a 
 question of making any particular score, but simply 
 of winning or losing the odd trick or so, the honor 
 column must be considered, because you can often 
 afford to risk the loss of the odd trick if you are cer- 
 tain of adding thirty or forty points to your honor 
 column. 
 
 Before going into these complications, we shall 
 look at the subject in a general way with a view to 
 finding out what would be the standard minimum 
 hands on which certain declarations should be made 
 by a player who was not expert enough to pay close 
 attention to the complications of the score. 
 
 Making to the Score is a very difficult thing for the 
 beginner, and, important as it is, he should not trouble 
 himself too much about it until he has had some ex- 
 perience in the regular course of makes, so the 
 niceties of playing to the score have been left to a 
 later chapter in this work. If your partner finds 
 fault with you, and tells you, in a loud tone of voice, 
 that you should have done so and so, " at the score," 
 
32 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 you can tell him that you make no pretensions to be- 
 ing expert enough to play to the score yet awhile and 
 that he should be very glad if your makes are other- 
 wise sound, which is something that cannot be said 
 of one beginner in a thousand. 
 
 The hand should always be examined for the possi- 
 bilities of the most valuable scores first, beginning 
 with no-trumpers, and going down the line to hearts 
 and diamonds, leaving the black suits for the last, as 
 a choice between a declaration and a pass. Atten- 
 tion must again be called to the fact that the follow- 
 ing suggestions are for makes in general, and not for 
 difficult situations in the score. With the beginner 
 the score should be simply an after consideration, 
 and should act as a check or modification of a make 
 which has been determined upon on the merits of the 
 cards alone. Settle on the make first, but look at the 
 score before you announce it. 
 
 No=trumpers. There should always be a fixed 
 standard for a no-trump make ; some scale which a 
 player can use to measure his cards with, so as to 
 mark out certain limits between which a no-trumper 
 is probably the best make. He need not rush off 
 with a declaration of no trump the moment he finds 
 his hand is in that class, but should proceed to ex- 
 amine the merits of the red suits in order to be sure 
 that he has not something even better than a no- 
 trumper. One of the most common faults with the 
 beginner is in allowing himself to be carried away 
 with the idea that every strong hand is a no-trumper. 
 
NO-TRUMP MAKES. 33 
 
 whereas the best no-trumpers are usually average 
 hands, in which there is no great strength and the 
 selection of a suit is doubtful. Hands that have one 
 very strong red suit in them will often pay better 
 with a trump declaration than as no-trumpers ; partly 
 because they are safer, and partly because of the 
 honor score. 
 
 With Four Aces the hand should invariably be 
 made no trump, no matter what the rest of the hand 
 may be or how the score stands. There can be 
 nothing better in a red suit than a no-trumper with 
 a hundred aces. 
 
 With Three Aces the hand should be a no-trumper 
 unless there is something remarkable in the red suits, 
 which promises at least two more tricks and a better 
 score than thirty aces. The partner must not be for- 
 gotten, and if you can see only six tricks at no trump, 
 but seven with a red suit, you should count on your 
 partner for two probable tricks, that is, one third of 
 those you cannot make. These two tricks in his 
 hand will be much more valuable at 12 points each 
 than at either 6 or 8. The principal exception to 
 making it no trump with three aces is, when you 
 have a hand which is strong enough to go game with 
 a declared trump, and have a weak suit which you 
 are afraid of at no trump. With only 8 points to go, 
 for instance, and holding seven clubs to the ace, two 
 other aces, and a missing suit, it is foolish to risk a 
 no-trumper when two tricks in clubs wins the game. 
 You are much more likely to find the missing suit and 
 
34 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 some of the honors in your ace suits against you, 
 than you are to find five clubs in one hand. 
 
 Missing Suits are so called when they are s© short 
 or weak that you cannot possibly take a trick in 
 them. 
 
 Witli Two Aces, and protection in a third suit, such 
 as K Q X, K J X, K X X, Q J lo, the make should be 
 no trump, even if the fourth suit is very weak, or en- 
 tirely missing. Do not forget that the fewer cards 
 you have of a suit the more chance there is that your 
 partner will have some protection in it, and it is better 
 for you to have a singleton than five cards to the 
 nine, because, with so many in your hand, if it is the 
 adversaries' suit your partner may be short, and his 
 cards, even if they are honors, may be led through 
 and killed. 
 
 Protection in a suit is an almost certain trick. 
 
 In making it no trump on two aces, it is a better 
 make if neither of the aces is alone, because then it 
 cannot be forced out of your hand on the first round 
 of the suit. It is sometimes very important to be able 
 to pass one or two rounds of an adverse suit by hold- 
 ing up the ace, as will be explained when we come to 
 the play of the hand. 
 
 Taking two aces and the third suit stopped, as a 
 minimum standard for a no-trumper, it must be obvious 
 that any better hand will be a stronger make. If there 
 is another honor in either of the ace suits, for instance, 
 or two sure tricks in the third suit, such as K Q J, 
 or if there is a long suit which one honor in dummy's 
 
NO-TRUMP MAKES. 
 
 35 
 
 hand will establish, or if one of the ace suits is long 
 and likely to be easily established, the no-trump make 
 is so much the better. 
 
 A Suit is Stopped when you can make one trick in 
 it, or can compel the adversary to quit it and lead 
 something else. 
 
 Two aces is also a better no-trumper if there are 
 eight or nine red cards in the hand, or if the third suit, 
 in which you hold two or three honors, is a red suit, or 
 if both aces are red, because there is not much likeli- 
 hood that you are spoiling a big honor score in red in 
 your partner's hand. 
 
 One of the greatest advantages of making it no 
 trump on two aces and a trick in a third suit is, that 
 your partner may have absolute confidence that if you 
 pass it to him you have not done so with two aces in 
 your hand, unless the rest of your cards are worthless. 
 There is nothing so demoralizing as a partner who 
 passes it when he should have made it himself, be- 
 cause it is a continual source of temptation to the 
 dummy to risk a no-trumper on one or two suits, 
 on the chance that his partner has passed with 
 two aces in his hand. It is not only right to make 
 it because you have certain cards, but in order that 
 your partner may feel sure when you do not make it 
 that you do not hold such good cards. It is often of 
 great advantage to the dummy to know that the dealer 
 cannot have had a certain strength. 
 
 With Only One Ace, a no-trumper should never be 
 made, unless there is strength equal to an ace in two 
 
36 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 other suits and the probabilities of a good trick score 
 are so great that they offset the possibihties of the 
 adversaries scoring thirty aces against you, besides 
 taking at least three certain tricks with those three 
 cards. When a no-trumper is risked with only one 
 ace, at least two other suits should be protected to 
 such an extent that they can be stopped twice, and 
 there should be a great game to play for in a black 
 suit. If the long suit is red, it is always a better 
 trump declaration than without. Take this example : — 
 
 9 A. OKQJ. 4.KJ10. ♦KQJ1094. 
 
 In the actual game this no-trumper lost two by cards ; 
 five heart tricks, the A Q of clubs and the ace of 
 spades. Make the long suit red, and it is better than 
 taking chances on a no-trumper. Make the long suit 
 clubs instead of spades and it is a close question be- 
 tween a club and a no-trumper, which the score would 
 have to decide. If the ace suit is the long suit, and 
 it is solid, such as seven black cards with the four 
 highest honors, with sure stoppers in the three other 
 suits, or at least the king in two of them, it is often 
 a fair risk to try it as a no-trumper on the one ace, 
 because if you ever get in you are certain of eight 
 tricks in your own hand, seven in your long suit and 
 your entry card. 
 
 Without an Ace. A player should have a phenome- 
 nal hand in court cards to make it no trump without 
 an ace, and the only circumstances under which such 
 a make would be justifiable would be with both the 
 
NO-TRUMP MAKES. 3/ 
 
 black suits long and both the red protected and the 
 score such that it was impossible to win the game with 
 a black trump. Even then, the danger of finding 
 thirty or forty aces or even a hundred against you 
 must not be overlooked, and such hands are almost 
 always better left to the partner, who may be strong 
 enough in red suits to make a declaration that will 
 win the game without risking a no-trumper. To the 
 beginner, we should say, absolutely, never to make it 
 no-trump without an ace in your hand. 
 
 With One Missing Suit, a no-trumper may generally 
 be risked, unless you have the cards in your own hand 
 to go game with a declared trump. There is always 
 the chance that the missing suit will be run down 
 against you, perhaps winning the odd before you get 
 into the lead, and you should never risk such a suit 
 unless it is necessary. If your score is sufficiently 
 advanced for you to win with a trump, why should you 
 experiment with a no-trumper ? Even if you do get 
 through, thanks to the dummy's assistance, it is still 
 a bad make and you are learning bad habits, which 
 will get you into trouble some day. 
 
 With Two Missing Suits, never risk a no-trumper 
 unless you have six or seven tricks in your own hand 
 and are trusting your partner to stop one suit only. 
 As an example of a good no-trumper even with two 
 missing suits, take the following hand : Five cards to 
 the A K Q in one suit and four to the A K in another, 
 the longer suit being always a black suit, and the four- 
 card suit either black or red, with nothing in the other 
 
38 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 suits. It is obvious that unless your partner has an 
 absolute Yarborough, and cannot win a trick in either 
 of the other suits, that you must get in and make all 
 the tricks in your own hand and any that dummy may 
 have. If you pass it, your partner cannot have any 
 good make unless he is very strong in red, and he is 
 much more likely to make it red on an average hand 
 and get beaten, or to call it a spade, if he is weak in 
 red. 
 
 Without such strength as this, or when you have 
 to depend on your partner for two or three tricks, 
 you should never make it no trump with two missing 
 suits. It is a much better trump make if your long 
 suit is red, and if both your suits are black, there is a 
 fair chance that your partner has a good honor score 
 in red and it is better to pass the make than to risk 
 a no-trumper. 
 
 When you do take a chance on a no-trumper with 
 two missing suits, having perhaps eight solid tricks in 
 spades, it is better to do it when the other guarded 
 suit is red, and especially if you have a sure trick in 
 hearts, so as to provide against a go-over by your 
 right-hand adversary. That some wild no-trumpers 
 do go through cannot be denied, some even without 
 an ace and with a missing suit besides, but such 
 makes must lose in the long run and a person should 
 not allow himself to get into the habit of tempting 
 fortune with them. They are a great injustice to 
 the partner, if they are nothing else, and the only 
 justification for them is the score. 
 
HEART MAKES. 39 
 
 Heart Makes. After looking over the possibilities 
 of the hand as a no-trumper, the next thing to con- 
 sider is the heart suit, because it comes next in value 
 and it takes only one trick less to win the game in 
 hearts than in no trump. 
 
 Six or Seven Trumps, including two honors, or 
 five trumps with three or four honors, should be the 
 least that would justify the selection of a heart in 
 preference to a no-trumper when there are three aces 
 in the hand, one being the ace of hearts. Such 
 strength in hearts, with three outside aces, is a no- 
 trumper always, unless there are four honors in 
 hearts in one hand, with six or seven trumps. If 
 there are two outside aces only, and weakness in the 
 fourth suit, it is a better heart make than a no- 
 trumper, especially in the last game of the rubber. 
 To take an extreme example : — 
 
 C)AKQ94. 4.Q. <^AKQ8. ♦AQ2. 
 
 While this will go through as a no-trumper nine 
 times out of ten, probably, there is a chance that they 
 will make all the clubs and get the odd, whereas it is 
 a sure game hand in hearts. Why should you take a 
 risk, even one time in ten, when you have a sure 
 game hand ? 
 
 Five Trumps witli Two Honors should be the mini- 
 mum for a heart make when a no-trumper is out of 
 the question, and there should be something in the 
 other suits at least as high as the queen. Without 
 any card as good as a queen in any other suit, it is 
 
40 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 not a safe heart make, even with five trumps, unless 
 you have both ace and king. 
 
 Five Hearts to one Honor, even if it is the ace, is 
 not a safe make unless you have protection in two of 
 the outside suits. It must never be forgotten that 
 when you have no honors, your partner's probable 
 share is only one-third of those outstanding, and he 
 may not have that even. If you persist in making a 
 trump on five small cards, the adversaries will cer- 
 tainly run up a large honor score against you, even if 
 they do not always win the odd trick. There is not 
 much satisfaction in giving the adversaries 32 in 
 honors for the sake of getting 8 in points yourself, 
 unless those 8 are enough to win the game. 
 
 Five Trumps and a Five=card Suit is usually a very 
 good make because the adversaries cannot go far with 
 the suits in which you are short, whereas if your plain 
 suits are pretty equally divided they may make several 
 tricks in them and even get in a ruff or two before 
 you can get into the lead. But with five trumps and 
 a five-card suit, if you find your partner with one 
 honor in trumps and one in your suit, you will very 
 likely make two or three by cards. 
 
 Witli Six or More Hearts, even if none is higher 
 than the ten, you should generally make it, especially 
 if you have a missing suit or a singleton, which you 
 can ruff out with your small trumps. As already 
 pointed out, the shorter a suit in your hand, the 
 greater probability that dummy will hold some good 
 cards in it. These may give you discards of your 
 
HEART MAKES. 4 1 
 
 Other short suit. But, as a general rule, when you 
 have six hearts to one small honor and nothing in the 
 plain suits, it is better to pass the make. You have 
 only three probable tricks in your hand and a big 
 honor score possibly against you. To pass with six 
 hearts seems unheard of to some bridge players, but 
 such conservatism will save many a rubber. 
 
 With Four Hearts only, but three honors, such as 
 A K Q, K Q J, or K J lo, you have a score of i6 in 
 honors for a certainty, and with protection in two 
 other suits, or one black suit solid, you should make it 
 a heart. An established black suit is very useful to 
 force with, so as to exhaust the adverse trumps when 
 you cannot afford to draw them, or they are massed in 
 one hand against you. These four-trump makes will 
 fail occasionally, but you will seldom lose more than 
 one or two by cards on them and you always have an 
 honor score to offset that loss. 
 
 With Four Honors in HeartSf even without another 
 trump or without any strength in the side suits, you 
 should make it, especially if the four honors are in 
 sequence to the ace. Suppose that your partner can- 
 not take more than one trick and you have nothing 
 outside your trumps. You lose two by cards ; but 64 
 in honors goes a long way to making a difference in 
 the value of the rubber at the end. 
 
 In the heart makes the honor score is an important 
 factor, as it runs into large figures, and the beginner 
 should never lose sight of the fact that there is a 
 great difference between making a trump with five or 
 
42 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 six small cards and no honors, and making it with 
 only four or five but with three honors. A trump 
 suit without honors may not only lose the points for 
 the honors, but the trick points as well, and a weak 
 make risks the score in. both columns. But if you 
 have simple honors at least in your hand, you risk 
 only one part of the score, the tricks, and you can 
 well afford to lose 8 points when the game is not in 
 danger, if by taking that chance you secure a cer- 
 tainty of 1 6 or 32 points in your honor column. 
 
 It has already been stated that some very good 
 players pay no attention to this element of the honor 
 score as an offset to a loss in points, and insist that 
 as the tricks are the only things that win rubbers they 
 are the only things to play for. But you are not sure 
 of the tricks in any case, and why add to your uncer- 
 tainty by taking chances on thfe honor score as well ? 
 It will generally be found that the player who keeps 
 his eye on the honor score will lose less when he does 
 lose and will win more when he does win than the 
 player who pays no attention to honors. 
 
 Diamond Makes. Having decided that the hand 
 should not be either a no-trumper or a heart, the next 
 thing to consider is the diamond suit. Even with four 
 honors in diamonds, the hand should be a no-trumper 
 if it comes within that category. Four honors in 
 diamonds are worth only 48, and if you have two aces 
 there is an even chance that your partner has a third, 
 which will be 30 in honors for you as against 48, but 
 the odds are against his having the fifth honor in 
 
DIAMOND MAKES. 43 
 
 diamonds, because in the aces he has two chances to 
 get one or the other, but in the diamonds there is but 
 one card. Each trick at no-trump is worth just twice 
 as much as in diamonds, and it takes five by cards to 
 win the game with a diamond make. If you have 
 nothing in hearts and no aces, it is very probable that 
 your partner has a better hand than you have and you 
 are simply spoiling it by making it a diamond on a 
 weak hand. At the beginning of the game, as it is 
 so difficult to win eleven tricks out of the thirteen, you 
 should never make it a diamond unless you have four 
 honors, or five in suit to three honors, with protec- 
 tion in another suit in either case ; or five in suit to 
 two honors and protection in two other suits. 
 
 With Five Trumps, diamonds should never be made 
 without an honor, or with only one honor, unless you 
 have strength enough in the other suits to be just a 
 shade below what is necessary for a no-trumper. 
 Some players have a fatal propensity for making it a 
 diamond just because they have five of them, without 
 stopping to consider their outside strength or the 
 possibilities of their partner's having a better make. 
 Unless your five diamonds are headed by both ace 
 and king, there should be at least one certain trick 
 outside to justify such a make. More hands go to 
 pieces on bad diamond makes than on anything else, 
 and the dummy should remember that because the 
 make is passed, it is no evidence that the dealer does 
 not hold five diamonds in his hand. 
 
 Witli Four Trumps, it should never be made a 
 
44 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 diamond unless they are all honors and there is pro- 
 tection in at least one outside suit. If this protectior\ 
 is in hearts, it is a better diamond make than when 
 the heart suit is very weak, because of the difference; 
 in the probability of dummy's holding a great heart 
 suit and being able to make it to advantage if it is 
 passed. 
 
 Making it Diamonds to the Score. The diamond 
 make is particularly affected by the score, because any 
 doubtful diamond is usually just on the verge of a 
 passed hand. The following general rules should be 
 carefully studied by the beginner : — 
 
 Never make it diamonds on the first game of the 
 rubber, with the score love-all, unless you have four 
 honors, or five of the suit to three honors, or five oi 
 the suit to two honors and protection in two outside 
 suits. The difference between three honors and two 
 only is the difference between a certainty of 1 2 points 
 at least in your honor column and the possibility of 
 12 against you. 
 
 Never make it diamonds on the rubber game, unles:? 
 the score is such that you can win the game, even ii 
 you do not find more than one trick in your partner's 
 hand, or unless you have six or seven trumps and four 
 or five honors. 
 
 On the second game of the rubber, diamonds is a 
 fair make if you have won the first game and have 
 a hand of average strength. But on the first and 
 last games of the rubber it is always a doubtful make 
 on account of the difficulty of making game on the 
 
CLUB MAKES. 45 
 
 hand. With the score advanced so far in your favor 
 that you have a fair chance to go out on the odd trick, 
 or even two by cards, you may make it a diamond if 
 you do not want more than two tricks from your part- 
 ner, but never count on him for three tricks. 
 
 Club Makes. Original makes in black suits depend 
 entirely upon the score. There being three better 
 makes than either of the black suits ; no trump, hearts, 
 and diamonds, it is obviously a fair chance that if you 
 have nothing better than black that your partner will, 
 and that if it is to be made a black suit in the end, 
 it is better to let him make it black after he has had 
 an opportunity to do something better, than for you 
 to make it without giving him a chance. For this 
 reason' it is stated as a general principle that the 
 dealer should never make it a black suit, but there 
 are exceptions to the rule, all of which depend on the 
 
 score. 
 
 Never make it a club unless you are far enough 
 advanced in the score to win the game with only one 
 trick in dummy's hand to help you, or unless you are 
 afraid that your partner will take a chance on some 
 suit in which you have nothing, and so lose an advan- 
 tage in the score which you have already gained. 
 
 With Four Honors in one Hand, it is often better 
 to make than to pass, especially if you are ahead in 
 the score, with one game in, because the count for 
 four honors in one hand in clubs, 32, is very much 
 above the average trick value of any hand. 
 
 Wtien your Hand is all Black, there is always the 
 
46 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 danger that your partner may make a red trump on 
 an average hand, and if you have a game in, or are 
 ahead in the score, you should not give him any chance 
 to make such a mistake, which might seriously en- 
 danger your chances of winning the rubber. 
 
 // the Score is against you never make it a club 
 unless you are pretty sure of the game, with one trick 
 in dummy's hand to help you. 
 
 // tlie Score is in your favor, especially if you have 
 won the first game of the rubber and are playing the 
 second, with a chance to win it, you should make it 
 clubs very freely if you have the honor score in your 
 favor ; always with four honors, usually with three 
 honors and six trumps. 
 
 Spade Malces. The score is the deciding point for 
 the original spade make. If you need only two or four 
 points to win the game or rubber, and have at least 
 six tricks in your hand with spades for trumps, and 
 nothing worth considering in any other declaration, it 
 is better to make it spades and take no chances on 
 your partner. If he turns out to have a good hand, 
 that will simply make the winning of the game and 
 rubber more of a certainty. Never tempt your partner 
 to take a chance on a doubtful make when you have 
 the game in your own hand. No matter what you lose 
 by it occasionally, the safe game will win in the end. 
 
 Never make it a spade, when you have nothing 
 up on the score, unless you have at least nine of them 
 to four or five honors and nothing in the red suits. 
 In hands like this, which are all spades, or in hands 
 
SPADE MAKES. 47 
 
 which are absolutely worthless in all suits, a spade is 
 often a good original make, simply as a matter of 
 safety, and especially if you want to protect yourself 
 when you are advanced in the score. With the first 
 game in and nothing scored on the second game, for 
 instance, it would be judicious to make it a spade 
 originally with the following cards : — 
 
 C)874 *653 0532 ♦J1094 
 
 The result of the make and the play that followed was 
 published in the New York Sun, March 25, 1900. The 
 dealer lost three by cards and simple honors, although 
 dummy had three aces. Had he passed it, dummy 
 would have made it no-trump and lost ninety-six points. 
 
 With a great Spade hand, especially with five 
 honors, it is doubtful if the make should be passed, 
 unless you are behind in the score. The score for 
 five honors in one hand, together with the probable 
 trick points, will probably be above the average value 
 of a deal. When you have a game in, you should run 
 no risk of losing your advantage, especially if the ad- 
 versaries are little or nothing up on the second game. 
 If you pass the make, and your partner has not a 
 phenomenal hand, you wall probably lose two or three 
 by cards and will be lucky if they do not go over and 
 win the game. By making it spades, if your partner 
 has anything at all, you may prevent the adversaries 
 from getting more than one or two by cards, and if he 
 has nothing they cannot possibly win the game, even 
 if they go over and make a slam. 
 
48 FOSTER*S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 EXERCISES ON THE MAKES. 
 
 The importance of good makes is so great that one 
 should not venture to cut into a bridge table without 
 some little practice in selecting the trump. It is of 
 no use to read rules in a book, if you are not put to 
 the test to see if you understand them sufficiently to 
 use them when you find yourself with the actual cards 
 in your hand. 
 
 A very simple method of practicing the makes is to 
 take a pack of cards, shuffle them thoroughly and give 
 yourself thirteen, one at a time or all at once, it does 
 not matter. Never mind about dealing out the other 
 hands. Sort your cards and see if you can pick out 
 the proper make, supposing the score to be love-all on 
 the first game of the rubber. 
 
 Any time that you are in doubt, say about a heart 
 make, turn to the paragraph that covers the number 
 of hearts and honors which you hold, and see if the 
 conditions which are there stated are those which are 
 fulfilled in your hand. 
 
 After you have tried this with the first thirteen 
 cards from the top of the pack, lay them aside and 
 take the next thirteen, and so on, until you have 
 made your selection from each of the four hands 
 which the pack contains. Then shuffle them all to- 
 gether and try it again. 
 
 After you have satisfied yourself that you under- 
 stand the rules for original makes with the score love- 
 all, it will be time enough for you to practice the 
 
EXERCISES IN MAKES. 49 
 
 variations demanded by the changed conditions of 
 the score. The simplest way of getting an imaginary 
 score to play to is to rule a slip of paper in two 
 columns, headed respectively We and They, and to 
 put down trick scores only, taking no notice of honors. 
 The best way to get a trick score is with a pair of 
 dice, making one cast of both dice for We, and then 
 one for They, doubling the result in each case, so as 
 to get even figures. Suppose that the figures are 22 
 for We and 8 for They. Still imagining this to be 
 the first game of the rubber, go over some more hands 
 and make your selections. Then try the same thing 
 again, supposing it to be the second game and that 
 you have won the first. Then suppose that you have 
 lost the first game, and finally suppose that you have 
 each won a game and that this is the rubber. You 
 will find that casting dice to get a score to play to is 
 much easier than putting down figures by guesswork, 
 because it comes up in so many different ways that 
 you would never think of. 
 
 Be sure you follow the advice already given, making 
 your trump selection first, and then looking at the 
 score to see how that affects it. This is the natural 
 process, which is to begin with the score love-all and 
 then to learn how to adapt yourself to its changes as 
 they arise. Half an hour's practice once a day, with 
 the text-book beside you for reference, will soon make 
 you sufficiently familiar with the general principles 
 of the make to give you that confidence at the bridge 
 table which is one of the first requisites for success. 
 
50 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 PASSED MAKES. 
 
 When the dealer finds nothing in his hand that 
 will justify him in naming a trump at the score, he 
 passes the make to his partner. It is a rule in some 
 clubs, and should be the rule everywhere, that the 
 dummy should not look at his cards until the dealer 
 has either made a declaration or passed. 
 
 The great difference between original and passed 
 makes is, that the dummy must be more conservative 
 in the red suits, because of the declared weakness in 
 the dealer's hand. When the dealer names a trump 
 he may trust dummy for average strength in any suit, 
 but on a passed make the dummy must regard the 
 dealer's hand as probably stronger in black than in red. 
 
 Another difference between original and passed 
 makes is, that in the original make you look at your 
 cards first and then at the score ; whereas in a passed 
 make you look at the score first and your hand after- 
 ward. The condition of the score will often have as 
 much to do with the dealer's passing the make as the 
 condition of his hand. If you want two points only, 
 and the dealer passes it to you, he evidently does not 
 care what you make it ; but if the adversaries want 
 two only, and you need twenty or thirty, your partner 
 is evidently passing in the hope that you have a game 
 hand, because at such a score he would not make it 
 anything but no trumps or hearts, unless he had five 
 honors in diamonds. 
 
 On a passed make you must always remember that 
 
PASSED MAKES. 5 I 
 
 any weakness in the hand will be immediately ex- 
 posed, as the cards must be laid on the table. This 
 is especially disadvantageous in a no-trumper, because 
 you cannot hope that a risky make will go through on 
 account of the failure of your adversaries to discover 
 your weak spots, which is so often the salvation of a 
 weak original make. 
 
 No=Trumpers, Four aces is always a no-trumper, 
 regardless of the rest of the hand or the score. 
 Three aces should be, unless you have a sure game 
 hand with a declared trump. Dummy should never 
 chance a no-trumper, even with three aces, if he 
 probably has enough to win the game with a trump ; 
 and he should never declare a trump when it will 
 take a no-trumper to win the game and' he has three 
 aces. Two aces and protection in a third suit is not 
 a good no trumper on a passed make unless the aces 
 are both red, or one is red and the protection is in 
 the other red suit. You should have several good 
 cards in the third ^suit, or one of your ace suits 
 solidly established, before you risk a no-trumper on 
 two aces. One ace is a very bad no-trumper, unless 
 the rest of the hand is exceptionally strong, because 
 the score for aces is very likely against you, and al- 
 most certainly divided. A missing suit and thirty 
 aces against you, and your partner holding a passed 
 hand, is not promising for the odd trick. 
 
 One missing suit is not a bad no-trumper, provided 
 the suit is black. If there is a great chance in the 
 hand, and especially if a no-trumper is necessary at 
 
52 FOSTER*S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 the score, it may sometimes be risked with two miss- 
 ing suits, provided they are both black, but never 
 with w^eakness in both red suits, because your partner 
 is certainly weak in them also. Some players will 
 always take a chance on a no-trumper when they are 
 behind in the score if they have both the red suits 
 surely stopped and anything big to play for in any 
 suit. This is often a fair risk on the second game of 
 the rubber when the adversaries have won the first, 
 but it should never be taken when you are a game in 
 and ahead on the second. 
 
 Heart Makes. The rules for original heart makes 
 apply equally to passed makes, except that there 
 should be greater strength in the outside suits, es- 
 pecially in diamonds, or more honors in hearts. Re- 
 member that even if you have five or six small hearts 
 it is not a good make unless you are well protected in 
 other suits. Suppose you have six hearts to a single 
 honor, not the ace, and nothing in the plain suits. It 
 would be absurd to make this a heart, because there 
 are only three tricks in your hand, and you are practi- 
 cally asking your partner to take four tricks with a 
 passed hand. Besides this, the honor score is almost 
 certainly against you, as it is very improbable that 
 your partner has passed the make with three honors 
 in hearts, and much more likely that he has only one, 
 or none at all. 
 
 Diamond Makes. This is not such a bad make on 
 a passed hand if you have the honors, because the 
 dealer will often pass on a hand containing five small 
 
PASSED MAKES. 53 
 
 diamonds. Dummy should never make it a diamond 
 with less than five trumps to two honors, at least 
 queen high, and some outside strength to support it, 
 say two probable tricks. With only one probable 
 trick outside he should not make it a diamond with- 
 out both ace and king, or K Q J, or six or seven 
 trumps. When the outside strength is in hearts it is 
 better than when it is in a black suit. 
 
 Club Makes. When dummy cannot make it no 
 trump or red, it usually comes down to a question of 
 clubs or spades, with the benefit of the doubt always 
 to be given to the spade suit. Honors are the only 
 things that should decide in favor of the club, cards 
 being equal. Five clubs to two honors, or four of 
 them to three honors, is a better make than an equal 
 number of spades with less honors, especially if one 
 of the club honors is the ace. 
 
 When it is a close choice between the two suits, 
 clubs should be selected only when they may win the 
 game and spades will not, and when the dummy is 
 prepared to have the adversaries go over. Remember 
 that a go-over in clubs makes each trick worth as 
 much as in hearts, and if there is any danger that a 
 go-over and the odd trick will give the adversaries 
 the game, it is better not to risk the club. If you 
 declare spades, it is more than likely that you will be 
 allowed to score the odd without playing the hand. 
 
 Spade Makes are a sort of last resort, when there is 
 nothing else in the hand, or when you know that you 
 are sure to lose several tricks in anything and it is 
 
54 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 cheaper to have them lost in spades. When you are 
 ahead in the score, especially if you have won the first 
 game and are playing the second, you should always 
 choose a spade in preference to any doubtful or risky 
 declaration which might make a bigger score. But 
 when you are behind, and especially if it is likely that 
 the adversaries will win the game on the next deal, you 
 can take long chances. As an example of how much 
 the score may influence the make on a passed hand, 
 take the following cards : — 
 
 Q K J 3. 4. A 10 8. o Q J 2. ♦ J 7 4 2. 
 
 With the score in your favor on the second game, you 
 having won the first, this is a spade hand. With the 
 score against you on the rubber game, say 26 to o, it 
 is a no-trumper. 
 
 Singletons are a great element of strength in dum- 
 my's hand, especially if they are black, because the 
 dealer is very likely to have the ace of a black suit, 
 and the rest of it can be ruffed off. Two short suits 
 in dummy's hand are very strong, because he can make 
 his trumps by rufifing if it turns out to be disadvan- 
 tageous to lead them. 
 
 The chief things for dummy to remember are, that 
 if he trusts the dealer for anything it should be for 
 strength in black, or for small cards in diamonds, and 
 that if he is ahead in the score he should be conserva- 
 tive. It is also well to remember that if you are be- 
 hind and want to take a shot, it is better to take it on 
 a no-trumper than in a red suit. 
 
QOINO OVER. 
 
 There are two reasons for going over : the cards in 
 the hand and the condition of the score. In America, 
 there is an additional reason for a go-over by the lead- 
 er's partner, which is, to get a certain suit led. 
 
 It is better for the leader to go over original makes 
 than passed makes, because the strong hand is on his 
 right and he will be able to see what he has to beat 
 in dummy's hand. It is better for the pone to go over 
 passed makes, because his partner will be able to come 
 through the strength in dummy's hand after the cards 
 are exposed. 
 
 The Score is the most important thing in going over, 
 especially in no-trumpers and spades. If the adver- 
 saries will go out with the odd trick at no trump, and 
 the eldest hand has six sure tricks in his hand, but no 
 more possible, he should go over, because if his part- 
 ner cannot win a trick the game is gone, but if he can, 
 they not only save the game but advance their score 
 very considerably, even if the twenty-four points is not 
 enough to put them out. 
 
 A player should always go over when he has any 
 chance for the odd trick and the go-over will not 
 make any difference to the adversaries. For instance : 
 "They" are 24 to your 6, and make it a diamond. 
 
 ss 4 
 
S6 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 The odd trick wins the game for them, whether it is 
 worth 6 or 12; but if you win the odd you not only 
 save it, but get 12 points to your credit instead of 6 
 only; and if you can get two by cards you win the 
 game on the hand. 
 
 On the contrary, if any increase in the value of 
 the tricks is likely to be of more advantage to them 
 than to you, you should never go over, except on a 
 certainty. Suppose you are 26 to their 16 and they 
 make it a spade. It would be folly to go over, unless 
 you were certain of the odd trick, because they would 
 immediately go back, whether they had anything or 
 not, as the odd settles the game, but if they can get 
 two by cards you will have given them the game 
 when you had all the best of the position, it being 
 your next deal with only four to go. 
 
 No'trumpers. There is quite a difference in the 
 hand on which a no-trumper may be gone over by the 
 leader, and one on which the pone might go over, 
 because the one knows just what to lead, while the 
 other has to depend on his partner's ability as a 
 guesser, unless the American convention of always 
 leading a heart is adopted, so as to keep the eldest 
 hand from feeling for his partner's suit. 
 
 When the Eldest Hand goes over, he does so on 
 his own hand and with the knowledge that he will 
 have the lead and can run down any suit he may 
 hold. He should not go over unless he has six 
 certain tricks, with the possibility of seven or eight, 
 but not nine, because if it is a question of one card 
 
GOING OVER NO-TRUMPERS. 57 
 
 whether he makes six or nine, the nine will win the 
 game without risking the expense of a go-over. 
 With a solid suit in hand, good for seven sure tricks, 
 go over, of course. With a suit of seven cards 
 headed by three honors and a reentry ace, or king 
 and queen, in another suit, he may go over ; but it is 
 risky unless the long suit can be cleared in one 
 round. Even then he may not get in again until the 
 odd is lost. Five sure tricks, if in different suits, is 
 a good go-over hand, especially if these are tenace 
 suits and the make is original. One very long but 
 unestablished suit and no reentry is a very poor go- 
 over hand. 
 
 When the Pone goes over a no-trumper, it is con- 
 ventional in America that the eldest hand shall lead 
 him a heart, and the pone knows, therefore, that a 
 heart will be the opening lead, if his partner has one. 
 This is done in order to prevent the gamble that the 
 eldest hand will hit the suit the pone wants led. 
 In England, and in some parts of America, it is the 
 custom for the eldest hand to lead his weakest suit 
 when the pone goes over a no-trumper ; but, unfor- 
 tunately, he does not always hold a suit which is 
 decidedly weaker than any other, and may have to 
 guess between two suits, both of which may be 
 wrong. Experience has shown that it is better to 
 have an established conventional lead for the eldest 
 hand under such circumstances, which is quite as 
 fair for one side as the other, for while it allows the 
 pone to dictate what the opening lead shall be, it is 
 
S8 poster's bridge manual. 
 
 not certain that the leader has a heart, and it also 
 gives the dealer a chance to go back if he sees 
 that he can still make the odd, in spite of a heart 
 lead. 
 
 This convention prevents the pone from going over 
 when he does not want a heart led, or when such a 
 lead would be disadvantageous to him, but this is 
 compensated for by giving him a slight advantage 
 when hearts is his suit, and he wants it started before 
 he loses his reentries. 
 
 No matter how strong the pone may be in one or 
 two other suits, he should never risk a go-over unless 
 he has a probable trick in hearts, as his partner will 
 certainly lead his best heart to him, and it may clear 
 up the whole suit in the dealer's hand. It must also 
 be remembered that the more hearts the pone holds 
 the greater the probability that the eldest hand has 
 none to lead. 
 
 The eldest hand has the advantage in going over 
 original no-trump makes, because the strength is on 
 his right. The pone has the same advantage in going 
 over passed makes if he is well protected in all suits 
 and has no objection to an original lead of a heart. 
 
 Either the eldest hand or the pone may go over 
 more freely when they see that the no-trtimper is a 
 passed make to the score, and is evidently a gamble 
 to win or lose the game on the hand. It is very 
 dangerous to go over a no-trumper when the adver- 
 saries have the best of the score, unless you have a 
 certainty of the odd. 
 
GOING OVER IN TRUMPS. 59 
 
 Going Over Trump Declarations. When a red 
 trump is declared, a player should have at least six 
 sure tricks in his hand and trust his partner for one 
 only, when he goes over. In counting the possible 
 tricks in trumps, the position of the declaring hand 
 must not be overlooked. Five trumps to the A Q lo 
 in the eldest hand, against an original make, are worth 
 twice as much as the same trumps in the hand of the 
 pone, because they must be led up to and not 
 through. An original maker may usually be credited 
 with five trumps at least, and in a passed make of a 
 red suit, dummy must be considered to have five or 
 six trumps, perhaps more. The score must always 
 be closely watched in going over red suits, and the 
 possibility of a redouble must be considered. 
 
 Going Over Spade Makes. Many persons are too 
 ready to go over a spade, assuming that both the 
 adversaries' hands are weak. They will go over a 
 spade with cards on which they would never go over 
 a heart or a diamond, if the suits were transposed. 
 This assumption of weakness is only partly true, as 
 it must be restricted to the red suits, and due con- 
 sideration should be given to the score before going 
 over a spade make on a hand which is very strong in 
 red, because it will often happen that dummy has a 
 number of trumps and the dealer has a long club suit, 
 and between them they will make two or three by 
 cards against very strong red hands. As a rule, a 
 player should never go over a spade unless he is quite 
 ready to have the adversaries go back, and he should 
 
6o Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 consider the probable result in the score if he is 
 redoubled and loses the odd. 
 
 If the original make is a spade, and the score is 
 decidedly in favor of the dealer, it is almost a cer- 
 tainty that he has the game in his hand, and it would 
 only be adding to the value of that game to go over. 
 The same is even more true of an original club make, 
 and it is very unsafe to go over either unless you 
 have almost a certainty of the odd trick. 
 
 The general principle of going over is, that if you 
 are reasonably certain of the odd trick, you should go 
 over in order to make it more valuable ; but if you 
 are not sure of the odd you should not go over unless 
 it will give you a decided advantage in the score if 
 you win, and will not hurt you if you are redoubled 
 and lose the odd. When you go over, never forget 
 the possibility of their going back. 
 
 aOING BACK. 
 
 When a declaration has been gone over by the 
 adversaries, the maker of the trump has the first say 
 about going back. As a rule, most players will be con- 
 tent to let it stop at one go-over when they find the 
 strength massed against them, unless they have ex- 
 traordinary cards. If the eldest hand goes over a no- 
 trumper, the dealer can usually tell by a glance at 
 his cards what suit will be opened, and can judge his 
 chances of stopping it, or how many tricks will be made 
 in it. When the declaration has been made on average 
 
GOING BACK. 6 1 
 
 cards the maker should rest immediately, and that will 
 give the dummy a chance to take up the challenge if 
 he has a great suit, because he will know that the deal- 
 er must have made it with that suit missing. 
 
 When the pone goes over a no-trumper, if the deal- 
 er rests it is evident that he cannot stop the heart suit, 
 but if the dummy has a sure trick in hearts he may go 
 back, knowing that the hearts cannot be run down be- 
 fore the dealer's side gets into the lead. If the dummy 
 has a good strong suit, of which his partner has prob- 
 ably the ace, and has the hearts stopped, even on the 
 fourth or fifth round, he should certainly go back. 
 Four hearts to the J lo will stop the suit even if the 
 pone has seven of them to the A K Q 9. 
 
 The principles that have already been explained in 
 connection with going over, so as to get a possible ad- 
 vantage in the score if you can win the odd, apply with 
 equal force to going back. Never forget that if the 
 odd wins the game or rubber for them, it cannot hurt 
 you to increase its value if you have any chance to win 
 it, and its increased value will win the game for you. 
 Many a rubber has been lost by careless going over, 
 giving the adversaries a chance to go back, and so make 
 the trick just valuable enough to win them the game. 
 Look long and carefully at the score before you go 
 back. 
 
 Some players seem to take a go-over as a personal 
 affront and go back as a matter of pride, without stop- 
 ping to think about their chances or the consequences 
 of their rashness. This is very unjust to the partner, 
 
62 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 who has not a word to say in self-defence, even when 
 he knows you are making a fool of yourself and throw- 
 ing away his money into the bargain. It is useless 
 to go back more than enough to make the value of the 
 odd trick sufficient to win the game, and the law now 
 is that all doubling shall cease when the value of any 
 trick reaches lOO points. 
 
THE PLAY. 
 
 AGAINST TRUMP DECLARATIONS. 
 
 The principles that govern the play, and the prob- 
 abilities of success in getting the most out of certain 
 combinations of cards, are very different in playing 
 with a trump suit and without, and it will greatly sim- 
 plify matters if the beginner will regard the two things 
 as almost separate and distinct forms of the game. 
 The rules which apply to playing against a trump make 
 are often exceptions when there is no trump, the great 
 difference being, that against a declared trump there 
 is no prospect of making the small cards of a long suit, 
 and the best one can hope for is not to carry home any 
 aces. The adversaries, who have named the trump to 
 suit their own hands, are the ones that will bring in 
 the small cards in plain suits, if any are to be brought 
 in. They have the strong hands, at least presump- 
 tively, and you have the weak ones, so they are on the 
 attack and you are on the defensive, and the best you 
 can do is to make what tricks you can before they get 
 rid of all their losing cards. 
 
 Original Leads. The first lead is always made in 
 the dark, dummy's cards not being yet exposed, and it 
 should be governed by two general principles : Never 
 
 63 
 
64 FOSTER*S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 lead trumps, unless you hold tenaces or guarded kings 
 in all the plain suits, and always lead a card which will 
 keep the lead until you get a look at dummy's hand, 
 if you can. 
 
 Disregarding the original trump lead, which is so 
 exceptional that it need not be discussed here, the 
 student should apply himself to learning the original 
 or opening leads against a trump declaration. The 
 high card leads from strength are the ace, king, queen, 
 and ten, the jack being always the top of nothing, 
 
 KINO LEADS. 
 
 In any suit in which you hold the king and it is 
 accompanied by the next card in value, either above or 
 below, that is, K A, K Q, or A K Q, you should al- 
 ways lead the king, regardless of the number of cards 
 in the suit or of what you hold in other suits. With 
 two suits, both of which contain a king lead, always 
 select the suit with the ace in it, because that will re- 
 tain the lead, if it is not trumped on the first round. 
 
 This rule covers all the combinations of high cards 
 which are shown on the opposite page, from all of which 
 the king should be led, no matter how many cards 
 there are in the suit. The face value of the small cards 
 which are shown is indifferent, Anything below a ten 
 is simply a small card. 
 
 Failing any such strong combinations as these, you 
 should look for suits which have two or more high 
 cards, such as those on page 6y. 
 
THE KING LEADS. 
 
 65 
 
 9? 
 
 2^ 
 
 4. 4. 
 
 O O 
 
 o 
 o o 
 
 
 4- 
 4» 
 4* 
 
 o 
 O 
 o 
 
 
66 
 
 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 THE ACE LEADS. 
 
 Any suit in which you hold the ace, but not the king, 
 should be avoided if possible, because an ace is a very 
 valuable card to have after you have seen dummy's 
 hand, and may be very useful in keeping either the 
 dealer or the dummy out of the lead at a critical point, 
 and will often stop a dangerous suit after the trumps 
 are gone. 
 
 But if you do lead a suit which is headed by the ace, 
 always lead the ace, no matter what else the suit con- 
 tains, so that it does not contain the king. This is 
 one of the most important rules at bridge and you will 
 save no end of aces if you follow it faithfully. 
 
 The ace should be led from any of the combinations 
 of high cards shown on the opposite page, regard- 
 less of the number or value of the small cards in 
 the suit. 
 
 THE TEN LEAD, 
 
 The ten is led from only one combination of 
 cards : — 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 Some players lead the jack from this combination, but 
 it is not a good lead, as the jack is a better supporting 
 card than the ten to lead from weak suits. 
 
THE ACE LEADS. 
 
 ^7 
 
 S? 
 
 S? 
 
 o 
 
 ^ 
 
 o 
 
 A 
 
 B 
 
 
 
 ^t^ 
 
 [^ 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 1 
 
 ™ 
 
 
 4* 
 
 i^l^l 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 0% 
 
 
 
 
 "% 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ♦ 
 
 »J 
 
 4 
 
 ♦ 
 
 ♦ ♦ 
 
 ^^^ 
 ^^^ 
 
 ^ ♦ 
 
 
 4. 4. 
 
 O 
 
 
 o o 
 
 ^ A 
 
 Y 
 
 ♦ ^ 
 
 « 
 
 ♦ ♦ 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 9?^ 
 
 
 
 4. •!. 
 
 •^ 
 
 •!• 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 <? 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 s? 
 
 ^1 
 
 ^ 
 
 9? 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 ♦ 
 
 ♦ 
 
 ^ 
 
 4- 
 
 4- 
 
 4* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ♦ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ♦ 
 
 ♦ 
 
 ~ 
 
 ■^ 
 
 - 1 
 
 s? 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 * 
 
 4- 
 
 4- 
 
 4- 
 
 4* 
 
 4» 
 
 
 <p 
 
 <^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 <► 
 
 1^ 
 
 4 
 
 ♦ 
 
 ♦ 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 s? 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 
 4- 
 
 4* 
 
 4- 
 
 4* 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ♦ 
 
 ♦ 
 
 ♦ 
 
 ♦ 
 
68 
 
 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 QUEEN LEADS. 
 
 
 
 0^0 
 
 o o 
 
 o o 
 
 
 
 o o 
 
 
 o o 
 
 o o 
 
 These may be easily remembered by observing that 
 there is no higher card in the hand than the queen, and 
 that it is ahvays accompanied by the jack. The 
 queen may also be led from suits of three cards only, 
 if it is accompanied by the jack, even without the ten 
 or nine. 
 
 SMALL CARD LEADS. 
 
 If you hold no combination of high cards from which 
 you would lead a high card under any of the foregoing 
 rules, you must lead a small card, and if you have four 
 or more in the suit, you should always lead the fourth- 
 best, counting from the top. From any of the combi- 
 nations shown on the opposite page, the fourth-best 
 card should be led, because if they are examined it will 
 be found that no one of them contains a combination 
 from which it would be right to lead a king, queen, 
 jack, or ten. In each of the combinations shown the 
 four is the fourth-best card. If there were only four 
 cards in the suit the lowest would of course be the 
 fourth-best and the proper lead. 
 
FOURTH-BEST LEADS. 
 
 69 
 
 li 
 
 1 
 
 
 *** 
 
 4. 4. 
 4. 4. 
 
 
 * 4" 
 4. 4. 
 
 
 4- 
 
 ^ ^ ^ 
 
 
 
 
 ♦ ♦ 
 
 » ♦ 
 
 ♦ ♦ 
 
 ♦ ♦ 
 
 0^ 
 
 
 0. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^^v^ 
 
 
 0^0 
 0^0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Ox.0 
 
 0^0 
 
 0^0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4. 4. 
 
 4. 4- 
 
 
 4. 4. 
 
 4. 4- 
 
 
 4. 4. 
 
 4. 4» 
 
 
 4- 
 4» 
 4. 
 
 0.0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 0^0 
 OaO 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 O'O 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4> * 
 
 
 s 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 ♦ 
 ♦ 
 
70 
 
 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 THE JACK LEADS. 
 
 The jack is never led except as a supporting card 
 from the top of a short suit or from a long suit headed 
 by the J lo 9 or the J 10 : — 
 
 ^1 
 
 
 
 
 9? 9 
 9? 9? 
 
 
 <? ^ 
 9 9 
 
 
 9? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 *M^ 
 
 
 4. 4. 
 
 
 
 
 •!• 4* 
 
 •J* 
 
 4. 4. 
 
 
 4. 
 
 There is no chance that the jack will win a trick, 
 but it is sometimes useful in giving the third hand a 
 finesse against the dummy. 
 
 SHORT-SUIT LEADS. 
 
 If the suit selected for the opening contains less than 
 four cards and is headed by either the king or queen, 
 but not both, it is a very bad suit to open and it would 
 be much better to lead some short suit headed by noth- 
 ing higher than a jack. If you must open three-card 
 suits headed by the ace, lead the ace always, but if you 
 open with three cards to a single honor, such as the 
 king or queen, lead the small card. If the short suit 
 contains nothing so high as a queen, lead the top of it. 
 
SHORT-SUIT LEADS. 
 
 71 
 
 From all such suits as the following, for instance, the 
 highest card of the three should be led : — 
 
 ^P 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 IMt 
 
 
 4. 4. 
 
 4. 4- 
 
 
 4. 4. 
 
 4. 4. 
 
 4. 4» 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 0^0 
 0^0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ::• 
 
 
 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 
 ♦ ♦ 
 
 
 ♦ ♦ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 K> 9? 
 
 
 <^ <^ 
 
 
 9? 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 
 <s? ^ 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 4.'^4. 
 
 
 4. 4- 
 
 
 4- 
 
 4. 4- 
 
 
 4. 4- 
 
 
 4. 
 
 Never lead a ten from the top of a weak suit, be- 
 cause that will confuse it with the K J 10 lead. If 
 you must open a three-card suit, ten high, lead the 
 intermediate card, such as the nine or seven from the 
 following : — 
 
 
 
 9? s? 
 9? <^ 
 
 
 9 <;? 
 
 
 4.-^4. 
 
 *A* 
 
 
 *4-* 
 4. 4. 
 
 4. 4- 
 
 
 4. 4. 
 
 4. 4. 
 4. 4- 
 
 Your partner will know from the cards he holds 
 and from those he sees in dummy's hand that the 
 interior card cannot be a fourth-best, and that the 
 suit must be very weak in your hand. 
 
 All the foregoing leads are used only when playing 
 against a declared trump suit, it being assumed that 
 the make is from strength and that no one goes 
 over. 
 
72 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 What should be led against no-trumpers, or when the 
 make is gone over, will be taken up further on. 
 
 EXERCISES IN THE LEADS. 
 
 For practice in learning the leads, the student should 
 take a pack of cards and give himself hands of thirteen 
 at a time, sorting them and picking out the proper suit 
 and card to lead against either a heart or diamond 
 declaration by the player on his right. It is useless to 
 read over these rules under the impression that you 
 will remember them when you sit down to the table 
 for actual play, because you will not. You must have 
 the practice with the cards themselves in hand, 
 so that the eye may become so accustomed to the 
 various combinations that it will guide the fingers 
 to the correct card to lead the moment the hand is 
 sorted. 
 
 LEADING TO PASSED HANDS. 
 
 When playing against a passed make, if there is any 
 choice in your opening, and you have no suit headed 
 by both ace and king, or by three honors in sequence 
 to the king, it is better to avoid leading black suits 
 up to the dealer, as he is probably strong in them. 
 You should be especially careful not to lead a black 
 suit headed by the ace, or the major tenace, ace and 
 queen, as such cards may be very useful in stopping 
 the dealer's suit after dummy has exhausted the 
 
SPECIAL OPENING LEADS. 73 
 
 trumps. As a rule, when you have any choice in the 
 matter, it is best to lead a red suit up to a passed 
 make, and to hold on to your black aces until you 
 have seen dummy's cards. 
 
 LEADING AFTER A GO-OVER. 
 
 If you have gone over the trump declaration your- 
 self, you should certainly know what to do with your 
 cards When your partner has gone over a trump 
 declaration, it is not wise to lead him the trump im- 
 mediately. If you have an ace in your hand, or an 
 ace-king suit, play it first, and take a look at dummy's 
 cards. This is especially true if your partner has 
 gone over a passed make, because when you have 
 seen what dummy made it on, you will be better able 
 to judge of the advisability of leading through it. If 
 your partner has gone over an original make, it is 
 very bad play to lead the trump, because you are 
 going through him up to the hand which has declared 
 its strength against him in the trump suit. 
 
 When your partner goes over a passed make in 
 spades, you should lead him the best trump you 
 have, if you are strong in plain suits, but if you 
 have fair trump strength yourself, it is probable that 
 he has gone over on the plain suits, and it may be 
 better to take a look at dummy before leading 
 trumps. If you have no ace suit, you may often 
 lead a short suit to advantage, hoping it will strike 
 your partner's hand, and either secure you discards 
 
74 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 or enable you to get in some of your small 
 trumps. 
 
 SECOND ROUND OF THE SUIT. 
 
 If the first card led wins the trick you should 
 follow with the best card of the suit, if you hold it. 
 If you have several cards, equally the best, such as 
 A Q after leading the K, you should play the card 
 which will tell your partner the exact combination 
 from which you first led. For instance : You have 
 led the king, and you may have the ace or it may 
 be held up against you by the dealer. If your 
 partner has not the ace he will credit you with it. 
 If you have not the ^.ce you must credit him with 
 it. Your king winning, in order to show which 
 combination you have led from, you always follow 
 the king with a different card for a different combi- 
 nation. The rule in leading from three or more 
 honors is to follow with the lowest that will win 
 the trick. In the combinations shown on the opposite 
 page, the king is the card first led in every case, and 
 it is indicated by placing one dot over it. The card 
 with two dots over it is the next one to be led or 
 played if the king wins. 
 
 In the first combination, by following the king with 
 the ten, you tell your partner that the ten is as good 
 as the ace. By following the king with the jack, you 
 say the jack is as good as the ace, but you deny the 
 ten. By following with the queen you deny the jack, 
 and by following with the ace you deny the queen. 
 
i 
 
 o 
 
 9? 
 
 THE KING LEADS. 
 
 Second Round. 
 
 75 
 
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 One dot indicates the first lead ; two dots, the second lead, 
 if the king wins the first trick. 
 
76 
 
 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 Be careful never to follow the king with a small card 
 when you hold K Q J, because the dealer will fre- 
 quently hold up the ace on the first round, especially 
 if he has A lo. 
 
 On the second round of a suit from which you have 
 led the ace, always follow with the fourth-best if you 
 continue the suit, unless you hold both Q and J, in 
 which case you follow with the queen if the suit is 
 short; the jack if it is longer than four cards; and the 
 ten if you have four honors : — 
 
 • 
 
 
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 * 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 4. 4. 
 4. 4. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 
 c> 
 
 9 
 
 
 i^LgmiZ 
 
 
 
 
 
 C? ^ 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 On the second round of a suit from which you have 
 led the queen, always follow with the ten, to show 
 that you still have the jack. If you follow the 
 queen with the jack, it should deny the ten. If you 
 hold Q J 10 9, you can follow the queen with the 
 nine. 
 
SECONDARY LEADS. 
 
 77 
 
 o-m 
 
 0^0 
 
 
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 o o 
 
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 M 
 
 
 
 
 
 *** 
 
 On the second round of a suit from which you have 
 led the ten, follow with a small card if the ten forces 
 the ace from the adversary, because your partner must 
 have the queen if it is not in dummy's hand. If the 
 ten forces the queen only, the adversaries must have 
 the ace, so you follow with the king to clear your suit, 
 if you have no better suit to lead. 
 
 Having led the top of a short suit, if you get in 
 again and wish to continue it, always play it down, 
 following with the second best if you had three origi- 
 nally, and always keeping the smallest card to the last. 
 For instance : if you have led from 982, follow the 
 nine with the eight, and your partner will miss the 
 deuce and know you have another of the suit ; but if 
 you follow the nine with the deuce, it should be a cer- 
 tainty that you have no more. Whether you lead, fol- 
 low suit or discard, follow the same rule, always keep- 
 ing the smallest of three until the last. If you have 
 led an interior card, such as the eight from 1083, 
 
78 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 play the ten next time, keeping the three, because if 
 you play the three next it should mean that you had 
 only two cards in the first place. 
 
 In any combination of cards in which you do not 
 hold either the best or the second and third-best for 
 the second round, you should lead your fourth=best. 
 Be careful to watch the cards that fall on the first 
 round, so that you may know when you hold the sec- 
 ond and third-best, as it is very important to play one 
 of them. 
 
 It may be objected that the exact information which 
 is given by this system of leading will be of more ad- 
 vantage to the strong hands, who have made the trump, 
 than to the partner. But the dealer can see twenty- 
 six cards, and knows exactly what is against him, so 
 that you add little or nothing to the information he al- 
 ready possesses, whereas the information to your part- 
 ner may be of the utmost importance, as you will very 
 soon discover when you come to the actual play. The 
 dealer will do all in his power to deceive you both, and 
 your only protection against his false cards is to be ab- 
 solutely candid with each other. 
 
 THIRD HAND PLAY. 
 
 The pone should be thoroughly familiar with the 
 leads, so as to be able to read his partner's hand. In 
 order to get the necessary practice he should ask him- 
 self, every time a hand is opened, what his partner has 
 led from, and he should give special attention to dis- 
 
THIRD HAND PLAY. 79 
 
 tinguishing weak leads from strong. If third hand 
 holds A K 9, for instance, and an 8 is led, it must be 
 the top of nothing, because if it were a fourth-best the 
 leader "must hold Q ] lo, from which he would lead 
 the queen, so at least two of those cards must be in 
 the dealer's hand. 
 
 The Eleven Rule. Whenever the eldest hand leads 
 a card smaller than a ten, if it is a fourth-best, and not 
 the top of nothing, you can always tell how many cards 
 of the suit, higher than the one led, are out against 
 him, by deducting the spots on the card led from eleven. 
 Suppose he leads a seven, there are four out against 
 him higher than the seven. If you have any of them, 
 say two, such as ace and ten, the adversaries have the 
 other two. If the dummy has one, the dealer has the 
 other ; if dummy has neither, the dealer has both. A 
 little practice at this will enable you to place cards 
 with wonderful accuracy if your partner can be de- 
 pended upon to lead correctly. Suppose you hold 
 A lo 8 and your partner leads a 7, dummy having 
 nothing higher. The dealer must have the queen. 
 See if you can figure that out and why it must be so. 
 If you cannot see it at first, lay out the cards. 
 
 High Cards Led. In following suit to high cards 
 led, or when no attempt is made to win the trick, the 
 third hand should always play the smallest card he has 
 unless he holds two only, in which case he should play 
 the higher card, unless it is an honor, so that when he 
 drops the lower card his partner may know he has no 
 more of the suit. The same system may be used when 
 
8o Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 you hold three cards and the third is one that will win 
 the second or third round of the suit. For instance : 
 You hold Q 6 2 and your partner leads a king. You 
 play the 6, and when he goes on with the ace you drop 
 the deuce. This shows him that you are either out of 
 the suit and can rufif it, or have the queen and can 
 take care of it. This 3-card echo is seldom used. 
 
 This is called the Dowti'and'OUt echo, and was the 
 system used in whist before the advent of the call for 
 trumps. It is frequently of great use in exposing the 
 false cards played by the dealer, who will, of course, 
 do everything in his power to confuse his adversaries 
 as to the location of the cards in their strong suit. It 
 is not advisable to play this echo with two cards only 
 when one of them is as good as the jack, unless you 
 have the card next in value to it, above or below. The 
 play can easily be distinguished from the echo with 
 Q J X, because with that combination you would play 
 the jack first,sSO when the jack falls the second round, 
 your partner will know you have no more, just as well 
 as if you had played down and out. 
 
 Some persons play the down-and-out echo on the 
 adversaries' suits, to show that they can win the third 
 round, either by trumping or with the best card. 
 This is sometimes useful in enabling a player to keep 
 up the command of a suit and let his partner trump. 
 The danger is, that if you begin such an echo the dealer 
 may draw all your trumps before you complete it, and 
 your partner will be trusting you for a trick which you 
 cannot win, if your echo meant to ruff the suit out. 
 
THIRD HAND PLAY. 8 1 
 
 The Trump Signal is never used in bridge, because 
 if a player is strong enough to signal, he should have 
 been strong enough to go over. An experienced bridge 
 player can always tell when it would be advisable to 
 lead a trump, the most obvious cases being ; when the 
 dealer does not lead them, because he wants to make 
 his own and dummy's separately, and when it looks as 
 if something might be gained by leading through the 
 strong trump hand. 
 
 Low Cards Led. When your partner leads a small 
 card you should do your best to win the trick. Never 
 finesse against your partner. To finesse is to play a 
 lower card than the best you hold, in the hope that it 
 will win the trick and leave you with the best, such as 
 finessing the queen when you hold A Q and others. 
 If the card finessed against is in dummy's hand, it is 
 not a finesse, but a sure trick ; but if that card is not 
 in dummy's hand, there is not the slightest use in 
 finessing, because if your partner has the king it does 
 not matter which card you play, but if the dealer has 
 the king you are giving him a trick, throwing away 
 your queen at the same time, and allowing him to 
 get into the lead when you can keep him out of it. 
 After you have made one or two of these finesses 
 against your partner, and find that you never make 
 your ace, you will learn better. With K J and others, 
 follow the same principle, and never finesse the jack 
 unless the queen is in dummy's hand. 
 
 If a small card is led, and dummy puts up the ace 
 or king, you holding queen and others, you might 
 
82 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 still play the. down-and-out echo to show that you can 
 take care of the third round. 
 
 RETURNING PARTNER'S SUITS. 
 
 If you get into the lead and return your partner's 
 suit, lead back the higher of two only, no matter what 
 they are, and the lowest of three, unless you have the 
 best, or both second and third best, or some card 
 which is better than any in dummy's hand. By pay- 
 ing close attention to the fall of the cards on the first 
 trick you can very often give your partner a good 
 finesse over the dealer. Suppose he has led the king 
 and forced the ace. You get in and hold the ten, the 
 jack not being in dummy's hand. If you lead the ten 
 to your partner it will win the trick, or you will catch 
 the dealer's jack. Whether or not you should return 
 your partner's suit at all, or should lead your own, or 
 lead up to the weak suits in dummy's hand, must be 
 learned from experience. No text book can teach you 
 such things as that. 
 
 DUMMrS CARDS. 
 
 The play of the adversaries against a trump declar- 
 ation must be greatly influenced by the strength or 
 weakness of the dummy's hand. When the original 
 leader holds the first trick he should study dummy's 
 cards very carefully, in order to see what is probably 
 going to happen. If he is thoroughly familiar with 
 
DUMMY^S CARDS. 83 
 
 the principles governing the make, he will often be 
 able to form a very good judgment of what the dealer 
 held when, he made the trump. Nothing but long 
 experience will tell a person whether to run for it or 
 play a waiting game, and it is impossible for a text 
 book to give more than a few suggestions. 
 
 If the dealer has made the trump and the dummy 
 has a strong established suit, he will probably make 
 every card of it if the dealer can get into the lead and 
 exhaust the trumps. On this strong suit of dummy's, 
 the dealer will then get rid of all his losing cards in 
 your suits, and you will probably have to carry home 
 an ace or king which you might have made. In order 
 to prevent this, the adversaries should keep the lead 
 as long as possible, which is equivalent to saying that 
 they should make all the tricks they can before the 
 dealer gets any discards. It is quite natural that the 
 dealer should make every effort to throw you off, and 
 he will often drop a jack or queen on a trick, fourth 
 hand, just to make you think he has no more, hoping 
 you will shift. Unless you are sure you have some- 
 thing better, don't mind such bluffs as this, but go 
 right along with your winning cards. If he ruffs, 
 you have forced the strong hand. 
 
 Killing Reentries. If there is no established 
 suit in dummy's hand there may be a long suit, which 
 he can get established in one or two rounds. When 
 such is the case, it should be the aim of the adver- 
 saries to get the dummy's reentry cards out of his 
 hand before this establishment can be accomplished. 
 
g^ FOSTER^S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 Suppose the dealer makes it a heart, and dummy 
 holds two small trumps, seven clubs to the queen 
 jack, three spades to the ten, and the ace of diamonds. 
 That ace should be taken out of his hand at the very 
 first opportunity, because then the dealer must hold 
 three clubs in his own hand in order to make the 
 dummy's suit, unless he can drop the king and ace 
 together on the first lead. When dummy has no 
 reentry cards, it is often good policy for the adver- 
 saries to lead dummy's suit before the trumps come 
 out, so as to take out of the dealer's hand the only 
 cards with which he can put dummy in. When you 
 hold the ace and another of dummy's suit, leading two 
 rounds immediately will often kill the whole suit. 
 This is usually better than holding up the ace when 
 the suit is led, because the dealer may ruff it and you 
 will lose it. 
 
 Picking up Singletons in dummy's hand is very 
 important when dummy is short in another suit, be- 
 cause he may get a discard of that one card and then 
 ruff the suit out. For this reason, if either adver- 
 sary has the ace of such a suit, it is customary to 
 pick up the singleton at once. 
 
 Piaying tlirough Dummy. When dummy has no 
 long or strong suit which his partner will probably 
 try to bring in, it should be the object of the eldest 
 hand to weaken dummy by playing through him. 
 There is not time enough so to manage the cards as 
 to bring in a whole suit against the dummy, as there 
 is at no trump, and the most that one can hope for is 
 
PLAYING THROUGH DUMMY. 85 
 
 to pick up a clear trick by taking immediate advan- 
 tage of a position. There are certain combinations 
 of cards which it is useless to play through, because 
 they are too strong, and to lead through them would 
 either establish the suit against you at once, or would 
 let dummy into the lead just long enough to give his 
 partner some valuable discards. It is useless to lead 
 through an A K Q suit, for instance, or K Q J, or K 
 Q 10 9. When you do lead through such strength, 
 it should be as an invitation to your partner to force 
 you at the first opportunity. 
 
 Tenace and Fourchette. It is very bad play to 
 lead a card over which dummy holds fourchette. A 
 perfect fourchette is a combination of the cards im- 
 mediately above and below the one led, such as K J 
 over the Q, or Q lo over the J. An imperfect 
 fourchette is the combination of the card above the 
 one led and the one next but one below, such as K 
 10 over a Q led, or Q 9 over a J led. The A Q 
 fourchette is called the major tenace, and the K J is 
 called the minor tenace. A Q 10 is a double major 
 tenace. If you lead high cards through such com- 
 binations and your partner happens to have the higher 
 card with which to win the trick, you have simply 
 sacrificed both your honors to get one trick, whereas 
 if you had kept still and let dummy lead the suit, 
 you must make both of them. 
 
 It is not so bad to go through an imperfect four- 
 chette when you have both the intermediate cards, as 
 when you lead the Q from Q J through dummy's 
 
86 
 
 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 K lo, because if partner has the ace you make 
 two tricks in the suit, whether dummy covers the 
 queen or not. You must be very careful never to 
 lead false cards through dummy when your object is 
 to give your partner the benefit of the position, or he 
 may misunderstand your play and give up his advan- 
 tage. If the king is in dummy's hand and you 
 have Q J, or Q J lo, you must lead the queen, be- 
 cause if you lead the jack or ten, your partner will 
 read the queen with the dealer, and will put on his 
 ace, making dummy's king good. Do not forget 
 that your partner will not finesse against you but 
 will probably try to force you. 
 
 When you have nothing in the suit, it is often 
 good play to lead through fourchettes, especially ten- 
 aces, because your partner may have a trick in the 
 suit, whereas if the suit is led to you, you are helpless. 
 If such leads do nothing else, they warn your partner 
 not to trust you for anything in the suit. The follow- 
 ing are good combinations to lead through if you 
 have nothing in the suit yourself. 
 
 m 
 
 <^ 
 
 m 
 
 
 
 
 M 
 
 
 
 
 k?m 
 
 
 
LEADING THROUGH DUMMY. 8/ 
 
 It is useless to lead through such suits if you have 
 the intermediate cards in your own hand, unless you 
 do so with the deliberate intention of deceiving the 
 dealer so as to coax him to go up with the best card, 
 under the impression that your partner will win the 
 trick if he does not. You may sometimes make a 
 king good by leading a small card through the major 
 tenace in this manner. 
 
 There are a number of combinations of high cards 
 which should be led in a certain way according to the 
 cards of the suit in dummy's hand, but these are not 
 of much importance in trump declarations, and will 
 be more iuWy discussed when we come to the play 
 against dummy's cards in no-trumpers. The great 
 thing is to go through dummy's strong suits and ten- 
 aces. 
 
 Leading up to Dummy. Exactly the reverse is 
 true in leading to dummy, because you should always 
 lead up to his weak suits, and never to his fourchettes 
 and tenaces. If you are. the pone, and get into the 
 lead on the first or second trick, you should be able 
 to form some judgment of the situation, and should 
 be able to mark a good many cards which the 
 dealer does or does not hold. Some very pretty 
 perception problems come up in this way, and the 
 player should always stop long enough to ask him- 
 self what he knows. Take the following as an illus- 
 tration : You are the pone and the dealer makes it a 
 heart. You hold the A J x ; three small clubs ; the 
 A X X in diamonds, and the K Q x x in spades. Your 
 
88 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 partner leads the club king, and dummy lays down 
 five to the queen, the king and one small trump, 
 K X X in diamonds and A x x in spades. Your partner 
 shifts to the 8 of diamonds, and dummy plays small, 
 your ace winning and the dealer following suit. 
 Think this over, especially the make, the score being 
 love-all. 
 
 While you should always lead up to weakness in 
 dummy's hand, this weakness does not include the 
 trump suit unless your partner has gone over, or unless 
 it is evident that the dealer is avoiding a trump lead, so 
 as to let the dummy ruff off some of your good cards. 
 Weak suits are those in which dummy holds several 
 small cards, as the ace, king, or queen, with no other 
 honor. Singletons in dummy's hand are not weak 
 suits, as he can ruff them off if his partner can win 
 the first round. It is not so dangerous to lead up to 
 aces and kings as some players imagine, but the leaSs 
 to tenaces should be avoided at all costs, as the 
 major tenace must kill anything your partner has. 
 and the minor tenace will be promoted if your part 
 ner's ace is forced out. 
 
 You should avoid leading suits in which you hold 
 tenace over the dummy, such as A Q over the K, or 
 K J against dummy's A Q. You should also avoid 
 suits in which you have the second and third best 
 guarded against dummy ; such as king when dummy 
 holds ace and others, or queen when dummy has A 
 K and others. You should never lead away from a 
 queen or jack, with only one or two cards of the suit, 
 
LEADING UP TO DUMMY. 89 
 
 if your partner has not led it, because he cannot have 
 both ace and king, and the best chance for a trick in 
 such a suit is to keep still. If you have A K J over 
 dummy's queen, you may lead the king and stop, so as 
 to catch the queen if your partner can come through ; 
 but there is always the danger that the dealer may 
 get a discard and your ace will never make. The 
 score and the possible tricks in sight must decide 
 such things. If you have the command of dummy's 
 long suit, do not part with it unless you are compelled 
 to, if you see that the dealer is trying to bring in that 
 suit, especially after the trumps are gone. 
 
 A great many of the positions which are given 
 further on for playing against dummy at no-trump 
 will b« found equally useful with a declared trump. 
 
 FORCING. 
 
 It is always well to force the strong hand, espe- 
 dally if you have the commanding trump and can stop 
 his trump lead and force him again. But there are 
 times when it is too late to force. It is very difficult 
 to explain such positions to the beginner, but an ex- 
 ample may make the principle clear. Suppose the 
 dealer has made it a heart, and the dummy has A Q 
 X, with an established suit. It is too late to force 
 the strong hand, because he must have had at least 
 five trumps when he made it, and he can well afford 
 to take the force, exhaust the trumps, and discard all 
 his losing cards on dummy's suit. Your only chance 
 
90 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 is to lead the suit which the dealer cannot trump and 
 of which the dummy has not the command. 
 
 When there is no established suit in dummy's 
 hand and you have no evidence of one in the dealer's 
 hand, you should force the one that made the trump, 
 unless his partner has so many trumps that it cannot 
 hurt him. Avoid forcing both adversaries, that is, 
 allowing one to ruff and the other to discard, and 
 also try to prevent a force which will give the adver- 
 saries a cross ruff. 
 
 It is often good play to force your partner when 
 you are the pone and the dummy's trumps are weak, 
 because he may be able to save a trump or two in 
 this way which would otherwise be caught. Always 
 force your partner when it is evident that he holds 
 the second best trump unguarded. 
 
 DISCARDING. 
 
 The agony of the discard is one of the most mad- 
 dening things at bridge. To have to sit and throw 
 away card after card, without the slightest idea of 
 what it would be best to keep, or what is coming 
 next, v.hile the dealer or the dummy runs off a long 
 suit or takes out four rounds of trumps, is sometimes 
 enough to make one wish for some private signal 
 like the rotary discard, to tell him what his partner 
 has got. 
 
 The best rule for the discard is to keep guard on 
 the weak suits, especially two or three to a queen or 
 
THE DISCARD. 9I 
 
 jack, even if you have to blank aces or let a whole 
 strong suit go to do it. The dealer is not going to 
 lead your strong suit after the trumps are out, but 
 most likely the suit in which you have only one honor. 
 Even three to the ten may stop a whole suit and save 
 three or four tricks, and the number of tricks that 
 are lost by unguarding queens and jacks will run up 
 into the thousands in a year at any bridge club. 
 
 Discard Strength Always. This is the best dis- 
 card for the beginner, in fact for the general run of 
 players. We are speaking now of the play against a 
 declared trump, remember, and even if the make is a 
 protective one in spades, it is best to assume that the 
 dealer and his partner have the strong trump hands, 
 and as six or seven tricks will certainly fall to the 
 trumps, there is little or no hope of making anything 
 but the best cards in your long suit, so that you can 
 well afford to throw the small ones away. The dis- 
 card from strength has the additional advantage that 
 it tells your partner at once what your best protected 
 suit is. Some players insist that if the eldest hand 
 has led one suit and the dealer leads the trumps, 
 there are only two suits to hear from, and if the dis- 
 card is made from weakness in one of them, the other 
 must be the strong suit, and that it is not necessary 
 to waste any of your strong suit in the discard, just 
 to show it. 
 
 This sounds well, but it will not fit all cases. Sup- 
 pose the dealer does not lead the trumps, but starts a 
 suit, so as to get dummy in, and then dummy goes to 
 
92 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 trumps and you have to discard. How are you going 
 to show that the suit which the dealer led is your 
 suit ? 
 
 Even if your partner has gone over the make, you 
 should still discard your strong suit. Your partner 
 is strong in trumps, of course, but he must have a 
 number of good cards, and must have gone over on 
 his own hand, not on yours. You must not assume, 
 because your partner goes over, that you are going to 
 make a grand slam against the maker. Whether 
 there is any go-over or not, your discard should give 
 immediate information to your partner of the suit in 
 which there is the most probability of your winning 
 a trick. If you go over yourself, you are supposed 
 to know what to discard, and your partner will not be 
 likely to think that you are throwing away any pos- 
 sible tricks. If your partner goes over and he gets 
 a discard, it is from weakness, of course, just as the 
 maker of the trump would discard his weak suits. 
 
 The great point in favor of the discard from strength 
 is, that it keeps guard on your weak suits. If you 
 have no strong suit, keep guard on the suits in which 
 you have possible stoppers, such as two or three to a 
 queen or jack, or four to a ten. You should be very 
 careful about telling the dealer too much about suits 
 in which the dummy is likely to take a finesse. Sup- 
 pose you hold the 9 and 8 only, dummy having A K 
 1076. If you discard this suit, the dealer knows in 
 a moment that the queen is on his left, if he does not 
 hold it himself, because with three to the queen you 
 
THE DISCARD. 93 
 
 would keep that suit guarded against the combination 
 in dummy's hand. You may sometimes use this as 
 a device to deceive the dealer, as when you hold four 
 to the queen, and discard your second best, as if you 
 had nothing smaller. He may read your partner for 
 the queen and take the finesse in dummy's hand, 
 letting you in. Sometimes this is not as desirable as 
 it looks, however, as it clears the suit, and it might 
 be better to coax him to lead two rounds with his ace 
 and king, after which you have the suit killed, unless 
 dummy has a reentry. 
 
 The Reverse Discard is used when you have to 
 discard a weak suit, so as to keep guards in an- 
 other weak suit. The object is to change the 
 meaning of the ordinary discard. Suppose you have 
 four clubs to the nine and three diamonds to the 
 queen, hearts being trumps. You must keep the 
 guards to the queen and let go the clubs, but in dis- 
 carding them you throw away a higher first and then 
 a lower, such as the six and then the four. The first 
 discard says to your partner, " This is my strong 
 suit," and a second discard from the same suit, if a 
 higher card, would indicate that you were still pro- 
 tected in it ; but if the second discard is a lower card 
 than the first, it reverses the meaning of the first dis- 
 card and says, '^ This suit is not my best, but I must 
 let it go to keep something else." If the lowest card 
 of a suit is discarded, such as the deuce, it must be 
 from strength, but in using the reverse discard one 
 should try to make it plain that it is not the lowest 
 
94 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 card, selecting such cards as the 8 and 3 in prefer- 
 ence to the 4 and 3 from such a suit as 9 8 4 3. 
 
 The reverse discard cannot be used by players who 
 adopt the down-and-out echo to show no more of a 
 suit, unless it is understood that such an echo shall 
 not be used except in following suit. 
 
THE DEALER'S PLAY. 
 
 WITH A DECLARED TRUMP SUIT. 
 
 As soon as the first card is led and the dummy's 
 hand is laid on the table, the dealer should take a 
 little time to look over his resources, and see what he 
 has to hope for and what he has to fear. He should 
 know how many tricks it will take to save or win the 
 game, and he should keep constantly before him the 
 fact that he needs just so many tricks. If he sees 
 that the game is in danger, and that the hand is prob- 
 ably not going to turn out as well as he had hoped it 
 would, his first care must be to save the game, if it is 
 in danger. If the game is not in any immediate dan- 
 ger, or if saving it is almost a certainty, he may take 
 all the chances he pleases in order to win it, if he 
 thinks it is in the cards ; but if that is not possible, 
 he should play to get as many tricks as he can. 
 
 When the dealer can see tricks enough in the two 
 hands to win the game, he should never take any 
 shots in the hope of making a big score until he has 
 made sure that he will still win the game, even if his 
 shot fails. Nothing is so absurd as to see a player 
 take a chance in the hope of making two tricks when 
 one more wins the game and rubber, and that one is 
 right in front of him if he will only take it. 
 
 95 
 
g6 Foster's bridge manual. . 
 
 Estimating Probable Triclcs. After looking over 
 both hands carefully, it should be an easy matter to 
 see how many tricks are a certainty and how many 
 others are either possible or probable. The ability to 
 make a rapid estimate of the value of a hand is not 
 common, but it can be acquired with practice, and 
 the beginner should devote special attention to it, as 
 this and attention to the score are the two most im- 
 portant things in the game. 
 
 The great thing is to make the problem as simple 
 as possible, by eliminating the suits in which tricks 
 are impossible, and confining the attention to those 
 in which it is probable that something may be made. 
 As an example of what is meant, take a pack of cards 
 and sort out the following hand : — 
 
 9KQ1093 4.642 0A5 ♦Q/S 
 
 The score being 24 to nothing against you, you 
 have made it a heart. The king of diamonds is led, 
 and dummy lays down the following cards, which you 
 should also sort out and place on the table opposite 
 you, so that you may better understand the position : — 
 
 QA42 ^Q/ 01062 tA 10963 
 
 After winning the first trick with the ace of dia- 
 monds, what chance have you to get the four by cards 
 which is necessary to win the game ? You are prac- 
 tically certain of two by cards, five tricks in trumps 
 and two in spades, but how can you get two more ? 
 In diamonds there is nothing but the ruff, and a trick 
 in clubs is out of the question if the adversaries play 
 
ESTIMATING PROBABLE TRICKS. 97 
 
 well. You must make any extra tricks in the spade 
 suit if at all, and although the king and jack are both 
 against you, you must try to get four tricks in that 
 suit, because if you cannot do so, you cannot win the 
 game. How the spade suit should be managed so as 
 to accomplish this will be better understood when 
 you have read the chapter on playing certain combi- 
 nations of cards in two hands, so as to get the best 
 results. 
 
 Here is another example, a little more difficult than 
 the foregoing, but well worth the student's attention, 
 because it shows a form in which the problem very 
 often presents itself. Sort out and give yourself the 
 following cards : — 
 
 0AKQ1075 4.K1073 Qio ♦Ks. 
 
 You are a game in and nothing on the second, and 
 you make it a diamond, so it will take eleven tricks 
 to win the game. The six of trumps is the opening 
 lead, the probable reason for which has been given 
 under the head of original leads. Dummy lays down 
 the following hand, which you should sort out and lay 
 on the table opposite you : — 
 
 08432 4^4 9A98762 ^86 
 
 You win the first trick with the queen over the 
 jack, and return the trump, the original leader dis- 
 carding the deuce of clubs. There are now nine 
 tricks in sight for a certainty, eight in trumps and the 
 ace of hearts. In order to get eleven tricks you must 
 make both your kings, which is very improbable if 
 
98 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 you think of the reason for the opening lead ; or you 
 must establish a trick in hearts and make one of your 
 kings. Now, how should you play the hand so as to 
 accomplish this ? 
 
 Leading Trumps instead of Ruffing. A very im- 
 portant point to decide early in the hand is whether 
 or not to lead trumps immediately upon getting in. 
 There are a great many hands in which it is better to 
 play one or two rounds in plain suits, especially if 
 you have the advantage of position, as in leading to 
 tenaces, but if you have a long suit which you have 
 any hopes of establishing, and have any trumps to sup- 
 port it, it is almost invariably better to have a round 
 or two of trumps first, so as to disarm the adver- 
 saries. Suppose spades are trumps and dummy holds 
 five of them to the A K and six clubs to the jack. 
 The dealer has only three clubs to the K 10 and two 
 small trumps. With nine clubs between the two 
 hands, it is better to have at least two rounds of 
 trumps immediately upon getting in, than it is to start 
 on the club suit, for fear that one adversary might 
 have the command and the other might ruff it off. 
 
 Whenever possible, a player should try to ruff the 
 hand that is weak in trumps before starting to lead 
 trumps from the strong hand. In the foregoing ex- 
 ample, if there were any way in which the two small 
 spades in the dealer's hand could be made before 
 leading trumps from dummy to save the club suit, 
 that would be a still better play. 
 
 Second Hand Play from Dummy. The principles 
 
DUMMY, SECOND HAND. 99 
 
 • governing the play of dummy's cards will be given 
 fully in connection with no-trumpers, and as the situ- 
 ations which are there explained apply equally to the 
 play with a declared trump it is needless to antici- 
 pate them here. Allowance must be made for the 
 difference in the system of original leads, how^ 
 ever, especially for the fact that a good player will 
 never open a hand by leading away from an ace, so 
 that it is always useless to put up the king second 
 hand in the hope that it will hold the trick. When 
 you are not opposed to good players, you may pre- 
 sume on their having led badly, of course ; but do not 
 attempt it against experts. 
 
 Advantage may often be taken of the information 
 given by the original lead of a fourth-best, either to 
 avoid wasting your strength by putting up needlessly 
 high cards from dummy's hand, or to save your own 
 good cards. Suppose a six is led, and dummy has 
 the A 1092, you holding the K 4 3. Of the cards 
 out against the leader in that suit, you know by the 
 eleven rule that you hold all but one. If you allow 
 dummy to pass the 6, your king will be forced, even 
 if the third hand has nothing higher than the 7 or 8. 
 But if dummy covers with the 9 it will hold the trick 
 if the leader has both Q and J, and he will never 
 make a trick in the suit. 
 
 Trump Leads. When one has to lead trumps 
 from a disadvantageous combination of cards, one 
 should always play in such a manner as to coax the 
 higher trumps, instead of attempting to force them. 
 
 LOFa 
 
lOO Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 For instance : You have six trumps to the king in 
 dummy's hand, and queen and two small in your own. 
 If you lead the queen from one hand or the king from 
 the other, the ace is sure to kill it, no matter which 
 adversary holds the ace ; but if you lead a small 
 trump, say from your own cards, and the ace is sec- 
 ond hand, it will very probably go right up, so as to 
 shut out the king and stop the trump lead, and you 
 will make both your king and queen of trumps. If 
 the ace does not go up, you can play your king third 
 hand, and if it loses you are no worse off than if you 
 had led the queen. It being an even chance that the 
 ace is second hand and will go up, you will save both 
 your king and queen of trumps, about half the time, 
 simply by leading a small card. The same is true of 
 such combinations as K Q J, when these cards are 
 divided between the two hands. Do not lead out one 
 of the high cards, under the mistaken notion that you 
 must do so in order to force out the ace. Lead a 
 small card, and perhaps the ace will go up of itself 
 without any forcing. If it does not, it will be time 
 enough to play one of your high cards third hand, so 
 as to force the ace or to hold the trick. 
 
 Finessing. The dealer and the dummy have to do 
 a good deal of finessing in order to take advantage of 
 their knowledge of the position of the cards. As 
 they have the strong trump hands, finessing is justi- 
 fiable and expected, but they should be careful about 
 making finesses which cannot win as much as they 
 may lose. When it is a question of a single trick 
 
FINESSE AND REENTRY. lOI 
 
 either way, to win it or to lose it, it is useless to 
 finesse unless the trick that may be gained is of some 
 decided advantage, such as winning the game, or 
 making some extra points on a game which is already 
 won. 
 
 It is foolish to finesse against one card if that card 
 will let a player in to make two tricks in another suit 
 which were otherwise impossible, yet we see that 
 done every day. If you do any finessing, do it against 
 the player who cannot hurt you ; who has none of his 
 partner's suit to give him, or who must lead up to 
 your tenaces, or something of that kind. We shall 
 have more to say on this subject of finessing when we 
 come to the no-trumpers. 
 
 Reentries. When one hand is strong in trumps 
 and the other hand has a long suit, the preservation 
 of reentry cards is often very important, and in look- 
 ing over the possibilities of a hand at the start, you 
 should be careful to note in which hand the reentries 
 must be preserved, if possible. When you have the 
 choice of winning, or attempting to win, a trick in 
 either hand, you sholild always decide in favor of 
 winning it with the hand that does not want the 
 reentry. Suppose hearts are trumps, and dummy has 
 six spades to the queen, you having A K alone. A 
 diamond is led through your king and two small, the 
 dummy holding queen and two small. Put on the 
 king, because if it loses to the ace, your queen is 
 good for reentry in dummy's hand, whereas if you 
 pass it, and the ace is on your right, dummy may 
 
I02 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 have to play the queen to win the trick and then his 
 spade suit is dead. 
 
 Keeping a small trump in one hand, so as to be 
 able to put the other hand in, is often a very neces- 
 sary precaution when reentry cards are needed. The 
 adversaries will often be able to take out your reen- 
 tries in plain suits, but they are not so likely to do so 
 in trumps. Suppose dummy holds A 8 4 2, and the 
 dealer has the K Q 10 9 3. Nothing can be lost by 
 playing the nine when the ace is led, keeping the 
 three in case it should be necessary to put the lead in 
 dummy's hand later on. 
 
 It will sometimes be necessary to let the adver- 
 saries win a trick in order to keep a reentry until it 
 is needed. Suppose you have the king of a suit in 
 which the ace has been played, and dummy holds the 
 jack and two small. The queen is led, and you want 
 to keep the king until after you can get in and have 
 another round of trumps. Pass the queen, and if the 
 suit is continued, the jack wins, the round of trumps 
 comes out, and your king is still good for reentry. 
 
 Over=Trumping. Some players are in too great a 
 hurry to over-trump. If an adversary ruffs, they 
 immediately over-ruff, if they can, without stopping 
 to think of the disadvantage of the lead or the advan- 
 tage of being able to keep their trumps together and 
 forcing the player who ruffs to open a new suit. A 
 great many tricks are lost by over-trumping with one 
 of the cards which would be major tenace if the trick 
 was passed. Suppose you hold A 10 of trumps, and 
 
OVER-TRUMPING. IO3 
 
 the player on your right ruffs with the jack, the 
 queen being played, but the king still to come. If 
 you over-trump you must lose your ten, but if you let 
 the jack make, your cards are major tenace and you 
 must make both of them. 
 
NO-TRUMPERS. 
 
 THE ADVERSARIES' PLAY. 
 
 The great difference between playing against a 
 trump declaration and against a no-trumper is, that in 
 the first case you are opposed to a decided superior- 
 ity in trumps, which cuts short all the plain suits, and 
 in the second case you are opposed to a decided supe- 
 riority in plain suits, which cuts short all possibilities 
 except in one suit. Almost every no-trumper has 
 one weak spot in it, and if you can find it you may 
 make quite a run on that suit ; but against a declared 
 trump the best you can hope for is to make all your 
 good cards in several different suits. 
 
 In trump declarations, analysis shows that seven or 
 eight tricks in every deal, on the average, fall to the 
 trumps, leaving only five or six to be played for in 
 plain suits, and if more than two tricks are taken in 
 any one plain suit, it is usually the dealer that gets 
 them. 
 
 In no-trumpers, there being no trumps to cut you 
 short, your suits are as good as the dealer's, your 
 success in making these suits depending on their 
 strength or on your possibilities of reentry, the re- 
 entry being usually the important thing. 
 
 When there is a trump suit, unless it is a spade. 
 
PLAY AGAINST NO-TRUMPERS. IO5 
 
 the strength declared against you is trump strength. 
 In a no-trumper, strength is also declared against 
 you, but it is plain-suit strength. In either case, you 
 must remember that the dealer's side is always the 
 strong side and that you are on the defensive. 
 
 The conditions against you in a no-trumper usually 
 are : the aces of two suits at least, probably three, and 
 certainly three suits stopped, unless the make is a 
 desperate one to the score. The advantage which 
 the dealer has over you is, that if he has one good suit 
 he is almost sure to get into the lead early and run it 
 off. As he has control of the majority of the suits, 
 it is very difficult to keep him out of the lead, except 
 by playing all your winning cards immediately. This 
 would be a very dangerous thing to do, however, be- 
 cause the suit in which you hold winning cards is 
 probably the very one in which he is weak, and by 
 giving up the command of it you probably leave him 
 master of the situation in all four suits. 
 
 It is hardly necessary to say that if you have five 
 or six sure tricks in any suit, you should go right 
 ahead and make them, while you are in the lead, but 
 such cases are too obvious to need any instruction. 
 Failing such a suit as this, the advantage you have 
 .over the dealer is, that you have the opening lead and 
 can get a suit started immediately, perhaps clearing it 
 up on the first round. It may happen that this is 
 one of the suits of which he has the ace, and that by 
 forcing this ace out of his hand so early in the play you 
 may cripple him very severely. If it does not weaken 
 
io6 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 his hand, he will part with his ace willingly, and go 
 ahead with his suit ; but if he is at all afraid of your 
 suit he will probably hold up the ace of it for two or 
 three rounds, at least until he thinks your partner 
 has none to lead to you. When the dealer holds up 
 an ace in this manner, it is a confession of weakness, 
 and you may at once infer that either you or your 
 partner hold a stopper in his best suit, and that he 
 is afraid you will use that card to reenter your own 
 suit with. 
 
 The advantage of the opening lead being the only 
 one you have over the dealer, it is manifestly foolish 
 to throw it away by leading a suit in which you can 
 accomplish nothing, and for this reason a short or 
 weak suit should seldom be led against a no-trump 
 declaration. No matter how weak your suit is, lead 
 the longest you have. Even if it contains only one 
 honor, the number of small cards in it is in itself a 
 protection, because it is unlikely that the dealer is 
 also long in it. 
 
 Having started a suit, and perhaps cleared it, your 
 great difificulty will be to get into the lead again, and 
 your ability to do so will depend on your reentries. 
 These reentries may be of two kinds; in the suit 
 itself, or in another suit. The probability being 
 against your having a long suit and reentry in another 
 suit when a no-trumper is declared against you, it be- 
 comes necessary to play your long suits in such a way 
 as to preserve the reentries in the suit itself. There 
 is no rush to make your high cards in several suits 
 
PLAY AGAINST NO-TRUMPERS. lO/ 
 
 before the leader gets discards and then ruffs, and the 
 great thing is to bring in the small cards, so as to 
 make as much as you can out of one suit. 
 
 It is to be expected that the dealer will stop your 
 suit, at least once. The other obstacle which must 
 be overcome is the danger that your own partner will 
 block it. In order that he may have no hesitation 
 about getting out of your way, he should be able to 
 depend on you absolutely for certain combinations or 
 numbers of cards when you open a suit in a certain 
 way. You must not expect a partner to give up win- 
 ning cards for the purpose of unblocking, unless you 
 can inspire him with such confidence in the accuracy 
 of your play that he feels he runs no risk in his at- 
 tempts to get out of your way. 
 
 These two considerations, the necessity for keep- 
 ing reentries yourself, and the importance of securing 
 your partner's assistance in unblocking, require us to 
 make some very material changes in the system of 
 opening leads which you have learned for use in play- 
 ing against a trump declaration. Those leads must 
 be abandoned in favor of ones which will better secure 
 the two great objects which we have in view in play- 
 ing against a no-trumper. 
 
 NO'TRUMP LEADS. 
 
 Your first lead must be made in the dark, but the 
 moment dummy's hand is on the table your partner 
 should be able to form a fairly correct estimate of the 
 
io8 
 
 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL, 
 
 possibilities of your suit. The longer your suit is, the 
 greater the danger that he will block it, and the 
 more careful you must be to make it clear to him 
 that he will lose nothing by getting out of your way. 
 For this reason the leads from very long suits must 
 be so arranged that they can be easily distinguished 
 from those from shorter suits. The rules for the 
 high-card leads are as follows : — 
 
 The Ace is never led without at least seven cards 
 of the suit, except in two cases, which are when you 
 hold either of the following combinations : — 
 
 ^ 
 
 o 
 
 
 and others. 
 
 
 and others. 
 
 From the first of these lead the ace, and if the 
 queen is not in dummy's hand, lead the king, inviting 
 your partner to give up the queen if he has it. This 
 he should do, whether he has smaller cards or not, so 
 that you may know you are safe in going on. If the 
 queen is in the dealer's hand and guarded, your play 
 does not matter unless you switch suits, because your 
 partner can neither assist nor hinder you. 
 
 From the second combination, lead the ace only 
 when you have a reasonable chance of reentry in an- 
 other suit, otherwise lead the queen, so as to get the 
 king out of your way on the first round if the ad- 
 
LEADS AT NO-TRUMP. 
 
 109 
 
 versaries hold it. If your partner holds it, he will 
 give it up when the ace follows the queen, because 
 queen-ace is not led . from any other combination of 
 cards. The danger of leading the ace first is, that 
 the two rounds may take out the only cards your part- 
 ner has in the suit and he will then be unable to re- 
 turn it to you if he gets in. If you can get in your- 
 self, this does not matter, but it is always better to 
 have a suit in such shape that it can be brought in if 
 either partner gets the lead. The importance of this 
 will be better understood when we come to the deal- 
 er's reasons for finessing against you. 
 
 The King. From the following combination : — 
 
 9 
 
 six cards in suit, 
 
 if you have a possible reentry card, begin with the 
 king, otherwise lead the fourth-best. With only five 
 in suit, begin with the small card, even if you have a 
 reentry in another suit. Many players are afraid to lead 
 away from ace-king, but it will win in the long run, and 
 will often kill a twice guarded queen in dummy's hand. 
 From the following combinations : — 
 
 at least seven in suit, 
 
 
 any number in suit, 
 
no 
 
 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL 
 
 lead the king ; but with less .than seven in suit the 
 fourth-best should be led from all suits headed by- 
 king and queen, without either jack or ten. 
 With the following combinations : — 
 
 o 
 
 any number in suit, 
 
 any number in suit, 
 
 any number in suit. 
 
 lead the king and then follow with the lowest of the 
 sequence, the jack from the first and second ; the queen 
 from the third. Then go on up, leading the next 
 higher card on each round. 
 
 Queen. From the following combinations : — 
 
 '^m 
 
 
 Wi 
 
 o o 
 
 
 
 o o 
 
 any number in suit, 
 
 at least six in suit. 
 
 lead the queen. These are the only queen leads, 
 except that already given of leading the queen from 
 A Q J when there is no reentry card. 
 
LEADS AT NO-TRUMP. 
 
 Ill 
 
 The Ten, From the followino^ combination : 
 
 
 any number in suit, 
 
 lead the ten. This is the only combination from 
 which a ten is led against a no-trumper. 
 
 The Fourth=best. From the following combina- 
 tions : — 
 
 9? 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 less than seven in suit, 
 
 less than seven in suit, 
 
 less than seven in suit, 
 
 less than seven in suit, 
 
 always lead the fourth-best. 
 
 Weak Leads. When you open a suit which is not 
 headed by any of the foregoing high-card combina- 
 tions, lead the fourth-best always. But when a suit 
 is so weak that you cannot reasonably expect to take 
 any tricks in it, you should lead some card which will 
 
112 FOSTER^S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 warn your partner of your weakness. The common 
 practice in such cases is to lead the second-best card 
 if it is not higher than an eight. As soon as your 
 partner sees dummy's cards he can usually tell that 
 your lead is an intermediate and not a legitimate 
 fourth-best. From suits headed by the jack or ten 
 such leads are useful, because the fourth-best would 
 indicate a strength which you do not possess, and the 
 top of the suit would conflict with the leads from high 
 cards. It is only when the suit is short, such as four 
 cards only, that such interior leads should be used. 
 When you have five or more, lead the fourth-best as 
 usual. 
 
 LEADING TO PASSED MAKES. 
 
 When you are playing against a no-trumper which 
 has been made by the dummy, it is called a passed 
 make. As you must lead before you see dummy's 
 cards, this will make no difference in your openings 
 and you should begin with your longest suit. The 
 chief difference in leading to passed makes is, that 
 your reentry cards are not as probable against a 
 passed make as against an original make, unless they 
 are aces. When the make is a passed one, the 
 strength is on your left, and your guarded kings 
 will probably be led through and more than likely 
 finessed against and killed. When the make is 
 original, a guarded king is very likely a stopper in the 
 dealer's suit, and a very good reentry card. 
 
LEADING TO A GO-OVER. I 1 3 
 
 LEADING TO GO-OVER NO=TRUMPERS. 
 
 If you go over a no-trumper yourself, you should 
 certainly know what to do with your own cards. If it 
 is your partner that goes over, it is a conventionality 
 of the game that you should lead the best heart you 
 have in your hand, regardless of number. Even if you 
 have a good suit of your own, you should begin with 
 the hearts, because if you lead another suit first, 
 your partner will take it that you have no hearts, and 
 he will probably discard a number from his own hand, 
 in order to protect himself in some other suit. It 
 will be time enough for you to get in your suit when 
 your partner has done with the hearts. 
 
 In England, and in some parts of America, when 
 the pone goes over, the eldest hand is supposed to 
 guess at his partner's suit, and is usually guided by 
 the one in which he is weakest himself. This is a 
 pure gamble and misses much oftener than it hits. 
 The system also encourages the pone to go over on 
 one suit, on the chance that his partner will hit it. 
 If he does, all is well, but if he does not, and the odds 
 are against it, the tricks cost just twice as much as 
 they should have done. 
 
 It has been found much more satisfactory to estab- 
 lish a conventional lead against a no-trumper when 
 the pone goes over. This may seem to be an advan- 
 tage for the pone, because he is able to demand that 
 a certain suit shall be led, but it is also an advantage 
 to the dealer, because the pone cannot go over unless 
 
114 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 an original heart lead will suit his hand, and it is also 
 something for the dealer to know what suit will be 
 led, in case he has any hesitation about going back. 
 It is a disadvantage to the pone in one way, because 
 he cannot go over when he really has a go-over hand 
 but is weak in hearts. For beginners, and for the 
 majority of experts, the conventional heart lead is, in 
 my opinion, the best for a no-trumper, gone over by 
 the pone. 
 
THIRD HAND PLAY. 
 
 AGAINST NO'TRUMPERS, 
 
 The ability and willingness of the third hand to 
 support his partner will depend on his knowledge of 
 the manner in which the various combinations of cards 
 are led from, and his confidence that his partner will 
 not lead him into sacrificing good cards under the 
 mistaken impression that he is unblocking. Nothing 
 is so discouraging as playing with a cowardly part- 
 ner, who is afraid to follow the regulation leads and 
 therefore will not open with a small card from a suit 
 headed by the ace and king. You cannot compel a 
 player to lead correctly, however, so you must make 
 allowances for ignorance and peculiarities and take no 
 chances in giving up winning cards to unblock, un- 
 less you are sure you are not going to lose by it. 
 
 When Ace is Jed, always keep your smallest card, if 
 you have more than two of the suit, no matter what 
 they are. If you have two only, and one is the king, 
 give up the king on the first round, even if dummy 
 has none of the suit. If dummy has the queen 
 guarded, you must keep the king, so as to save that 
 trick, but otherwise it is very important to get out of 
 your partner's way when he begins with the ace of a 
 
ii6 
 
 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 suit. When you have three such cards as K Q x, 
 Q J X, or J lo X, remember to give up the second best 
 card on the first round, keeping the smallest, so as to 
 unblock. 
 
 Echoes on High Cards Led. Upon any high card 
 led, always keep the lowest of four cards, so as to un- 
 block. Follow suit with the second-best on the first 
 round and drop to the next lower on the second round. 
 This is to enable the leader to count the suit, because 
 if the second card played is lower than the first, two 
 cards remain; if it is higher, only one remains; if the 
 first card played was smaller than the second played, 
 none remain. This system would require the seven 
 and five to be played from the first of these combi- 
 nations ; the seven and ten from the second, on any 
 high card led or when unable to win the first round 
 of the suit, dummy playing a higher card. 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 'O 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 This is called the Foster echo, and it is never used 
 except when third hand makes no attempt to win the 
 trick. With more than four in suit whether you or 
 the leader should get in with the tail end of the suit 
 will depend on which of you should have the lead, so 
 as to go through other suits to advantage. 
 
ECHOES BY THIRD HAND. II/ 
 
 Some players do not echo unless they can win the 
 third round of the suit ; that is, unless they hold the 
 queen, or have the jack and see that the queen must 
 fall. Even then, it is better to give up the winning 
 card to unblock, than to show it and hold it up. 
 
 The advantage of showing number in a suit by the 
 echo is, that it enables the leader to see how the suit 
 is distributed and to judge whether or not he should 
 go on. Some players confine the echo to four cards 
 of the suit only, while others prefer to echo with 
 either three or four. 
 
 When Small Cards are Led, and the third hand 
 holds honors in the suit, it is usual to echo by winning 
 with the ace and returning the king, or winning with 
 the king and returning the queen, when you have 
 four exactly. If you have less than four, and win the 
 first trick with an honor, return the higher of two 
 remaining, or the lowest of three, unless one of your 
 three is better than any that dummy holds, in which 
 case lead back the card that dummy cannot win, so 
 as to give your partner a possible finesse over the 
 dealer. 
 
 Never Finesse Against Your Partner. This is 
 one of the most important rules in the game. When 
 he leads a small card and you hold ace and queen, 
 never finesse the queen ; if you hold king and jack, 
 never finesse the jack. If dummy has the intermedi- 
 ate card, it is not a finesse, as your cards are equal. 
 There are exceptional cases in which you may hold 
 up the best card of a suit or finesse against the dealer, 
 
ii8 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 so as to keep the command of dummy's reentry cards, 
 but such things must be learned from practice. 
 
 When Intermediate Cards are Led, your play will 
 depend on the situation, and the cards exposed in 
 dummy's hand. If your partner leads the ten and 
 you have the ace, put it on if dummy has not the 
 queen, and return any card you have that will beat 
 dummy. The eight or nine would be a great card 
 under such circumstances. If the queen is led, and 
 you have the ace and two small, pass the queen and 
 allow the king to make, so as to clear the suit, if you 
 have a reentry in another suit ; if not, put on the ace, 
 on the chance of catching the king alone in the deal- 
 er's hand, and return the suit at once, so as to clear 
 it. If the king is in dummy's hand, you will, of 
 course, keep your ace as long as dummy keeps the 
 king, if you can. If you hold both ace and king and 
 the queen is led, win the queen when you have only 
 one small card ; pass it if you have two. The only 
 exception to giving up the king when you have 
 A K X is when the ten is three times guarded in 
 dummy's hand, because it is then obvious that the 
 dealer has none of the suit, and three tricks are all 
 you can make in it, unless partner holds a reentry. 
 
 When Partner Leads a King, give up the ace if you 
 have only one smaller card, otherwise hold it. If the 
 king is led and the jack is twice guarded in dummy's 
 hand, you must keep the ace until the jack falls. If 
 the jack is not in dummy's hand, your partner must 
 have seven cards of the suit, headed by king and 
 
OPENING NEW SUITS. II 9 
 
 queen, or he must have K Q lo and perhaps fewer 
 cards. In the first case he should be able to catch 
 the jack, and in the second case he has the finesse of 
 the ten against the dealer. 
 
 Opening New Suits. It will often happen that 
 your partner will open a suit in which you see that he 
 is not very strong, and you have a suit which you 
 think stands a better chance. Under such circum- 
 stances it is quite justifiable for you to abandon his 
 suit and play your own. Take the following example : 
 The score being 24-0 against him, the dealer has 
 made it no trump. Eldest hand leads the four of 
 spades and the dummy lays down : — 
 
 0976 4-1 10 75 08 ♦K8652. 
 
 The pone holds the following cards : — 
 
 qJio 4.A32 oj 10 9643 ♦A;. 
 
 Dummy plays small and the ace drops the queen 
 from the dealer. It is useless to pursue the spades, 
 because even if the king is forced out, the eight stops 
 the suit, so the pone should start his diamonds, going 
 up to dummy's weakness in that suit. By beginning 
 with one of the sequence, so as to cover the eight in 
 dummy's hand, the suit may be cleared or established, 
 unless the dealer has A K Q of it. 
 
 Killing Reentries. It is bad policy for the pone 
 to open a new suit if it is one in which he holds the 
 command over dummy, or if it contains a stopper in 
 dummy's long suit. As long as that card is held, it 
 
120 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 may be useful to kill dummy's reentry if the suit is 
 short, or to stop the suit entirely, if it is long, in 
 dummy's hand. 
 
 The Eleven Rule Finesse. When your partner 
 leads a fourth-best card and you know by the eleven 
 rule that there is only one card out against him, 
 higher than the one led, it is often advisable to take 
 the finesse against that card if a successful finesse 
 will kill a commanding card in dummy's hand. Take 
 the following example : Eldest hand leads the 4 ; 
 dummy lays down Q 9 7 and you hold K 10 8. 
 Dummy plays the 7. There is only one card in the 
 dealer's hand which is higher than the 4. If that card 
 is the ace, your 8 will force it, and your K 10 will kill 
 the Q. If the J is the card in the dealer's hand, you 
 lose nothing by passing and have everything to gain, 
 because your partner's ace and your king will make 
 the whole suit, killing the twice-guarded queen. If 
 the dealer's card is not an honor, you make every trick 
 in the suit by the finesse, because the return of the 
 king, followed by the ten, gives your partner a clear 
 field. 
 
 Holding Up Aces. Both the pone and the eldest 
 hand should be slow to part with the ace of a suit in 
 which the dealer and dummy appear to be long, at 
 least until one or the other is exhausted, because it is 
 easier for them to make the tail end of a suit when 
 both have some cards of it, than when only one of 
 them holds it. 
 
 Discards. The usual theory of discarding against 
 
DISCARDS AT NO-TRUMP. 121 
 
 a no-trumper is, that as there are no trumps to stop 
 your good suits, you may as well keep them and dis- 
 card from your weak ones ; whereas when there is a 
 trump, you have little or no chance to make the small 
 cards of your strong suits, so you discard them, at the 
 same time letting your partner know just what to lead 
 if he gets in before you do. 
 
 The great objection to discarding from weak suits 
 when playing against a no-trumper is, that the suit 
 from which you discard may be the very one in which 
 the dealer is trying to force discards, and that by let- 
 ting go even one card of it, you may make it possible 
 for him to bring in the whole suit. Many a rubber has 
 been saved by keeping three cards to the jack or ten. 
 
 For the beginner especially, the best rule is to dis- 
 card always from the strong suit. One suit having 
 been shown by the partner and one led by the dealer, 
 it looks reasonable to say that a discard from either of 
 the other two will show strength in the one which is 
 not discarded. But showing strength is not the 
 important thing, it is keeping guard on the dealer's 
 suits. Against a trump declaration, you discard from 
 strength because the strength in trumps is declared 
 against you. Why should you not also discard from 
 strength when the strength in plain suits is declared 
 against you, as it always is in a no-trumper ? The 
 times in which you will lose through having discarded 
 one or two cards of your long suit are nothing com- 
 pared to the tricks you will save by keeping guards 
 on your weak suits. 
 
DUMMY'S CARDS. 
 
 THE ADVERSARIES' PLAY. 
 
 There are a great many cases in which the third 
 hand must depart from the usual rules of play on 
 account of certain combinations of cards which he 
 sees exposed in the dummy's hand. These are too 
 varied to be fully described in a work of this kind, 
 and such matters are better learned from experience. 
 With a thorough knowledge of the leads, good infer- 
 ences as to the cards held by the eldest hand, and a 
 careful study of the possibilities of dummy's hand, 
 especially if it is dummy that made it no trump, the 
 pone should be able to suit his play to the circum- 
 stances of the case so as to take full advantage of his 
 position, either in finessing against the dummy's 
 exposed cards, holding up command of his suits, or 
 killing his reentries. 
 
 Leading up to Dummy. The principal things to 
 be kept in mind when the dummy is on your right 
 are : not to lead up to fourchettes or tenaces ; not to 
 clear his suits or establish his reentries for him ; arid 
 to lead up to his weak suits in preference to his strong 
 suits. Dummy may be weak in two ways : he may 
 have nothing higher than the eight or nine, or he 
 
^ LEADING UP TO DUMMY. 1 23 
 
 may have a short suit headed by the ace or the king. 
 By leading up to an ace you may force out a valuable 
 reentry card early in the hand. Leading up to a king 
 is not so disadvantageous as some persons suppose, 
 unless you hold the ace of the suit yourself. When 
 the ace or king is accompanied by one or two small 
 cards, and you have a card which is better than these 
 small cards, you should lead it. A seven or eight 
 will often force out an ace. 
 
 In leading up to dummy you should never forget 
 the importance of giving your partner a possible 
 finesse against the dealer. Remember that as there 
 are only two unknown hands, it is an even chance 
 that your partner holds any named card, while it is 
 three to one against either his or the dealer's holding 
 two named cards or neither of them. It is also about 
 an even chance that your partner holds two out of 
 three unknown cards, such as A K Q of a suit, or 
 only one of them. These odds are slightly increased 
 if it is the dummy that has made the no-trumper, and 
 are slightly lessened if the dealer made it, because 
 in the latter case the chances are in favor of the deal- 
 er's holding the majority of the honors in any given 
 suit of which neither you nor dummy have an honor 
 higher than the ten or jack. 
 
 When You Open a New Suit, the same rules should 
 be followed for the leads from high-card combinations 
 as those given for the eldest hand, unless the cards 
 exposed in the dummy's hand may make an exception. 
 With A K J and others, and the Q doubly guarded in 
 
124 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 dummy's hand, it is usually better to switch after lead- 
 ing the king, so as to get the finesse over the queen, 
 unless the game is in danger and the ace and king 
 should be made immediately in order to save it. If 
 the queen is not in dummy's hand it is obviously use- 
 less to wait for the finesse. The same is true of K 
 Q lo when dummy holds the J. When you hold the 
 major tenace, A Q, or A Q J, or even A J, and 
 dummy has the king, it is better to avoid the suit 
 altogether unless the trick is necessary to save the 
 game, or unless you are reasonably sure of getting in 
 again if you lead the suit and clear it. 
 
 With A Q lo and others, J in dummy's hand, lead 
 the Q, so as to prevent J and K from both making 
 against you. 
 
 With A J 9 and others, the lo in dummy's hand, 
 lead the jack. 
 
 With A J lo, dummy holding K Q and others, lead 
 the jack, and after that avoid the suit, unless the ace 
 is necessary to save the game. 
 
 With K Q and others, the jack in dummy's hand, 
 you cannot afford to risk the lead of a small card. If 
 you lead the king and it holds the trick, do not be too 
 sure that your partner has the ace, and if you go on, 
 lead the queen, unless the jack is still guarded. This 
 will bring the jack and ace down together if the dealer 
 has been holding up on you for a Bath coup. 
 
 With singly-guarded honors, such as K x, Q x, 
 J X, the honor is often a good lead if dummy has no 
 higher card in the suit. The queen is a better lead 
 
LEADING UP TO DUMMY. 12$ 
 
 than the king, the only danger being that the dealer 
 holds fourchette. 
 
 With.Q J X, or J lo x, always lead the top of the 
 suit. With Q lo X, dummy having either A or K, 
 but not both those cards, you should lead the queen, 
 if the suit must be opened, because unless your part- 
 ner has an honor the dealer must have a finesse over 
 you with K J or A J. 
 
 With K 10 X, the J in dummy's hand, do not touch 
 the suit if you can help it. With king and others, 
 the queen in dummy's hand, avoid the suit if you can. 
 
 In all suits in which you are long and strong, such 
 as A K or A Q, lead the fourth-best if dummy has 
 no honor, especially if you have any reentry. 
 
 Leading Through Dummy. After your original 
 lead, should you get in again, there are certain com- 
 binations which it may be your advantage to lead 
 through if you see them in dummy's hand, and there 
 are others which it is better to avoid. It is useless 
 to lead through such strong suits as A K Q, A K J, 
 or K Q J, because you simply allow the dealer to 
 get them going without having to give up any re- 
 entry card in another suit. It is also useless to lead 
 through fourchettes when you have the intermediate 
 card yourself, and it is very bad policy to lead a suit 
 in which dummy holds one of those combinations in 
 which he will certainly have a safe finesse against 
 you. Never lead the missing card through a four- 
 chette, such as the Q through K J, or the J through 
 Q lo. If you have both the missing cards of an im- 
 
126 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 perfect fourchette, such as the Q and J, dummy hold- 
 ing K ID, the Q is not a bad lead, because if your 
 partner has the ace you make every trick in the suit, 
 while if the dealer has it your play does not matter. 
 
 With A Q lo X, dummy holding J x x x, play 
 the 10. If your partner has the king, you make 
 every trick in the suit. If dummy holds K x x, 
 lead the queen. If dummy passes, you make two 
 tricks ; if he covers, you have tenace over the jack. 
 
 With A lo 9 X, dummy having J x x x, play the lO. 
 If your partner holds either K or Q, your remaining 
 cards are tenace over the other honor. 
 
 With A J 10 X, dummy holding Q x x x, lead the 
 J if the suit must be opened, but it would be better 
 to avoid it. If dummy has no honor in the suit, lead 
 the lo. 
 
 With a king and others of a suit in which dummy 
 holds ace, avoid the suit as long as possible, and put 
 dummy into the lead at the end if you can, so that 
 the suit shall be led to you and not through you. 
 With the king alone, play it if dummy has the ace ; 
 keep it if he has not. 
 
 When Dummy Leads Through You, your chief 
 care will be to protect yourself against successful 
 finesses by the dealer, and to support your partner. 
 
 When dummy leads supporting cards they must be 
 for the purpose of giving the dealer a finesse, unless 
 he holds the cards in sequence with the one led. 
 When dummy leads small cards, the dealer must hold 
 honors in the suit and it is useless for you to cover 
 
DUMMY ON YOUR RIGHT. 127 
 
 second hand, unless you have one or more honors in 
 sequence, which will prevent the dealer from finess- 
 ing too deeply. If you have any sequence superior 
 to the card led by dummy, cover with the lowest of 
 the sequence. You should be careful not to false- 
 card, as your partner is the only one to be deceived. 
 
 With A K and others, play the K second hand, no 
 matter what card dummy leads. 
 
 With A Q and others, dummy having nothing 
 higher than the 9, play the ace second hand, not the 
 queen. To play the queen is to finesse against your 
 partner, and the only way to make both ace and queen 
 is to play the ace on the first round. Do not pass 
 altogether, or you may carry your ace home. 
 
 With K Q 10, play the Q, unless dummy has the 
 J. With A J 10 X, play the A if dummy has no 
 honor in the suit, but if dummy leads a supporting 
 card, such as the 9, play the 10, which will give you 
 tenace in the suit, even if the dealer has both K and Q. 
 
 With A J X, play the J on a supporting 10 or 9 led 
 from dummy. This prevents a finesse, and retains 
 command of the suit. If dummy holds both K and 
 Q, play the A to make sure of the trick, because you 
 still have the jack to stop the suit and avoid the pos- 
 sibility that if you allow the king to win the suit will 
 never be led again. Don't run the risk of carrying 
 home aces when playing against no-trumpers. 
 
 With K X X, dummy not having the A, never play 
 the K unless the Q is led through you. 
 
 With Q X X, do not play the Q unless both A and 
 
128 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 K are in the dummy, or the J is led through you. 
 If your partner has. the J guarded, you have the suit 
 stopped between you, provided you play low second 
 hand. If dummy leads the J from A J and others, 
 put on the Q, on the chance that it may make the 
 lo good in your partner's hand. 
 
 With A X X, dummy leading supporting cards 
 through you, such as Q, J, or lo, hold off until you see 
 how the suit lies, or until one adversary is exhausted. 
 
 With K and one or two small cards, dummy leading 
 Q from Q lo and others, play the K at once. You 
 can not save it, but you may make the 9 good in 
 your partner's hand. If you have three or more small 
 cards, hold up the king, because the dealer must be 
 short in the suit and will probably not be able to pass 
 often enough to catch your king. 
 
 With short suits, it is best to cover an honor with 
 an honor, unless the honor led through you is a sin- 
 gleton. 
 
 With any Fourchette, cover the card led. Four- 
 chettes are of two kinds, perfect and imperfect. The 
 perfect is formed by the cards immediately above and 
 below the one led, such as A Q over the K, or K J 
 over, the Q. The imperfect is formed by the card 
 above the one led, and the next but one below it ; 
 such as A J over the K, or K 10 over the Q. The 
 card next but one above is not a fourchette at all ; 
 such as K 10 over the J, or A J over the Q. 
 
 It is very important to cover with fourchettes^ 
 because it compels the adversaries to play two honors 
 
DUMMY ON YOUR LEFT. 1 29 
 
 to win one trick, and often makes an inferior card 
 in your partner's hand good enough to stop a whole 
 suit. 
 
 When Dummy Plays After You. As both the 
 others have played, it is a very simple matter to look 
 at dummy's cards and see just how high you must go 
 to shut him out and win the trick, if you can win 
 it ; or force him up, so that he shall not win the trick 
 too cheaply. 
 
 If the dealer leads, both the dummy and your part- 
 ner play after you, and the only thing you must be 
 careful about is not to let the dealer catch your good 
 cards napping. If you have the king and one guard 
 only, dummy not holding the ace, make your king at 
 once. The same is true of the queen twice guarded, 
 dummy holding neither A nor K No matter how 
 small the card led or those in dummy's hand may be, 
 they may be better than anything your partner holds, 
 and your queen may be caught. 
 
 There are cases in which the dealer may coax you 
 to cover when is not necessary to do so. Suppose 
 dummy holds A J 10 x, and the dealer leads the 
 Q through your K and others. At first sight it looks 
 as if the king was lost unless it had three guards ; 
 but the queen may be a singleton, the dealer may even 
 be afraid to take the finesse after having led for that 
 purpose, and you should hold up your king as long as 
 you can, for it is useless to play it. 
 
 In General. There are a great many cases in 
 which either of you can infer what the other holds 
 
130 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 by the manner in which the dummy's cards are played, 
 or from the way in which the dealer leads to certain 
 combinations in the dummy. This ,will be better 
 understood when you have studied the system on 
 which the dealer and the dummy play into each 
 other's hands. For instance: You are the. pone. 
 Your partner leads a small card and dummy puts in 
 the queen from Q x x. You hold the king and win 
 the trick. This marks both A and J in the leader's 
 hand, because the dummy would not put up the queen 
 if the dealer held the jack, and if the dealer had the 
 ace he would not allow your king to win. 
 
 While false cards should be avoided, there are cases 
 in which they may be useful. If you have K Q of a 
 suit in which dummy holds A J and others, and your 
 partner leads through this A J, by playing the K you 
 may induce dummy to finesse the jack on the next 
 round. Nothing can be lost by trying it. 
 
 When your partner leads a suit in which he knows 
 you have not the best card, he must have a finesse, 
 or some advantage in position in the suit which you 
 think he should have led, and you lead that suit to 
 him if you can get in. 
 
 The leading maxims for playing against no-trump- 
 ers are : Always open your longest suit ; lead from 
 high-card combinations strictly according to the sys- 
 tem, and if you have no high-card lead, always begin 
 with the fourth-best from suits of five or more ; avoid 
 false cards ; and, never finesse against your partner. 
 
NO-TRUMPERS. 
 
 THE DEALER'S PLAY. 
 
 The dealer's play in a no-trumper, whether it is an 
 original or a passed make, is the most interesting 
 part of the game of bridge. It is also the most diffi- 
 cult, because in the majority of hands so many things 
 must be kept in view ; and it is the most responsible, 
 because the partner abandons everything to your care 
 and judgment and is not allowed to make the slightest 
 remark, even if he sees that you are about to make 
 the most glaring mistakes. 
 
 Estimate of Probable Tricks. The moment the 
 eldest hand has led, and the dummy's cards are on 
 the table, the dealer's first care should be to look 
 over the possibilities of the combined hands, his own 
 and the dummy's, and estimate what tricks are cer- 
 tain, what are probable, and what are possible only 
 under certain conditions. He should then look at 
 the score, and compare his estimate of the number of 
 tricks probable or possible with the number that will 
 be necessary to win the game ; or, if it cannot be won, 
 to save it. Any person may secure some excellent 
 practice in this, without any playing, if he will simply 
 deal out two hands of thirteen cards each, sort out 
 
 131 
 
132 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 his own and turn up the dummy's, imagine it is a no- 
 trumper and go over the tricks that are certain, and 
 those that might be made if certain finesses came off 
 or certain high cards could be caught. Many of 
 these will, of course, be hands that would never be 
 made a no-trump in actual play, but that will not affect 
 the value of the practice in estimating the probable 
 number of tricks in' the combined hands, whether it 
 be two or ten. 
 
 Take a pack and lay out the following cards, sup- 
 posing yourself to be the dealer, with the score 26 to 
 20 against you on the rubber game : — 
 
 9984 4.Q8632 0J7 ♦QiOQ. 
 
 You pass it, and dummy makes it no trump. The 
 eldest hand leads the king of diamonds, and dummy 
 lays down the following cards : — 
 
 z> Q 6 2 4»AJ9 oAs ♦AK/es. 
 
 The beginner would probably rush off with the im- 
 pression that he had seven sure tricks and the game 
 in sight, but that would be taking it for granted that 
 the spade jack would drop in three rounds, making 
 all the spades good. But suppose it does not drop ? 
 While it is probable that it will, it is not certain, and 
 you must take time to consider what will happen if 
 you cannot catch it. If you fail to bring it down, or 
 if you finesse against it and it is on the wrong side, 
 you will lose the game and rubber instantly by 
 letting in all the remaining diamonds and at least two 
 
ESTIMATING THE HANDS. 1 33 
 
 tricks in hearts, perhaps four or five if the pone has 
 a finesse over the exposed queen. 
 
 If you look this hand over carefully, you will see 
 that there are only five certain tricks in the combined 
 hands if the spade jack does not fall, and you must 
 provide for that contingency. As no further tricks 
 are possible in either of the red suits, you must 
 look for the other tricks in the club suit, and the 
 only way to make more than two tricks in that suit 
 is by a successful finesse against the king if it is on 
 your left, or by good luck in catching it if it is on 
 your right. This shows that you must keep in view 
 three important things when playing this hand : The 
 high spades must be led without any finessing ; the 
 dealer's hand must be in the lead on the third round 
 of spades ; and, if the spade jack does not fall, the 
 club suit must be finessed by leading the queen 
 from the dealer's hand to the dummy's ace jack, so 
 as to secure three tricks in that suit, if the finesse 
 wins. 
 
 The play of the hand therefore is, to start with the 
 spade suit, leading ace and king and then a smaU 
 card from dummy. If the spade jack falls, the rest 
 is easy, as five tricks in spades and the two aces win 
 the game ; but if it does not fall, it is impossible even 
 to save the game, unless the lead is in the dealer's 
 hand so that he can give the dummy a finesse in 
 clubs. If that finesse fails, the game could not have 
 been saved by any method of play. The great point 
 to observe is, the danger of letting the adversaries 
 
134 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 into the lead until you have exhausted your resources 
 and have got down to your last chance, the finesse in 
 clubs ; because the moment they get in, they will win 
 the game in the red suits before you can take another 
 trick. 
 
 This is a very fair example of what must be done 
 in the way of estimating the probable value of a hand, 
 and mapping out the way it must be played. Thou- 
 sands of rubbers are lost for the want of a little fore- 
 thought and a glance at the score. 
 
 Inferences. A thorough knowledge of the system 
 of leading from certain combinations of cards is of 
 great importance, because it helps you to estimate 
 the length and strength of the adversaries' suits and 
 will frequently enable you to make a successful finesse 
 or cover with the cards in dummy's hand. You 
 should also be on the watch for echoes in the pone's 
 play, so as to judge how the suit is divided between 
 your adversaries. This is often important, especially 
 when you have to take the chance of letting the 
 remainder of the suit in, because the number of tricks 
 that can be made in it may determine whether or not 
 you can afford to risk it. 
 
 Choice of Suits. When you or the dummy gets 
 into the lead, the next thing to determine is, which 
 suit you will play first, when you have a choice of 
 two or more. There are two principal objects in 
 playing one suit in preference to another ; one is, to 
 make as many tricks as possible while you are in the 
 lead ; the other is, to force discards in other suits. 
 
THE CHOICE OF SUITS. 135 
 
 Suppose that with the score i8 to lo against you in 
 a no-trumper, you have the following cards to play, 
 the eldest hand having led the seven of diamonds. 
 In dummy's hand : — 
 
 0432 ^AQ42 0Q3 ♦J842. 
 
 In your own hand, you being the dealer : — 
 
 0Q976 *K6 oAs ♦AQ1053. 
 
 Dummy plays the queen second hand and holds 
 the trick. Many players would now make their three 
 tricks in clubs, afterward going through with the 
 spades and taking the finesse. But if you lead the 
 clubs first, you are certain to establish at least one 
 trick in that suit against you, even if you catch the 
 J, io, and 9 in three leads, because one adversary or 
 the other must have four cards of the suit. Your 
 play, therefore, is not to touch that suit, but to start 
 your long spade suit, leading the jack from dummy's 
 hand and taking the finesse. If this finesse fails, the 
 adversaries may take three or four tricks in hearts, 
 but no more, because each hand must hold at least 
 two hearts to make that possible. These tricks will 
 not save the game for them, and after they have made 
 their possible heart tricks you must win all the rest, 
 and the game. 
 
 If the spade finesse wins, or if you get in again on 
 the diamonds, which is very probable, you can go 
 right along with the established spades and force dis- 
 cards in the club suit, perhaps making four club tricks. 
 
136 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 In the actual game, the player led the clubs first and, 
 although he found the leader void of the suit on the 
 second round, he went on, establishing three clubs 
 against himself on his right. He then led the spades, 
 and the finesse failed. A small heart from the eldest 
 hand found the ace with the pone, who made his 
 three clubs, returned the heart, found the king and 
 jack over the queen, and won the odd trick and the 
 rubber. Thousands of games are lost every day 
 through just such errors in judgment in the choice of 
 suits. 
 
 Sometimes you will hold a solid suit, in which you 
 can take a number of tricks, and another suit in which 
 you must take a finesse, and the combination you 
 hold is such that the finesse may be taken in either 
 hand. For instance : In one suit you have K J in 
 dummy's hand, and A 10 in the dealer's, with smaller 
 cards. In the other suit you hold K J 9 4 3 in 
 dummy, A Q 8 6 in the dealer's. Play the long 
 established suit first, and force discards in the other, 
 and by the time you have led the long suit five times 
 you will probably have a very good idea as to which 
 side of you the queen lies that you want to finesse 
 against. 
 
 When two suits are nearly equal in strength, the 
 longer should be selected for the first attack, because 
 there is a better chance to drop the adversaries' high 
 cards. Suppose dummy holds A Q 10 4 2 in one 
 suit, A 8 7 6 in another, and the dealer holds J 6 5 
 in the first, and K J 10 9 3 in the second, with the 
 
THE CHOICE OF SUITS. 137 
 
 lead. Both suits demand a finesse against one card, 
 but one suit is longer than the other and has the 
 additional advantage that the finesse need not be 
 taken on the first round. By leading a small card 
 from the K J 1093 suit, and putting up the ace in 
 dummy's hand, you may get a line on the situation 
 and can then determine whether or not to finesse the 
 second round or try to drop the queen. 
 
 Here is another example of a slightly different situ- 
 ation. The score is 18 all, rubber game, and a small 
 club is led. The dummy lays down : — 
 
 0743 ^762 084 4^K954 3. 
 
 You are the dealer and hold : — 
 
 9A85 4.AQ3 0KQ102 ♦A76. 
 
 Your queen of clubs wins the first trick. Now 
 look the hands over. There are only six sure tricks 
 in them; the one already taken, the three aces, the 
 king of spades, and one trick in diamonds. In such 
 situations, the best thing to do is to get a suit estab- 
 lished at once, allowing the high cards to win early, 
 so as to get them out of your way before you lose 
 your reentries. Lead the ace of spades, and then a 
 small one, passing the second round altogether, no 
 matter what the second hand plays, because even if 
 you catch the queen or jack you cannot possibly 
 catch both of them, but you must establish the suit 
 if both adversaries follow to the second round, pro- 
 vided you hold up the king and let them have 
 
138 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 the second trick. They can then play what they 
 please, they cannot stop you from making two by 
 cards. 
 
 Discards. In addition to the necessity of forcing 
 discards from the adversaries, it is important that you 
 should look far enough ahead to provide for the dis- 
 cards which you will force from yourself. Take the 
 following example of a no-trumper, with the score 
 24-0 against you, and the club six led by the eldest 
 hand. The dummy lays down : — 
 
 QK92 *42 063 4»AQJi0 9 4. 
 
 You are the dealer and hold : — 
 
 0QJ87 4.AQ5 0KJ54 tK2. 
 
 Most players, upon getting in with the queen of 
 clubs on the first trick, would rush off with the spade 
 suit, making those six tricks at once, after which the 
 club ace and one more trick will be all that is neces- 
 sary to win the rubber. But can you get that all- 
 important one more trick ? What are you going to 
 discard from your own hand while the dummy is run- 
 ning down those spades? One small club and three 
 other cards ? What shall those three cards be ? Will 
 you let one entire suit go, or unguard two suits ? 
 Whichever you do, you will probably get yourself into 
 trouble, and will stop at two by cards when you must 
 have three by cards to win the game, as the adver- 
 saries are so far advanced in the score that they will 
 probably go out on their deal. 
 
PROVIDING FOR DISCARDS. 1 39 
 
 To provide in advance for these discards, you must 
 leave the spade suit alone and start your heart suit 
 while you still have protection in all suits. Keep at 
 it until you establish it by forcing out the ace. That 
 card played, what can the adversaries do ? If they 
 lead diamonds up to your king, you make every other 
 trick. If they lead through it, put on the jack, for- 
 cing the lead to go to your left, and again you make 
 every trick but the possible A Q of diamonds. If 
 they give up the ace of hearts at once and continue 
 the clubs, which is the most probable, you make a 
 little slam, by discarding every one of your diamonds 
 on the spade suit. The principle involved in this 
 position should be carefully studied, because its appli- 
 cation is much more common than many players 
 suppose. 
 
 Locating Command of Suits. If the dealer is 
 thoroughly familiar with the system of discarding used 
 by his adversaries, he will find that playing one suit 
 in order to force discards in another will generally 
 enable him to place the honors which are missing 
 from his other suits. It is not difficult to discover 
 which hand is keeping a guard in a certain suit, or 
 where the command of a suit lies, and many infer- 
 ences may be drawn from the manner of play, as 
 when a person lets go an established suit to keep 
 another suit. There must be something worth keep- 
 ing in that other suit or it would be thrown away. 
 A player perseveres with a suit when the command is 
 evidently against him, showing that he must have 
 
140 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 some reentry card, with which he hopes to bring that 
 suit in. A little consideration will usually tell you 
 just what that reentry card must be, and by judicious 
 finessing you may kill it, or you may compel him to 
 throw his entire suit away in the attempt to keep it 
 guarded. 
 
 When Leading Established Suits, in order to force 
 discards in other suits, it is always advisable to con- 
 ceal the fact that the suit is established, and to keep 
 the adversaries in the dark as to how many times you 
 can lead it. Always begin with the top of your win- 
 ning sequence and play down, making the adversaries 
 hope that each time you lead is the last time they will 
 have to discard. This will often lead them into mak- 
 ing serious mistakes, especially if they fall into the 
 common error of attempting to keep guards in two 
 suits. 
 
 Passing with Aces. When the adversaries have a 
 long and dangerous suit against you, in which your 
 only winning card is the ace and you have no estab- 
 lished suit to go on with, do not be in too great a 
 hurry to give up that ace, but wait until one adversary 
 is out of the suit, because you will then have to keep 
 only one player out of the lead. Take the following 
 example, the original lead being the king of spades. 
 Dummy lays down : — 
 
 c;p942 4.KOJ73 0J104 ^87. 
 
 You are the dealer and hold : — 
 
 ^Y^Qy 4.1092 0AK72 -^A64. 
 
PASSING WITH ACES. I4I 
 
 The leader may have as many as six or seven 
 spades, and you must hold up the ace until his partner 
 is exhausted, and then start your clubs. If the ace 
 of clubs is with the spade suit, it does not matter 
 what you do, but if the club ace is with the player on 
 your right, he will be compelled to hold it up for two 
 rounds at least, so that you shall have no more clubs 
 to lead to dummy, because dummy has no reentry 
 himself. This will give you a chance, after making 
 two club tricks, winning the second in dummy's hand, 
 to shift to the diamonds, leading the jack from dummy 
 and taking the finesse. If the pone will not let 
 dummy hold the second round of clubs, you must 
 make three more tricks in that suit. If he does let 
 dummy hold it, it is useless to lead the suit a third 
 time, because even if you establish it you can never 
 bring it in, as dummy has no reentry. Lay out these 
 cards and study this position carefully, and you will 
 find many interesting and instructive points in it. 
 In the actual game, the ace of clubs and queen of 
 diamonds were both on the right. 
 
 Finessing. The foregoing examples naturally lead 
 us to see that there are many situations in which you 
 are compelled to take a finesse in order to win a cer- 
 tain number of tricks, or in order to shut out a cer- 
 tain hand. The principal rules for finessing are 
 these : You should finesse freely against the player 
 with the established suit when his partner has none 
 of that suit to lead to him, because you do not care how 
 much the weak hand gets in and leads your suits, so 
 
142 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 that you can shut out the strong hand. You should 
 always finesse when it is necessary that the finesse 
 should come off in order to save or win the game. 
 In the example just given of passing with aces, 
 dummy must lead the diamonds, and the finesse 
 must come off, or the dealer cannot possibly win the 
 game. Endless examples might be given, showing the 
 importance of these two rules, the principal thing 
 being to plan in advance for the intended finesse, by 
 getting the lead into the right hand at the proper 
 time. 
 
 Unblocking. It is sometimes very important to 
 prepare early in the hand for unblocking a suit which 
 is long, but such cases are not common. It is toward 
 the end of the hand, when the reentries are all gone, 
 that the dealer must be careful to lead suits in such a 
 manner as to leave a clear field for the hand which 
 has the greater number of the suit. This is too 
 obvious to need examples, but it requires attention 
 in actual play. 
 
 END PLAYS. 
 
 There are many positions in which you will see 
 that unless the cards lie in a certain way you cannot 
 get the tricks you require. The rule in such cases is, 
 that if a certain card or cards must be, let us say, on 
 your right, for you to succeed, you must assume that 
 the card is where you want it to be and you must 
 play as if you were certain of it, although you really 
 
IMPORTANCE OF END PLAY. 1 43 
 
 know nothing about it, because if it is not there it is 
 impossible for you to get the tricks you want, and 
 therefore your play does not matter. 
 
 The application of this rule will vary with circum- 
 stances. In some cases you must assume that you 
 can successfully finesse against a certain card ; in others 
 you must play as if it was not guarded and you could 
 catch it at any time ; in others you must take it for 
 granted that the player holding it will have to win a 
 certain trick with it, forcing him into the lead and 
 compelling him to come up to a tenace or a guarded 
 second-best. 
 
 Tenaces are very important in end play, and after 
 you become expert enough to remember the outstand- 
 ing cards down to the sevens and eights you will dis- 
 cover many positions in which you can gain tricks by 
 careful end play. As an example, suppose that the 
 player on your left has originally opened a suit in 
 which you won the first round with the queen. You 
 have three cards of this suit left at the end, A 8 2, 
 and the leader still holds three cards of it, K 9 and 
 another, all the others having been played or discarded. 
 He leads the 9. If you win this trick you lose 
 both the others, because his king and small will be 
 tenace over your 8 2. If you pass his 9, you win both 
 the other tricks, because your A 8 will then be tenace 
 over his king and small. 
 
 In the end game it is a very common and fatal 
 error to play for tricks that you do not want. You 
 will often see a person who needs only one more trick 
 
144 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 to win the game, and has a certain winning card in his 
 hand, go out of his way to make some finesse or un- 
 derplay in the hope that he will make two or three 
 tricks more than he needs, just to add a little to the 
 value of the rubber. This is all very well if he is cer- 
 tain that he can make his winning card at any time, 
 but it frequently happens that he has overlooked 
 something, and never gets another chance to make 
 the trick he needs so much, and perhaps never gets 
 another chance to win that rubber. 
 
 If the position is such that the play for more tricks 
 than are necessary to win the game can be made either 
 before or after the certain winning cards have been 
 taken home, get in your tricks first and make sure of 
 your game before you play for any extra tricks or 
 little slams. If the position is such that the play for 
 the extra tricks must be made first, do not risk it if 
 there is any chance that failure will enable the adver- 
 saries to save the game. No matter what the odds 
 in favor of success, never take any odds when you 
 have a certainty in your fingers. 
 
 Many tricks are lost in the end game through igno- 
 rance of the principles of play which are to be 
 explained in the next chapter, the most common error 
 being to lead from the wrong hand ; that is, from the 
 hand which leads to its own disadvantage, instead of 
 from the other hand to it. Take the following very 
 simple example of end play, which may be seen every 
 day : — 
 
 Dummy has made it no trump, with the score 
 
EXAMPLES OF END PLAY. 145 
 
 24-0 against him, and the dealer's side has already 
 taken in six tricks. Dummy has in his hand five 
 cards : the aces of both the black suits and the king 
 and two small hearts, hearts having never been 
 played. The dealer is in the lead, and has nothing but 
 small cards in his hand, among them two small hearts. 
 If he leads either of the black suits it is impossible to 
 get another trick but the two aces, no matter where 
 the A Q J of hearts lie ; so his score stops at two by 
 cards, when he needs three by cards to win the game. 
 But if he leads the hearts from his own hand to the 
 king in dummy's hand there is a chance that the ace 
 may be on his left and that the king will win the all- 
 important extra trick. If the heart ace is on his 
 right, nothing can win the game ; but if the hearts 
 are led from dummy's hand the game cannot be won, 
 no matter where the ace of hearts is. 
 
COMBINING THE HANDS. 
 
 THE PLAY OF DEALER AND DUMMY. 
 
 The most interesting hands for the dealer, espe- 
 cially in the play of a no-trumper, are those in which 
 he has to plan in advance for certain combinations in 
 his own hand and dummy's, which must be played in 
 a certain way in order to take full advantage of the 
 position. There are also quite a number of combina- 
 tions in the suits led by the adversaries with which 
 it is necessary to cover second hand, and others with 
 which it is better to pass the trick up to the fourth 
 hand. These combinations, and their proper manage- 
 ment, should be thoroughly familiar to the player, so 
 that he may handle them to the best advantage, whether 
 he leads from one hand to the other himself, or is led 
 through by the adversaries. The chief difficulty is to 
 foresee that a certain hand must be in the lead at a 
 certain time and to arrange that the play shall come 
 about in the manner planned, in spite of the attempts 
 of the adversaries to prevent it. 
 
 Many of the following rules may be applied to the 
 plain suits in hands in which there is a declared trump, 
 as well as to any of the suits in a no-trumper. The 
 guiding principle in all of them being that it is better 
 
 146 
 
COMBINING THE HANDS. 
 
 14; 
 
 to lead to the strong hand than to lead away from it. 
 
 It is well known that it is to the advantage of the 
 adversaries to lead up to the dealer's or the dummy's 
 weak suits, and to lead through his strong suits. It is 
 therefore manifestly to the advantage of the dealer to 
 reverse this process, and to lead up to his own strength. 
 
 Leading from One Hand to Another. Analysis of 
 various positions shows us that there are certain com- 
 binations of cards which must be led up to instead of 
 being led away from. It does not matter whether 
 these combinations are in the hand of the dealer or of 
 the dummy, as the principle involved is the same, the 
 important thing being the direction from which the 
 lead comes. 
 
 When a '^ concealed hand " is spoken of, it is always 
 the dealer's hand which is meant, that term being 
 used to distinguish his cards from the dummy's, which 
 are exposed. 
 
 
 
 0^^ 
 
 
 OMM 
 
 
 
 
 Kft^A^ 
 
 
 ^mM.' tI 
 
 and others in one hand, 
 
 Small cards only in the other. 
 
 The manner of playing this combination will de- 
 pend somewhat on whether or not either hand can 
 get into the lead at any time. The best way is to 
 play the king first, either by leading it or leading to 
 it, and then to put the other hand in on another suit, 
 if you think it advisable to take the finesse of the 
 jack on the second round, or wish to try your chances 
 
148 
 
 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 of catching the queen unguarded. If there is no way 
 of getting the other hand in again, you must make up 
 your mind whether you will finesse the jack on the 
 first round or will try to drop the queen in two leads. 
 A good deal will depend on the number of cards you 
 have in the suit between you, and on the tricks that 
 you require to save or win the game. 
 
 9? 
 
 
 in one hand. 
 
 1^ 
 
 and small cards in the other. 
 
 When you have less than nine cards of the suit 
 between the two hands, lead the jack, and if the second 
 hand follows suit, but does not play the queen, finesse 
 the jack. With nine cards, put the king on the jack, 
 and if both adversaries follow suit, go on with the 
 ace, on the chance of dropping the queen. 
 
 
 
 Cj^^ 
 
 
 ^MM 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 % 
 
 in one hand. 
 
 Small cards only in the other, 
 
 Always lead to this combination, and finesse the 
 first round, unless you have so many that there is a 
 fair chance of catching the king alone. If you can- 
 not get in with the other hand, so as to lead to it, lead 
 
COMBINING THE HANDS. 
 
 149 
 
 the queen or jack, so as to get the king out of your 
 way at once, especially if you have but two of the 
 suit in the other hand. 
 
 9 
 
 ^ 
 
 and others in one hand. 
 
 Small cards only in the other. 
 
 Always lead from the other hand, and finesse the 
 queen. If the other hand cannot get in, lead a small 
 card from the A Q suit for the first round. 
 
 
 
 Ojg^a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^m 
 
 
 0^0 
 
 
 1^^ 
 
 
 OoO 
 
 
 
 ^J kI 
 
 
 
 
 in one hand. 
 
 Small cards only in the other. 
 
 Lead from the weak hand and finesse the ten if 
 you can get the weak hand in again, because if the 
 honors are divided and the second hand does not cover, 
 which he never will do unless his honor is unguarded 
 or he has both of them, only one of them can make, 
 the second lead from the weak hand and the second 
 finesse establishing the suit. If the honors are both 
 in the hand which you lead through, you kill one of 
 them with the ace if he covers and force the other 
 with the jack or ten. If he does not cover, your ten 
 will hold the trick. If you do not take the finesse at 
 all, you are certain to make both king and queen good 
 against you and the suit can never be cleared. 
 
150 
 
 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 9 
 
 and others in one hand. 
 
 
 and others in the other. 
 
 If the positions of the J and lo are reversed, the 
 principle is the same. Lead the J or lo from the 
 weak hand for the same reasons as those just given, 
 when A J I o were all in one hand, and play the com- 
 bination in the same way, finessing the first lead if 
 the second hand does not cover. It is useless to lead 
 a small card from the ace in the hope of making the 
 J or I o in the other hand, because that is impossible. 
 Some players lead a small card from the weak hand 
 if it is the concealed hand, in the hope that if both K 
 and Q are second hand, the player will pass. But you 
 do not want him to pass ; what you want is to get the 
 suit cleared. 
 
 and others in one hand. 
 
 and others in the other. 
 
 If the positions of the J and Q are reversed, the 
 play is the same. Always lead the Q or J from the 
 weak hand and take the finesse. 
 
COMBINING THE HANDS. 
 
 rSi 
 
 <p 
 
 
 ^^^ 
 ^ ^ 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 c^^^ 
 
 
 
 
 ^M^ 
 
 
 1 
 
 and others in one hand. 
 
 and others in the other. 
 
 This combination may be held in various ways, but 
 the principle is the same in all. Always lead the best 
 card in the weak hand to the ace hand, and take the 
 finesse. Do not trouble yourself about false-carding ; 
 you want the king out of your way as soon as possible. 
 
 and small cards in one hand. 
 
 and small cards in the other. 
 
 It is useless to lead the queen unless you have the 
 jack, and it is better not to touch the suit at all, but if 
 you must open it, lead a small card from the ace hand, 
 especially if the queen is in the concealed hand, 
 hoping that the king will go up second hand, giving 
 you two tricks in the suit. If you lead the queen from 
 the weak hand, you make the J and lo good against 
 you, for the second hand will certainly cover with the 
 king, whether he has fourchette or not. 
 
 and others in one hand. 
 
 Small cards only in the other. 
 
152 
 
 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 This combination should be avoided if possible, but 
 if you must open the suit, do not lead away from the 
 K and Q, but lead a small card to it, hoping that the 
 ace will go up second hand to shut you out, giving 
 you two tricks in the suit. If the ace is second hand 
 and is not played, try to get the weak hand in again, 
 so as to lead through the ace a second time. 
 
 
 t&d 
 
 or 
 
 m 
 
 
 fM 
 
 or 
 
 ^m 
 
 
 B^ 
 
 in one hand, 
 
 in the other. 
 
 The same principles apply as in the foregoing. It 
 is a common error to lead an honor from one hand or 
 the other, because you are certain to lose it, no matter 
 on which side of you the ace may be. Lead a small 
 card, in the hope that the ace will go up. 
 
 •5* Si 
 
 4. , ^i 
 
 and others in one hand. 
 
 Small cards only in the other. 
 
 This is very similar to the A J 10 combination. If 
 you lead from the weak hand and play the king, you 
 may make that trick, but the suit is stopped and both 
 A and Q are good against you, no matter where they 
 lie. Lead from the weak hand and finesse the ten. 
 
COMBINING THE HANDS, 
 
 153 
 
 If the ten forces the ace and the weak hand can get 
 in again the queen will be caught. 
 
 and others in one hand. 
 
 
 and others in the other. 
 
 If the positions of the J and lo are reversed, the 
 principle is the same. Lead the honor from the weak 
 hand and take the finesse, for the same reasons as 
 those just given for K J lo in one hand. 
 
 and small cards in one hand, 
 
 Small cards only in the other. 
 
 If you lead away from the king, it is impossible to 
 take a trick in the suit, because the adversaries must 
 make A Q J against you. , If you lead from the weak 
 hand to the king, it is an even chance that the king 
 wins, but it is better not to touch the suit at all if you 
 can avoid it. 
 
 
 m 
 
 
 4* • 4i 
 
 and others in one hand. 
 
 Small cards only in the other. 
 
 Always lead to this suit ; never from it, if you can 
 avoid it. The king or ace must go up if second hand 
 
1 54 
 
 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 holds either of those cards. This will save you from 
 using .one of your honors to force a higher honor, 
 which you will have to do if you lead the suit. 
 
 m 
 
 01 
 
 or 
 
 o o 
 
 in one hand. 
 
 Small cards only in the other. 
 
 Avoid such suits as long as possible, but if you 
 must open them, lead to the Q, hoping the A or K 
 will go up second hand. If it does not, finesse the lo 
 from Q lo. If you have Q and small cards only, 
 neither J nor lo, duck the first round altogether. 
 
 The following combinations should be avoided as 
 long as possible, the number of small cards ac- 
 companying the honor being unimportant. 
 
 in one hand, 
 
 in one hand, 
 
 in one hand, 
 
 in one hand, 
 
 
 in the other ; 
 
 in the other ; 
 
 in the other 
 
 in the other. 
 
SECOND HAND PLAY. 
 
 On account of the concealment of one hand, your 
 play will sometimes make a difference when you are 
 led through, and many persons have a habit of always 
 false-carding from the concealed hand when they have 
 honors in sequence, never playing the king when they 
 have the ace, or the jack when they have the queen. 
 Doing this sort of thing too regularly spoils its effect, 
 because the moment you play the king the adversary 
 knows you have not the ace, and he places that card 
 with his partner. 
 
 There are quite a number of combinations which 
 must be played in a certain way second hand in order 
 to protect yourself in the adversaries' suits, and these 
 should be very carefully studied. When no particular 
 lead is mentioned, a small card is meant. 
 
 ^w 
 
 and one small, second hand, 
 
 and two small, fourth hand. 
 
 Never put up the king second hand, because if you 
 do the ace may kill it, and the Q and lo may catch 
 
 ^ss 
 
156 
 
 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 your jack. By playing small second hand, you are 
 sure of a trick in the suit, no matter how the cards lie 
 or how the adversaries manage them. 
 
 ^MM 
 
 in one hand ; 
 
 in the other. 
 
 If either of these is led through, play a small card. 
 If either card has one guard to it and the other has 
 two guards, no matter which, you must make a trick 
 in the suit, provided you do not lead it and do not 
 play the honor second hand, even on a lo led. 
 
 in one hand ; 
 
 and only one small in the other. 
 
 If the queen is led through, put it on, as that is the 
 only chance to make two tricks in the suit. But if 
 the queen has more than one small card with it, pass. 
 If the queen is led up to, never play the ace second 
 hand, but let the lead come to the queen. 
 
 s? 
 
 
 in one hand ; 
 
 ^ 
 
 and one small in the other. 
 
SECOND HAND PLAY. 
 
 157 
 
 The presence of the 10 makes quite a difference 
 here. If the queen is led through, do not play it 
 second hand, even though it has but one guard, 
 because if third hand has the king and plays it he can- 
 not have the jack, so your Q 10 are tenace over that 
 card, and good for two tricks. If third hand plays 
 the jack, it will take the king to catch your queen 
 and your ten is good. If you put up the queen second 
 hand on the first trick, and the king covers, your 10 
 may be led through and killed if the jack is on your 
 left. 
 
 in one hand ; 
 
 in the other. 
 
 Never play the J second hand, unless the 10 is led, 
 for if the Q covers your J you have sacrificed two 
 honors to get one trick. Let the lead come up to 
 you. If the K is the card led through, never put it 
 up, but let the lead come up to your A J, so as to 
 find out where the Q is. 
 
 second hand ; small cards, fourth hand. 
 
 m 
 
 ^?i 
 
 Always play one of the honors second hand in a 
 no-trumper ; never on an original lead with a declared 
 trump. When there is a trump, no good player will 
 
158 
 
 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 start a hand by leading away from an ace, and your 
 best chance is that third hand will not hold the jack 
 and will have to play the ace. 
 
 *m» 
 
 
 second hand ; 
 
 fourth hand. 
 
 Play the lo second hand, in order to prevent the 9 
 from forcing out your K and the A and Q afterward 
 picking up your J and 10, leaving you only one trick 
 in a suit in which you hold three honors. 
 
 second hand ; singleton in the fourth hand. 
 
 If the trick is necessary to win the game, play the 
 king second hand, unless it is an original lead to a 
 declared trump, in which case it is useless to play the 
 king second hand, and your only chance is to ruff 
 off the ace on the second round. 
 
PLAYING TO THE SCORE. 
 
 While this is undoubtedly the most important, it is 
 also the most difficult part of the game, and the begin- 
 ner should not worry himself too much about it until 
 he has thoroughly mastered the elementary principles 
 of making the trump, going over, leading and return- 
 ing suits and combining the hands. As he becomes 
 more at home in these things the score will naturally 
 force itself upon his attention, and perhaps the loss of 
 a few rubbers will still further impress its importance 
 upon him. 
 
 A really first-class player must accustom himself 
 to keep his weather eye always on the score, because 
 it affects everything in the game, from the make to 
 the last trick played. One should be especially care- 
 ful of its influence upon the makes, and never risk a 
 no-trumper on the chance of getting a big score when 
 a spade make is a certainty to win the game. With 
 only four points to go, if you find yourself with seven 
 clubs to the quart major and another ace, do not take 
 any chances, but make it a club and take your game 
 while you have the opportunity. When the score is 
 in your favor and you are in the lead, if there is any 
 danger that the adversaries will win the game, make 
 tricks enough to save it before you take any finesses 
 
 159 
 
i6o Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 which may give them the chance to go out. If you 
 have two sure tricks in sight, and want only two to 
 win the game, do not go looking for two or three 
 more tricks, unless you are very sure that the two you 
 have in sight will not get away. Endless rubbers are 
 lost through trying to get more than enough to win 
 them. 
 
 In the end game, always take a fresh look at the 
 score, and count up the tricks you have already taken 
 in and those in sight. If you want a certain number 
 of tricks always play as if the cards lay favorably for 
 your success. If a certain ace must be on your left 
 in order that you shall get another trick in hearts, 
 assume that it is there, and play accordingly, because 
 if it is not there, you cannot get the tricks you are 
 looking for. If a certain number of tricks must be 
 made out of a hand and you see that they are impos- 
 sible in a certain suit, do not pay any more attention 
 to that suit, but examine the others until you find one 
 in which the tricks required are possible, even if im- 
 probable, and then think what is the best way to play 
 so as to make those much needed tricks in that 
 doubtful suit. There are endless situations in bridge 
 in which the cards must lie in certain ways, or a cer- 
 tain number of tricks must be made out of a given 
 suit, in order to save or win the game, and the score 
 is the only guide which will always tell you just what 
 must be done. 
 
 In playing against the dealer, your chief object will 
 be to save the game, because you are not supposed to 
 
PLAYING TO THE SCORE. l6l 
 
 be trying to win the game against the declared 
 strength in the dealer's hand, unless it is a spade make 
 or a go-over. If you find yourself in the lead with a 
 winning card which will save the game, make that 
 card at once, unless it is the best trump or you are 
 quite sure that the game is safe in any case. Run- 
 ning for your life is a great art, and many a rubber 
 has been snatched from the fire by making an ace 
 before the dealer could get another discard. 
 
 The importance of playing to the score will natu- 
 rally be suggested by many things which have already 
 been touched upon in the foregoing pages : practice 
 and attention are the only things that will complete 
 a player's education in such matters. 
 
LUCK. 
 
 In all games of cards, no matter how nearly the 
 principles of play may have been reduced to a science, 
 there is always more or less uncertainty about the 
 run of the cards themselves, and as we do not know 
 what laws control their fluctuations, making them 
 flow sometimes toward us and sometimes against us, 
 we call it luck, and when it is not coming our way we 
 say we are in bad luck. 
 
 This element of luck seems to come and go like the 
 tides, its periodicity being different with different in- 
 dividuals, and the best we can do is to take advantage 
 of it when it is favorable and avoid it when it is not ; 
 but we cannot presume on its setting in one direction 
 for any length of time — not even for a single deal. 
 Some players attach great importance to what they call 
 ''the vein," and if they find things are not going their 
 way in the first rubber or two they will stop playing, 
 although, for aught they know, the very next rubber 
 might bring a change. Others will fight desperately 
 against a run of adverse luck and will continue to 
 play long after their usual time of retiring ; but they 
 will not stick to the game with the same pertinacity 
 when it is going their way ; which they should do, in 
 order to make things even. One of the most common 
 
 162 
 
CONCERNING BAD LUCK. 163 
 
 faults with those who play cards for a stake is, that 
 they will not sit and win as much as they will sit and 
 lose. 
 
 Some attach great importance to the choice of 
 seats and cards, as if one side of the table were a sort 
 of eddy into which all the good cards naturally drifted. 
 There is absolutely nothing in the seats and cards, as 
 any one will discover if he keeps a notebook and puts 
 down the number of times the fancied seats win or 
 lose. It is not enough to make a note of remarkable 
 runs, but every rubber must be noted for at least a 
 month. There are times when it seems as if certain 
 seats had the best of it and the fact attracts attention 
 and makes an impression. This impression is suffi- 
 ciently strong to obliterate the memory of the many 
 times that seats have lost when they were apparently 
 bound to win. The absurdity of all superstitions 
 attached to seats and cards is evident from the fact 
 that it is always the winning seats which are chosen 
 to win again, although the odds against any given 
 seats winning twice in succession are three to one, 
 and against their winning three times in succession, 
 seven to one. Luck, or what we call luck, attaches 
 to individuals, not to seats and cards, and when a 
 player is not in the vein he may sit anywhere he likes 
 and take any cards he pleases, but it will not affect 
 the result. He will continue to cut the worst partner 
 at the table, hold the worst cards, and have the worst 
 luck in makes and finesses. Everything he does will 
 be wrong and everyone he plays with will throw him 
 
164 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 down. If you cannot stand this sort of thing good^ 
 naturedly and console yourself with the thought that 
 the sun must shine again, the best thing to do is to 
 retire from the game and content yourself with look- 
 ing on, for nothing is so disagreeable at a bridge table 
 as a player who is in bad luck and is continually call- 
 ing attention to it. 
 
 It is useless to complain about your luck, and it is 
 still more useless to try to force it. The best rule is, 
 to play for a certain length of time every day that you 
 do play, and never to exceed that time, no matter 
 what kind of luck you are in. You may cut short 
 some good days but you will also cut short many bad 
 ones, and you will not have to guess which are which 
 if you treat them all alike. As you learn more of the 
 game you will find that a great deal of that which 
 you previously attributed to bad luck was in reality 
 not luck at all, but the accumulated result of a num- 
 ber of bad plays. 
 
 Many persons think that there is too much luck in 
 bridge and that the element of chance enters so largely 
 into the game that it is practically impossible for any 
 degree of skill to overcome it. You will find players 
 who continually lose more than they win and who 
 seem to fall behind all the time. They attribute this 
 to their bad luck, but if you will watch them atten- 
 tively you will soon discover that it is bad judgment 
 and bad play which is responsible for their losses. A 
 make which should have been a no-trumper is. passed 
 for a spade, and a rubber that might have been won 
 
CONCERNING BAD PLAY. 1 65 
 
 on that deal is lost on the next. A finesse which was 
 the only possible way to save a game was not taken. 
 A rash go-over let the adversaries get just enough to 
 put them out. Playing the wrong suits first, leading 
 from the wrong hand, forgetting to preserve reentries, 
 and want of care in watching the fall of the cards, not 
 taking advantage of favorable positions, not knowing 
 whether the eight or the nine is the best of the suit, 
 inattention to the discards, and hundreds of little 
 things like these are the real cause of the lost tricks 
 that lose the rubbers that are charged up to bad 
 luck. 
 
 There are very few players that do not lose two or 
 three tricks in the course of an ordinary rubber, and 
 some will lose an average of a trick a hand. Did you 
 ever stop to think what this means ? Suppose you 
 play half a dozen rubbers every day and lose two or 
 three tricks on each of them, which is a conservative 
 estimate unless you are a very good player. This 
 would mean about fifteen tricks a day, or five thousand 
 a year. As the average value of a trick is about eight 
 points, you will be forty thousand points behind, and 
 if you play for the ordinary club stake of two-and-a- 
 half cents a point your bad play will cost you just about 
 a thousand dollars, which you will attribute to bad luck. 
 
 On the other hand, suppose that by the exercise of 
 reasonable care and attention to the score in the 
 makes, caution in the go-overs, and correct play in 
 your leads, returns, and combinations, you save half of 
 those forty thousand points every year, while other 
 
1 66 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 persons, who are too idle or indifferent to study the 
 principles of the game, continue to lose them. Will it 
 be that your luck has changed or that you play better ? 
 While every player, no matter how expert, will lose 
 tricks occasionally, no one can drop fifteen or twenty 
 tricks every time he plays and still come out ahead of 
 the game. Cards will run against every one at times, 
 but there is no game in which you can save as much 
 when you are in bad luck, and win as much when you 
 are in good luck, as you can at bridge, provided 
 you have taken the trouble to learn the correct prin- 
 ciples of play and will then follow them faithfully, no 
 matter how the cards go. In all card games a person 
 must expect things to go against him at times, just as 
 at others they seem to favor him in everything he 
 attempts. The difference between good and bad play 
 is, that the good player will get all that is coming to 
 him during the bad spells and more than is due him 
 in his good spells ; while the bad player will lose more 
 than he should in the first case, and will not win as 
 much as he could in the second. 
 
 Just put a pin prick in a visiting card every time 
 that you see you have lost a trick that you might 
 have saved, and count up the total at the end of the 
 week. The number of holes you find in that card 
 will be a much better index of the quality of your 
 game than the number of rubbers that you may win 
 or lose. If you are in doubt about the play, make a 
 note of the conditions and look up the text -book after- 
 ward ; you will be helped by the index which follows. 
 
DUMMY BRIDGE. 
 
 Properly speaking, bridge is dummy whist, be- 
 cause it is played with one hand exposed, which is 
 known as the dummy. But there are always four 
 players in bridge, one of whom, the dealer's partner, 
 lays his hand face up on the table after the first card 
 has been led, and takes no further part in the play for 
 that deal. It sometimes happens that four players 
 are not available, and when three persons play, the 
 game is known as dummy bridge. 
 
 There are several ways of playing the game, the 
 difference being chiefly in the rules regarding the 
 makes and go-overs, and in the positions occupied by 
 the single player on each succeeding deal. The sim- 
 plest and probably the best method is the following : 
 
 The three players cut for partners, choice of cards 
 and seats, as in the ordinary game. The one cutting 
 the lowest card has the choice and is the single player 
 for the first deal of the game. 
 
 The single player having chosen his seat and cards 
 for the first deal, his adversaries sit on each side of 
 him. The cards are presented to the pone to be cut 
 and the single player distributes them in the usual 
 manner, beginning on his left, so that the last card 
 shall fall to himself 
 
 167 
 
i68 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 The dealer takes up his hand, sorts it and makes 
 the trump or passes it to the dummy. If he passes 
 it is usual for the pone to sort dummy's cards and 
 make the declaration. The dummy is obliged to 
 make the trump according to the following rules : 
 
 If dummy holds three or four aces, he must make 
 it no trump, no matter what other cards he holds. 
 
 If dummy has not more than two aces he' cannot 
 make it no trump, but must make it his longest suit, 
 that is, the suit of which he holds the greatest num- 
 ber of cards. 
 
 If dummy has two suits of equal length, he must 
 select the suit in which he is stronger, this strength 
 being ascertained by counting the pips on the cards 
 in each suit, the jacks being worth 1 1 each, the 
 queens 12, the kings 13 and the aces 14. For in- 
 stance ; suppose dummy holds : — 
 
 0AJ1043 *KQ oK ♦AQ/es. 
 
 He cannot make it no trump, because he does not 
 hold three aces. If the two five-card suits are counted 
 up, it will be found that the hearts are worth 42, 
 while the spades are worth 44, so that the make must 
 be a spade. Again ; suppose dummy holds : — 
 
 cpAKQJio ^765432 oAK ♦ none. 
 
 As he is longer in clubs than in hearts, he must make 
 it his longest suit, a club. Having only two aces, he 
 cannot make it no trump. 
 
 If two suits are equal in length and strength, the 
 
DUMMY BRIDGE. 169 
 
 one which is of the greater counting value must be 
 selected. For instance : if dummy holds : — 
 
 99862 ^42 0J94 4^A63 2. 
 
 The spades and hearts are each worth 25, and as the 
 heart is the more valuable counting suit, dummy must 
 make it a heart. 
 
 After the trump has been declared, only the eldest 
 hand has the right to go over. 
 
 When the eldest hand has led for the first trick, the 
 dummy's hand is exposed face upward on the table, 
 just as in the ordinary game. If the dummy has 
 made the trump, his hand is not exposed until the 
 first card is led. After this, the play proceeds as 
 usual. 
 
 After the deal is finished, the score is put down. 
 There being three individual players, the score sheet 
 must be ruled into three columns. If the dealer wins, 
 he scores below the line for tricks and above the line 
 for honors, as usual. But if he loses the odd trick, 
 the adversaries score the trick points above the line, 
 in the honor column. The object of this arrangement 
 is to make a player go out on his own deal, as no one 
 but the dealer can score any points toward game. 
 
 As soon as the first deal is finished and scored, the 
 player who sat on the dealer's right moves one place 
 to the right, the others sitting still. This brings him 
 opposite the last dealer and on the left of the one who 
 is about to deal. The one who was eldest hand on 
 the first deal now has no partner opposite him, so he 
 
170 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 has the dummy. He deals, declares, and plays the 
 combined hands. 
 
 That deal finished, the player on his right moves to 
 the vacant seat, so as to come opposite the one who 
 has just dealt, and leave the dummy opposite the 
 player who has not yet dealt a hand. This move- 
 ment is continued after each deal, giving each player 
 the dummy in turn. 
 
 As soon as a player wins a game, he draws a line 
 under it. The first player winning two games wins 
 the rubber, and adds lOO points bonus. The scores 
 are then added up, and each player settles for the 
 difference between his score and the others. 
 
 Another way to play is to compel the dealer to 
 make the trump from his own hand. There is no 
 passing to the partner and the single player must not 
 see any of his dummy partner's cards until a card has 
 been led for the first trick. The eldest hand must go 
 over or lead a card. If the eldest hand goes over the 
 make, the single player may go back, but the partner 
 of the eldest hand takes no part in the doubling, and 
 should not even lift his cards until his partner has led 
 for the first trick. This is not as good a form of the 
 game as the first, because it tempts the single player 
 into many wild makes, and destroys one of the best 
 features of the game of bridge, the judgment as to 
 when to pass the make. 
 
DUPLICATE BRIDGE . 
 
 In this form of the game, trays must be provided 
 for carrying the cards from table to table, any of the 
 ordinary duplicate whist trays being well suited for 
 the purpose. Specially ruled score cards are also 
 necessary. 
 
 The game may be played at any number of tables 
 from two to thirty-six, but it is better to divide a large 
 number of players into sections of not more than seven 
 tables each, so that there may be four hands at each 
 table against the same adversaries without having to 
 play so many deals that the game becomes long and 
 tiresome. 
 
 The trays are numbered on the back and each tray 
 has a mark on one of the pockets indicating who shall 
 be the dealer and has also an arrow showing that the 
 tray should be laid on the table with that arrow always 
 pointing north. At the first table the trays numbered 
 from I to 4 should be placed. Those numbered from 
 5 to 8 at the next table, and so on. 
 
 When the play begins, the cards must be shuffled 
 and dealt by the player sitting opposite the mark on 
 the tray which indicates the dealer. After the hands 
 have once been dealt and played they are placed in 
 the trays, and must on no account be shuffled again. 
 
 xyi 
 
172 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 The dealer makes the trump or passes it to his 
 partner in the usual way and the adversaries can go 
 over, or play without doubling, as in the ordinary 
 game. 
 
 Instead of gathering the cards into tricks, each 
 player lays the card he plays face upward on the table 
 immediately in front of him and between the edge of 
 the table and the tray. The dealer does not reach 
 across the table for the cards in dummy's hand, but 
 calls upon his dummy partner to play the card he 
 names. After the four cards are played to the trick 
 they are turned face downward and are pointed in the 
 direction of the partners that win the trick. Suppose 
 the pair sitting N. and S. win the first trick ; all four 
 cards of that trick are turned down with their longer 
 edges pointing N. and S. After the hand has been 
 played, it will be easy to count how many cards point 
 one way and how many the other, and if the four 
 players agree as to the number of tricks each side is 
 entitled to, the value of all those above six taken by 
 one side is entered on the score card ; eight tricks 
 being worth two by cards, for instance. 
 
 If there is any disagreement as to which side won 
 a certain trick, the four cards composing that trick 
 can be turned face up and the matter adjusted. 
 
 After the hand has been played and the score 
 entered, the cards are put back in the tray, each 
 player being careful to place his thirteen cards in the 
 pocket opposite him, face down. The tray is then 
 ready to be passed on to the next table. 
 
DUPLICATE BRIDGE. I73 
 
 After all four deals have been played, the partners 
 sitting N. and S. keep their seats, but the partners 
 sitting E. and W. at each table move to the next table, 
 all the E. and W. pairs going in the same direction, 
 preferably north. 
 
 At the same time that the E. and W. players move 
 to the next table the four trays containing the hands 
 which they have just played are also moved to the 
 next table, but in the opposite direction, the players 
 going north and the trays south. 
 
 If any confusion is discovered in a tray received 
 from another table, such as fourteen cards in one 
 hand, it must be taken back to the table at which it 
 was last played, to be rectified. Players should be 
 very careful to count their cards in playing duplicate. 
 
 On the second round, there will be no dealing of 
 the cards, the player who is indicated as the dealer by 
 the mark on the tray simply taking out the thirteen 
 cards he finds in the pocket opposite him and making 
 the trump himself or passing it to his partner. 
 
 After these four deals have been played, the E. and 
 W. players move to the next table further north as 
 before, and the four trays they have just played go to 
 the next table further south, the N. and S. partners 
 sitting still during the entire game. 
 
 If there are unavoidably an even number of tables 
 in play, such as six, it will be found that when the E. 
 and W. players have gone half way round the circuit 
 they will meet the trays, going in the opposite direc- 
 tion, which they played at the first table. To avoid 
 
174 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 this, it is necessary for the E. and W. players to skip 
 a table when they have played at half the number ; 
 going in the same direction, but one table further on. 
 This will bring them back to their own table with one 
 more round of four trays to play, and will necessitate 
 their playing eight trays against the same adversaries, 
 the first and the last four trays in the game. Al- 
 though the players skip a table in this manner, the 
 trays do not skip, but always go to the next table. 
 
 The scores are kept on specially ruled slips, of 
 which an example is given on the opposite page. 
 The names of the players are entered at the top and 
 their pair number is also given. This number is 
 always that of the table at which they play the first 
 hand. 
 
 In the score slips, the first column shows the 
 number of the deal, the next shows the number of 
 the adversaries against which it was played, and the 
 next the trump that was declared, N. or W. meaning 
 *' no-trump," or ^* without." Players should be care- 
 ful to look at the back of the trays to be sure that 
 they enter the score opposite the right number. 
 
 The trick points and -honors won or lost on each 
 deal are put down in the columns ruled for that pur- 
 pose, each pair being careful to enter the points made 
 by the adversaries as well as those they make them- 
 selves. After the four deals, which are played against 
 the same adversaries, are complete, the scores should 
 be added up and the totals carefully compared before 
 leaving the table, so as to be sure that they agree. 
 
DUPLICATE BRIDGE. 
 
 175 
 
 4^ 00 to i-t 
 
 d 
 
 > 
 
 r 
 
 p 
 
 in pi 
 
 n X X "Z 
 • • 
 
 H 
 
 -fi^ J On 
 
 
 I— 1 
 
 00 a\ 
 
 5? 
 
 
 
 C/3 
 
 C^ 4^ 
 
 
 
 l-H 
 
 ?^5 
 
 1 OJ OJ 
 1 to 
 
 >i 
 in 
 
 t 
 
 
 
 
 to 
 
 > 
 ^ 
 
 H 
 
 .^ 
 
 t^ 
 
 
 
 O 
 
 4^ 00 to HH 
 
 
 
 > 
 
 "Z 
 p 
 
 in > 
 
 p U: m ^ 
 • • p 
 
 H 
 
 c: 
 
 HH to 
 
 On 4^* 
 
 
 
 to 
 
 5§ 
 
 C/5 
 
 4^ Cn 
 
 
 1— 1 
 
 ^0 
 
 CO Cn 
 
 
 
 en 
 
 
 to 
 
 
 4^ 
 4^ 
 
 > 
 
 r ^ 
 
 en 
 
 CO • 
 H 
 
 p s 
 
 H 
 
 bd 
 o 
 
 > 
 
 o 
 
176 
 
 FOSTERS BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 In the examples given, pair No. 5 N. and S. played 
 deals I to 4 against pair No. 3 E. and W. Pair No. 
 3 won 44 and lost 102, so that pair No. 5 won 102 
 and lost 44 and both scores agree. 
 
 At the end of the game, the winnings and losses in 
 the last two columns are added up and the difference 
 between them is found, which must be either a total 
 plus or a total minus. This figure is put down and 
 the score sheet handed to the committee. All the 
 scores of the N. and S. pairs are then written on 
 a sheet of paper and added up, and then divided 
 by the number of pairs to find the average. The 
 same thing is done with the E. and W. pairs, as in the 
 example : 
 
 
 N. and S. 
 
 
 
 j 
 
 B. and W. 
 
 
 Pair N 
 
 to. Score. 
 
 Plus. 
 
 Minus. 
 
 Pair No. 
 
 Score. 
 
 Plus. 
 
 Minus 
 
 I 
 
 162 
 
 . . 
 
 115 
 
 I 
 
 
 392 
 
 , . 
 
 115 
 
 2 
 
 267 
 
 . . 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 
 280 
 
 . , 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 206 
 
 . . 
 
 71 
 
 3 
 
 
 196 
 
 81 
 
 , , 
 
 4 
 
 389 
 
 112 
 
 . . 
 
 4 
 
 
 248 
 
 29 
 
 . . 
 
 5 
 
 397 
 
 120 
 
 . . 
 
 5 
 
 
 367 
 
 
 90 
 
 6 
 
 220 
 
 . . 
 
 57 
 
 6 
 
 
 256 
 
 21 
 
 . . 
 
 7 
 
 298 
 
 21 
 
 253 
 
 253 
 
 7 
 
 7) 
 Average 
 
 200 
 
 77 
 208 
 
 
 
 7)1939 
 
 1939 
 
 208 
 
 Average, 277 
 
 . 277 
 
 
 In this example, all the N. and S. players made plus 
 scores ; that is, when their score cards were added 
 
DUPLICATE BRIDGE. I77 
 
 up, they showed more points gained than lost, while 
 all the E. and W. scores showed more points lost than 
 gained. Consequently, the average of 277 must be 
 deducted from the individual scores of all the N. and 
 S. pairs and those who made more than 277 are plus ; 
 those who made less are minus. On the E. and W. 
 scores, on the other hand, those who made less than 
 277 are plus, because they did not lose as many as 
 2TJ^ which was the average loss on these hands. 
 Pair No. 5 makes the top score N. and S. with 120 
 plus ; pair No. 3 makes the top score E. and W. with 
 81 plus. 
 
 The scores can be proved by adding the final plus 
 and minus scores. In the example, the gains and 
 losses by the N. and S. pairs add up 253 in each 
 column ; those of the E. and W. pairs, 208 in each 
 column. 
 
 When the Howell system is adopted, playing each 
 pair against every other, specially ruled slips must 
 be provided to accompany the trays. 
 
THE AMERICAN LAWS OP BRIDGE. 
 
 Reprinted by permission of The Whist Club, New York. 
 
 THE RUBBER. 
 
 1. The rubber is the best of three games. If the 
 first two games be won by the same partners, the 
 third game is not played. 
 
 SCORING. 
 
 2. A game consists of thirty points obtained by 
 tricks alone, exclusive of any points counted for 
 honors, chicane, or slam. 
 
 3. Every deal is played out, and any points in 
 excess of thirty points necessary for the game are 
 counted. 
 
 4. Each trick above six counts two points when 
 spades are trumps, four points when clubs are trumps, 
 six points when diamonds are trumps, eight points 
 when hearts are trumps, and twelve points when there 
 are no trumps. 
 
 5. Honors are ace, king, queen, knave, and ten of the 
 trump suit; or the aces when no trump is declared. 
 
 6. Honors are credited to the original holder and 
 are valued as follows : 
 
 179 
 
i8o 
 
 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 Declaration. 
 
 Each Trick above Six 
 
 1 2, Honors 
 
 4 " 
 
 4 " (All in one hand) . 
 
 5 " 
 
 5 " (4 in one hand) . . 
 
 5 " (All in one hand) . 
 Chicane 
 
 ^ 
 
 * 
 4 
 
 ♦ 
 
 V 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 12 
 
 16 
 
 8 
 
 16 
 
 24 
 
 32 
 
 16 
 
 32 
 
 48 
 
 64 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 30 
 
 40 
 
 18 
 
 36 
 
 54 
 
 72 
 
 20 
 
 40 
 
 60 
 
 80 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 12 
 
 16 
 
 No 
 Trumps 
 
 12 
 30 
 40 
 100 
 
 Rubber loo, Grand Slam 40, Little Slam 20. 
 
 7. If a player and his partner make thirteen tricks, 
 independently of any tricks gained by the revoke 
 penalty, they score slam and add forty points to the 
 honor count. 
 
 8. Little slam is twelve tricks similarly made, and 
 adds twenty points to the honor count. 
 
 9. Chicane (one hand void of trumps) is equal in 
 value to simple honors, i.e,y if partner of player having 
 chicane score honors, he adds the value of three honors 
 to his score, while, if the adversaries score honors, it 
 deducts an equal value from theirs.^ 
 
 10. The value of honors, slam, little slam, or chicane 
 is in no wise affected by doubling or re-doubling. 
 
 11. At the conclusion of a rubber the scores for 
 
 1 Double Chicane (both hands void of trumps) is equal in value to four 
 honors, and the value thereof must be deducted from the total honor score of 
 the adversaries. 
 
THE AMERICAN LAWS OF BRIDGE. l8l 
 
 tricks and honors (including chicane and slam) ob- 
 tained by each side are added, and one hundred points 
 are added to the score of the winners of the rubber. 
 The difference between the completed scores is the 
 number of points won or lost by the winners of the 
 rubber. 
 
 12. If an erroneous score affecting honors, chicane, 
 or slam be proved, such mistake may be corrected at 
 any time before the score of the rubber has been made 
 up and agreed upon. 
 
 13. If an erroneous score affecting tricks be proved, 
 such mistake must be corrected prior to the conclusion 
 of the game in which it has occurred, and such game 
 shall not be considered as concluded until the follow- 
 ing deal has been completed and the trump declared, 
 unless it be that the game is the last one of the rubber, 
 — then the score is subject to inquiry until an agree- 
 ment between the sides (as to the value of the rubber) 
 shall have been reached. 
 
 CUTTING. 
 
 14. The ace is the lowest card. 
 
 15. In all cases every player must cut from the 
 same pack. 
 
 16. Should a player expose more than one card, 
 he must cut again. 
 
 FORMING TABLES. 
 
 17. If there are more than four candidates, the 
 players are selected by cutting, those first in the 
 
i82 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 room having the preference. The four who cut the 
 lowest cards play first. 
 
 1 8. After the table is formed, the players cut to 
 decide on partners ; the two lowest playing against 
 the two highest. The lowest is the dealer, who has 
 choice of cards and seats, and who, having once made 
 his selection, must abide by it. 
 
 19. Should the two players who cut lowest secure 
 cards of equal value, they shall re-cut to determine 
 which of the two shall deal, and the lower on the re- 
 cut deals. 
 
 20. Should three players cut cards of equal value, 
 they cut again; if the fourth card be the highest, the 
 two lowest of the new cut are partners and the lower 
 of the two the dealer ; if, however, the fourth card be 
 the lowest, the two highest on the re-cut are partners 
 and the original lowest the dealer. 
 
 21. Six players constitute a full table, and no player 
 shall have a right to cut into a game which is complete. 
 
 22. When there are more than six candidates, the 
 right to succeed any player who may retire is acquired 
 by announcing the desire to do so, and such announce- 
 ment shall constitute a prior right to the first vacancy. 
 
 CUTTING OUT. 
 
 23. If at the end of a rubber admission be claimed 
 by one or two candidates, the player or players having 
 played a greater number of consecutive rubbers shall 
 withdraw ; but when all have played the same number, 
 
THE AMERICAN LAWS OF BRIDGE. 183 
 
 they must cut to decide upon the outgoers ; the high- 
 est are out. 
 
 RIGHTS OF ENTRY. 
 
 24. A candidate desiring to enter a table must de- 
 clare such wish before any player at the table cuts a 
 card, either for the purpose of commencing a fresh 
 rubber or of cutting out. 
 
 25. In the formation of new tables, those candi- 
 dates who have neither belonged to nor played at any 
 other table have the prior right of entry. Those who 
 have already played decide their right of admission 
 by cutting. 
 
 26. A player who cuts into one table while belong- 
 ing to another, shall forfeit his prior right of re-entry 
 into the latter, unless by doing so he enables three 
 candidates to form a fresh table. In this event he 
 may signify his intention of returning to his original 
 table, and his place at the new one can be filled. 
 
 27. Should any player quit the table during the 
 progress of a rubber, he may, with the consent of 
 the three other players, appoint a substitute during 
 his absence ; but such appointment shall become 
 void with the conclusion of the rubber, and shall not 
 in any way affect the substitute's rights. 
 
 28. If any one break up a table, the remaining 
 players have a prior right to play at other tables. 
 
 SHUFFLING. 
 
 29. The pack must neither be shuffled below the 
 table nor so the face of any card can be seen. 
 
184 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 30. The dealer's partner must collect the cards for 
 the ensuing deal, and he has the first right to shuffle 
 the cards. Each player has the right to shuffle subse- 
 quently. The dealer has the right to shuffle last, but 
 should a card or cards be seen during his shuffling, 
 or whilst giving the pack to be cut, he must re- 
 shuffle. 
 
 31. Each player, after shuffling, must place the 
 cards properly collected and face downward to the 
 left of the player next to deal. 
 
 THE DEAL. 
 
 32. Each player deals in his turn; the order of 
 dealing goes to the left. 
 
 33. The player on the dealer's right cuts the pack, 
 and in dividing it, must not leave fewer than four 
 cards in each packet; if in cutting or in replacing 
 one of the two packets a card be exposed, or if there 
 be any confusion of the cards, or a doubt as to the 
 exact place in which the pack was divided, there 
 must be a fresh cut. 
 
 34. When the player whose duty it is to cut has 
 once separated the pack, he can neither re-shuffle 
 nor re-cut the cards. 
 
 35. Should the dealer shuffle the cards, after the 
 pack is cut, the pack must be cut again. 
 
 36. The fifty-two cards shall be dealt face down- 
 ward. The deal is not completed until the last card 
 has been dealt face downward. 
 
 37. There is No Misdeal. 
 
THE AMERICAN LAWS OF BRIDGE. 185 
 
 A NEW DEAL. 
 
 38. There must be a new deal — 
 
 a If the cards be not dealt into four packets, one at a 
 time, and in regular rotation, beginning at the 
 dealer's left. 
 
 d If, during a deal, or during the play of a hand, the 
 pack be proved incorrect or imperfect. 
 
 c If any cards be faced in the pack. 
 
 d If any player have dealt to him a greater number of 
 cards than thirteen. 
 
 e If the dealer deal two cards at once and then deal a 
 third before correcting the error. 
 
 f If the dealer omit to have the pack cut and the adver- 
 saries call attention to the fact prior to the conclu- 
 sion of the deal and before looking at their cards. 
 
 £ Should the last card not come in its regular order to 
 the dealer. 
 
 39. There may be a new deal — 
 
 a If the dealer or his partner expose a card. Either 
 adversary may claim a new deal. 
 
 3 If either adversary expose a card. The dealer may 
 claim a new deal. 
 
 c If, before fifty-one are dealt, the dealer should look at 
 any card. His adversaries have the right to see it, 
 and either may exact a new deal. 
 
 d If, in dealing, one of the last cards be exposed by the 
 dealer or his partner, and the deal is completed 
 before there is reasonable time for either adversary 
 to decide as to a new deal. But in all other cases 
 such penalties must be claimed prior to the conclu- 
 sion of the deal. 
 
 40. The claim for a new deal by reason of a card 
 exposed during the deal may not be made by a 
 
1 86 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 player who has looked at any of his cards. If a new 
 deal does not take place, the card exposed during 
 the deal cannot be called. 
 
 41. Should three players have their right number 
 of cards, the fourth have less than thirteen and not 
 discover such deficiency until he has played any of 
 his cards, the deal stands good ; should he have 
 played, he, not being dummy, is answerable for any 
 revoke he may have made as if the missing card or 
 cards had been in his hand. He may search the 
 other pack for it or them. 
 
 42. If, during the play of a hand, a pack be proven 
 incorrect or imperfect, such proof renders only the 
 current deal void, and does not affect any prior score. 
 The dealer must deal again (Law 38^). 
 
 43. Any one dealing out of turn or with the adver- 
 saries' cards must be corrected before the play of the 
 first card, otherwise the deal stands good. 
 
 44. A player can neither cut, shuffle, nor deal for 
 his partner without the permission of his opponents. 
 
 DECLARING TRUMPS. 
 
 45. The trump is declared. No card is turned. 
 
 a The dealer may either make the trump or pass the 
 
 declaration to his partner. 
 d If the declaration be passed to partner, he must declare 
 
 the trump. 
 
 46. Should the dealer's partner make the trump 
 without receiving permission from the dealer, either 
 adversary may demand. 
 
THE AMERICAN LAWS OF BRIDGE. 187 
 
 1st. That the trump shall stand, or 
 2d. That there shall be a new deal, 
 
 provided, that no declaration as to doubling has been 
 made. Should the dealer's partner pass the declar- 
 ation to the dealer, it shall be the right of either 
 adversary to claim a new deal or to compel the 
 offending player to declare the trump ; provided, that 
 no declaration as to doubling has been made. 
 
 47. The adversaries of the dealer must not consult 
 as to which of the penalties under the foregoing law 
 shall be exacted. 
 
 48. If either of the dealer's adversaries make a 
 declaration, the dealer may, after looking at his hand, 
 either claim a new deal or proceed as if no declara- 
 tion had been made. 
 
 49. A declaration once made cannot be altered. 
 
 DOUBLINO, RE'DOUBLING, ETC. 
 
 50. The effect of doubling, re-doubling, and so on, 
 is that the value of each trick above six is doubled, 
 quadrupled, and so on. 
 
 51. After the trump declaration has been made by 
 the dealer or his partner, their adversaries have the 
 right to double. The eldest hand has the first right. 
 If he does not wish to double, he may ask his partner, 
 *' May I lead? " His partner must answer, "Yes'' or 
 " I double." 
 
 52. If either of their adversaries elect to double, 
 the dealer and his partner have the right to re-double. 
 The player who has declared the trump shall have 
 
1 88 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 the first right. He may say, '* I re-double *' or ** Sat- 
 isfied." Should he say the latter, his partner may 
 re-double. 
 
 53. If the dealer or his partner elect to re-double, 
 their adversaries shall have the right to double again. 
 The original doubler has the first right. 
 
 54. If the right-hand adversary of the dealer 
 double before his partner has asked '' May I lead? '* 
 the maker of the trump shall have the right to say 
 whether or not the double shall stand. If he decide 
 that the double shall stand, the process of re-doubling 
 may continue as described in paragraphs 52, 53, 55. 
 
 55. Whenever the value of each trick above six 
 exceeds one hundred points, there shall be no further 
 doubling in that hand, if any player objects. The 
 first right to continue the re-doubling on behalf of a 
 partnership belonging to that player who has last re- 
 doubled. Should he, however, express himself satis- 
 fied, the right to continue the re-doubling passes to 
 his partner. Should any player re-double out of turn, 
 the adversary who last doubled shall decide whether 
 or not such double shall stand. If it is decided that 
 the re-doubling shall stand, the process of re-doubling 
 may continue as described in this and foregoing laws 
 (52 and 53). If any double or re-double out of turn 
 be not accepted, there shall be no further doubling in 
 that hand. Any consultation between partners as to 
 doubling or re-doubling will entitle the maker of the 
 trump or either adversary, without consultation, to a 
 new deal. 
 
THE AMERICAN LAWS OF BRIDGE. 189 
 
 56. If the eldest hand lead before the doubling be 
 completed, his partner may re-double only with the 
 consent of the adversary who last doubled ; but such 
 lead shall not affect the right of either adversary to 
 double. 
 
 57. When the question, *' May I lead?" has been 
 answered in the affirmative, or when the player who 
 has the last right to continue the doubling expresses 
 himself satisfied, the play shall begin. 
 
 58. If the eldest hand lead without asking permis- 
 sion, his partner may only double if the maker of the 
 trump consent. If the right-hand adversary of the 
 dealer say, '* May I play?'* out of turn, the eldest 
 Jiand does not thereby lose the right to double. 
 
 59. If the right-hand adversary of the dealer lead 
 out of turn, the maker of the trump may call a suit 
 from the eldest hand, who may only double if the 
 maker of the trump consent. In this case no penalty 
 can be exacted after the dummy hand or any part of 
 it is on the table, since he (dummy) has accepted the 
 situation. 
 
 60. A declaration, as to doubling or re-doubling, 
 once made cannot be altered. 
 
 DUMMY. 
 
 61. As soon as the eldest hand has led, the dealer's 
 partner shall place his cards face upward on the table, 
 and the duty of playing the cards from that hand shall 
 devolve upon the dealer, unassisted by his partner. 
 
190 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 62. After exposing his cards, the dealer's partner 
 has no part whatever in the game, except that he has 
 the right to ask the dealer if he has none of the suit 
 to which he may have renounced. Until the trump is 
 declared and the dealer's partner's hand is exposed on 
 the table, he has all the rights of a player and may call 
 attention to any irregularity of, or to demand equally 
 with the dealer any penalty from, the adversaries. 
 
 6^' If he should call attention to any other incident 
 of the play, in consequence of which any penalty might 
 be exacted, the fact of his so doing precludes the dealer 
 exacting such penalty. He has the right, however, to 
 correct an erroneous score, and he may, at any time 
 during the play, correct the claim of either adversary 
 to a penalty to which the latter is not entitled. He 
 may also call his partner's attention to the fact that 
 the trick has not been completed. 
 
 64. If the dealer's partner, by touching a card or 
 otherwise, suggest the play of a card from dummy, 
 either of the adversaries may, but without consulta- 
 tion, call on the dealer to play or not to play the card 
 suggested. 
 
 65. Dummy is not liable to the penalty for a re- 
 voke; and if he should revoke and the error be not 
 discovered until the trick is turned and quitted, the 
 trick stands good. 
 
 66. When the dealer draws a card from his own 
 hand, such card is not considered as played until 
 actually quitted, but should he name or touch a card 
 from the dummy hand, such card is considered as 
 
THE AMERICAN LAWS OF BRIDGE. I9I 
 
 played, unless the dealer in touching the card or cards 
 says, ** I arrange," or words to that effect. 
 
 CARDS EXPOSED BEFORE PLAY. 
 
 6y., If, after the deal has been completed, and be- 
 fore the trump declaration has been made, either the 
 dealer or his partner expose a card from his hand, 
 either adversary may, without consulting with his part- 
 ner, claim a new deal. 
 
 68. If, after the deal has been completed, and before 
 a card is led, any player shall expose a card, his part- 
 ner shall forfeit any right to double or re-double which 
 he otherwise would have been entitled to exercise ; 
 and in case of a card being so exposed by the leader's 
 partner, the dealer may either call the card or require 
 the leader not to lead the suit of the exposed card. 
 
 CARDS EXPOSED DURING PLAY, 
 
 69. All cards exposed by the dealer's adversaries 
 are Hable to be called, and such cards must be left 
 face upward on the table. 
 
 70. The following are exposed cards : 
 
 1st. Two or more cards played at once. 
 
 2d. Any card dropped with its face upwards, or in any 
 way exposed on the table, even though snatched 
 up so quickly that no one can name it. 
 
 3d. Every card so held by a player that any portion of 
 its face may be seen by his partner. 
 
 71. A card dropped on the floor or elsewhere be- 
 low the table is not an exposed card. 
 
ig2 FOSTER^S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 ^2, If two or more cards be played at once by 
 either of the dealer's adversaries, the dealer shall have 
 the right to call which one he pleases to the current 
 trick, and the other card or cards shall remain face 
 upward on the table and may be demanded at any 
 time. 
 
 73. If, without waiting for his partner to play, either 
 of the dealer's adversaries should play on the table 
 the best card, or lead one which is a winning card, as 
 against the dealer and dummy, or should continue 
 (without waiting for his partner to play) to lead sev- 
 eral such cards, the dealer may demand that the part- 
 ner of the player in fault win, if he can, the first, or 
 any other of these tricks, and the other cards thus 
 improperly played are exposed cards. 
 
 74. If either or both of the dealer's adversaries 
 throw his or their cards on the table face upward, such 
 cards are exposed and are hable to be called ; but if 
 either adversary retain his hand, he cannot be forced 
 to abandon it. Cards exposed by the dealer are not 
 liable to be called. If the dealer should say, '' I have 
 the rest," or any other words indicating that the re- 
 maining tricks are his, he may be required to place 
 his cards face upward on the table. The adversaries 
 of the dealer are not liable to have any of their cards 
 called should they expose them, believing the dealer's 
 claim to be true, should it subsequently prove false. 
 
 75. If a player who has rendered himself hable to 
 have the highest or lowest of a suit called (Laws 82, 
 91, and 100), fail to play as directed, or if, when called 
 
THE AMERICAN LAWS OF BRIDGE. I93 
 
 on to lead one suit, lead another, having in his hand 
 one or more cards of the suit demanded (Law 76), or 
 if called upon to win or lose a trick, fail to do so when 
 he can (Laws 73, 82, and 100), he is liable to the 
 penalty for revoke, unless such play be corrected be- 
 fore the trick is turned and quitted. 
 
 LEADS OUT OF TURN. 
 
 y6. If either of the dealer's adversaries lead out of 
 turn, the dealer may either call the card erroneously 
 led, or may call a suit when it is next the turn of 
 either adversary to lead. 
 
 yy. If the dealer lead out of turn, either from his 
 own hand or from dummy, he incurs no penalty; but 
 he may not rectify the error after the second hand has 
 played. 
 
 78. If any player lead out of turn and the other 
 three follow him, the trick is complete and the error 
 cannot be rectified ; but if only the second, or second 
 and third play to the false lead, their cards may be 
 taken back ; there is no penalty against any one ex- 
 cept the original offender, who, if he be one of the 
 dealer's adversaries, may be penalized as provided in 
 Law y6, 
 
 79. In no case can a player be compelled to play 
 a card which would oblige him to revoke. 
 
 80. The call of an exposed card may be repeated 
 at every trick until such card has been played. 
 
 81. If a player called on to lead a suit have none 
 of it, the penalty is paid. 
 
194 FOSTER S BRIDGE MANUAL. 
 
 CARDS PLAYED IN ERROR. 
 
 82. Should the fourth hand (not being dummy or 
 dealer) play before the second has played to the trick, 
 the latter may be called upon to play his highest or 
 lowest card of the suit played, or to win or lose the 
 trick. 
 
 83. If any one, not being dummy, omit playing to 
 a former trick, and such error be not corrected until 
 he has played to the next, the adversaries may claim 
 a new deal ; should they decide that the deal stands 
 good, the surplus card at the end of the hand is con- 
 sidered to have been played to the imperfect trick, 
 but does not constitute a revoke therein. 
 
 84. If any one (except dummy) play two cards to 
 the same trick and the mistake be not corrected, he 
 is answerable for any consequent revokes he may 
 have made. If during the play of the hand the error 
 be detected, the tricks may be counted face down- 
 ward, in order to ascertain whether there be among 
 them a card too many ; should this be the case, the 
 trick which contains a surplus card may be examined 
 and the card restored to its original holder, who (not 
 being dummy) shall be Hable for any revoke he may 
 meanwhile have made. 
 
 THE REVOKE. 
 
 85. Should a player (other than dummy) holding 
 one or more cards of the suit led, play a card of a 
 different suit, he revokes. The penalty for a revoke 
 takes precedence of all other counts. 
 
THE AMERICAN LAWS OF BRIDGE. I95 
 
 86. Three tricks taken from the revoking player 
 and added to those of the adversaries shall be the 
 penalty for a revoke. 
 
 87. The penalty is applicable only to the score of 
 the game in which it occurs. 
 
 88. Under no circumstances can the revoking side 
 score game, slam, or little slam, that hand. Whatever 
 their previous score may have been, the side revoking 
 cannot attain a higher score toward game than twenty- 
 eight. 
 
 89. A revoke is established if the trick in which it 
 occurs be turned and quitted, i, e,, the hand removed 
 from the trick after it has been gathered and placed 
 face downward on the table ; or if either the revoking 
 player or his partner, whether in his right turn or 
 otherwise, lead or play to the following trick. 
 
 90. A player may ask his partner if he has no 
 card of the suit which he has renounced ; should the 
 question be asked before the trick is turned and 
 quitted, subsequent turning and quitting does not 
 establish a revoke, and the error may be corrected 
 unless the question be answered in the negative, or 
 unless the revoking player or his partner has led or 
 played to the following trick. 
 
 91. If a player correct his mistake in time to save 
 a revoke, any player or players who have followed 
 him may withdraw their cards and substitute others, 
 and the cards so withdrawn are not exposed cards. 
 If the player in fault be one of the dealer's adver- ' 
 saries, the card played in error is an exposed card, 
 
196 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 and the dealer can call it whenever he pleases ; or he 
 may require the offender to play his highest or lowest 
 card of the suit to the trick in which he has re- 
 nounced ; but this penalty cannot be exacted from 
 the dealer. 
 
 92. At the end of a hand the claimants of a revoke 
 may search all the tricks. If the cards have been 
 mixed, the claim may be urged and proved if possi- 
 ble ; but no proof is necessary, and the revoke is 
 estabHshed if, after it has been claimed, the accused 
 player or his partner mix the cards before they have 
 been sufficiently examined by the adversaries. 
 
 93. A revoke must be claimed before the cards 
 have been cut for the following deal. 
 
 94. Should the players on both sides subject them- 
 selves to the revoke penalty, neither can win the game 
 by that hand. 
 
 95. The revoke penalty may be claimed for as 
 many revokes as occur during a hand ; but in no 
 event can more than thirteen tricks be scored in any 
 one hand. (See Law 7.) 
 
 GENERAL RULES. 
 
 96. There should not be any consultation between 
 partners as to the enforcement of penalties. If they 
 do so consult, the penalty is paid. 
 
 97. Once a trick is complete, turned, and quitted, it 
 must not be looked at (except under Law 84) until 
 the end of the hand. 
 
 98. Any player during the play of a trick or after 
 
THE AMERICAN LAWS OF BRIDGE. I97 
 
 the four cards are played and before they are touched 
 for the purpose of gathering them together, may 
 demand that the cards be placed before their respec- 
 tive players. 
 
 99. If either of the dealer's adversaries, prior to 
 his partner's playing, should call attention to the 
 trick, either by saying it is his, or, without being 
 requested so to do, by naming his card or drawing it 
 toward him, the dealer may require that opponent's 
 partner to play his highest or lowest card of the suit 
 led, or to win or lose the trick. 
 
 100. Should either of the dealer's adversaries, dur- 
 ing the play of a hand, make any unauthorized refer- 
 ence to any incident of the play, or should he call his 
 partner's attention to the fact that he is about to play 
 or lead out of turn, the dealer may call a suit from 
 the adversary whose turn it is next to lead. 
 
 lOi. In all cases where a penalty has been in- 
 curred, the offender is bound to give reasonable 
 time for the decision of his adversaries; but if a 
 wrong penalty be demanded, none can be enforced. 
 
 102. Where the dealer or his partner has incurred 
 a penalty, one of his adversaries may say, *' Partner, 
 will you exact the penalty, or shall I?" but whether 
 this is said or not, if either adversary name the 
 penalty, his decision is final. 
 
 NEW CARDS. 
 
 103. Unless a pack be imperfect, no player shall 
 have the right to call for one new pack. If fresh 
 
198 Foster's bridge manual. 
 
 cards are demanded, two packs must be furnished 
 and paid for by the player who has demanded them. 
 If they are furnished during a rubber, the adversaries 
 shall have their choice of the new cards. If it is the 
 beginning of a new rubber, the dealer, whether he or 
 one of his adversaries be the party calling for the 
 new cards, shall have the choice. New cards must 
 be called for before the pack be cut for a new deal. 
 
 104. A card or cards torn or marked must be 
 replaced by agreement or new cards furnished. 
 
 BYSTANDERS. 
 
 105. While a bystander, by agreement among the 
 players, may decide any question, yet he must on no 
 account say anything unless appealed to; and if he 
 make any remark which calls attention to an oversight 
 affecting the score or to the exaction of a penalty, 
 he is liable to be called on by the players to pay the 
 stakes on that rubber. 
 
 PLAYING SPADES. 
 
 The rule is, that if a spade make is not doubled, 
 the hand shall not be played unless one side or the 
 other is 20 or more on the trick score ; but the gen- 
 eral practice is not to play undoubled spades unless 
 the dealer's side is 24 up or better, regardless of the 
 other score. If spades are not played, the honors 
 are shown and scored as held, and the dealer scores 
 two points for the odd trick. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abandoned hands, 22. 
 Absurdity of superstition, 163. 
 Aces against a no-trumper, 36. 
 Aces as honors, 11, 12. 
 Aces, carrying home, 127. 
 Aces, holding up, 120, 123. 
 Ace led, unblocking on, 115. 
 Aces, passing with, 34, 140. 
 Advantage of eldest hand in 
 
 going over, 58. 
 Advance, plan of play in, 146. 
 Advantage of good play, 166. 
 Advantage over the dealer at 
 
 no trump, 105, 106. 
 Adversaries, keeping out of 
 
 the lead, 134. 
 Adversaries' suits, protection 
 
 in, 155. 
 After a go-over, leading, 73. 
 After a go-over, discarding, 92. 
 Against the dealer, playing, 
 
 160. 
 Always discard strength, 91, 
 
 121. 
 Arrangement of dummy's 
 
 cards, 17. 
 
 Asking, "Shall I play?" 15. 
 
 Assuming position to be fa- 
 vorable, 160. 
 
 Assuming position of certain 
 cards, 142. 
 
 Avoiding difficulties in the 
 discard, 138. 
 
 Avoiding certain suits, 85, 88. 
 
 Avoid forcing both adversa- 
 ries, 90. 
 
 Avoid leading high trumps, 
 100. 
 
 Bad diamond makes, 43. 
 Bad luck and bad play com- 
 pared, 162. 
 Bad luck, forcing, 162. 
 Bad play, percentage of loss, 
 
 165. 
 
 Bad play, responsible for 
 losses, 164. 
 
 Balancing scores, example of, 
 24. 
 
 Being "in the vein," 162. 
 
 Best make, importance of se- 
 lecting, 29. 
 
 199 
 
200 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Black hands, 45. 
 
 Blue Peter, 81. 
 
 Book, or six tricks, 8, 19. 
 
 By cards, 8. 
 
 Calling attention to penalties, 
 18. 
 
 Calling highest or lowest card, 
 21. 
 
 Calling for trumps, 81. 
 
 Cards, arrangement of dum- 
 my's, 17. 
 
 Cards, exposed, 19. 
 
 Cards of equal value in cut- 
 ting, 2, 4. 
 
 Cards faced in dealing, 6. 
 
 Cards, highest win tricks, 19. 
 
 Cards spread for cutting, 2. 
 
 Cards, rank of, i. 
 
 Cards and seats, choice of, 2, 
 163. 
 
 Carelessness in going over, 
 61. 
 
 Carrying home aces, 127. 
 
 Certain tricks must be won by 
 finessing, 141. 
 
 Certain cards, assuming posi- 
 tion of, 142. 
 
 Chances of partner's holding 
 certain cards, 123. 
 
 Chicane, 12. 
 
 Chief things for dummy to re- 
 member, 54. 
 
 Choice between clubs and 
 spades, 53. 
 
 Choice of seats and cards, 2, 
 163. 
 
 Choice of suits to play, 134. 
 
 Claiming honor score, 12. 
 
 Claiming a new deal, 14, 21. 
 
 Clubs and spades, choice be- 
 tween, 53. 
 
 Club makes, 45. 
 
 Club makes with four honors, 
 
 45- 
 Club makes with score against 
 
 you, 46. 
 Club makes with honors in 
 
 your favor, 46. 
 Coaxing high trumps, 100. 
 Command of dummy's suits, 
 
 keeping, 89. 
 Command shown by echo, 
 
 117. 
 Command of suits, locating, 
 
 139- 
 
 Combinations in dummy's 
 
 hand, leading to, 124. 
 
 Combining the hands of dealer 
 and dummy, 146. 
 
 Comparative value of no- 
 trumps and diamond makes, 
 
 43- 
 
 Conclusion, 167. 
 
 Conditions against you at no- 
 trumps, 105. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 201 
 
 Confession of weakness at no- 
 trump, 1 06. 
 
 Confidence in the partner, 35, 
 107. 
 
 Consultation between dealer 
 and dummy, 13. 
 
 Contingencies, providing for, 
 132. 
 
 Conventional heart leads, 113. 
 
 Correcting revokes, 2 1 . 
 
 Counting cards during the 
 deal, 7. 
 
 Counting every point made, 9. 
 
 Counting on partner for prob- 
 able tricks, 33. 
 
 Co vering with f ourche ttes, 1 2 8 . 
 
 Covering an honor with an 
 honor, 128. 
 
 Covering with king, second 
 hand, 128. 
 
 Cut, where placed, 6. 
 
 Cutting for partners, i . 
 
 Cutting cards of equal value, 
 
 2, 4- 
 Cutting to decide ties, 3. 
 Cutting to form the table, i. 
 Cutting original low, 4. 
 Cutting intermediate cards, 3. 
 
 Danger of aces against you, 
 
 36, 37. 
 Deal, claiming a new one, 14, 
 21. 
 
 Deal, irregularities in the, 6. 
 Dealer and dummy's hands 
 
 combined, 146. 
 Dealer and dummy with A K 
 
 J, 147. 
 Dealer and dummy with A K 
 
 10, 148. 
 Dealer and dummy with A Q 
 
 J, 148, 150. 
 Dealer and dummy with A Q, 
 
 149, 151. 
 Dealer and dummy with A J 
 
 10, 149. 
 Dealer and dummy with A Q 
 
 J 10, 151. 
 Dealer and dummy with K Q, 
 
 151, 152. 
 Dealer and dummy with K J 
 
 10, 152, 153. 
 Dealer and dummy with K x, 
 
 153- 
 Dealer and dummy with Q J 
 
 10, 153- 
 
 Dealer and dummy with Q J 
 or Q 10, 154. 
 
 Dealer touching dummy's 
 cards, 20. 
 
 Dealer's confession of weak- 
 ness, 106. 
 
 Dealer's makes to the score, 
 
 31- 
 Dealer making it black, 13, 
 
 45. 
 
202 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Dealer's play with a trump 
 
 suit, 95. 
 Dealer's play at no-trump, 131. 
 Dealer, playing against him, 
 
 160. 
 Dealer probably weak in red, 
 
 52. 
 Dealer's suit, keeping guard 
 
 on, 121. 
 Dealer consulting with dum- 
 
 niy, 13- 
 Dealing, 5. 
 
 Dealing for the partner, 7. 
 Dealing out of turn, 6. 
 Dealing, cards exposed in, 6. 
 Deceiving the dealer, 87, 93. 
 Deciding ties in cutting, 3. 
 Declarations, standard hands 
 
 for, 31. 
 Declared trump, playing 
 
 against, 63. 
 Declaring original spade, 13. 
 Deducting lower from higher 
 
 score, 9. 
 Diamond makes, 42. 
 Diamond makes, rules for, 44. 
 Diamond makes, bad, 43. 
 Diamonds made to the score, 
 
 44. 
 Diamonds and no-trump com- 
 pared, 43. 
 Difference between original 
 
 and passed makes, 50. 
 
 Difference in leads at no- 
 trump, 107. 
 
 Difificulties in the discard, 
 avoiding, 138. 
 
 Discarding, 90, 120. 
 
 Discarding, when allowed, 19. 
 
 Discarding strength always, 
 91, 121. 
 
 Discards at no trump, 120. 
 
 Discards with a declared 
 trump, 90. 
 
 Discards after a go-over, 92. 
 
 Discards forced from adver- 
 saries, 134, 140. 
 
 Discards, reversed, 93. 
 
 Discards from the dealer's 
 hand, 138. 
 
 Distinguishing long suits from 
 short, at no trump, 108. 
 
 Double major tenace, 85. 
 
 Doubling, or going over, 14. 
 
 Doubling, order of, 15. 
 
 Doubling, limit of, 17. 
 
 Doubling, irregularities in, 1 7. 
 
 Down-and-out echo, 80. 
 
 Dummy, 17. 
 
 Dummy and dealer consulting, 
 
 13- 
 Dummy's and dealer's hands 
 
 combined, 146. 
 Dummy's cards, 82, 122. 
 Dummy's cards, arrangement 
 
 of, 17. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 203 
 
 Dummy's cards, dealer touch- 
 ing, 20. 
 
 Dummy's cards, exceptional 
 leads on account of, 123. 
 
 Dummy not looking at his 
 cards, 50. 
 
 Dummy calling attention to 
 penalties, 18. 
 
 Dummy, leading through him, 
 84, 125. 
 
 Dummy, leading up to him, 
 
 87. 
 
 Dummy leading through you, 
 
 126. 
 Dummy leading supporting 
 
 cards, 126. 
 Dummy's makes, 51. 
 Dummy's makes, no trumps, 
 
 51- 
 
 Dummy's makes, hearts, 52. 
 
 Dummy's makes, diamonds, 
 
 52. 
 Dummy's makes, clubs, 53. 
 Dummy's makes, spades, 53. 
 Dummy's makes to the score, 
 
 54. 
 Dummy must make it, 13. 
 Dummy preventing lead from 
 
 the wrong hand, 18. 
 Dummy, playing against, 122. 
 Dummy on your left, 84, 129. 
 Dummy on your right, Sy, 
 
 126. 
 
 Dummy's remarks or sugges- 
 tions, 17. 
 
 Dummy revoking without pen- 
 alty, 20, 22. 
 
 Dummy saving revokes, 17. 
 
 Dummy's second-hand play,98. 
 
 Dummy's singletons, 84, 88. 
 
 Dummy's strong suits, lead- 
 ing, 84. 
 
 Dummy's suits, keeping com- 
 mand of, 89. 
 
 Echoes on partner's leads, 80. 
 Echoes to show command, 
 
 117. 
 Echoes to show number, 117. 
 Echoes on high cards led, 1 16. 
 Echoes with high cards, 117. 
 Either hand taking a finesse, 
 
 136. 
 Effect of going over on honors, 
 
 13- 
 
 Eldest hand, 5. 
 
 Eldest hand going over no- 
 trump, ^6. 
 
 Eleven rule, 79. 
 
 Eleven-rule finesse, 120. 
 
 Eliminating impossible suits, 
 
 96. 
 
 End plays, 142, 145. 
 Enough, saying, 16. 
 Equal value, cutting cards of, 
 2,4. 
 
204 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Errors in score, time to cor- 
 rect, 24. 
 
 Errors in honor column, 25. 
 
 Established suits, leading, 
 140. 
 
 Establishing suits early, 137. 
 
 Estimating probable tricks, 
 96, 131. 
 
 Every point made is counted, 9. 
 
 Examples of end play, 143, 
 
 145- 
 Example of scoring, 23. 
 Examples of adding scores, 
 
 24. 
 Exceptional leads, on account 
 
 of exposed cards, 123. 
 Exercises in the leads, 72. 
 Exercises on the makes, 48. 
 Exposed cards, 19. 
 Exposed cards in dealing, 6. 
 Exposing weakness in the 
 
 make, 51. 
 
 False cards, 127, 130, 155. 
 False cards, leading, 86. 
 Favorable positions, assum- 
 ing, 160. 
 Finessing, 100, 120, 141. 
 Finessing against one card, 
 
 lOI. 
 
 Finessing against the partner, 
 
 81, 117, 127. 
 Finessing with A Q, 117. 
 
 Finessing with K J, 117. 
 Finessing by the eleven rule, 
 
 120. 
 Finesse, taking in either hand, 
 
 136. 
 Finesse over the dealer, giving 
 
 partner, 123. 
 Finesses necessary to win 
 
 certain tricks, 141. 
 Forcing, 89. 
 Forcing the partner, 90. 
 Forcing both adversaries, 90. 
 Forcing discards, 134, 140. 
 Forcing your luck, 162, 164. 
 Forms of score sheet, 8. 
 Forming the table, i. 
 Foster's eleven rule, 79. 
 Fourchettes and tenaces, 85. 
 Fourchettes, covering with, 
 
 128. 
 Fourchettes, leading through, 
 
 86. 
 Fourth hand playing before 
 
 partner, 20. 
 Fourth-best leads, 68. 
 
 Game hands, 39. 
 Game, object of the, 8. 
 Game is thirty points, 9. 
 Games, two won by same side, 
 
 23- 
 General principles of going 
 
 over, 60. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 205 
 
 Getting proper hand in the 
 
 lead, 142. 
 Getting suits established early, 
 
 137. 
 Giving information to partner, 
 
 78. 
 
 Giving partner a finesse over 
 
 the dealer, 123. 
 Going over, or doubling, 14. 
 Going over does not affect 
 
 honors, 13. 
 Going over, principles of, 16. 
 Going over, reasons for, 55. 
 Going over no-trumpers, 56. 
 Going over spade makes, 15. 
 Going over to the score, 55. 
 Going over, carelessness in, 
 
 61. 
 Go-over, leading after a, 73. 
 Go-over, discarding after a, 
 
 92. 
 Go-over, providing against a, 
 
 38. 
 
 Go-over no trump, leading to, 
 
 113. 
 Going back, 16, 60. 
 
 Going back, limit to, 62. 
 
 Good makes, importance of, 
 27. 
 
 Good makes, judgment neces- 
 sary for, 28. 
 
 Good makes, probability of, 
 27. 
 
 Good play, advantage of, 166. 
 
 Grand slam, 12. 
 
 Great spade hands, 47. 
 
 Guarded kings, value of, 112. 
 
 Guards on dealer's suits, keep- 
 ing, 121. 
 
 Guarding weak suits, 90, 92. 
 
 Guessing partner's suit at no- 
 trump, 113. 
 
 Hands, abandoned, 22. 
 Hands of all black cards, 43. 
 Hand, concealed, 147. 
 Hands of dealer and dummy 
 
 combined, 146. 
 Hands, irregularities in, 6. 
 Heart makes, 39. 
 Heart makes with six or seven 
 
 trumps, 39. 
 Heart makes with five trumps, 
 
 39' 40. » 
 Heart makes with six trumps, 
 
 40. 
 Heart makes with four trumps, 
 
 41. 
 Heart makes with four honors, 
 
 41- 
 Heart honors, value in the 
 
 score, 41. 
 Hearts, passing with six, 39. 
 Hearts, conventional lead at 
 
 no trump when gone over, 
 
 113. 
 
206 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 High cards, echoing with, 
 
 117. 
 High trumps, when not to 
 
 lead, 100. 
 Highest cards win, 19. 
 High cards, unblocking with, 
 
 118. 
 Highest or lowest card called, 
 
 21. 
 Holding up aces, 120, 141. 
 Honors, 10. 
 Honor points and trick points, 
 
 8. 
 Honor values, table of, 11. 
 Honor column, errors in, 25. 
 Honor score, claiming, 12. 
 Honor score, importance of, 
 
 30. 
 
 Honor score in hearts, value 
 of, 41. 
 
 Honors, simple, 11. 
 
 Honors not affected by going 
 over, 13. 
 
 Honors, inferring position of, 
 139- 
 
 Honors, probability of part- 
 ner's holding, 35. 
 
 How to remember honor 
 values, 1 1 . 
 
 How tricks are lost, 165. 
 
 Imperfect fourchettes, 85. 
 Imperfect packs, 7. 
 
 Importance of good makes, 
 27. 
 
 Importance of reentries, loi. 
 
 Importance of the score, 31. 
 
 Importance of the score in go- 
 ing over, 55. 
 
 Importance of honor scores, 
 
 30, 41- 
 Importance of selecting best 
 
 makes, 29. 
 
 Importance of tenace posi- 
 tions, 143. 
 
 Impossible suits, eliminating, 
 
 96. 
 
 Incorrect or imperfect packs, 7. 
 Individuals, luck attaching to, 
 
 163. 
 Inferences from leads, 134. 
 Inferring tenace in partner's 
 
 hand, 130. 
 Inferring position of honors, 
 
 139- 
 Influence of the score on the 
 
 make, 159. 
 
 Influence of score on passed 
 makes, 54. 
 
 Information gathered from 
 leads, 99. 
 
 Information given to the part- 
 ner, 78. 
 
 Intermediate cards, cutting, 3. 
 
 Intermediate or interior leads, 
 112. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 207 
 
 Intermediate leads, playing on, 
 
 118. 
 Irregularities in the deal, 6. 
 Irregularities in doubling, 17. 
 Irregularities in the hands, 6. 
 Irregularities in the make, 14. 
 Irregularities in the lead, 18, 
 
 19. 
 Irregularities in the play, 19. 
 Irregularities in the score, 24. 
 
 Judgment necessary in makes, 
 28. 
 
 Keeping adversaries out of 
 
 the lead, 134. 
 Keeping the lead, 83. 
 Keeping command of dummy's 
 
 suits, 89. 
 Keeping guards in dealer's 
 
 suits, 121. 
 Keeping guards on weak suits, 
 
 90, 92. 
 Keeping small trumps in one 
 
 hand, 102. 
 Killing reentries, 83, 119. 
 Kings, leading up to, 123. 
 Kings, value of, guarded, 112. 
 Kings played second hand, 
 
 99, 127, 129. 
 
 Last trick, looking at, 19. 
 Last few tricks, playing, 142. 
 
 Lead, getting into proper hand, 
 
 142. 
 Lead, placing the, 146. 
 Lead, keeping the, 83. 
 Leads, exercises in, 72. 
 Leads, inferences from, 134. 
 Leads, irregularities in, 18, 19. 
 Leads, against declared 
 
 trumps, 59. 
 Leads, against no-trumpers, 
 
 107. 
 Leader, 5. 
 Leading, general principles of, 
 
 60. 
 Leading out of turn, 20. 
 Leading from the wrong hand, 
 
 18, 19. 
 Leading at trump declarations, 
 
 59- 
 Leading trumps, 99. 
 
 Leading plain suits instead of 
 trumps, 98. 
 
 Leading at no-trump, 107. 
 
 Leading long suits at no- 
 trump, 106. 
 
 Leading short suits at no- 
 trump, 106. 
 
 Leading to particular combina- 
 tions in dummy's hand, 124. 
 
 Leading from one hand to the 
 other, 147. 
 
 Leading to go-over at no- 
 trump, 113. 
 
208 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Leading to go-over in spades, 
 
 73- 
 Leading up to passed hands, 
 
 72. 
 Leading to passed makes, 
 
 112. 
 Leading to spade makes, 59. 
 Leading established suits, 140. 
 Leading sequences, 140. 
 Leading through fourchettes, 
 
 86. 
 Leading false cards, 86. 
 Leading to the strong hand, 
 
 84, 147. 
 Leading up to weakness, 88, 
 
 122. 
 Leading up to aces, 123. 
 Leading up to kings, 123. 
 Leading up to dummy, Sy, 
 
 122. 
 Leading dummy's strong suits, 
 
 84. 
 
 Leading through dummy, 125. 
 Limit of doubling, 17. 
 Limit of going back, 62. 
 Little slam, 12. 
 Locating command of suits, 
 
 139- 
 Looking for unnecessary^ 
 
 tricks, 160. 
 Looking back, penalty for, 22. 
 Long suit leads at no-trump, 
 
 106. 
 
 Longer suit, selecting, 136. 
 Loss, percentage due to bad 
 
 play, 165. 
 Lower score deducted from 
 
 higher, 9. 
 Lowest or highest card called, 
 
 21. 
 Luck, 162. 
 Luck attaching to individuals, 
 
 163. 
 
 Make, object of the, 10, 30. 
 Make, passing to the partner, 
 
 13, 27. 
 Make, irregularities in the, 
 
 14. 
 Make, remarks on the, 26. 
 Make, exercises in the, 48. 
 Make, influence of the score, 
 
 159. 
 Makes, for safety, 14. 
 Makes, probability of good 
 
 ones, 27. 
 Makes, original, 30. 
 Makes, passed, 50. 
 Makes, remarks on passing. 
 
 27. 
 Makes, no-trumpers, 32. 
 Makes, hearts, 39. 
 Makes, diamonds, 42. 
 Makes, clubs, 45. 
 Makes, spades, 46. 
 Makes, to the score, 31. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 209 
 
 Making it no-trump, 33. 
 Making it with four aces, 33. 
 Making it with three aces, 33. 
 Making it with two aces, 34. 
 Making it with one ace, 35. 
 Making it without an ace, 36. 
 Making it with one missing 
 
 suit, 37. 
 Making it with two missing 
 
 suits, 37. 
 Making or declaring, 9. 
 Making it to the score, 31. 
 Making it diamonds, rules for, 
 
 44. 
 Making spades originally, 13. 
 Making winning cards early, 
 
 161. 
 Major and minor tenace, 85. 
 Maxims for playing against 
 
 no-trumpers, 130. 
 Mental training in the makes, 
 
 29. 
 Method of playing the game, 
 
 18. 
 Misdeals, none in bridge, 6. 
 Missing suits, 34. 
 Most valuable score, selecting, 
 
 32. 
 
 Neglecting to play to a trick, 
 
 21. 
 Never made black by the 
 
 dealer, 45. 
 
 New deal, claiming, 14, 21. 
 New suits, opening, 119, 123. 
 No misdeals in bridge, 6. 
 Notation of players' positions, 
 
 5. 
 No-trump makes, standard for, 
 
 32, 34. 
 No-trump, difference in operu 
 
 ing leads, 107. 
 No-trump and diamond make 
 
 compared, 43. 
 No-trumpers, going over, 56. 
 No-trumpers made by the 
 
 dealer, 32. 
 No-trumpers made by the 
 
 dummy, 51. 
 No-trumpers, the dealer's play, 
 
 131. 
 
 No-trumpers, playing against, 
 104. 
 
 No-trumpers, guessing at part- 
 ner's suit, 113. 
 
 Number of players engaged, i. 
 
 Number of points game, 9. 
 
 Number in suit, showing, 1 1 1. 
 
 Number shown by the echo, 
 117. 
 
 Objects of the game, 8. 
 Object of the make, 10, 30. 
 Objections to discarding weak 
 
 suits, 121. 
 Opening new suits, 119, 123. 
 
210 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Original leads against a de- 
 clared trump, 64. 
 
 Original leads at no-trump, 
 107. 
 
 Original low in cutting, 4. 
 
 Original makes, 30. 
 
 Original makes, no trump, 32. 
 
 Original makes, hearts, 39. 
 
 Original makes, diamonds, 
 42. 
 
 Original makes, clubs, 45. 
 
 Original makes, spades, 46. 
 
 Original makes, to the score, 
 
 31. 
 
 Original and passed makes 
 
 compared, 50. 
 Order of doubling, 15. 
 Over- trumping, 102. 
 Out of turn, dealing, 6. 
 Out of turn, leading, 18, 20. 
 
 Pack, incorrect or imperfect, 
 
 7. 
 Partner, giving information 
 
 to, J^. 
 Partner, going over a spade 
 
 make, 73. 
 Partner's suits, returning, 82. 
 Partner, when to force, 90. 
 Partner, confidence in, 35, 
 
 107. 
 Partners, cutting for, i. 
 Partner, dealing for, 7. 
 
 Partner's probable tricks, 33. 
 Partner's chance of holding 
 
 certain cards, 123. 
 Partner's chance of holding 
 
 honors, 35. 
 Partner unblocking at no 
 
 trump, 107. 
 Passed makes, 50. 
 Passed makes, no trumpers, 
 
 51. 
 
 Passed makes, hearts, 52. 
 
 Passed makes, diamonds, 52. 
 Passed makes, clubs, 53. 
 Passed makes, spades, 53. 
 Passed makes, to the score, 
 
 54. 
 
 Passing the make, 13, 27. 
 
 Passing with six hearts, 41. 
 
 Passing' tricks with aces, 34 
 140. 
 
 Penalties, dummy calling at- 
 tention to, 18. 
 
 Penalty for looking back, 22. 
 
 Perfect fourchettes, 85. 
 
 Picking up singletons, 84. 
 
 Placing the cut, 6. 
 
 Placing the lead to advantage, 
 146. 
 
 Plain suits led before trumps, 
 
 98. 
 
 Planning plays in advance, 
 
 146. 
 Play, irregularities in, 19. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 211 
 
 Players, number of in table, i . 
 
 Players' positions at the ta- 
 ble, 5. 
 
 Playing the hands, 18. 
 
 Playing two cards to one 
 trick, 21. 
 
 Playing against a declared 
 trump, 63. 
 
 Playing against the dealer, 
 160. 
 
 Playing against the dummy, 
 122. 
 
 Flaying through the dummy, 
 
 84. 
 
 Playing to the score, 159. 
 
 Playing for extra tricks, 144. 
 
 Playing for tricks you don't 
 want, 143. 
 
 Playing down in the leads, ']^. 
 
 Points, every one counted, 9. 
 
 Points for winning rubber, 9. 
 
 Points for tricks and hon- 
 ors, 8. 
 
 Pone, 5. 
 
 Pone going over a no-trumper, 
 
 57. 
 
 Position of shuffled pack, 5. 
 
 Position of players at the ta- 
 ble, 5. 
 
 Position of certain cards as- 
 sumed, 142. 
 
 Positions, notation of, 5. 
 
 Practice in the makes, 48. 
 
 Preserving reentries, loi, 106. 
 
 Principle of going over, 16. 
 
 Probable tricks in partner's 
 hand, 33. 
 
 Probable tricks, counting on, 
 96, 131. 
 
 Probability of good makes, 27. 
 
 Probability of partner's hold- 
 ing honors, 35. 
 
 Probability that dealer is 
 weak in red, 52. 
 
 Proper hand getting the lead, 
 142. 
 
 Protecting yourself in adverse 
 suits, 155. 
 
 Protection in a suit defined, 
 
 34. 
 
 Providing for your own dis- 
 cards, 138. 
 
 Providing against a go-over, 
 
 38- 
 
 Providing for contingencies, 
 132. 
 
 Queen, second hand, 127. 
 
 Rank of the cards, i. 
 
 Reasons for going over, 55. 
 
 Reentries, importance of pre- 
 serving, 1 01. 
 
 Reentries in the suit itself, 
 106. 
 
 Reentries, killing, 119. 
 
212 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Refusing to cover second 
 hand, 129. 
 
 Remarks on the make, 26. 
 
 Remarks on passing the make, 
 27. 
 
 Remarks made by dummy, 17. 
 
 Remembering honor values, 
 II. 
 
 Returning partner's suits, 82. 
 
 Reverse discards, 93. 
 
 Revoke penalties, 21, 22. 
 
 Revoke, no penalty for dum- 
 my, 20, 22. 
 
 Revokes, correcting in time, 
 21. 
 
 Revokes, time in which to 
 claim, 22. 
 
 Revokes, dummy saving, 17. 
 
 Revokes do not count toward 
 slams, 22, 
 
 Revoking side stops at 28 
 points, 22. 
 
 Rights of original low in cut- 
 ting, 5. 
 
 Rubbers and rubber points, 9. 
 
 Ruffing instead of leading 
 trumps, 98. 
 
 Ruffing the weak trump hand, 
 
 98. 
 
 Rules for diamond makes, 44. 
 Rule of eleven, 79. 
 
 Safety makes, 13, 14. 
 
 Safe spade makes, 47. 
 
 Same side winning two games, 
 
 23- 
 Saving or winning the game, 
 
 95- 
 Saving revokes, 17. 
 
 Saying " enough," 16. 
 Score, playing to the, 159. 
 Score, irregularities in, 24. 
 Score, method of keeping, 22, 
 
 23. 
 Score, importance of attention 
 
 to, 31. 
 Score, its influence on the 
 
 make, 31, 159. 
 Score, its influence on passed 
 
 makes, 54. 
 Score, its influence on spade 
 
 makes, 46. 
 Score, importance of in going 
 
 over, 55. 
 Score, selecting the most val- 
 uable, 32. 
 Score for honors, claiming, 
 
 12. 
 Score, correcting errors in, 
 
 24. 
 Scores, example of balancing, 
 
 24. 
 Scoring all points made, 9, 
 
 22. 
 Scoring, examples of, 23. 
 Scoring sheets and blanks, 7. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 213 
 
 Seats and cards, choice of, 2, 
 
 163. 
 Second hand play, 155. 
 Second hand play by dummy, 
 
 98. 
 
 Second hand play on dum- 
 my's leads, 127. 
 Secondhand with K x, 127, 
 
 129. 
 Second hand with Q x, 127. 
 Second hand at no trump, 155. 
 Second hand with K x, 155. 
 Second hand with A 10 one 
 
 hand, Q in the other, 1 56. 
 Second hand with A J one 
 
 hand, Q in the other, 157. 
 Second hand with K Q, 157. 
 Second hand with J 10 one 
 
 hand, K in the other, 158. 
 Second hand with K, singleton 
 
 in fourth hand, 158. 
 Second hand with J one hand, 
 
 Q in the other, 156. 
 Second hand with A one hand, 
 
 Q in the other, 156. 
 Second round of the suit, 
 
 leading, ']6, 
 Second round after ace led, 
 
 76. 
 
 Second round after king led, 
 
 74. 
 Second round after queen led, 
 
 76. 
 
 Second round after ten led. 
 
 Second round after short suit 
 
 led, ^T. 
 Second round leading, fourth 
 
 best, 78. 
 Seeing the last trick, 19. 
 Selecting long suits at no- 
 trump, 136. 
 Selecting most valuable score, 
 
 32. 
 Sequences, leading, 140. 
 *' Shall I play?" asking, 15. 
 Short-suit leads at no-trump, 
 
 106, 113. 
 Shots, 95. 
 
 Showing number in suit, (yZ. 
 Showing number by echoing, 
 
 117. 
 Shuffled pack, position of, 5. 
 Signal for trumps, 81. 
 Simple honors, 11. 
 Singletons an element of 
 
 strength, 54. 
 Singletons in dummy's hand, 
 
 84, 88. 
 Six hearts, passing with, 41. 
 Slams, little and grand, 12. 
 Slams not made by revoke 
 
 penalties, 22. 
 Small trumps, keeping, 102. 
 Spade makes, 13, 46. 
 Spade makes for safety, 47. 
 
214 
 
 INDEX 
 
 Spade makes with black 
 hands, 47. 
 
 Spades and clubs, choice be- 
 tween, 53. 
 
 Spade makes, going over, 15, 
 
 59- 
 Spreading the pack for cut- 
 ting, 2. 
 Stacking the tricks, 18. 
 Standard hands for trump 
 
 makes, 31. 
 Standard hands for no-trump- 
 
 ers, 32, 34. 
 Stopping a suit, 35. 
 Strength of the dealer's side, 
 
 105. 
 Strong suits always discarded, 
 
 91. 
 Strong hand, leading to, 147. 
 Suits, choice of, 134. 
 Suits, selecting longest, 136. 
 Suits, getting established 
 
 early, 137. 
 Suits, returning partners, 82. 
 Suits to avoid, Ss, 88. 
 Suits too strong to lead 
 
 through, 125. 
 Suits, protection in, 34, 155. 
 Suits which are stopped, 35. 
 Suits, locating command of, 
 
 139- 
 Superstition, absurdity of, 
 
 163. 
 
 Supporting cards, 70. 
 Supporting cards led 
 
 dummy, 126. 
 Sure game hands, 39. 
 
 by 
 
 Table, forming the, i. 
 Table of trick values, 10. 
 Table of honor values, 11. 
 Taking shots, 95. 
 Tempting partner to doubtful 
 
 makes, 46. 
 Tenace and fourchette, S^^ 
 
 143- 
 
 Tenaces, importance of, 143. 
 
 They and we, 8. 
 
 Theory of discarding at no- 
 trump, 121. 
 
 Things that govern the make, 
 
 31- 
 
 Third hand play, yS. 
 
 Third hand against no- 
 trump ers, 115. 
 
 Third hand on ace led, 115. 
 
 Third hand on king led, 118. 
 
 Third hand on jack led, 118. 
 
 Third hand on small cards led, 
 117. 
 
 Third hand on high cards led, 
 
 79- 
 Third hand on low cards led, 
 
 80. 
 
 Third hand on interior leads, 
 
 118. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 215 
 
 Third hand playing before 
 second, 20. 
 
 Thirty points game, 9. 
 
 Ties in cutting, deciding, 2, 3. 
 
 Time in which to correct 
 errors, 24. 
 
 Time in which to claim re- 
 vokes, 22. 
 
 Too late to force, 89. 
 
 Touching cards in dummy's 
 hand, 20. 
 
 Trick points and honor points, 
 8. 
 
 Tricks, table of values, 10. 
 
 Tricks, method of stacking, 
 18. 
 
 Tricks, estimating those prob- 
 able, 96. 
 
 Tricks, playing for extra, 144. 
 
 Tricks you don't want, 143. 
 
 Tricks that must be made, 
 141. 
 
 Tricks, how they are lost, 
 
 165. 
 
 Trump leads, 99. 
 
 Trumps, to lead or ruff, 98. 
 
 Trump signal, 81. 
 
 Trump suit, making or declar- 
 ing, 9. 
 
 Trump declarations, going 
 over, 59. 
 
 Two cards played to one trick, 
 21. 
 
 Two games won by same side, 
 23. 
 
 Unblocking, 142. 
 Unblocking at no-trump, 107. 
 Unblocking on aces led 
 
 115. 
 Unblocking on kings ied, 
 
 118. 
 Unblocking with high cards, 
 
 118. 
 Unnecessary tricks, playing 
 
 for, 160. 
 Usual theory of the discard, 
 
 121. 
 
 Value of tricks, table of, 10. 
 Value of honors, table of, 
 
 II. 
 Value of aces as honors, 12. 
 Value and importance of 
 
 honors, 30. 
 Value of guarded kings, 112. 
 Vein, being in the, 162. 
 
 Weak hands, iii. 
 
 Weak suits, danger of dis- 
 carding, 121. 
 
 Weak spots in no-trumpers, 
 104. 
 
 Weak trump hands, 98. 
 
 Weakest suits, guarding, 90, 
 92. 
 
2l6 INDEX. 
 
 Weakness exposed in the Winning or saving the game, 
 
 make, 51. 95. 
 
 Weakness, leading up to, 88, Wrong hand, leading from, 
 
 122. 18, 19. 
 
 We and they, 8. Wrong number of cards in 
 
 Where honors lie, interring, hand, 6. 
 
 139- 
 
lA*^ .^3 1908