WHIST UNIVERSAL ®xi Sfaalgsis of tlje ffiame AS IMPROVED BY THE INTRODUCTION OF AMERICAN LEADS AND ADAPTED TO ALL METHODS OF PLAY BY G. W. P. "Q AUTHOR OF "AMERICAN WHIST " 7^ -S The more the American system is examined, the more thorough and perfect it will be found. — Laws and Principles, by Cavendish, \bth edition, p. 117. BOSTON TICKNOR AND COMPANY 211 Fremont Street 1887 G-V./2.7 7 76"" 1^7 Copyright) 1887, By Ticknor and Company. All rights reserved. SCnibtrsitB Press: John Wilson and Son, Cambridge. TO THE PLAYERS OF WHIST WHO STUDY THE GAME &I)i* ?£ook IS DEDICATED. PREFACE, It is the purpose of this work to present opinions of European and American authorities upon the conduct of the Game of Whist ; to give the history of French, English, and American leads and inventions ; to show in what respect the practice in play of former time has been superseded by that of the present ; and to apply the instructions of the best writers and players, from Folkestone to Trist, to the proper develop- ment of either method of play in vogue at any of the clubs in this country. CONTENTS. English, Page Introduction 1 About the Books 5 Authorities v. 7 Inventions 11 f Folkestone Club 12 The Discard 12 The Penultimate 12 I Echo of the Call 13 French, Coups of Deschapelles - ... 15 ' Ace, then Mng 17 King, then knave 17 9, with king and knave ... 17 Refusal to play queen second . 18 Signal in plain suit .... 18 Leads of Mr. Trist ..... 18 Unblocking 19 Plain-suit Echo 19 The Three Methods 20 The Lead 22 Order of Leads 24 From the ace 24 From the king 30 From the queen 34 American, x Contents. Page From the knave 34 From the 10, 9, or 8 35 Remarks on Leads 36 Comments by Cavendish 41 Comments by Cavendish 45 Objections 47 Second Hand 51 Exceptions to lowest-card play .... 52 Explanations to exceptions 53 Analysis of Second Hand ........ 59 With the ace 59 With the king 60 Third Hand 64 Unblocking 67 Explanatory remarks 72 Fourth Hand 82 Special Topics 86 Folkestone's advice 86 Strong or weak in trumps 86 Sequence lead 87 Return of partner's lead 87 Return of opponent's lead 87 Command of opponent's suit .... 87 Holding highest card 87 Getting rid of command 88 Play on knave led by partner .... 88 Partner's lead from five 88 Play on partner's trump-lead .... 89 Information by system in lead .... 89 Information by system in reply .... 89 Throwing away highest card, or second best 90 Contents, xi Page Play of two cards in sequence .... 90 American-whist leads 90 Difference in trump-play 91 Partner's lead of trumps « 93 Responsibility of caller 94 Management of trumps 95 Danger of over -trumping 96 Drawing the last trump 96 Loss by over-trumping 96 Throwing the lead 97 When to lead opponent's suit .... 98 Trumping second-best card 98 Force mutually beneficial 98 Partner taking the force 98 Over-trumping, when safe 99 Forcing hand of trumps .99 Playing to score, affecting the lead . .100 Difference in choice of lead 100 Saving game against odds 101 Different play for points 103 The laws contrasted 104 Forcing the Partner 105 Cavendish's argument 106 Drayson's argument 107. J. C.'s argument 109 Long Whist reasons .110 Lewis's argument Ill Lewis's refusal to force though strong . 112 Lewis's illustrative game and remarks . 113 The 9 118 Finesse 123 xii Contents. Pack Clay's orders 123 Deschapelles' orders 126 Signalling 130 The trump-signal and others 130 Drayson's protest 132 Getting in a Little Trump 135 The Echo 139 Common-Sense Whist . 143 Game by Lewis 143 Test Game , 147 Laws of Whist 153 Loose wording of English laws .... 154 Laws op Short Whist (Cavendish) . . . . . 159 Remarks upon Laws 177 Five-point Whist 180 Laws of Long Whist 191 Remarks upon laws 194 Lead of the 9 207 Hand I. (from " Laws and Principles "). Played by Short Whist, and remarks . . 208 Played by Long Whist, and remarks . .210 Hand XIV. (from " Laws and Principles ") . Played by Short Whist, and remarks . .213 Played by Long Whist, and remarks . . 214 Hand XXVII. (from " Laws and Principles "). Played by Short Whist, and remarks . .217 Played by Long Whist, and remarks . . 219 The Informatory 9 221 Hand IV. (from " Whist Developments "). Played by Short Whist, and remarks . . 222 Played by Long Whist, and remarks . . 223 Contents. xiii Page American Leads 225 Low Card led 225 First Maxim 227 High Card led (followed by low card) . 228 Second Maxim ......... 229 Table of Leads, No. 1 230 High Card led (followed by high card) . 231 Third Maxim 234 Critical comments 234 Table of Leads, No. 2 244 A Hand at Cards 245 Playing at whist, a burlesque .... 245 APPENDIX 253 THE WHIST SCORE. Short Whist uses no score-card, keeping its points (made by cards and honours) with chips or couuters. When five points are made, a game is reckoned (p. 173, Law 67). When two games out of three are won, a rubber valued according to the rule (p. 174, Law 71) is scored. Five-point Whist uses counters to indicate the num- ber of points made by cards. When five points are made the game is finished, and counts upon the rubber in the same manner as in Short Whist. Long Whist has special regard for points only, since all the cards are played for all that can be made (p. 193, Law 12). Division of game and rubber is made in order that there may be exchange of partners, or admission to the table of new players, if such ex- change or admission is desirable. Long Whist there- fore authorizes the use of a score-card, which shows the games and rubbers while registering the exact number of points to which each player is entitled. ai "3 CO CO rH "^ "o tH rH rH i— 1 Ah th r< «# r< tH ++ 1 1 2 <3 | CM CM rH rH 6H W s . • . . O £3 . J3 III | o e3 55 ^-y-^ ^-^-Y~>-^ M •gzauiXBd •&iaa:>.re,j INTRODUCTION. The first-class whist-player is already apprised of the fact that the most radical improvement ever made in the practical play of his favorite game is effected by the introduction of American Leads. He is also aware that their adoption by European clubs has become, or is fast becoming, a necessity. Cavendish, the highest English authority, hav- ing in an address before the London Players advised the acceptance of the new regime, in his preface to the sixteenth edition of " Laws and Principles " says : " The author is firmly con- vinced that American leads are founded on true principles of whist-play, and they therefore have his hearty approval." He does not take the re- sponsibility of ordering an entire change in the English play, because not all the members of cer- tain clubs in London have admitted their superi- ority over plans in use. To convince persons who do not desire to be convinced, is a work that gen- erally requires time. We shall chronicle several 1 Introduction. important regulations to which the foreign players will eventually give their adherence, expecting them however to take all advantage of the law of limitation. According to the celebrated player James Clay, it was a great triumph for the [Frenchmen when some forty years ago the English champions went to France to do battle, and " were constrained to return with a system modified, if not improved, by their French experience. For our neighbors — ac- curate, logical, and original thinkers — had not been content to imitate our system, but had created a system of their own. We were forced to recog- nize a wide difference between their system and ours ; and the French game became the scorn and the horror of the old school." But that old school of England " went gradually to its grave with an unchanged faith, and in the firm belief that the invaders with their rash trump-leading were all mad, and that their great master Deschapelles, the first whist-player beyond any comparison the world has ever seen, was a dangerous lunatic/' Some of the players of England may be as un- willing to accept advice from America as their predecessors were to take it from France; but even as what of brilliancy belongs to their play is of French origin, and as what now is offered of Introduction, ingenuity is of American origin, they must yield to the inevitable. The French game was full of finesse and daring. " The manner in which they seemingly gave away tricks," said Mr. George Lytle, "was perplexing." But they played for the entire hand, and strove to see the end from the beginning. "A fair finesse lost is a game saved; a deep finesse made is a game won," said the master Deschapelles ; but his inferences were all too in- tellectual for appreciation by the ordinary player, who blundered on, snapping at every trick on the instant for obtaining it, — leaving, whenever luck did not chance to favor him, the closing part of every hand at the mercy of adroit adversaries, who not only read his play but the cards he held. The merit of the inventions of Mr. Trist consists in the development of an under-lying law. The first card played is the index finger of the hand. Heretofore a special holding only warranted such a proclamation. Now the proper card is desig- nated, and having led it, there can be no hesitation as to what shall next be done. Certain combi- nations demand that certain leads shall be made. These are specified (p. 24 et seq.). Apart from these, a low card led from a strong suit is the fourth best of that suit ; an ace led from ace and four or Introduction. more small is followed by the original fourth best (see also Example 2). Having opened a suit of four, the highest of two indifferent cards is led ; having opened a suit of five, the lowest of those two. Examples. (1) A. holds k, 10, 7, 6, 5, 3, 2 ; he leads the 6 : he has exactly three cards of that suit higher than the card led. (2) A. holds ace, qu., 9, 7, 4, 2 ; he leads ace and follows with the 7 : he has exactly two cards higher than his last played card. A. holds k., qu., and others ; he leads k, — that takes ; then original fourth best, showing exactly two cards higher than that last played by him. Or, he holds k., kn., 10, and others ; leads the 10 ; if it wins, he follows with original fourth best, — showing of course k. and kn. in his hand. (3) A. holds k, kn., 10, 9 ; he leads the 9 ; though ace and qu. fall, his next lead is the k. The three cards that he holds are all indifferent, but his play of the k proclaims but the kn. and 10. If A. holds k, kn., 10, 9, 6, he plays first 9, then kn., and he has shown another card in hand be- side the k and 10. If he holds k, kn., 10, 9, 6, 5, he plays first 9, then 10 ; k and kn. already pro- nounced in his hand, he must also hold two more of the suit (see Order of Leads for full particu- lars of play). About the Books. ABOUT THE BOOKS. A book is needed whose arguments and ex- amples shall be based upon the principles that govern the new mode of play. Its title, " Whist Universal/' is chosen because to the different methods (p. 20) the morale of American Leads is applicable. The writer of history sometimes prints a long list of names of authors whose works were con- sulted, as he states, when making his book; and yet we are tacitly given to understand that from many of them very little was elicited. Inasmuch as forty-five fiftieths of the books and pamphlets upon whist published in England or republished here, which we have happened to see, were made up of (1) the laws of Short Whist; (2) anec- dotes of the maker's personal experience; (3) repetitions of Cavendish instruction ; and (4) a particular claim to the patent for furnishing all the information on earth concerning whist, while not one of them contained an original idea in refer- ence to the game or its management, — it does not appear proper to quote their opinions, certainly Whist Universal. not to consider them authorities, now that in the light of new revelations whatever of interest they may have possessed has passed away. 1 The task, therefore, of making selections and quotations from English authorities that shall meet with prevalent approval will not be dim- cult, since the general rules of Cavendish not in conflict with the new order of things, "Whist Developments," the literal interpretation of Ameri- can correspondence with the London " Field," the excellent counsel of James Clay concerning finesse, and the luminous objections of Drayson to state- ments made by previous writers, constitute what remains of value to the whist-player in the mass of matter that has been flung upon the country by the prolific English press. 1 See Appendix. Authorities. AUTHOEITIES. We give neither time nor space to history that does not affect the game as properly played to-day. When Cavendish issued the first edition of his "Laws and Principles," — a compilation of deci- sions of the players of twenty years ago, — he had Hoyle's amended orders, Mathew's, Paine's, and others' rules, the Folkestone traditions, and the Deschapelles inventions, from which to gather information to form a basis for a recommended practice. Eevisions of and additions to the origi- nal text have from time to time been made ; but the statement of the reasons upon which the principles of play are founded remaining sub- stantially the same, the work has passed trium- phantly through sixteen editions. The more recent of these are improvements upon the earlier, inas- much as additional valuable counsel upon play has been admitted to the body of the book. The original issue was swiftly followed by Clay's "Treatise" and Pole's " Theory," — the former, a series of directions by an excellent player ; the latter, a prolonged echo of the Folkestone com- 8 Whist Universal. mand, "Lead from your strong suit; study your partner's hand." After a time Drayson followed with a book containing information upon Practical Whist, and critical comments upon the statements of his predecessors. His independent course gave him assured success ; emboldened by which play- ers of Short Whist, with or without provocation, rushed into print. Such books, like pretentious patent medicines, had a sale ; for about what was popular people desired to read, and it is infre- quently the case that novices in literature know what is best to buy. In April, 1884, an important circumstance oc- curred. A letter from an American, proposing for the highest order of play a new practical plan of his invention, was printed in the London " Field." The attack upon it by the wiseacres was a lively one, but the author continued his correspondence, defending his views. The controversy lasted many months, the American — proclaimed by the best players a victor from the outset — establishing his claim. The majority of persons who refer to Cavendish imagine that he is the originator of the leads and manner of play recommended by him. He is not an inventor, but a compiler. The authorship of certain conventionalities he claims, and the de- Aiithorities. 9 mand is heartily conceded. But with reference to his text-book he writes : " In the case of whist, the idea of publishing hands played completely through is not mine ; nor is the scheme mine of giving reasons and arguments for all the princi- ples of play, instead of stating them, as was pre- viously done, in the form of isolated and arbitrary conventions. I have only clothed with words — and indeed not always that — the results of the discussions of valued friends and members of the little school that .obtained notoriety in 1871, in consequence of an article on whist which ap- peared in the * Quarterly Review ' in January of that year." Cavendish in his Introductory to " General Principles " remarks, that " by general reasoning, not by abstract calculation, the chances in favor of a certain line of play are determined," and recom- mends that " the student be satisfied if the reasons given appear weighty in themselves, and none weightier in opposition to them can be suggested." This is logic; and the method of play that he advised, founded upon the conclusions of all the authorities to whose opinions he at the time had access, has stood, and in great part will stand, the test of time. The weightier reasons that can now be given for deviation from rules that before dis- io Whist Universal. coveries were made were accepted as sound, are announced in part in " Whist Developments/' — the history of a system of new American Leads devised by Nicholas Browse Trist, of New Orleans, to whom the book is dedicated by Cavendish, who published it, illustrated and embellished in the popular manner of De La Eue. Cavendish thought it a remarkable circumstance that the best whist- player of the world should be a Frenchman ; per- il aps he thinks it more remarkable that the man who revolutionizes the game should be an Ameri- can. He would fain believe that American Leads add little that is new to the game. They add nothing. The game is in the cards, with all its possibilities. Watt added nothing to steam when he found it expansive ; Fulton added nothing to its capability when he invented the machinery it could drive. The introduction to the world of American Leads, and substitution of American play for that now rendered obsolete, marks the most famous era in the history of this wonderful game, simply because whist played by any method of count is now furnished with a system, by the use of which its power can be developed. Inventions. 1 1 INVENTIONS. The fifth edition of Seymour's " Compleat Game- ster " was printed in 1734, and in it he designated whist as a " very ancient game among us." Hoyle lias been erroneously styled its father. His trea- tise was not printed until 1743, and there is no evidence that he devised a lead or invented a play. He did but set down in pamphlet form the cur- rent business of the day concerning it. He was a recognized gambler, who made calculations upon- chances and arranged tables of computations for laying wagers upon all manner of games and sports. From the Lord Folkestone party at the Crown Coffee-House he probably gained some information ; but their quality of play comes to us from other sources. Mathews and Paine, who followed Hoyle in pub- lication, proposed rules to be adopted in the con- duct of the game; but the inventions that were of note were evidently made by the intellectual men who began its scientific study in 1730. Mathews says of Hoyle that " so far from being able to teach the game, he was not fit to sit down 12 Whist Universal. even with the third-rate players of his day." The game of 10 points that could be made by honours and cards was played in Seymour's time with forty- eight cards. The Folkestone party introduced the deuces and counted the odd card. They were the inventors of the lead from the long or strong suit, and of a plan of play in accordance with the de- mand of the partner's hand, studying that hand through the fall of the cards and the correct play of sequences. In the game which they had received from those who could not appreciate its capabili- ties, they made the important changes which form part and parcel of it to-day. The practice of Cavendish and the theory of Pole were ordained a century and a half ago by the Folkestone Club. The discard from the best plain suit on the adversary's lead or call for trumps, and of a card from the weakest suit upon the partner's lead or call, is of English invention. The order of play changed, however, to accommodate the revealed strength of the partner. The lead of the penultimate card from a suit of five or more is an invention of Cavendish, and until recently was properly considered of great value by way of conveying information. The rule that he laid down was : " Begin with the lowest but one of the suit you lead originally, if it Inventions, 1 3 contains more than four cards." Cavendish had a strong opponent of his plan in Clay, who per- sisted in his opposition to any other lead than that of the lowest card. His brusque chapter on inter- mediate sequences was a feature of his lively " Treatise ; " but on reading the arguments of Cavendish he yielded, and declared his readiness to play with him at the " Portland," adopting his plan. The " echo of the call," Cavendish tells us, was adopted by the advanced players ten years ago. We presume it to be of English invention. It is of great value, for it tells of numerical strength where the player of the call or leader of the trump desired it to be. The directions of Cavendish for its play are, however, calculated to hinder rather than help the perception of his partner. He says : " You have 8, 7, 5, 2, of trumps. Your partner calls. You echo by trumping a suit with the 5, then lead the 8, and when your 2 falls your echo is completed ; " — and the game too, by that time, perhaps. Trump with the 5 and lead the 2. The trump-signal was not the result of invention, but of accident. Cavendish gives its history in this wise : " It is a common artifice, if you wish a trump to be led, to drop a high card to the adversary's lead, to induce him to believe that you will trump 14 Whist Universal. it next round ; whereupon the leader will very likely change his suit, and perhaps lead trumps. Thus, if he leads king (from ace, k, and others) and you hold qu. and one other, it is evident that you cannot make the queen. If you throw the queen to his k, he may lead a trump to prevent your trumping his ace ; but if he goes on with his suit, and you drop your small card, it may fairly be inferred that you have been endeavoring to get him to lead a trump. Your partner should now take the hint, and, if he gets the lead, lead trumps ; for if you want them led, it is of little consequence from whom the lead comes. By a conventional extension of this system to lower cards, it is under- stood that whenever you throw away an unnecessa- rily high card, it is a sign (after the smaller card drops) that you want trumps led. This is called asking for trumps, or calling for trumps." It is strange that in more than half a century no one appeared as claimant of honors for discovery of any new play. The whist of Folkestone was the whist of Charles Lamb and Mrs. Battle, whom Lamb immortalized. Early in the present century the great player Deschapelles introduced his won- derful play to the Parisian clubs, — far the most original and brilliant ever known. The fine "coups," as may be known by the French term Inventions, 1 5 for his startling acts, were of his invention; but the record of play not being kept, the many in- stances of victory achieved by the aid of his fore- sight and practice of strange ways, are lost to us. The shrewdest management of Clay is traceable to the teaching of Deschapelles. The grand coup that consists of throwing away a useless trump to gain a trick upon the forced play of right-hand opponent, and the so-called Deschapelles coup, made by the lead of a high card at the head of many to be lost to the adversary that the play may be forced up to the leader's partner, are the two distinguishing memories of his genius. Of the grand coup Clay says : " Every one who has played whist much must have observed the not infrequent occasions when a player has found him- self in the last three cards of the hand with a trump too many. He has been obliged to trump his partner's trick, to take the lead himself, and to lead from his ten ace, instead of being led to, by which a trick is lost. The triumph of the great whist-player is to foresee this position, and to take an opportunity of getting rid of this in- convenient trump, — which may be done either by under-trumping the adversary when you cannot over-trump him, or by trumping your partner's trick when you hold a losing card, with which 1 6 Whist Universal. you know you can again give him the lead if you wish to do so. I have known Deschapelles, and not infrequently, to foresee this difficulty, and to defend himself against it many tricks before it was established or at all apparent to any one else." Deschapelles was the inventor of many daring coups for the play of which he was specially noted. His bold trump-leading in order that he might obtain advantages that he saw in the proper after-play of the cards that he held, astonished the calm Englishman, who, as Clay states, "thought him an inspired madman." These many coups of his peculiar leads for problematical results are practised of course, but not as it would seem as brilliantly as by him, for he kept the clubs in a fever by his constant successes. He had the faculty of reading the cards that fell, as also of placing those that remained, and was reported as always tormenting second-hand while he admirably played second-hand himself. His game was Long Whist without the trump-call or the echo, nor had the designated leads of high cards been arranged for informatory purposes. But he was the most wonderful of the whist- players, and the applause of all bystanders at the close of his well-conducted game was not infrequent. Inventions. 1 7 Deschapelles issued a pamphlet, — " Traite du Whist;" but it did not record his own achieve- ments, nor was it other than a fragment of direc- tions or memoranda of laws. Long Whist was played in America according to the old method, honours counting, until the middle of this century. In the fall of 1857, when the Ohio Life and Trust Company of Cincinnati made one of the first of the many disastrous fail- ures of the decade, a party of gentlemen at the Tremont House, Chicago, solaced their grief for ill- fortune by a game of whist. The play became very interesting, and lasted many hours. For the first time within the writer's knowledge honours were not counted ; and after that date the players made the game of seven points the game of Long Whist. Within these twenty years just past the Ameri- can claim for the lead of first ace then k., if no more of the suit are held ; of k. then kn., from the four honours ; and of the 9 when k. and kn. and not ace or queen are held, — has been established. We claim, as an American invention, the 9 des- ignating k. and kn. surely held ; but we are aware that in Mathews' time these cards were never regarded as equivocal. "Good players," says Mathews, "never lead a 9 or 10 but for one of three reasons : (1) from sequence to k. ; (2) from 1 8 Whist Universal. 9, 10, kn., and k. ; (3) when the best of a weak suit not exceeding three in number." It is an astonishing and altogether unexplained, and as we believe unexplainable, circumstance that Cavendish considers the 9 an "equivocal" card. There is absolutely no reason for the asser- tion that he makes (p. 118). It is to be hoped that he will as gracefully abandon his argument as he has done in the matter of the penultimate play. The refusal to play qu. by second hand on kn. led, as per the long-time registry and direction of the English authorities, is strictly of American origin ; and such refusal made manifest, probably had much more influence in compelling Caven- dish to change his law than had any calculation by Dr. Pole. The invention of the signal after trumps are out, or rather the application of the trump-signal to inform partner of holding the third-best card in suit, is also American (p. 78). While all these improvements are applicable to either method (p. 20) of play, they are of greatest service in the genuine game to which they are specially adapted. The American Leads of Mr. Trist are the orders for original play of every leader, no matter what form of whist he favors ; and they take the place Inventions. 1 9 of any other plan or regulation because they are systematic, and demonstrate a law which, if obeyed, exercises an instant control over every hand held. The cardinal advice of Mr. Clay, — "A golden maxim for whist is, that it is of more importance to inform your partner than to deceive your ad- versary," — would seem to have been in the mind of Mr. Trist during all his investigations and explanations about the most proper leads to be made. All these leads from the various combi- nations as distinguished from others will be found under The Lead. While the order for the third-hand play of unblocking is not literally an invention, the full direction for its management in all particulars, as furnished by Mr. Trist, is entitled to great regard (p. 67). The plain-suit echo, emphasized by Cavendish as a most valuable appurtenance, is a part of the system of Mr. Trist ( p. 140). The change that has come over the spirit of every whist-player's dream since the new system in its entirety has been introduced into American clubs and advocated by the historian, critic, and director of whist in London, is the greatest rec- ommendation of its excellence and the grandest compliment to its inventor. 2o Whist Universal. THE THEEE METHODS. The clubs admit respectively three methods of whist-play, briefly called Short "Whist, Five-Point Whist, and Long Whist. The first named is Eng- lish, and is played with honours ; the second is a mongrel game, without honours; the third is Ameri- can, played for points alone. With the first, honours and points go to make the game, and the game to make the rubber ; with the second, five points by cards being made, the game is closed and goes toward the rubber ; with the third, every card in every hand is played, and every trick beyond six counts a point upon the game. A single game from the start in Short Whist may be finished when seven tricks are taken by a player and his partner, in Eive-Point Whist when eleven tricks are taken, and in Long Whist when the whole thirteen are taken. It will be seen that each of these methods should have its separate laws and order of play, since the rule under which a player holding four honours would play his cards to make but three more tricks, might not apply to him who with the same cards had eleven tricks to make, The Three Methods, 21 and would be of no avail to one who must use all his cards to the best advantage for his own and his partner's hand. General orders however may- be understood and appreciated by players of the first two methods, while special directions must regulate the last. For instance, players of Short or of Five-Point Whist ask certain questions while the game is in progress, any one of which would disturb the calculations of a player who must carry information that the play has given him to the close of every hand. But there are certain principles that regulate the action of every player. There are certain leads, from specified cards proper to be made at the outset of every game. And while there are critical situations occurring in every rubber that is played wherein the brain- work of the player must be more potent than es- tablished rule affecting his particular act, still he must understand the system within which others move, if he would take the highest advantage in reference to his own proposed finesse. 22 Whist Universal. THE LEAD. The trump turned on his right, it becomes the privilege and duty of the player to throw the card that in a majority of instances is to be regarded by partner and adversary as the exponent of his strength. Drayson says, "The original lead is an easy thing ; " and again, " The correct lead ought to be learned in one or two hours." We forgive the statement in the impulsive man who says he "once lost thirty-five rubbers in succession!' and at another time, " If I was to enumerate the num- ber of rubbers I have seen lost by one player weak in trumps refusing to force his partner, I should count tliem by thousands." Dr. Pole while italicizing the declaration that "the first lead is by far the most important one in the whole hand" requires nor time nor study to ascertain what that lead shall be. "Whenever you have five trumps whatever they are, or what- ever the other components of your hand, you should lead them ; " and if you have not five trumps, his The Lead. 23 great theory demands that " you lead from your longest suit." It happens that neither Drayson nor Pole ever understood what card was proper to lead upon principle from that longest suit. It also happens that the longest suit may not be the most eligible one from which to lead. It may be very impolitic to lead trumps, though you hold five or six or seven. Cavendish illustrates a game wherein if the leader holding seven trumps leads one of them he must lose the odd card. If, properly judging his hand and knowing that he should throw the lead, he plays from a plain suit, he must make the odd card. "Let no written rule get the better of your judgment in the matter of managing either a pe- culiar or a commanding hand." If, however, it is correct from the hand you hold (and it almost always will be correct) to lead from a long suit, "a most valuable mode," says Cavendish, "of conveying very precise informa- tion of strength is within the reach of players who think fit to adopt American Leads." And he adds: "It may be stated that they form a beautiful system, which is in full harmony with the established principles of whist-play." 24 Whist Universal, OEDEE OF LEADS. The analysis of leads that follows presents the cor- rect play from the several combinations specified. From the Ace. Holding Ace and K. — In either trumps or plain suit lead ace, then k. Your partner will understand you have no more of the suit. If trumps are played, they signify to partner, on get- ting the lead, to draw two for one. By the play in plain suit a call for trumps is noted; partner is told that leader is ready to trump the suit on its return, if partner has not the best; the leader also states he has not a valuable long suit, but will play partner's game. Ace, K., Qu. — In trumps lead qu., then ace ; for if on second lead you play k., you designate ace and others. In plain suit k, then qu. Ace, K., Qu., En. — In trumps lead kn., then ace, then k. If on third lead you play qu., the lowest indifferent card, you designate more than the king in hand. In plain suit lead k., then kn., for that Order of Leads. 25 informs of ace and qu. If your third play is ace, the highest indifferent card, you have the qu. and no more ; if qu., you have more of the suit Ace, K., Qu., and others. — In trumps lead qu., then k., then ace. There are more trumps in hand. In plain suits lead k, then qu. Ace, K., Kn., and two or more. — Lead k., follow with ace, and know by the fall of the cards what next to play. Ace, K., Kn., and another. — Lead k., play from another suit, and wait return of this to finesse kn. if you think best, in case partner does not play qu. back to you. Ace, K., Kn. — Lead k. either in trumps or plain suit, then lead from another suit. If part- ner has qu., when he has the play he will lead it back. Take the qu. and return kn. If in trumps partner had four originally, he will inform you by throwing one lower than he played on your k. led. If your lead was in plain suit, he can call by the same play if he wishes trumps led. Ace, K., 10, or 9, and others. — In trumps lead k. ; if you do not follow with ace, lead original fourth best, or wait return play. If in plain suit, 26 Whist Universal. and you are strong in trumps, play a trump for second lead Ace, K., and five others (or more). — K., then ace. Ace, K., and three or four others. — In trumps it may be best for your plain suits that you have three rounds. If so, play k, then ace, then an- other. But if you require to keep command of trumps, play k., then original fourth best. Ace, K., and two others. — In trumps, the lowest ; in plain suit k, then ace. Ace, K., and one other. — K., then ace. It seldom happens that you are required to lead originally from a suit containing only three cards ; you must have at least one suit of four. This suit may be trumps, and the rest of the hand may be in threes. In such case you must choose from which three your play had best be made. Ace, Qu., Kn., 10, 9. — Ace, then 10, to show exactly two cards better than the second lead. Ace, Qu., Kn., 10, with or without others. — Ace, then 10. With more than four in suit, after 10 lead kn. ; with four, lead qu. Order of Leads. 27 Ace, Qu., En., and two or more. — Ace, then kn. This shows qu., and denies k. in hand. Ace, Qu., Kn., and one more. — Ace, then qu. This shows kn. and but one more of the suit, denying k. Ace, Qu., 10, 9, with or without others. — Ace, then 9. The order in Short Whist was, and with some players now is, the 9 ; but in the last edi- tion of Cavendish he carefully omits the special lead. It is false play (see p. 120), The ace and then original fourth best is correct. Cavendish at the close of his ace leads, in his sixteenth edition, says : " Lead lowest with only four in suit (with ace at the head), the cards being of lower denomination than in the leads already enumerated." But these cards are not of a lower denomination, and they are of sufficient conse- quence to demand attention as a special lead. Ace, Qu., 10, and others. — Ace, then original fourth best. This is a double tenace, and, not un- like some other suits in tenaces, should not be led if without bad play another lead can be made ; but we are presuming that from the suit the lead must be made. 28 Whist Universal. Ace, Qu , 10, 9, 8. — Ace, then 9, showing exactly two higher. K. will make in any event if with one or more on the left. Ace, Qu., and five or more. — Ace, then the origi- nal fourth best. Ace, Qu., and three or four. — In trumps, the original fourth best unless it be the 9; in that case lead ace, then 9. In plain suit, ace, then original fourth best. Ace, Qu., and two others. — The lowest card. Do not refuse to lead from this tenace, unless you have another good lead. Ace, Qu., 9 only. — It will not happen with this combination but that there will be some other in the hand from which to lead originally. The 9 must not be led ; if the suit must be played, lead ace. Ace, Qu., and one other below the 9. — The low- est card ; for if this lead must be made, the ace had best be held up. Ace, Qu. — Ace; but as an original lead there can hardly be a call for this play. Ace, Kn., 10, 9, with or without others. In trumps or plain suit, ace, then 9. This is another lead Order of Leads. 29 heretofore falsely played in some cases, but now in special lead omitted from the order in Cavendish. In former editions of "Laws and Principles" he has advocated the lead of the 9, and he does not now cancel the statement that it is an equivocal card. He also calls this lead of the 9 on this com- bination in "Whist Developments," and it may be that in his instructions to lead the lowest from four in suit he means this quartette shall be in- cluded. (See The 9, p. 118). Ace, Kn., 10. — Ace, then 10. The 10 led would provoke second hand holding k, qu., and others to pass (but see p. 49). Ace, Kn., 10, and one other. — The low card. Ace, Kn., and more than two. — Ace, then origi- nal fourth best. Ace, Kn., and one below the 9. — The lowest the tenace had best be held. Ace, Kn., 9. j Do not lead from originally. (See Ace, 10, 9. ) Ace, Qu., 9.) Ace, and six below the kn. — Ace, then original fourth best. Ace, and five smaller than kn. — In trumps, the fourth best; in plain suits, ace. 30 Wktst Universal. Ace, and four smaller than kn. — In trumps, the fourth best; in plain suits, the ace. Ace, and three small. — The lowest. The Pari- sian play is ace. Ace and two small. —The low card (generally). From the King. Holding K., Qu., Kn., 10. — There has been more disagreement in regard to the proper lead from this combination than from any other. The Long- Whist player insists upon his conventional play from this (as he considers it) decidedly conventional lead. He leads k. to be taken by anybody's ace, but by his partner's certainly if he has but one more of the suit, and not by him if he has more. He insists that he better reads his partner's hand to guide his after play. His next lead is the qu. if he has but kn. and 10 remaining ; kn. if he has one beside, and 10 if he has more than one. The English play holds to its original order of the 10, but varies its play if 10 forces ace to qu. next, to show qu. in hand. It thus conforms to the new order of American Leads, that calls for fourth best originally where ace is not played, followed, if ace is forced, by kn. when k, qu., and more are held, and by qu. when only k., kn., are held. This distin- Order of Leads. . 3 1 guishes lead and play and inference from the lead of the 10 when k. and kn. are held, without the qu., as high cards. We believe the Long Whist con- ventional play is the best, but give them both in detail. The Long- Whist lead is — play k. ; if ace falls and you hold two small cards of the suit, play 10 ; if only one, play kn. ; if the suit was quart to k, play qu. second lead. If you originally lead the 10, and partner has none of the suit and but small trumps, he might trump what could be the head of a sequence (for the 10 is played at head of sequence, or at head of three in Long Whist). A few of the Long-Whist players follow the Ameri- can Lead adopted by Cavendish for Short- Whist play. Lead 10; if ace falls, qu. and kn. are indif- ferent cards. If the second lead is the qu., leader holds k., kn., only; if the kn., he holds one or more small cards. The k. of course is not an indifferent card ; but if the 10 wins the trick, k., qu., and kn. are all indifferent cards. Now, if the k. is the second lead, the leader has but qu. and kn ; if the qu. is the second lead, he has a small card ; if the kn., he has more than one. K , Qu., Kn., and more than one. — Lead kn. ; second lead, with more than five, qu. ; with five, k. 32 Whist Universal. K., Qu., Kn., and one small. — K., then kn. if k. wins, and not the small one, for the ace may be held up. Fourth hand holding ace, 10, and an- other, would not play ace on k led, especially in tramps. K., Qu., Kn. — K. ; if it takes, qu. K., Qu., and small ones. — In trumps, fourth best ; in plain suits, k. If there are seven in all, in trumps lead k. and then fourth best. K., Qu., and two. — In trumps, the lowest ; in plain suits, k. K., Qu., and one. — K. if it wins, the small one; for if opponents have ace and kn., they will make them; if they have not, it is fair to leave the chance to partner of holding one of them. K. f Qu. — K. K., Kn., 10, 9, with or without others. — 9, in trumps and plain suits. If the 9 wins, with more than four lead 10 ; with only four, kn. If 9 forces qu., or qu. and ace, with more than five lead 10 ; with five, kn. ; with four, k. If 9 forces ace but not qu., lead k. Third lead, with more than four originally, 10 ; with four, kn. (See The 9, p. 118). Order of Leads. 33 K., En, 10, with one or more small. — In tramps, lead kn ; in plain suits, lead 10. If 10 wins, the original fourth best ; if 10 forces qu., or qu. and ace, with more than four in suit lead kn. ; with four, lead k. If the 10 forces ace and not qu., lead k. The kn. in trumps is the distinguishing Parisian lead. K., Kn., and others. — Original fourth best. K., Kn., 9. — With or without any or all others, but without ace or qu., lead 9. K , 10, and others. — Original fourth best. K., 10, 9. — If led, play k. (But see Ace, Qu., 9.) K. and four or five. — Fourth best. K. and three. — The lowest. K. and two. — The lowest generally, but not if it is the 9. K. and one. — K. In trumps, the lead of k. from k. and qu. de- clares six or seven, or the 10 in hand. If kn. and ace fall to the first trick, qu. and 10 are in- different cards; and if 10 is next led, the original lead was from more than four trumps. 3 34 Whist Universal. From the Queen. Holding Qu., Kn., 10, 9. — Qu., then 9 ; if more than four in suit, 10 after 9 ; with only four, kn. Qu., Kn., 10, and others. — Qu. ; second lead, 10 if more than four, kn. if only four. Qu., Kn., 9, and two others. — Qu. Qu., Kn., 9, and one other. — Lowest. Qu. and two others. — Qu. Qu. and two, kn. and two, or 10 and two, the higher card is the better play ; the leader is more likely to help the partner in the suit, and if a small card is led he is deceived in the number held. Some players are decided in the matter that from three the highest had best be led, even from ace and k. In a lead from either of these cards, the partner must wait developments to show the meaning of the play. From the Knave. Kn., 10, 9, and others. — Head of sequence. If there were but four in suit, lead 10 second ; if more than four, lead 9. Kn. and three others. — Smallest. Kn. and two others. — Kn. Order of Leads. 35 Feom the 10, 9, or 8. The 10 led signifies k., kn., and others, and in Short Whist quart to the k. (See From the King.) In Long Whist it is led from k, kn., with or with- out others (not the 9), at the head of sequence, or as best of three ; the latter play is seldom made as an original lead. The 9 is led in Short Whist as per Cavendish, from many combinations. (See The 9, p. 118.) In Long Whist the 9 is led for the single purpose of indicating the presence of k. and kn. As an original lead it always has this meaning. The 8 is led as a fourth-best card, or as the low- est of four. Neither the 8 nor any lower card is led at head of sequence originally, unless from a very peculiarly constructed hand. Any card lower than the 8 may be the original lead of the player, who will always hold exactly three cards of the suit higher than the one led. 36 Whist Universal. Any one of the foregoing leads, it is supposed, may be the original one by an original leader. Any one of them is of course to "be chosen as the first lead of any other j)layer ; but he is to regard what has been played, and he may have less reason than the first player for making a conven- tional or systematic lead. The leads suppose a small card turned. They suppose a necessity exists for the lead from a given suit held, as the best opening play. In their continuation they suppose that no player has renounced upon the first round. If a lead is to be made up to a trump turned, it is proper to play a card that will take it, if none higher should be thrown. For instance, — holding ace, qu., 10, etc., kn. turned, lead qu. With k., kn., 9, etc., 10 turned, lead kn. With qu., kn., 9, the 10 turned, lead qu., — which is better than kn., because partner will give you kn. in hand ; but if you throw kn. he would not give you qu. With kn., 10, 8, the 9 turned, lead kn. If you are to lead through an honour turned on the left, it is not essential that the card should be as high as that turned if there are probabilities of partner holding one higher. Holding kn. sequence, k. or qu. turned on the left, lead kn. Order of Leads. 37 Should an honour be turned on the right, and the leader would have trumps out, he should not hesi- tate to lead up to it. If it must make, let him require it to do so as soon as possible. If how- ever he holds tenace over it, and can soon enough call the play of a trump from partner, very well ; and whenever a qu. or kn. is so turned, a good partner weak in trumps will be on the lookout for such call. When therefore a high card (not an ace) is turned on the leader's right, and the first player throws a low card of a plain suit, the leader's partner, holding but one or two trumps, will take the trick if he can and play a high card, to give original leader the opportunity to call. When the means for making tricks or game are in the leader's hand, he should attempt to direct and control the play, and a good partner will sac- rifice his own hand to help the result. It does not follow that because a player holds many trumps, he should lead a trump. It may or may not be best. There is no regularity in hands at whist; they are everlastingly excep- tional. There is not one hand in ten held by a good player by the proper management of which he does not make, or help to make, the one trick that could have been lost. There is not one hand in ten held by an ordinary player by the im- 38 Whist Universal. proper management of which he does not lose, or help to lose, the one trick that could have been gained. Tor whist is a game played hand after hand for one trick that is made or lost in each hand ; all the rest might be taken, let the cards that are dealt be played (so that no revokes are made) with any form of lead and follow. A hand of many trumps may be played so that the k. or qu. will make, while the 7 or 6 will be lost. If the 7 or 6 ought not by correct play to have been lost, there is very much more blame to be attached to the play that loses that card than credit to the play that makes the trick with an honour. Dr. Pole's plan of always leading trumps from five is obsolete. We have better play. Again, the lead from the longest suit may be suicidal. A. held the ace and k. of spades, the 10 and five small hearts, three little clubs, and the kn. and 8 of diamonds, 10 of diamonds turned. If A. had led a heart he would have forced his partner and lost the game. He threw ace of spades, then k. ; B. called ; A. played kn. of diamonds, which took ; he followed with 8. B. took with qu. and forced with spade, trumped ace of hearts (led from ace, qu., kn., etc.), drew k. and thirteenth trump with ace, and made remaining spades and game, the four honours in hearts and in clubs against him. Order of Leads. 39 A trump-lead, k, qu. or kn. at the head of the suit and not in sequence, or it may be with two in sequence, will usually depend upon the skill of the player for success. The general player with many trumps headed as above almost always loses a trick. The careful watch of the cards with infer- ences as to what is held in each hand is a neces- sity. The cards that fall upon the original fourth- best led (whether the first or second lead) are the guides by which a skilful player will sometimes make every other trick in the suit. Though conventional and systematic leads are ordered as the best that can be devised, they are subject to the judgment of the player. Excep- tional hands demand exceptional treatment. Usu- ally, some one of the plays in the analysis is the best to be made as an original lead. Usually too, when the next player has the lead, one of the leads of record is the best for him to make. But the constantly recurring beautiful problem in whist is the necessity for new-made calculation. A man who merely plays pictures holding ace and k. and others of a suit, throws the k. and then the ace ; and if he finds a call is made by partner, he leads a trump. If he sees no call he is relieved from further responsibility, and takes or relin- quishes what follows with a smile if the biggest 40 Whist Universal. picture is held by himself or partner, or with a sigh if it is not. It is true that wherever the high cards are held there must the tricks he gathered ; but there will be difference in the number of those tricks, or especially in the manner of their being taken, dependent upon the education of the player. Whist must be played by brain power. It was natural that when the system of Amer- ican Leads was proposed in England, the opposi- tion to its adoption should be violent and sincere. It is not strange that there were a great many second-class players in this country who believed (and perhaps they still believe) that whatever was said or done by persons on the other side of the water must take preference of anything that could be said or done on this side. But it hap- pens that the best players, here and there, saw at once the value of the system. There were, there are, obstinate objectors to its domination. They say that the game is complicated by its use. They do not tell wherein, and it would be a difficult task to make good- the assertion, since the American system requires only — (1) That the leader holds exactly three cards higher than the low card led ; (2) That if he leads a high card and then a low one, he has exactly two cards higher than his second lead ; and (3) That having led a high card, Order of Leads. 41 when following with another high one he plays the highest of two equally good if he has but four cards of the suit, and the lowest of the two if he has five. In the words of Cavendish, " All an American leader asks his partner to observe is — 1. That when he originally leads a low card he holds exactly three of the suit higher than the card led. Exam-pie. A. holds qu., 10, 8, 6, 3, 2 ; he leads the 6. 2. That when he originally leads a high card and then a low one, he still holds exactly two cards higher than the second card led. Example. A. holds ace, kn., 9, 7, 4; he leads ace, then 7. ' 3. That when he originally leads a high card and follows it with a high card, he indicates in many cases to any one who knows the analysis of leads, as every whist-player ought, whether his strong suit consisted of four or more than four cards. Example. A. holds kn., 10, 9, 7, 6 ; he leads kn., then 9; or, A. holds kn., 10, 9, 7; he leads kn., then 10." It would seem as if the above directions were as free from complication as any plan that can be named. 42 Whist Universal There was another weak objection ; namely, that they seldom affect the result. They are not in- tended or expected any more to change the rela- tive value of the cards in play than they are to change the cards that are held. " They only consolidate,'* says Cavendish, " the received prac- tice, and extend a law of uniformity to cases not previously provided for.'* There was a third objection. It was that the information afforded may be of more use to the opponents than to the leader's partner. Of course it may, and so may any play at any time. This last objection is perhaps no weaker than either of the other two ; but it is of no avail, for whist is a game in which the leader's business is to tell his partner by the cards all that he can tell of what he holds. He is not to consider that other people do or do not understand. In fact, he plays best who is able by his play to impart the most information. This most admirable system of American Leads may be used to greatest advantage by players of Short, Mongrel, and Long Whist ; the objections to it being invalid, it must come into universal use. It will be proper to remember that even as the card turned is the trump that influences the play of the entire hand, so the card that is first led Order of Leads. 43 is the demonstration of the leader's purpose. It begins the attack; it notifies the opponents that notwithstanding what is shown by the dealer it is the suit, whether trumps or not, which is the leader's best, of which he intends either to keep the control or which he means to establish. In this regard Cavendish says : " It should be borne in mind that American Leads in their integrity assume not merely an original lead but the original lead of the hand, — the very first lead of all. When a player obtains the lead for the first time, after one or more tricks have been played, he may open his strong suit in the same way as though he were the original leader. On the other hand he may deem it advisable to open a weak suit, or to lead through a strong one or up to a weak one, or if great strength in trumps has been declared against him, may wish to conceal the fact that his best suit is only a very long one of small cards ; or if late in the hand, he may conclude that the time for precise exhibition of strength is past and gone. These, however, are matters of judgment, for which no hard and fast rule can be laid down." To sum up the matter of the first lead. Gener- ally lead from the strongest suit. If it consists of five or more and is not one of specified or distinct combination (p. 24), and is headed by the ace, lead 44 Whist Universal. the ace and then the original fourth test If it is headed by the king from k., qu., and small ones, lead the 7c. ; if it takes, lead the original fourth test If it is headed by the king, and the next cards are kn. and 10, then small ones, lead the 10 ; and if it takes, lead the original fourth hest. If it is k., kn., 10, 9, etc., lead the 9 ; and if it takes, lead one of the high cards, according to the number to be speci- fied composing the suit. If it is headed by the k. in any other combination, lead the original fourth best ; and so of any other series that form a part of a hand. The secret of the value of the lead according to the newly adopted plan lies in the fact that the leader at once communicates with his partner as to the formation of his hand. The old-time leader for instance, holding ace, kn., 8, 7, 3, 2, led the ace and then the 2, perhaps the 3. The partner knew that was his best suit, and that was all ; he did not know of what cards it was composed. Now, the leader plays ace and then the 7. He must have two cards of that suit higher than the 7. The fall of the cards and the suit of his own hand inform the partner what those two cards are. One more example, that this matter may be as clear as possible. The leader holding ace, kn., 8, Order of Leads. 45 7, 6, iii trumps would lead the 7 (there must be three higher) ; in plain suits, the ace and then the 7 (there must be two higher). In connection with this order for the lead we call special attention to the one best original, because the most informatory, play that can be made, the leader holding k., kn., 10, 9, with or without small ones, and quote the order of Cavendish concerning it, in full : — " Lead 9, even though you hold the 8. (a) If 9 wins the trick, — With more thanirw in suit, lead 10 after 9. With only "fe^ft in suit, lead knave after 9. (b) If 9 forces qu. or both qu. and ace, — With more than five in suit, lead 10 after 9. With five in suit, lead knave after 9. With only four in suit, lead king after 9. (c) If 9 forces ace but not qu., king must be led after 9. Then (third lead) with more than four in suit originally, lead 10 after king. With only four in suit, lead knave after king." " No doubt," says Cavendish, " moderate players may lack the quick perception which would en- able them to take full advantage of the American rules. This is no reason why better players should be deprived of that advantage." 46 Whist Universal. The one reason why there are so many " moder- ate players " is simply because they are content to remain as they are. A man never rises above mediocrity in whist who has not brains to com- prehend its mode of management, and disposition to study it in detail. The " moderate player," ever ready to get in his little trump, explain the status of his hand, and hurry up the instant play that there may be another deal, will continue to be the " moderate" player, firm in the belief that he understands the game and that he plays it. Objections. 47 OBJECTIONS. We follow the Analysis of the Order with a synopsis of prohibitions in the matter of original leads ; and inasmuch as the player is to exercise his judgment as to whether it is or is not proper for him to accept an ordered lead, so whenever it becomes a necessity, he will make some one of these objectionable plays. .Do not lead from a double tenace, especially if you can induce the play of the suit to come up to you. Do not lead from a major tenace if you have a lead that may benefit but cannot deceive partner. Do not lead, unless very strong in suits, from three trumps, or even four, for the purpose of ex- hausting trumps. The lead of trumps after they have been played by partner or adversary, or after a trick or tricks have been trumped by either party, must depend upon conditions which the player will understand ; but an original lead from three trumps may give the opponents a game that by other play could have been made by the leader. 48 Wkist Universal. Players of three trumps at the start sometimes quote the "rash trump-leading" of Deschapelles. They do not consider that he always felt his way be- fore making his trump-lead, and judging by what cards fell and what had fallen, forced two rounds of trumps for the benefit of his after-play. Do not lead the highest of four cards, except in sequence, unless it be the ace of trumps on your first lead upon your partner's call. The exceptions to this direction are — when you play the Descha- pelles coup, or when an ace is led by you purposely to apprise partner of its situation, or to make a trick, opponents having thrown away from the suit. The Parisians lead ace at head of four in plain suits. Of course the lead with us at times is allowable, especially if the second lead can be the 2, for then the leader can have held no more than four. Do not lead lowest of three cards, excepting k., kn., 10, or k., kn., 9, unless ace or k. is the best of the three, and not then if the lowest card is the 10 or 9. Do not lead from ace or k. and one other, except in sequence. Do not lead from any two cards except ace and king. Do not lead from three cards, the highest lower than knave. Objections. 49 Do not lead a low card with qu. or kn. heading the three, but lead the highest. Do not lead a singleton unless it be the ace of trumps. Do not lead a 9 unless you have k. and kn., and not ace or qu. Do not lead a 10 at the head of three, unless in sequence of three. The requirement to lead this card at the head of three is very occasional. Do not lead the 9 as the lowest of any four except k, kn., 10, 9. (See The 9). Do not lead ace at the head of four unless you have the deuce to use for second lead, explaining the situation. Do not lead from three cards, two of which form a high tenace, — for instance, ace, kn., and an- other, or ace, 10, and another. If the lead must be made, it may occur at a time when the ace had best at once take a trick; perhaps, however, you can afford to hold the tenace ; the lead must be one of judgment. Do not lead from ace, kn., 10. If the lead must be made, play ace that you may not deceive part- ner ; he holding either k. or qu., would play nei- ther on 10 led, and so either in fourth hand would make. Second hand holding k., qu., and others would not pass 10 led at the time in the play in 4 50 Whist Universal, which it would be likely to be thrown ; for ace and kn. would both be believed to be in third or fourth hand, and the queen second hand would probably not be a losing play upon a lead shown to be enforced, and would insure command of the Suit. This especially if trumps are exhausted. Do not lead originally from a suit of three, if you have a suit of four, plain suit. A hand so evenly divided you will probably play for partner's bene- fit, and you had best show him by negative action toward the other suits that you are not strong in them. Second Hand. 51 SECOND HAND. The " moderate " second-hand player, according to Cavendish, has little to do, — nothing indeed, but to throw his lowest card. But this is not always whist. Second hand not only has duties to per- form, but may be of great avail, and at once. A general order belongs to each hand held, — to the first, play from your master suit; to the second, play your lowest card ; to the third, play your highest card; and to the fourth, play whatever will take the trick. The rule is positive; the exceptions are powerful. " The reasons for the play of a low card by you, the immediate follow of the lead, when you can play a higher card than the one thrown, are, — first, the leader has probably good cards or a long suit, and you may make efficient your high card in an after-play, should he finesse upon a return lead ; second, third hand will play his best card if needed, and if it takes your best you have played to no purpose ; third, there are two players to fol- low you, and your partner's play may strengthen your position ; fourth, by the play of the low card 52 Whist Universal. on a lead upon which your left-hand opponent will play a high one, you on his lead of any suit become last player." 1 But the commonly received opinion by the or- dinary player that the second hand is of small consequence, since third or fourth hand must de- termine the result of the round, is challenged by the following exceptions to the lowest-card play : 1. When holding a double sequence or a tierce sequence of the suit. 2. When holding a double tenace. 3. If a 9 is led, and you hold qu. and one, or 10 and others. 4. If you desire to begin a call for trumps. 5. If you hold a fourchette. 6. If you hold ace of a suit of which kn. is led. 7. If you hold a combination from which a -certain card must win, the card led proclaiming the combination in the leader's hand. 8. When you hold the k., or the qu., and one more in trumps led. 9. When the lead is your own strong suit, and you can stop its play and wait for a finesse. 10. When you can take the trick and keep the command. 1 AroericaD Whist, eighth edition, p. 56. Second Hand. 53 11. When holding two cards, the one a high one, the other the next below the lead. 12. If a 10 is led, and you hold qu. and one more. 13. When holding k., qu., 9., and others, knave led, you care to insist upon the play of the ace if in third hand. 14. When planning any description of finesse upon the very first lead of the hand. To show the influence of the second-hand play, it will be proper to explain the value of these exceptions to the conventional play of the low card. 1. If you do not play the lowest of the se- quence, a lower card than one of that sequence may be played third hand, and your partner's best card of the suit, perhaps the ace, required to take the trick. Suppose the 3 of hearts is led. You hold qu., km, 4. If you throw the 4, hoping that k. may fall third, and ace fourth, third hand in- stead plays 10, forcing your partner's ace. Had you played the km, you would not only have taken the trick, but from your partner's under-play lead might have made three tricks in the suit. Again, you hold 10, 9, 6. The lead is the 5 from qu., km, 7, 5. If you play the 6, third hand the 8, the trick costs your partner's k. If you throw 54 Whist Universal. the 9, third hand will play the 2, and your part- ner the 4, — holding the other two tricks with ace and king. 2. Holding ace, qu., 10, and another upon a small card led, play either qu. or 10, usually the qu. ; for you are left with a strong tenace. But the 10 is the proper play if you are strong in trumps. 3. If in this case you hold double tenace, play 10, as k. and kn. must be in leader's hand; for if he plays the best whist, he will never lead originally a 9 unless he holds those cards. Hold- ing qu. and one more, play qu. ; with two or more, pass the 9 ; holding 10 and others, play the 10. An after-play of a lower card in the suit is not a call for trumps. 4. Play an unnecessarily high card, the best of two small ones if you can do so. Partner will see a 4 and afterward a 3 as readily as first a kn. and then a 5. Moreover there is less chance for the opponents to notice a small card thrown ; and you must compliment your partner's observance by non-demonstration. 5. If a 10 is led, and you hold kn., 9, and an- other, the lead is a forced original one from the highest of three: play the kn.; it forces third hand, may benefit your partner, and does you no harm. Again, if a qu. is led, and you hold k., kn., and 6, Second Hand. 55 play k. ; for if you bring the ace from third hand you have command, if it is with partner you make three tricks. Fourchettes are seldom held against the original suit of the original leader, but sometimes against the enforced lead of an after- player. 6. The knave as an original lead is from k, qu., kn., and two cards, when of course ace is your proper play ; or from kn. at the head of sequence, upon which you also play ace unless you hold the k. or k. and qu. besides. Holding ace and qu., play ace. It is folly to play qu., as the k. must be behind you. The old rule of Cavendish printed in the revised tenth edition, and in editions following, was, " If an honour is led, and you have a higher honour and numerical weakness, cover it." This order continued to be obeyed until in " American Whist " it was rebuked as follows : " If kn. is led, and you have qu. and small ones, it is useless to play qu. ; for neither ace nor k. is on your right, while 10 and 9 may be there. If you play qu., C. k., and B. ace, you have gained the trick indeed, but you would have had it if you had not sacrificed qu., and you have established D.'s suit. If you hold k., qu., and others, you do not play qu. on kn., for D. has not ace, and either C. or B. will take the 56 Whist Universal. knave." Cavendish now tells us, " It was formerly the practice to cover an honour with an honour, if numerically weak. Calculation shows more is gained than lost in the long run by passing." Whose calculation ? In " Whist Developments " he says, "As regards covering queen with k., or kn. with qu, Dr. Pole's calculations have demonstrated that it is more advantageous to pass, even with numerical weakness." We respectfully submit that the statement quoted from " American Whist " was printed long before Dr. Pole made his " calculations," that com- mon-sense and not algebraical ingenuity is alone requisite to show the folly of the English- ordered play, and that any " calculations " con- cerning it are of equal value with a mathematical demonstration by Dr. Pole that the sun is farther than the moon from the earth. 7. Holding ace, k, 10, 4. The 8 led, play the 10 ; it must take the trick. 8. The k. or qu. will make then or probably not at all, since the leader holding three, four, or five small ones with ace will lead fourth-best card ; and you also run an equal chance between third hand and partner. 9. Holding ace, k, kn., and others, play k. ; ace and kn. will eventually make. Second Hand. 57 10. Holding ace, k., and several more, take with k. and do not play the suit. 11. Holding k. and 7, the 8 led, there is no avail in keeping k. 12. The play of the qu. may save the partner's ace. 13. Third hand may have ace and two small ones, and decline to take the knave unless forced to do so. 14. Finesse in whist begins anywhere, and at any time. You may desire at the outset to block the leader's game, or to risk against third hand a card that will give you either lead or control. But these important plays by second hand are supplemented by those that demand the player's attention in the after-play. In the second round he is to play the winning card to gain the trick or help the partner, or to avoid doing so if it has been proved that third hand was weak, and not to do so in trumps if he holds well in them, especially if with winning cards. He is to finesse by trial, and on him rests all responsibility of the returned finesse. His play to save his partner is at times of greatest consequence. The trick that wins or loses the game is not infrequently for him to make. For instance : clubs led originally by D., from qu. and 58 Wilis t Universal. three small ones. A. holds 10, 4, 2 ; A. plays 2, C. plays kn., and B. takes with k. Afterward, trumps exhausted, D. leading again plays another small club. If now second hand throws the 4, C. plays the 9 and draws the ace. If second hand plays 10 he takes the trick, and the ace may cap- ture qu. Good players, therefore, attach great importance to correct second-hand play. Analysis of Second Hand. 59 ANALYSIS OF SECOND HAND. With the Ace. Holding ace, k., qu. — With or without others, play lowest of sequence. Ace, k., kn. — Play k. Ace, k., and others. — Play k. ; but in trumps, unless qu. is led, it is well to pass the lead. Ace, k., only. — Play k. Ace, qu., kn., and others. — Play lowest of sequence. Ace., qu., 10, and others. — Generally qu., but strength in trumps will determine if 10 had best be played. The card led will sometimes help the decision. For instance, with 9 led play 10 and hold the tenace over k. and kn. ; with 7 led play 10, for the lead must be from k. or kn. In trumps play 10, for the larger tenace is the best to hold. Ace, qu., 10, only. — Play 10. Ace, qu„ and others. — Play a low card unless kn. is led, when play ace. It is poor play to cover with qu ; the leader cannot have k. The lead in Long Whist adopted from the Parisan code in trumps is kn. When holding k. and 10, one of 60 Whist Universal. the leader's three cards will make ; therefore cover kn. with ace. Whether 10 or 9 is led, play qu. Ace, kn., 10, and others. — In plain suits a low card. The leader has not k. and qu. ; one at least of these cards is behind you. In trumps play 10, for then the leader may have both k. and qu. Ace and others. — If five in suit, play ace ; in trumps, a small card. The leader must have four, perhape five ; and in plain suit, if your partner does not take the trick, you passing, you may not make a trick in the suit. To save the ace from being trumped it had best be played upon the lead. In trumps holding a good plain suit, avoid the play of the ace even on the second round. With the King. Holding k., qu., kn. — Play lowest of sequence. K., qu., and others. — Generally play qu. ; in trumps, a low card. Having but three in suit, play qu. Pass the kn. led, unless you care to bring down ace if in third hand. K., kn., 10. — Lowest of sequence. K., kn., and others. — A low card, unless qu. is led. K., 10, and others. — A low card. K. and others. — A low card. Analysts of Second Hand. 61 From either qu. or kn., or 10 or 9, play lowest of sequence or a low card, unless with a fourchette, or with only two in suit, risking the return of a trump from partner. Upon an honour led, play ace. Play no honour but the ace on either qu. or kn. led ; unless on kn. you play qu., holding 10, or on qu. you play k. holding kn., or holding ace and k. Upon a 10 led, with qu. and but one more, play qu. If a 9 is led you cannot have k. or kn. ; but if you hold qu. and another, or 10 and another, play qu. or 10. If an 8 is led, and you have but k. and another, gen- erally play k. You must, if you can, read the three cards that are above the lead, that your second-hand play may take the trick with a small card, leaving you in command. For instance, hold- ing ace, k., kn., 8, the 7 led, the 8 will win. Do not generally play a high card if you have but one more, and that a small one. These plays suppose a low card led unless otherwise specified, and all the time the quality of that card must be considered. A 2 led is from three higher cards of the suit, while a 4 or 5 or G may be fourth best from live or more. The trump- card must be remembered, its quality and place, — that is, what it is and with whom, — if the lead is or is not the first one made in the hand, if you 62 Whist Universal would be accurate in second-hand play. When- ever the order is for the kn. or 10, etc., played second, if you hold a sequence up to that card you play the lowest of that sequence. In the second round, and even in the third, if your partner has been playing the strong hand you are to consider every movement for his ad- vantage. He will know that you in helping him over first player are not calling for trumps. If he has called for or has played trumps, and you hold the winner and another, play the winner whatever it is, and give him the smaller card. If the opponent has called or played trumps, pass the card led for your partner's possible gain. The discard of the highest or next best of a suit that the second next lead may not be thrown into his hands ; the proper trumping of a suit in order to save the partner's trumps; the indication by his play of strength or weakness in the suit led ; the sounding of the echo to his partner's call, and the finesse which intentionally, or that which if unsuccessful, throws the lead for his advantage, — are opportunities that are offered second hand; and diligently to improve any of them, following directly as he must the play of right-hand adver- sary, asks for skill equal to that required of first or third hand player. Analysis of Second Hand. 63 To those persons who imagine that second-hand play is plain because you have only to throw the lowest card, we commend the statement of Lassave concerning Deschapelles : " I had rather he would lead or play third hand than to be at my left when in an exigency I am to play. He plays second hand to win with it ; and he does win with it. His finesse is terrific." 64 Whist Universal. THIED HAND. To the detail of third-hand play in accordance with the new system of American Leads, Caven- dish in copying the examples, illustrations, and arguments of Mr. Trist, devotes eighty pages of " Whist Developments." Referring players who desire to study game-openings to that analysis which with the illustrated hands and the referen- ces to them makes a volume of itself, we shall give the general order of play in manner sufficiently comprehensive to enable the student to understand the relationship between the lead and the duty of the leader's partner. In the first place it must be borne in mind that it is of the original lead of the original leader with which third hand is to deal throughout all the examples to which reference has been made. It is the business of third-hand player in all those instances to conform to the desire expressed by the lead of the first player to make for him his hand. In former play, — that is, before the adoption of American Leads, — third hand was indeed apprised of the fact that his part- ner held a long suit, one card of which he origi- Third Hand. 65 nally played, perhaps too following with another of the same suit ; but third hand could form no estimate of the quality of his partner's remaining cards. Pole talked about playing the two hands as one, and instantly made it impossible to do so by an original lead of a deuce at the foot of a suit of six. Cavendish bettered the matter by the establishment of the penultimate, but still left third hand in the dark. Drayson determined to throw a knave at the head of five not in long- sequence, because " you may possibly bring down qu., k., and ace the first round, and will hold the best and third." Now, it happens in a vast number of cases in whist that first hand may lead exactly as he should do, and that third hand should do very differently from the way in which the leader had planned for him to do. This circumstance vitiates not in the slightest degree the utter propriety of the original lead, nor the propriety of a continuous lead, or of a change of lead ; but it establishes the statement that while partners should play for each other, and that third hand should generally assist first player in the development of his suit and of his plan, nevertheless third-hand player is an important factor in the quartette, and may at any time assume to. be an independent one. Third 5 66 Whist Universal hand regarded as the accommodating personage who carries out the purposes of the original leader, is of great consequence when he figures as an illustrator of the efficacy of American Leads ; and it is with him in this relation that we have first explicitly to deal. The proper original leads have been given, and we are to suppose that advanced players are fa- miliar with the system. To illustrate that system in its integrity requires that not only third-hand player must conform to its requirements, but sec- ond-hand player also ; so that in despite of what might be done by a second hand like Deschapelles, who at times would not allow first hand to de- cipher his finesse, we are to let second hand keep as rigidly within the law as either of the other two. Fourth hand will not interfere with any of the proposed p]an, because no continuous play of the hand is illustrated. It is about the original lead and what comes of it, because of what the partner of the leader is to play in the suit of that leader, that we are interested. Having ace and four, says the new system, lead ace ; then original fourth best. Third hand reads two better cards in leader's hand, knows at the outset there were live at least, and prepares to play his own four, or three, or two, that the suit Third Hand, 67 may be of service. But ace may be played from one of the established combinations that are not affected by the new play, which regulates, not what can be understood without new lights, but what was neither uniform nor direct. Third hand, however, is informed how to read, what to play, and when to unblock in the fol- lowing variety of examples, for all which we are indebted to Mr. Trist (Cavendish compiler), in " Whist Developments." 1. Third hand holds k., 6, 5. A. leads ace ; C. small, B. 5, D. small. A. leads qu., C. small, B. 6, and not k. to get out of the way, although B. knows that A. has kn., for he also knows A. has but one more of the suit, and that card cannot be the 10; so that 10 being against, B. retains k. 2. Third hand holds k. and two others. A. leads ace, C. throws 6, B. low one, D. low one. A. leads kn., C. small one, B. throws k, for qu. must be in leader's hand. If, however, C. does not follow, B. should play the low card, retaining the k. in his hand. 3. Third hand holds k. and three small ones. A. leads ace, C. plays small one, B. small one, D. plays 9. A. leads kn., C. 8, B. small ; D. trumps. When C. has the lead, he plays 10 ; B. plays k., 68 Whist Universal. although he knows it will be trumped, to get rid of the command. If all followed suit to ace and kn., and kn. wins, it is certain that B. holds k. and a small one. A. will not continue the suit, for one adversary will trump and one throw away. B. will play k. after trumps are out, and lead the small card to partner. Should the suit not be led a third time, and B. (original third hand) be required to discard from his partner's suit, he should throw the k. and not the small one. A. must have qu. and two others, the 10 single against. 4. Third hand holds k. and two small ones. A. plays ace, then 10. B. should throw k. on sec- ond play that he may not block the suit, and A. should not conclude that he had no more of the suit although he threw the high card, for he was offered the chance to get out of the way and took it. 5. With k. and three small ones, third hand should pass the 10. 6. With k. and more than three others, third hand passes ; for if the lead was from four cards, B. otherwise would block his own suit This of course, when B. can know that his partner will play the 10 following ace, with qu., kn., 10, only. Third Hand. 69 7. Third hand holds qu., 4, 3. A. leads ace, C. plays 5, B. 3, D. 2. A. leads 9, C. plays k. ; B. should throw qu., for there must be two higher cards than the 9 in A.'s hand. 8. Third hand holds qu., 10, 8. A. plays ace, C. plays 9, B. plays 8, and D. plays 2. A. plays 6, C. plays k. ; B. should throw qu., for A. must have ka., 7, and a small card. 9. Third hand holds k qu., kn., 2. A. plays ace ; it must be at the head of five. B. should throw kn., then qu., then either play or lead k., for if at any time before these high cards are out of the way B. throws the 2, he has blocked his partner's suit. With any four cards by the play of which B. may get in the way of a long suit, he should throw his secuntt best to the original ace-lead. For example, — 10. Third hand holds 7, 6, 5, 2. A. leads ace, C. plays 8, B. plays 5, and D. 9. A. leads kn., C. plays k., B. plays 6, D. renounces. When A. has the lead again, A. plays qu., and B. 7 ; A.'s suit is unblocked. KB. had thrown the 2 to the ace, A.'s suit would have been blocked. 11. Third hand holds qu., 9, 8, 3. A. leads ace, C. trumps, B. plays 3. When D. has the lead he plays k. ; A. plays 2, C. renounces, and B. plays 8 ; D. leads again the 5, and A. plays 7. Now origi- 70 Whist Universal. nal third hand B. should throw qu., for A. must have kn. and 10. Third hand may not be able to get rid of cards that may be in the way, but he can announce the reason for his play. 12. Third hand holds qu., kn., 10, 9. A. leads ace, third hand throws 10 ; A. leads 4, C. trumps, B. plays kn. Afterward D. leads k., and B. plays the 9. He must have the qu., since he had four of the suit. He played the 10 first, then the 9 to give the position of the qu. ; he would not have done so if he had played first 9, then 10, then kn. 13. Third hand holds 6, 4, 3, 2. A. leads ace, C. plays 5, B. plays 3, D. plays 7. Second, A. leads 9, C. plays k., B. plays 4, and D. kn. If C. does not lead a trump, the probability is that the 5 is his lowest card of the suit ; then B. must have the deuce and the 6. Of this A. could not have been sure if B. had first played 2, then 3. 14. Third hand holds k, qu., 8, 3. A leads ace, C. plays kn., B. plays 8, I), plays 2. A. leads 6, C. trumps, B. plays qu., and D. 4. No one having played the trey, B. has it ; he must have one more card, the k, and of course D. has the 10 single. 15. Third hand holds k, kn., 5, 2. A. plays ace, C. plays 4, B. plays 5, D. trumps. D. leads a trump ; if C. were not calling, B. holds the deuce Third Hand. yi of the suit, so that A. can tell that B. lias three more and C. has two more. Now if third-hand has but three cards, of which he can get rid by almost any play, A. can count the cards. 16. Third-hand holds 9, 6, 5. A. leads ace, C. plays 2, B. plays 5, D. plays 4. If A. has the 3, B. has no more, or but two more. A. leads 8, C. plays k, B. plays 6, D. plays 7. Later in the hand B. discards the 9. D. has qu. ; A. can lead for B. to over-trump if he thinks proper. 17. Third hand holds qu., 9, 2. A. leads ace, C. plays 3, B. plays 2 (therefore had not four), D. plays 4. A. leads 6, C. plays kn., B. plays qu., D. plays k. B. afterward discards the 9. D. must have the 10, and A. can force B. For if B. had held four of the suit originally, he w r ould have played the 9 to the first trick instead of the 2. 18. Third hand holds 10, 9, 8, 4. A. leads ace ; C. plays 7, B. plays 8, and D. plays 2. A. leads qu. ; C. plays k., B. plays 9, and D. plays 3. When A. leads kn., B. plays the 4 and holds the 10. A. may lead from five cards, and put B. into difficulty about unblocking because of D.'s trump- ing on the first round. For example : — 19. Third hand holds k., 10, 5, 2. A. leads ace ; C. plays 6, B. plays 5, D. trumps. Afterward A. 72 Whist Universal. leads 4; C. plays kn., B. plays k., D. trumps. Third trick, C. to lead. C. plays qu. ; B. cannot place the 9, and does not wish to part with his 10. There is an even chance that of the two cards that A. holds one may be the 9. Perhaps as it was his lead the risk might be run. But B. can make his 10 if he does not throw it now. The matter of trumps and trumping, save when specified, is not supposed to interfere with the run of suits given as examples. They are played as if trumps were gone. In the matter of the return of the lead, when B. gives back his highest card owing to calculation of what is in from play, he does contrary to the accepted rule of play of re- turned leads. The hand properly played from the first, A. will understand what that return means, and that the small card is yet in B.'s hand. " The return here proposed," says Cavendish, " will most likely be a bitter pill for the old school of whist-players to swallow. They may have been brought up to return the higher of two re- maining cards, the lowest of three ; and they will probably continue in that faith. If, however, they wish to unblock their partner's suits, and to play their cards to the best advantage, they will have to depart from the cherished whist- maxim of their Third Hand. 73 youth, where an ace is led originally. If they are content to stand still, no one can prevent them ; but they may be sure that the whist-players of the future, having nothing to nnlearn, will return any card which experience tells them will most probably conduce to success." In the process of unblocking there is therefore frequent necessity for the play of a card higher than one that -remains in hand. The card that is so played is not unnecessarily high, and so does not begin a call for trumps. And if another card of the same suit higher than that already played is afterward purposely thrown instead of the lower card, the play of the lower card at any time thereafter does not constitute a call. If the play of a card higher than one that could have been played might be construed as the beginning of a call, the fact that the call was not finished at a time when it could properly have been finished, nullifies any action of the low card in reference to a demand for trumps. For the practical unblocking in the partner's suits, third hand had best do away with the idea of calling for trumps. "While by the use of a middle card of his tierce B. can make a call, there is probable chance enough for him to obtain a lead and play trumps, if he can be of greater ben- 74 Whist Universal. efit to his partner than by unblocking in his suit. Enough has been said and shown in this matter of unblocking to satisfy the players that there is a plan devised by the use of which they can play to the best advantage for the partner's long suit. Whenever A. leads an ace and follows it with a low card, B. holding four cards exactly of the suit should so manage his hand that A. will not be prevented from making his long suit. The examjDles that have been given only show the manner of avoidance of blocking the partner's suit. These could be multiplied indefinitely, but instead the general rule for play may here be given : — When a king is originally led, if third hand does not attempt to take the first trick he throws Ms lowest card, unless he cares to call for trumps, no matter how many cards of the suit he holds. When ace of any plain suit is led originally, if C. follows suit, third hand with any four cards of the suit exactly, retains his lowest card. When qu., kn., or 10 is led originally, whether second hand follows suit or renounces, third hand with four small cards of the suit exactly, retains the lowest card. On the second play, if third hand does not take the trick he plays his middle card. When he Third Hand. 75 afterward throws a lower one of the suit, he has not called for trumps. If third hand retains his lowest card on the play of the first trick, and is to return the suit, he is to play his highest card in that suit, although he holds three at the time. It follows then that third hand should pay special attention to assisting in the establishment of the original lead, supposing that it may be from a strong continuous suit; but that suit may be stronger or longer in third hand than in first. A. holds — as in our first example (p. 67), wherein all was easy sailing — ace, qu., km, 2. Suppose A. leads the ace and B. holds k., 10, 9, 8, 6, 5, three small trumps (clubs), two small diamonds, and two small spades. B. can neither help nor hinder; he can but inform. He knows the suit can run but once. It is useless for him to play one of his best cards, for the suit will come out and presently develop. Again, A. leads k. of clubs plain suit ; C. throws the 5. B. has ace, kn., and five more clubs. This suit is to be trumped second round if not upon the first, and encouragement must not be given to play it again. B. should attempt to take with the ace, and lead a trump though he has not more than three ; especially if he holds a card of re-entry. j6 Whist Universal. The leads that can be readily traced as the her- alds of certain combinations that third hand is to assist in making available, have been explained. When third hand must play his own cards for the most that he can make from them, perhaps requir- ing instead of affording assistance, he is liable to finesse, retaining control of the suit led. A. leads the 9 of clubs, B. holds the major tenace and a small card. The value of the card led is evident, the finesse is in passing it ; but if he does so he must take control next play. He can take with qu., open his own suit, and when not afterward returning the club-suit nor leading a trump, the partner can understand that he had best play B.'s hand if possible. Finessing on your partner's play is a very dif- ferent matter from finessing against the partner. The qu. or kn. and ace and others are proper finesse cards. The 10, holding the k. and others, or the 10, holding qu. and others, may as well be played upon a small card led as the best card that you hold ; for it may be, first, that your 10 may draw the ace, and then your high card may be of much use to your partner ; and, second, if the other cards are with your partner and on your right, you will know what is best to be done to make those in your partner's hand. In order to figure Third Hand. 77 finesse proper, the simplest form, it is usually necessary to consider two or three hands. For instance, leader throws a low card, second hand throws one lower, third hand holds k. and 10 and two low ones. Now, the position of any one high card besides the k. is unknown to third-hand player ; but if his partner has led from ace-qu., the kn. is as likely to be on the right as with the last player, and if A. led from ace-kn,, the qu, may be with second hand. It is easy to see that the 10 is a correct play, On the kn. led, third hand holding ace and one only should play ace and return the small one; holding more than one small card of the suit, pass the kn. The lead may be from k., qu., kn., and others, or from kn, at head of sequence, or with a hand of short tenaces or weaknesses it may be the best of three. In any case you do no harm in passing once ; if the card takes, you have given information to your partner that you have more than ace and another. Moderate players who have seen that the capture of the knave with the ace by second hand was good play, do not draw the distinction between the play made by adversary and partner; and holding two or more small cards throw the ace to clear the suit for first player before they ascertain that yS Whist Universal. the suit is there. If it is not there, B. loses a trick. Do not play k. on kn. led; the ace is not in first or second hand. There are two recognized leads from quart se- quences to k. (p. 30) ; so that when the 10 is led, the reasons for taking with ace must exist in your own hand and mode. The force of original leads is soon spent. All the parties have but four, and every one of the four has one long suit of more or less pretensions. The player who is successful with his suit is gen- erally indebted to his partner for assistance with trumps, or holds well in the two suits. Third hand learning what suit the partner cares to play, if strong in trumps will make his hand of service. The play changes because forced to change. The hands are different in every round, and the wit of skilful players opposed to each other make the game of interest, not only by antagonizing the suits, but by overturning the plans of the holders. Third hand finesse, therefore, is usually a conspic- uous feature in a brilliant game. Third hand after trumps are out, holding the same suit, to make which they drew trumps, some- times has opportunity for announcement of his strength. A. knows that B. has clubs in his own Third Hand. 79 best suit as first led, but he does not know of their quality. Trumps gone, he does not dare play a small club that D. may take, for then he will bring in the diamonds. A. therefore plays his k. of clubs, B. throws the 4; A follows with ace, B. throws the 3 ; A. may go on with the lead, B. has the queen. The conditions that attach to size of card that second hand shall throw, may seem of little conse- quence near the close of the play ; but third hand may save a trick. A. leads a small spade from kn., 9, and two small. Second hand, to take the trick with two only, throws qu., not 7 ; third hand k., to draw two honours for one; D. ace. D. holding up the 10 continues the suit ; A. having last trump passes for B.'s best card, and B. makes the 8. B. returns the 3, and A. holds the tenace. Third hand holding last trump is most favorably situated for finesse. A. knowing that B. has last trump should throw his highest cards, and B. may pass any of them in finesse even against his right. He has all advantage ; for if fourth hand takes, he ra ust lead up to B., then last player. Third hand finesse at times from an original lead, and frequently upon the after leads, will win trick or throw the lead to advantage. When the trumps are declared strong against, deep finesse 80 Whist Universal. by third hand may be the only plan that can save a game. Whenever it happens that third-hand player is very weak in all suits, his proper play may nevertheless be of service. It simply re- mains for him to do the best that he can. He cannot play what he does not hold, but he should play correctly what he does hold, no matter of what quality. A. led the qu. of hearts, trump ; B. threw the 3. A. led the k. ; B. threw the 2. A. read the two more trumps in B.'s hand. A. led k. of diamonds, taken by the ace of right-hand adversary ; who led_ a club, taken by the other adversary; who led a spade up to A.'s tenace. A. threw qu. of diamonds, then a small one that B. trumped, who led another spade; A. took and led another diamond, drawing B.'s last trump. A. made the rest of his trumps and game. B. had announced his holding of four trumps, and he took two tricks; but he held a "Yarborough," — that is, not a card of any suit above an 8. A. led the 8 of clubs, plain suit ; B. held qu., 9, 3. C. threw the 7 ; B. the 3, for the qu. was useless and B. was weak in trumps. D., who had only low clubs, could not take the trick. Of course there was but one card that could take it, — the k. ; and that was in C.'s hand, and would Third Hand. 81 have been his best play on 8 led second hand. But the correct third-hand play informed A. what next to do. He threw the ace, on which, if C. was not calling, the k. must fall ; drew the trumps, and made his suit. Si Whist Universal. FOUBTH HAND. Fourth-hand player is not merely a dummy, having but to trump a trick or win it, if he can do so by overplay. He must know when to take a trick and when not to do so, though in his power. He is no more to catch each trick that offers, than lie is to omit to capture what is proper for him to make. For instance, A.B. and CD. were each 26 points ; the rubbers were even, the games were even, and when C. turned a small diamond on the last deal, the score stood 6 to 6. B. led the ace of spades at the head of six ; qu. falling third hand, he did not continue the suit, but threw the kn. of hearts. This was taken by C. with ace, who, strong in spades but having not a trick beside, and hearts not being the original lead, re- turned the lead. B. threw the 10, and A. took with qu. ; knowing B. had no more, A. followed with king, B. renouncing. A. now — with three tricks in, no call made, the major tenace and three of suit in clubs, and k., qu., 10, and 6 of diamonds — threw k. of diamonds. C, B., and D. threw small diamonds ; A. followed with the 6 of diamonds, B. Fourth Hand. 83 played kn., C. and D. small. B. having no more trumps, and satisfied that A. held the trumps, to make the game threw a spade, of which A. might have the k. ; if not, he could take the trick with a small trump, then play the ace of diamonds that he must hold, and the game would be won. A. trumped the spade, and then, with six tricks in, exultingly threw his ace of clubs for the odd card and game. D., fourth hand, trumped ; led ace of diamonds and drew the qu. ; led a small spade to his partner who must hold king; made his last trump upon the return play ; made the 5 and 4 of hearts, the odd trick, the game, the rubber, and the odd point upon the long play. C.'s hand by a Short-Whist or a Five-Point player would probably have been thrown down, or at least the announcement made that the game was past all hope ; but Long Whist does not tol- erate such exhibition. The hands must be played out ; and this was done in this case, to the mani- fest astonishment of three players. A. leads k. from k, qu., kn., and a small card ; D. holding ace, 10, and others, passes. If A. makes the common error of continuing with the small card, D. makes two tricks. A. leads the k. of trumps at the close of a hand, from k., qu., and 10. D. holds ace, knave, and an- 84 Whist Universal. other. If D. takes the first trick, he loses both the others; if he declines to take it, he makes both the others. One more example " from actual play," as Cavendish says, wherein D. had the best of chances to trump and ruin a game : — Score 6 to 6 ; 5 of hearts turned by C. B. led small spade from four, 9 high ; A. played qu., and C. took with king. C. led 7 of diamonds, B. small one, D. the 10, A. the qu. A. holding the dia- mond and high tierce-trump sequence, was sure of the game, and although he had played qu. on his partner's lead, thought best to risk the return to find him either with ace or kn. C. played ace, and led the kn. of diamonds; D. played a low diamond, and A. took with k. A. now satisfied that his partner could take a trick in spades, first drew three rounds of trumps, leaving the thir- teenth with D. He then threw the best diamond which D., although a sure trick, did not trump, for he saw the policy, as he had not a sure trick in clubs or spades, of leaving the matter in his part- ner's hands ; had he trumped this best card, he must have led a club up to certain destruction. D. believed of course as A. did, and as they both had reason to do from C.'s play, that B. must hold the kn. of spades. A. next led the small spade Fourth Hand. 85 that his partner might make the one trick needed ; but C. took it with the 10, followed with the kn., then with the diamonds, and lastly with a low club, a singleton, on which D. must play his thirteenth trump. The ace, qu., and two small clubs were with B., but he would not lead from them at first, prefer- ing to be led up to ; after his first lead he had no other chance. C.'s play was very fine in this ex- ample. Cheap players would have endeavored to utilize the singleton, or at least would not have practised his covering of the spade led. But the play is especially noticeable, because of D.'s under- standing what must be done. Probably four fifths of the players would have taken that sure trick in diamonds; while D. by not doing so, offered one of the recorded demonstrations that fourth-hand play is no sinecure. 86 Whist Universal, SPECIAL TOPICS. Folkestone spoke wisely when he said, " Study your partner's hand." The routine player seldom takes this advice into account. B. opens the play with the 8 of hearts. D. plays the 7. A. holds the ace, qu., kn., and two small hearts and five trumps, with major tenace. He should in- stantly see that the 8 will take the trick, that D. has no more hearts, and that if he passes it his partner will at once give him a trump. But he sees nothing of the kind. He flings the kn. upon the 8, thinks he has made a successful finesse because C. did not play king, and leads a trump because of his and his partner's hearts ; B. plays the kn. of trumps and D. captures it with king. A. has lost a trick, — perhaps more than one, for he may be forced, — but all the time he firmly believes that he is playing whist correctly. Perhaps good advice about general play is to the effect that if you are strong in trumps you are to play your own game, and while of course consult- ing what may be done by partner, induce him, by evidence that you are able to carry more than he Special Topics. 87 can, to play for you ; vice versa, if you are weak in trumps, play your partner's game. Having sequence of qu., kn., 10, from which you lead qu. and it takes, follow with kn., and if it takes, with 10 ; the k. may be on your left. This especially if you care to force right-hand adversary, for if ace and k. are both in partner's hand and C. can follow, it may be D. must trump ; at any rate you leave B. with best card perhaps as a thirteener. After one round holding three cards of different grade and no winner, if you return your partner's suit, play the low card ; having two play highest ; but if you hold the winner, play it without regard to number. When you return opponent's play, lead through the strong suit up to the weak. If C. has led from any suit of which D. has not a high card, you can judge if underplay had best be tried. When you can keep the best card of the oppo- nent's suit, knowing that your partner has cards of that suit, or not wanting to have him afterward forced by their play, retain the command. Players affected with the trumping mania some- times willingly give up their advantage in order that the suit may be led up to be trumped. To have the highest card out of the way was what 88 Whist Universal. the adversary wanted, and he will at once draw the trumps, or play the force if more to his bene- fit, and afterward make his suit. Unless purposely finessing upon partner's lead, holding the strength, get rid of the command, that he may make his high cards. When partner leads an ace, and of the suit you have four small cards, or three in sequence and one small one, play the third best card ; when he leads again, the second best. If the suit is again led, or after trumps are out, when it is led play your highest card ; for your partner holding two more, one of which is larger than your small card, makes both of his, whether you lead to him or he has the play. If partner leads a knave and you hold ace and more than one small one, do not play ace unless to cover second-hand higher play than km, for he may not have led from k., qu., km, and two. If however km takes and he continues with qu., take with ace that you may give. back the small one ; if you have but ace and one small one take km with ace, and at the proper time return the small one. If you know by the lead and fall of the cards that partner leads from five of a suit of which you have but three or four, be sure to get out of his way, so that your last card will not interfere with either that he holds. Special Topics. 89 You can get out of partner's way in the trump suit as well as in a plain suit. If you know that he is desirous of getting them out, take what he leads with ace, having but one more, playing back the smaller card at once. The system of American Leads allows partners to give constant information to each other in course of play. The leader throws an ace and follows with small card ; whatever that card may be, the leader holds two in the suit that are higher, so that by what the partner holds and what falls upon the second play, third hand may often read the two or even the three cards that remain. Again, the leader throws a small card, — ■ he has three higher ; third hand should carefully study to learn what they are. Again, leader throws a 9 ; he has k. and kn., and if when again he leads he plays the 10, he holds two or three more of the suit and the higher cards. In the matter of reply the partner may inform of his own holding. If he has four cards of the suit, he throws the third best ; and then in ac- cordance with the fact of whether his partner or himself should keep control so that all the tricks possible be made in that suit, he plays best card in the third lead or follow, or retains it, playing the small one, — the play so made after u 90 Whist Universal. the chance to call in the first place not taken, not being interpreted as a call for trumps. If during the play you throw away the highest card of a suit, it follows that you hold command of that suit (or have no other cards than trumps in hand) ; that is, you hold the next cards in sequence. If you throw a second-best card, you should have no more. As in playing the only two cards of the suit, ace, k., you lead the ace, then k., showing no more, so with other cards in simply double sequence. Tor example : you play k. from k. qu., qu. from qu. kn., etc., whether you lead or play to partner's lead, unless he leads a higher card. If he plays 5 of spades and you play qu. and take the trick, returning kn., you have no more, but do not call for trumps by the play. Of course if you take with kn., then play a small one, then play qu., you have yet another ; if you take with kn., then play qu., then play a small one, you can have no more. Cavendish was a long time deciding about that play of ace, then k., and also about the lead of k., then kn., from the four highest cards ; but he has now accepted both. They were printed in "Ameri- can Whist " six years ago. He is giving the best possible attention to the system of American Leads, the letter-press of his new edition being changed Special Topics. 91 from all the former ones to conform to the new order of things ; and his " Whist Developments " presents the plans of the American inventor with regard to lead and unblocking in the precise spirit, if not in the very words, of the original contribu- tions to " The Field." The difference that exists in the manner of play by the different methods is more apparent in the management of trumps than from any other agency. Short- Whist play insists that the "primary use of strength in trumps is to draw the adversary's trumps for the bringing in of your own or your partner's long suit," and advocates their play at once if many are held. But to play to the score that the Short-Whist players keep, equally depen- dent upon the holding of honours with the taking of tricks, requires a very different usage of trumps from what is demanded of the player who strives for points made by the tricks alone. For example, Cavendish says : " If you are at the score of three, the adversaries being love, one or two, you should not lead a trump merely because you have five trumps with two honours, if they are unaccompa- nied by a very strong suit or by good cards in each suit for here if your partner has an honour you probably win the game in any case, and if he has no honour you open the trump suit to a disadvan- 92 Whist Universal. tage." Now, neither in Long nor Mongrel Whist could the matter of honour-count be taken into consideration. Of course with the cards just speci- fied the holder would or would not lead the trump, according to his decision as to the best way to make his tricks in all his suits. Short Whist says, " With great strength in trumps you may proceed at once to disarm the opponents." But Long Whist says, " The first use of trumps is their employ to make our tricks. If we can make them serviceable to that end, although we lose a trick or more to our opponents' trumps, and we by skilful play make more than we can lose, and it may be more than in a defiant game we should have made, we have used our trumps to the best advantage." Tor example: In Short Whist A.B. are 3 ; CD., 0. A has ace, kn., and three small trumps, and leads a small one to see if partner has an honour. B. throws the qu., taken by the k. But A. and B. are two by honours, and have to make but a single trick in suit or with a trump besides the ace and kn. . A's lead was justifiable, for it determined at once his game ; he can draw other trumps with his ace and kn. at his earliest opportunity. But in Long Whist A. holding the same hand is to make as many tricks with it as he can. He thinks it prudent at first to lead a kn. at the head Special Topics. 93 of a long sequence ; B. takes with ace, and returns k. f showing no more ; qu., falls on the left. B. then leads his own suit, and A. calls. B. holding qu. and one other throws qu., which A. passes. B. plays a small one ; A. takes with kn., leads ace, k. falls, and A. makes all his suit. The same hand wins by leading it for honour-count that wins by play- ing it for tricks ; but seven by cards is a far more notable achievement than two by honours. The partner's lead of trumps should be at once returned. His call for trumps should be answered in preference to every other play. Good players, however, do not'use the call unless for excellent reason. Merely holding five trumps is not a rea- son for calling unless there is a gain to be made in suit. A good player, if he wishes trumps led, can generally manage to get in and lead them. The accidental introduction of this now generally un- derstood call for trumps dates from the practice of throwing a high card upon the opponent's lead to stop him from leading the suit again for fear it would be trumped. If then he had a good suit and a long one he might lead a trump of his own accord ; but if he played another card of his suit, and you then threw a smaller card than before, the fact was patent that the play of your first uselessly high card was to induce him to lead a 94 Whist Universal. trump. If he did not lead one, your partner would at the first opportunity. This manner of giving information is now being utilized upon oc- casion to the fullest extent. A 3 and then a 2 is as much a demand for trumps as a queen and a 5. It does but need a spot in excess to serve the signal purpose ; and the player who trusts his part- ner's good sense and quick perception is careful not to offend either, for if he must make the call he does so with his lowest cards. The caller for trumps takes upon himself the entire responsibility of the game; he demands that his partner leave his own play and play for him. In response to the call the partner leads the highest of three trumps, whatever they are, following with the next highest. If he has four he leads the lowest, unless one is the ace ; if the ace, then that first, then lowest. If he has five and is aware that his partner has five, the united hands will lose no trick that can be made. With this number of trumps and in reply to a call he cannot consider the policy of showing his partner how many he holds, so much as the manner in which he is at once to make for his partner's sake his own trumps effectual. Tor example : D. led k. and ace of clubs (trey of diamonds turned by B.) ; A. called. D. persisted in his suit, and B. Special Topics. 95 trumped with the 6 ; he then led the 4 to show A. his own great strength in trumps. D. played the 7. A. the 10, and C. took with the qu., his only trump. D. held the ace, which gave him four tricks in. A. and B. wanted four points to win a rubber of eight (Five-Point Whist). They made but three ; and in the next three hands CD. won the rub- ber of four, — a difference and a loss to A.B. of twelve points by rubber count, because of one absolutely wrong play. For B. when his partner called should have led k. at head of live ; D. must then play ace or lose the trick. C. had but qu., which must have fallen; A. held kn., 10, and three others. The management of trumps is at times by far the most sterling part of the game. The differ- ence in quality of players may easily be known by watching the exercise of care exhibited by the good ones in the proper development of the trump suit, in contrast with the laxity of attention given by poor ones to the detail, which in order to insure success must be understood and closely observed. One false lead in trumps may ruin a hand and lose a game. A single spot in follow, two in finesse, may change an anticipated gain to a loss of many tricks. With a reasonably strong trump-hand and a g6 Whist Universal . good suit, it is dangerous to over-trump the right hand adversary. He has parted with a trump, and is weaker for that. The trump that may be expended in over-trumping to take a trick might, if at that time retained, be the means of command- ing the hand. It not infrequently happens that A. having a good suit and four trumps tries the experiment, usually hazardous, of getting out the trumps. On the third round his partner renounces, and the best of the last two trumps is left in C.'s hand. Now, if C. draws that last trump, and A. has a card of re-entry, he will make his suit; also, if B. has a card of re-entry and one of A.'s suit to lead. Unless C. or D. has a suit established, to draw the trump is not good play; and if the es- tablished card is in D.'s hand, and A. has not a card of that suit to lead him, C. should not draw the trump, unless confident that he can lead to D. a card of which D. holds one of re-entry. The disposition to over-trump is very natural ; but there are cases in which the " moderate player," as Cavendish styles one of a class, incurs constant loss by the practice. The most fre- quent examples are when third hand trumps a plain suit led by his partner ; and fourth hand, holding the best trump and another, over-trumps. Special Topics. 97 He takes that trick ; but if he leads his remain- ing trump it falls to one higher, and if he leads the card which he should in the first place have thrown away, it is taken by one higher, or trumped. In any event he loses a trick. It is not easy to tell when third hand in such a case holds the second and third best trumps. Of course if he does, over-trumping surely loses, when he also holds the winner of a suit or the last card of one. There is nothing more ingenious in whist than the act of properly throwing the lead. It is in this respect that the player of finesse makes his especial gain. The "moderate player" only sees the trick that could have been surely won, but he does not see the two tricks afterward made, one of which could not have been obtained if the lead had not been thrown. If A. holds best and third best trump, and D. the second and fourth best, A. throws upon D.'s best plain-suit card his own best card, so that when led again he cannot take the trick, and is not obliged to lead up to D. and surely lose. If A. so throws away the chance of being the winner of the next trick played, his partner may be able to take that ; and then play- ing through D., the last three tricks are won. This is when there are four cards, — a situation that happens at the close of many a hand. 7 98 Whist Universal. It is often very much better to lead a card of the opponent's suit if you have no winning cards and cannot give your partner one of his suit, in order that when obliged to do so he may lead up to your partner, than to play a card of a suit on which one adversary will discard and the other play a trump. One of those terrible persons who is always getting in a trump, when the second play of a suit is made, holding the last trump, takes the trick, thereby making all the rest of that suit good in the adversary's hands. If he had passed that card and let the suit be played again, it is not unlikely that he might have exhausted one of the oppo- nents, perhaps left the best remaining card of it in his partner's hand. It is not always well to trump the second-best card of a suit, especially with the last trump. Judgment must teach the holder of the trump when to refrain from its use. The player who has command of a suit some- times forces his adversary to their mutual advan- tage where the force is taken ; for it is best to use the trump upon a card that is not only sure to take, but sure to be followed by others equally effective. If it is the leader's determination to force the partner the force had best be taken, although it Special Topics. 99 breaks the power of his trumps ; for the responsi- bility rests with first player to prove that he was correct. Over-truniping is usually safe if the left-hand adversary is strong in trumps, and is always best if the partner wishes that trumps should be played. If after the successful over-trump a trump can be led, the result is usually advantageous. If a strong hand of trumps has been developed by the adversary, the leader and his partner should force that hand if possible. The cards that must be played to force him may be winners, but he would trump them by and by, or they must fall on taking cards of his. They had best be used at once, to the detriment of a battery of trumps. The card that he may be obliged to lead may be taken; if so, another force had best be made. If the play has been so traced that his hand can be read, the leader may know that if his force is kept up a tenace may be broken by a future lead, and so a trick gained per consequence of the continuous force. For example, — fourth hand with the last two trumps and holding ace, qu., of a plain suit, and small cards of another plain suit of which leader has command. Now, if leader plays k. of the fourth plain suit of which fourth hand has none, he must trump it and play ioo Whist Universal. one of the small cards. First player takes, and leads ace of the fourth suit; this takes the last trump, and the ace of the tenace must next be led, then the qu., to be taken by the k. of right- hand adversary. If first leader had not forced, but played instead up to the tenace, the trump- holder must have made all the tricks. When the play is Short Whist it follows that constant regard be had to the score which can so easily be affected for the benefit of the party who is at 1 or 3. While therefore the same cards held by a Short- Whist player if held by a Long- Whist player would be very differently played, yet the principle of the law of lead is not in any wise changed. It is simply the fact that the hand of the Short- Whist player becomes an exceptional one, and he uses it to the best advantage for a different purpose than that desired by the player of the other game. For example, A.B. 3 ; CD. 2. A. holds two honours and two small trumps, and a good long suit; he leads a trump, for if his partner has an honour, his play thereafter is not to make tricks but to hinder the opponents from making them. The Long-Whist player would lead the fourth-best card of the long suit. Again, the Short- Whist player may hold two honours, two small trumps, no long suit, no strong Special Topics. 101 cards, and with no score. In such a case he leads to ascertain about the honours. An illustration is offered by J. C. " I hold qu., kn. } and two small trumps, tierce to a knave and a small card in the second suit, qu., kn., and a small card in the third, and a guarded king in the fourth. With this, which is not great strength, or with any hand of a similar character, I believe it so important to find out whether my partner has a third honour, and whether consequently I may play to win the game, that I unhesitatingly lead a small trump. If my partner has an honour and a trump to re- turn to me, etc., we shall probably win the game, or at least be very close to it." That is, if his partner had a high trump they counted two ; there was not then much chance for the adversaries making five, and J. C. and partner might get three by card. Of course the Long- Whist player would have led the knave at the head of the sequence. It is a common practice with " moderate players " to yield a game or a hand when the main cards are with the opponents ; or it may be suddenly to play out their best in every suit, with the idea that they must get in what they may be sure of making at the earliest opportunity. This course is generally pursued when the adversaries are very strong in trumps. But it is worth something to 102 Whist Universal. save the game against fearful odds, and sometimes there is a chance for doing so. When it is clear that in the leader's weak suit his partner must be strong in order to gain something toward the num- ber of tricks that must be taken, he should not throw his best cards, but lead from his weakest suit. This advice we fear will be followed but very seldom, for the general impulse is to make what can be made, in other words to " get in what can be got in " of the high cards ; but it is sound nevertheless. The leader's partner should finesse deeply, and in turn lead back his weakest suit, and deep finesse should be made in that. The object is to make one or two tricks more, if so many save the game, than would probably be made if the high cards were led at once. For example : if CD. have three trumps, all the rest played, and want four or five tricks, A.B. desire to hinder them from making more tricks than their trumps mast take. If in such a case A. says, "Partner, it is of no use, I have only one or two tricks ; " and B. says, " Nor I, and they have three trumps," and they then throw up the hand, they do but exem- plify an action of frequent occurrence. Now, if B. holds ace, qu., and 10 of a suit and two small cards of another suit, and leads the ace, he will let C. make his k., perhaps his kn. of that suit ; but if he Special Topics. 103 were to lead from his weakest suit, and A. could take ' the trick by deep finesse, and not returning that suit, but instead lead to B. one of his own low cards to find it of B.'s strong suit, C. would not risk his k. or kn. second, and it would be no mat- ter if he did ; but if he did not, B. should finesse the 10 and lead a^ain the weak suit. A. taking this, pursues the former lead ; C. either loses k. or kn., and A.B. have saved the game. Of course this is desperate play, but it is good play, far bet- ter than the play of cards sure to take. It is the only play at such a time that can succeed. Of course a trump must come in by and by, but the risk must be run ; for if either of the suits are to be trumped, the high cards will certainly be trumped as readily as the lower ones, while it is demonstrable at the outset that if the high cards alone are led, even if they make, they will not save the game. Of course in the oft-repeated phrase " save the game," either Short Whist or Five-Point Whist must be the method of play under comment, for Long Whist has no game to save. It plays all for all, and games count only as incidental parts or portions that are classified. An illustration of the three games under exactly the same circum- stances and with the same cards would show very different results. The Short- Whist rubber could 104 Whist Universal. be quickly played ; the Five-Point Whist rubber would be longer, as the honours are not counted ; while the Long Whist games that count all their points toward their rubber would require as much time, it may be, as the other two. Now, the Short- Whist rubber could be one of eight points, the Five Point of eight points ; while the Long Whist count is as yet but for two games of, it may be, seven points each. This statement is in extenso so far as the hands held are concerned. It only shows that players holding the best cards play them differently in the different games. In one game not half of those held need be played ; in an- other not nearly all ; but in the third every card is requisite for point-making. The laws and etiquette of Short Whist are (with exceptions) considered satisfactory to many of the players ; Five Point Whist has no code, but follows as well as it may the Cavendish orders that can be made to answer its purpose ; while Long Whist is peremptory in its requirements, which are in- tended to govern the action of the players of the best of games in its highest estate. Thus in Short and in Five-Point Whist there is much liberty of speech, and in actual play no small license of act ; while in Long Whist the breaking of silence after the first card is thrown is a misdemeanor. Forcing the Partner. 105 FORCING THE PARTNER. The opinions of practical players as to the pro- priety of leading a card for the partner to trump when the leader is weak in trumps, are in decided opposition to one another. Despite all that has been written in the English papers and said by Drayson and urged by players in America, Cavendish persists in printing without change his stereotyped law. It would seem as if he must have good reason for playing out the hand for all that can be made, regardless of the probable act of the adversaries in drawing trumps. He probably thinks that in the working of the hand the trumps of the opponents may be better em- ployed in ruffing another suit, and that they will not draw the trumps unless provoked to do so; or it may be that he deems the loophole of privilege that he gives is large enough for the player, who cares to make the trial, to crawl through. For a player, himself weak in trumps, who wanted to lead from a poor suit that his partner might trump, could easily find refuge 106 Whist Universal. under the Cavendish large, sheltering, provision- ary clause, " when he has already shown a desire to be forced, or weakness in trumps." Be that as it may, there are many players who absolutely decline to force their partners, when themselves weak; and we present both arguments for their consideration. But more particularly we claim, and shall show good reason for our position, that it is not always well to force the partner when the leader is strong in trumps (p. 113). We take first the 16th order of Cavendish. He says, "Do not force your partner if you arc weak in trumps, for you thus weaken him and leave it in the power of the antagonists to draw all the trumps and bring in their suit. If then a good partner refrains from forcing you, you may be sure he is weak ; on the other hand, if he evidently intends to force you (as by leading a losing card of a suit he knows you must trump) you may assume that he is strong in trumps ; and you should take the force willingly, even though you do not want to be forced, depending on his strength to exhaust the adversaries' trumps. "You may, however, though weak, force your partner under these circumstances : (1) When he has already shown a desire to be forced, or weak- ness in trumps, — as by trumping a doubtful card, Forcing the Partner. 107 or by refraining from forcing you ; (2) When you have a cross ruff which secures several tricks at once, and is therefore often more advantageous than trying to establish a suit; (3) Sometimes when you are playing a close game, — as for the odd trick, — and often when one trick saves or wins a game or a point; (4) Sometimes when great strength in trumps has been declared against you." Eeplying to this, Drayson says : " Following this direction, many players will never force their part- ners if they are weak in trumps, and thus many a trick and many a rubber is lost. If I were to enumerate the number of rubbers I have seen lost by one player weak in trumps refusing to force his partner, I should count them by thousands. I have therefore often remarked to such partners when they have urged that they could not force me as they were weak in trumps, ' Say, you would not allow me to make a trick in trumps because you were weak in them/ Under the heading quoted above ('Do not force your partner,' etc.), former writers have carefully pointed out when you may force your partner although you are your- self weak ; namely, ' when he has shown a desire to be forced or weakness in trumps ; when you have a cross ruff; when strength in trumps has been 108 Whist Universal. declared against you; and when one trick will win or save the game.' To refuse to force your partner merely because you are yourself weak, I consider a most dangerous game. You in the first place refuse to allow your partner to win a trick by trumping ; that is, you throw away a trick for some object, and what is this object ? If it be merely to inform your partner and adversaries that you are weak, the information is dearly pur- chased. If it be because you fear to reduce your partner's strength in trumps, you must have as- sumed that he is very strong in trumps, strong enough if not forced to extract the adversaries' trumps and establish a long suit. Then comes the inquiry, What right have you to assume such strength in your partner's hand ? If he has neither asked for trumps nor has discarded a card which may be the commencement of an ask for trumps, you by refusing to give him the option of a ruff practically say, 'I will not give you the chance of making a small trump because I am weak in them.' Immediately the adversaries gain the lead, they extract all your and your partner's trumps, and make the card or cards which your partner might otherwise have ruffed. Do not run away with the idea that to refuse to force your partner because you are weak in trumps is a safe Forcing the Partner, 109 ga.iie. It is a dangerous game, because you are refusing to make a certain trick on the specula- tion that you may probably win more by so doing. If your speculation is incorrect, you lose by your reticence." It may be proper to say that of the thousands or hundreds of thousands of rubbers that Colonel Drayson has watched, some of them at least may not have been managed properly by the player, who, while he knew enough whist not to force his partner, might not have known enough to play the beautiful game of finesse that is far better than the game of force. After reciting an instance in which gain would be made by his order of play, he concludes: "I would therefore, after carefully weighing all the arguments that have been urged by former writers and comparing these with the results of my own experience in whist, be disposed to reverse the directions connected with forcing, and say : ' Un- less your partner has shown great strength in trumps, a wish to get them drawn, or has refused to ruff a doubtful card, give him the option of making a small trump, unless you have some good reason for not doing so other than a weak suit of trumps in your own hand." J. C.'s argument is as follows : " Do not force no Whist Universal. your partner unless you hold four trumps, one of them being an honour ; unless to secure a double ruff which you have the means of making as ob- vious to him as it is to yourself ; " Or, to make sure of the tricks required to save or win the game ; " Or, unless he has already been forced and has not led a trump ; " Or, unless he has asked to be forced by leading from a single card or two weak cards ; " Or, unless the adversary has led or asked for trumps. " This last exception is the slightest of the justi- fications for forcing your partner when you are weak in trumps, but it is in most cases a sufficient apology." Now, Long Whist has a definite reason for offering the partner a chance to trump, although the leader may not be strong. It is, that as all the cards in hand must be played, and as the part- ner knows what he must or what he need not protect, he will exercise his judgment as to trump- ing or discarding when the chance is given him. It may be of advantage to him that the lead be thrown to his left, and if so he will know it. The order is therefore in this wise : " Force your part- ner, if the situation warrants your doing so ; " and Forcing the Partner. 1 1 1 if he does not see fit to accept the force, he will be able to give a good reason for his discard. It would seem as if one way to establish the propriety of either mode of play is to note the effect of each upon the same hands in actual prac- tice. What we desire to see is an illustrated game wherein both partners being weak in trumps, there is a loss proved to be made by one forcing the other, one or more tricks being taken because of the force made. One of England's fine players, Mr. F. H. Lewis, writes as follows : " When may I force my partner is a question frequently put. There are undoubt- edly many positions in practice where the thought- ful but inexperienced player finds himself in difficulty. It is easy enough to understand the reasonableness of forcing an adversary who has shown great strength in trumps, or a partner who has shown great weakness. But suppose, for ex- ample, as an original lead, a player were to lead from manifest weakness, an honor having been turned to his right ; that which in ordinary cases appears to be an invitation for a force would in fact amount almost to a direction to lead through the honor. But I will endeavor to lay down the cases when a player not having trump strength may nevertheless force his partner: — 1 1 2 Whist Universal. " (a) When with no indication of strength he asks for a force. " (b) When the position shows a cross ruff. " (c) When the adversaries have signalled. " (d) To make the fifth or odd trick, or to save the game when the hand of the forcing player or the development of the game does not raise a high degree of probability that the necessary trick may otherwise be made." These are about identical with the Cavendish and J. C. ideas. At any rate, there lurks a strong objection in the minds of all these three players as to the practicability of demanding a trump from the partner on the part of a leader who is not strong in trumps. That it may not be well to force the partner when the leader is strong in trumps, is another phase of the subject. The common practice is to do this, and not any of the English writers object to it. So far from doing so, they show it to be a way of making tricks. But Mr. Lewis, in well- played games, proves conclusively that the best whist consists in the best manner of making the tricks. He says : " An interesting point relating to the force is where the player, in a position to force, has trump strength amply justifying it. It often happens that a player renounces to the lead of his Forcing the Partner. 1 1 3 partner, who, with ample trurnp-strength, has no strength in the then declared suit. If he forces, and the declared suit be not headed by ace, k., or k, qu, the result is, after a force, a lead up to ruinous weakness. No trick is gained by the force, for another trick is lost in the suit. If, however, the player gives the partner his declared suit, the adversaries may infer that he has no strength in trumps, and lead trumps to their disadvantage.' > An excellent game in proof of this point is for- warded by Mr. Lewis to Mr. Proctor, who prints it as one of his "Forty Illustrated." The leader who by the fall of the cards finds his partner without spades, weak in trumps and poor in dia- monds, while himself strong in trumps, does not force the partner by playing a small spade for him to trump, but instead, to gain a trick, leads him the suit in which he must have strength. The hands are as follows, — the score standing A.B. 1, CD. 4, king of clubs turned : — SPADES. HEARTS. CLUBS. DIAMONDS. A., ace, k., 8, 7 G, 3 ace, qu., 9, 4 qu., 5, 4 C, qu., 10, o, 3 ace, 10, 9 kn., 3, 2 ace, k., 3 B., 4 k., kn., 7, 5, 4 10, 7, 6 kn., 10, 6, 2 D., kn., 9, 6, 2 qu., 8, 2 k., 8, 5 9, 8, 7 ii4 Whist Universal. The Play. ( The italicised card wins trick. ) A. C. B. D. 1. S.h. S. 3 S.4 S.2 2. S.ace S. 5 D. 2 S.6 3. H.6 H.9 H.h. H.2 Here is the first proof of the quality of the leader. His partner has no more spades, has shown his poor suit to be diamonds, and has played the diamond to invite the lead of a spade that he may trump. But he has also shown his best suit to be hearts ; and A., with spades that will not take, strong in trumps and trumps not called, resists the temptation into which all poor players gladly fall, playing the game for its future good. A. C. B. D. 4. H. 3 H. 10 H. 5 H. 8 B. of course does right in returning the hearts. He must not play his poor suit of diamonds ; he certainly must not lead trumps. If his partner has not forced him because himself weak, the game is probably lost. But perhaps a cross-ruff may be secured. A. C. B. r>. 5. C.qu. C.kn. C. 6 C. 5 Forcing the Partner. 115 C. sees that a cross-ruff must be secured. He has the tenace in spades, the best heart, an honour was turned, he has the command in diamonds, and A. has not forced B. All this is too much for human nature, and he leads the best of his three trumps. A. takes the trump when played to him, and now is the time for a force. A. C. B. D. 6. S.7 s. 10 C.I . S.9 7. 0.4 H. ace H./ H.qu. 8. S. 8 S. qu. (7.10 S. kn. 9. D. 4 D.L D. kn. D. 7 V-, B. cannot lead another heart, upon which one opponent will throw away and the other play a trump. A. C. B. D. 10. D. qu. D. ace D. 6 D. 8 There is another good play of the fine player. He holds the tenace in trumps ; he needs three tricks. If he keeps queen of diamonds he cannot make them ; if his partner has the 10, he can. A. C. B. D. 11. D.5 D. 3 D. 10 D.9 12. 0.9 C. 2 H.kn. C. 8 13. C. ace C. 3 H. 7 C. k. A.B. win four by cards, and game. n6 Whist Universal. This is one of the instances in which better than ordinary whist is played. The moderate player wonld have forced his partner, and given as his reason, " I was strong enough, and so I forced you." It is the ever pestering idea, that haunts the mind of that " moderate player " about "getting in a little trump." The beauty of play is sacrificed to the definite manner of getting a trick at sight. If the player could but see through the hand in which he gives so much to gain the instant little, he would ascertain, as in the pres- ent case a genuine player did, that if he had forced his partner he might have lost two tricks ; that is, he could have made but two by card, whereas by proper play he made four. Perhaps there ever will be difference of opinion between players about deep finesse and the forcing of partner when weak in trumps. But there need be no question in the mind of any strong player holding the tenace and other trumps as to the propriety of deep finesse in a plain suit, that if unsuccessful throws the lead, or of giving partner an opportunity to make a card of his best perhaps his only suit, before he hurries him to trump a low card, necessitating a return lead that cannot probably be made to the best advantage. It is one thing for A. strong in trumps to lead to B. the Forcing the Partner, 117 suit of B., when B. is weak in trumps \ "but it is quite another thing for A. to force B. to play a small trump, and then have B. lead to A. the best suit of B. But the best mode of play is for the best players to adopt; and they will not be influenced by haste to force a trump when by care they can promote a much more satisfactory result. 1 1 8 Whist Universal. THE 9. " Suppose/' says Cavendish, " you lead a 9, which is called an equivocal card, as it conies from both strong and weak suits." If the 9 is an " equivocal " card, will Cavendish please tell us which of the high cards is not ? The knave must be equivocal, — it can be led at the head of three, at the head or the foot of a sequence ; the 10 must be equivocal, for though Cavendish will not let it be played at the head of a sequence, save in trumps, it can represent a certain four cards at one time and a certain three cards at another ; the 8 must be equivocal, for it can be first best or fourth best (one lower) or lowest of suit. Now if these cards are unequivocal, must not the dialect of Cavendish be changed ? The fact is that the 9, by virtue of its position at the foot of the high cards and at the head of the low ones, is very particularly the only one high card that is not equivocal ; and it is the only card under the pres- ent order of leads that can be used as a repre- sentative of any other two. It is the only one sure leading card that need never be played as an The 9. 119 original lead except to signify one special combi- nation ; it is the only card that can be independent, for the system is broken if any other one is made to herald any single association. Cavendish has not looked into this value and use of the 9. For twenty years he has played whist and written books, and done both well; but the lead of the original fourth best was a surprise to him, and so it seems is the proper play of the 9. Discovery at cards is invention, and the special use for the 9 is an American invention. Let us see what Cavendish has formerly done, and proposes now to do, with this "equivocal" card : " From ace, qu,, 10, 9, lead 9 a ace, kn., 10, 9, tt a a k., kn., 10, 9, it 11 it k., kn., 9, << it it k., 10, 9, a a it ace, 10, 9, a it It ace, qu., 9, it a Anything headed by 9, it n Perhaps he had better substitute " useful," " or- namental," or " ubiquitous," for " equivocal." * If the 9 is led and you have the king, put it on," he says. How much better not to lead it unless you have the king. By the above use or misuse of the 120 Whist Universal, card, neither the partner nor any one else can be other than mystified by its lead. As an original lead, it may draw the partner's king and give up the entire suit at once, or it may draw the oppo- nent's king, insuring the same result for his benefit; while by its play, if the opponents please, when it is led as the lowest of such a variety of combina- tions, the puzzled partner may be defeated, let him do what he may. Singular enough in this game of system, when Cavendish is recommending the American Leads because of their designatory pow- ers, he can say of the 9 led originally \ " The lead is probably from k, kn., 10, 9, with or without small, or from ace, qu., 10, 9. It must not be forgotten, however, that 9 is what is called a doubtful card, and that with exceptional hands 9 may be led from three cards." The system which until now could be easily learned and understood is all unsystem- atized. Original, genuine leads are negatived, ignored, and the one card that means nothing is substituted as a lead. This is whist of a peculiar nature, certainly. " A doubtful card ! " — why not the kn. at the head of three, the 7, the 6 ? Are they not doubtful cards ? But what is to be done if this anomaly is led ? " With ace, qu., and any number of small cards, B. (partner) should play the queen. If the lead is The 9. 121 from the usual k., kn., 10, 9, no harm is done [en passant, this doing no harm must be very sat- isfactory to B. on his partner's original lead, not having the remotest idea what the lead means or what he shall next do to benefit the leader], and there is an off-chance that the lead was an excep- tional one from k., kn., 9, or k., 10, 9." Off-chance is good when applied to an original lead, especially when complimenting a system whose first leads are not to be mistaken. " With ace, qu., only, B. should put on the ace, so as not to block the suit. A. must hold the king." Must 1 why " must " ? You have authorized the original lead from any three cards. If B., all uncertain what his largely licensed partner means, puts on the ace, he may at once give up three tricks or more in that suit. Of course if A. leads 9 he should hold k. and kn., and B.'s play of ace would be correct, and the qu. should be returned ; but B. has no call whatever to play in this manner when by the Cavendish mathematics his guess-work even is of no avail as to what the lead may mean. "If B. holds the qu. and one, two, or three small cards, he should play the queen, as there is an off-chance that the lead is from k., 10, 9, or from ace, 10, 9." Here are two more off-chances upon an original lead. "But with qu. and four small ones B. should pass the 9, so as not 122 Whist Universal. to have his own suit blocked, the great probabil- ity being that the lead was from k., kn., 10, 9." Now if Cavendish will tell us why the probability exists that A. holds the above combination because B. has the queen and four cards, but not if B. has the queen and three cards, we shall be grateful. Also by what manner of reasoning there is or can be any probability, but only a single chance, of A. holding any given combination whatever of which the 9 is a factor. " If after the first trick B. remains with 8, 7, and one small card, he gains no advantage by return- ing the 8." Assuredly not ; nor by returning any- thing else ! This wonderful card the 9, which can be led in Short Whist as an original lead, off-chances inclu- sive, from eight respective combinations, we pro- pose to give a habitation and a home. It will always abide with the king and knave, and when- ever it goes early upon duty it will proclaim its loyalty with no uncertain sound. Finesse. 123 FINESSE. The rules for lead and follow have changed; but the law of finesse, the strength and beauty of whist, has never changed, will never change. Descha- pelles and Clay put the fact on record that throw- ing the lead, even by what seemed to be the loss of a trick, was equivalent to a gain ; for the rest of the play could then more easily be managed to advan- tage. Clay's orders for finesse are as valuable to- day as they were in his time : — "With ace, kn., 10, and one or two others in trumps, I cannot think it wrong, unless there is obvious reason for making sure of two rounds in the suit, to finesse the 10. It is a finesse against two cards, the king and the queen ; but unless both these cards are with your left-hand adversary, you have preserved to yourself the tenace. " I have spoken of the finesse in the high cards ; but it must be remembered that when these cards have been played, the finesse of the lowest, — say of the 5, with the 5 and the 7 against the 6, — is as valuable as that of the qu. from ace, qu., against the k. 124 Whist Universal. " In order to finesse, it is not necessary that you should hold the best and third or fourth best, etc., of a suit. Finesse is possible, and may be forced on you, with almost any combination of cards, se- quences excepted, — say with k., km, against qu., the ace being in; or with qu., 10, against the kn., the ace and k. being both in ; or with combinations of less importance. "I would offer the following opinions, not I fancy very generally entertained, for the considera- tion of experienced players. With ordinary hands finesse may be deep at their commencement, should contract as they go on, until in the last four or five cards there is scarcely any opportunity left for finesse, properly so called. " When weak in trumps, — say even with no trumps at all, — finesse deeply in the suit in which you believe your partner to be weak, in order, as long as you can, to protect him from a force. " Again, say that you have led from k., 9, and small cards, and that your partner having taken with qu. returns to you the 8. You know that he has returned to you the best card he holds in the suit, and that you have to contend not only against the ace, which you know to be behind you, but against the kn. and 10, neither of which cards can be with your partner. The position is difficult, Finesse. 125 but there is no help for it. You must pass your partner's 8. It is a finesse against two cards, but one or possibly both of them may be with your right-hand adversary, in each of which cases you will have played to advantage ; and even in the worst case, that you find both kn. and 10 along with the ace behind you, you have yet retained your king guarded, and have not given up the entire command of the suit. " This leads to the consideration of another numerous class of cases, which although not unsim- ilar cannot strictly be called finesse. Take the same cards as given in the last example. Your partner equally takes with the qu. and returns the 8, but your right-hand adversary renounces the suit. You now know that the ace, 10, and kn. are all three behind you, and it is true that there is no finesse against a hand which has none of the suit played. Still, you would do very wrong to play your king ; you must pass your partner's 8, and you still hold your k. guarded, which prevents your left-hand adversary from going on with the suit without either giving up its command or forcing his partner. Your king thus guarded may still be of great value to you, as your partner will certainly not continue the suit, and your right-hand adver- sary cannot. To have played your king would 126 Whist Universal. have given the entire command of the snit to your left-hand adversary, than which no position could be worse. Cases similar to this are of frequent oc- currence, and should be treated on this principle." The simplest form of finesse (one of two with which the general player is acquainted) is finesse proper. A. leads a low card ; B., holding ace and qu., plays qu., risking the k. on his left. The other is the obligatory finesse. A. leads a small card from qu., 10, etc. B. takes with k., and returns the lead with a small card. The ace must be on A.'s left, perhaps also the kn. ; but it cannot be helped. A. must play the 10. 'Now, there are four more modes of finesse un- known to the general player. They are — (1) The returned finesse. (2) The finesse by trial. (3) The finesse on the partner. (4) The finesse by speculation. It will be readily understood that these varie- ties were of Deschapelles' invention, and that they are applicable especially to Long-Whist play be- cause that calls for the use of all the cards, and these finesses look from the opening of the hand to its close for their results. We give a brief definition of the several forms as practised by him, who regarded his own game as one of signal Finesse. 127 (conversation by the cards) and finesse. The dar- ing and enterprise of his j)lay wonld utterly discon- cert the routine players of our time, as it is said to have frighted England's "isle from her propriety." The returned finesse is made upon the lead of left-hand adversary. When being played through, a card is thrown that it may be he cannot take because he has already thrown, not his third or fourth best, but his best. Your partner may be in a condition to take this trick, and it remains with you to make the finesse if you care to do so. The finesse hy trial is when right-hand adversary has led, and you play a card on which one much higher is thrown by left-hand opponent. The next time the suit is led you play a lower one, it may be, for third hand has shown his strength. The forced finesse upon partner is when you make him take the trick, perhaps of his own suit, that you may hold command ; and also the instant following third play, — perhaps of trumps if you have called them, or if the fall of the cards has revealed your want of them. The finesse hy speculation is when holding sure tricks in other suits, and even it may be in the suit played, you pass, that partner may over- take or over-trump third-hand player; and it is 128 Whist Universal. when you lead to partner a suit expecting him to take and return to you another of which he holds the best that will be trumped by your right-hand opponent and over-trumped by you, or else will make, and partner will have another lead. In one of his chapters upon the "Sublime Game," Deschapelles says : " The difference which exists between the beginning and the end of a deal of whist is incalculable. It sets out in ignorance and obscurity, guided by instinct and chance, supported by invention and talent; it finishes in experience, guided by positive evidence and supported by the light of mathematical deduc- tion. A deal at whist may therefore be consid- ered as a graduated scale of intelligence, beginning with the inventive faculty and ending with math- ematical demonstration; and we may easily im- agine that the intellectual powers are not unem- ployed during its continuation. Every single faculty of the mind, one by one, is successively engaged in the operation; every class of mental agency, and every shade of intelligence are in some degree called into action ; and the contin- ual change in the faculty employed prevents too laborious exertion of intellect, keeps up excite- ment to the end, and produces the highest degree of pleasure. Finesse. 129 " To explain this more clearly, and following the degree of division adopted by geographers and natural philosophers, we shall divide a deal of whist into two parts. Let us suppose a parabola described by the fall of a cannon-ball, whose cul- minating point shall be the seventh or odd trick. On this side of the above point invention is the ruling agent of the game; beyond it, calculation. Attention and memory are seated at its base ; and sagacity placed at its summit portions out' the task, invokes by turns all the instruments which contribute to its completion, urges on or circum- scribes their endeavors, and prescribes to them at the appointed time the repose necessary to main- tain their vigor." (Page 76 et seq.) 130 Whist Universal. SIGNALLING. The term is usually applied to a deliberate call for trumps made by the play of an unnecessarily high card followed by a lower one of the same suit, and styled "the trump-signal." "You did not see my signal/' is the common complaint of an amateur to his partner. If he knew the game and what had best be done with the cards he holds, perhaps he would not have made a signal. But calling for trumps is at once the plainest and cheapest of signals with which whist abounds. Whist is a game of signals ; and the main secret is, that the novice in his anxiety about the trump- signal for which he watches so closely, or which he may be so anxious to give, fails to see by the fall of the cards the many real signals that to a good player are of much greater worth. The trump-signal is much used however by players of Short and Five-Point Whist. Very many players of the long game seldom use it. A fine player in Hartford says, "I will manage to play trumps when I want them played. More harm comes from posting your adversary by a trump-signal Signalling, 131 than good results from getting them led, even when you succeed in doing so." There can be no doubt that the trump-signal is too much used. When an honour over which a tenace is held is turned on the right, a signal to call a trump through such opponent may be of much avail; and where a player holds all the high cards in his adversary's , suit, or when he or his partner has an established suit that may be trumped, there is good reason for the call. The best signal for trumps is made by discard of an 8, or of a higher card of another plain suit than that led. Unless the card so thrown be traceable because of previous play, as one to be parted with for another definite purpose, its discard can be for no other reason than to ask for a trump lead. On the call for or play of trumps by partner, having none, the discard signal is from the weak suit ; by the opponent, from the strong suit. The holding of tierce or quart to ace, is signalled by throwing away ace. One of the best of the signals is that of Ameri- can invention, trumps having been played (p. 78). The echo is another (p. 139). The discard of the second-best card of a suit, showing no more, is another (p. 90). Second hand passing a doubtful card signifies 132 Whist Universal. more than three trumps, or three that had best not be broken, and either second or fourth hand refusing to trump a sure trick makes a positive signal for trumps. The plain-suit echo is not a signal, but a delib- erate order of play. In other modes of play except Long Whist, the law allows the last trick taken and turned to be again exhibited, and the act of leaning over to partner's or adversary's table of tricks and expos- ing it, in order to ascertain what shoujd be known by the meddler without the necessity of such exhi- bition, is of most common occurrence. This prac- tice deserves to be ridiculed by every proper player of the game. The action of the curiosity man in- terferes with the play of the whole table, disconcerts three men to gratify his inquisitiveness, and hinders by interruption the calculation of those who have kept in mind what has been played, as the blun- derer should have done, and who now are planning for what is to come. The best players, however, will not take ad- vantage of the license which they know is pro- vided only for the benefit of the inattentive and weak. Drayson makes a manly protest against the practice, saying, "The longer I play whist, the more I regret that Eule 91 exists, and that Signalling. 133 it is at all possible to see the cards of a trick turned and quitted. Some players have a habit of waiting until the last trick is turned and quitted, and then either look at it themselves or ask that it be shown them. This does not occur once or twice during an evening's play, but is almost perpetually taking place. More espe- cially does it happen when a player has led the king of a suit and follows with the ace, and his partner drops the 3 or 4. A careless player will then ask to look at the last trick ; and if he finds a 5 in it, he hesitates and reflects, and probably dashes out a trump, imagining that his partner has asked for trumps by playing first an unnecessarily high card. I once heard one of the best whist-players I ever met, remark that he ' could consider no man anything but a second- rate player who, unless his attention was diverted from the game, ever asked more than once during a rubber to look at the last trick ; ' and he added, ' a first-class player scarcely ever asks to see the last trick.' A player who is wasting his time in looking at or pulling about his own cards during the play of the hand, necessarily fails to see who plays certain cards. In the vain hope of obtaining such intelligence, the player looks at the last trick, and commences a condition of mental confusion 134 Whist Universal. which continues during the whole hand. To avoid such a habit, or such a result, never take your eyes off the table while each player is playing his cards ; observe each card, and draw your conclusions at once on its fall. You will then never need ask to look at the last trick, and will have adopted one of the most essential proceedings to make yourself a whist-player." The foregoing is the best passage in Drayson's book ; and if it could only be effectual to the abo- lition of the rule in England, he would merit and receive the thanks of every good whist-player. Getting in a Little Trump. 135 GETTING IN A LITTLE TRUMP. Perhaps one of the most common of plans, and certes the most ordinary of plays, is that of labor- ing to " get in a little trump " by a hand poor in them, but rich in the possession of a plain-suit singleton. Avoiding the anathema that would be evoked by first leading the one card of a suit, the player shows his partner that he has several cards of another, and follows at once with the singleton lead. His cards so played declare, " My first lead was from my long suit, the second from my short one, which latter lead I have made purposely so that I may get in a little trump before the oppo- nents draw it from me." If his plan succeeds, the card that he desires to trump being led from any quarter, his small trump takes a trick, the result of which accomplishment he of course considers as a gain, and he is happy. It is quite true that the business of the player is to take tricks ; but it is also true that the man- agement of the cards for the purpose of taking them is very different in the hands of different players, and it is equally true that this mode of 136 Whist Universal. play belongs to the lowest order. In the matter of decision as to whether or not a trick is gained, the circumstances are to be considered. It may- be that the player, if indeed he has not done in- jury to his own hand, may have wrecked that of his partner. The suit of which he held the single- ton may be that of his adversary, but his partner may be strong in it. If he has but a trump and another singleton, he must have two long suits. How much better to have opened one of these! After his singleton is played and his trump has gone, he has told the adversaries of his poverty in those two suits, and that he has quantity not quality in the other two. He has made his in- stant seizure of a trick, but may not the act be an expensive experiment ? He argues that his oppo- nents would have played trumps, taken his away, and that now he has saved it. They might have done so, but in the effort they might have lost a trick to his partner, which because of this explana- tory play they manage now to gain. Moreover, his left-hand adversary can now play up to his hand. Both adversaries know where the low cards of the long suits are, and can force his partner, or with high cards take the tricks. He thinks that they could have done so if he had not made his trump ; and so they might have done, but they could not Getting in a Little Trump. 137 Lave counted the hands as now they can. Paying no attention to the interest of his partner, he has demoralized the game of both. It is more than probable that if his cards had been properly played from the first, a trick would have been made in the plain suits that must now be lost because of advantage taken of the condition the false play has imposed. The fact that he held but one card each of the trump and of the plain suit suggests that his partner may be strong in one of these, perhaps in both. Perhaps his partner wanted to have trumps played to him. He cannot know and does not care; he has succeeded in "getting in his little trump ! " As an example of this style of play and its result, — a small spade turned on his right, A. tak- ing up ace, k, and three small clubs, the kn. of dia- monds and 9 of spades and six small hearts, threw the k. of clubs that took the trick and showed his long suit ; next the kn. of diamonds to show the weak one. His partner, who held ace and qu. and two small diamonds, passed the kn., which was taken by the k. D., who had 10 and 9 and 7 of diamonds, and who desired queen to be thrown by his partner if C. had it to be out of his (D.'s) way, led a diamond back. A. did not know if this was or was not under-play ; at any rate he played the 138 Whist Universal. suit to trump it, as his partner (B.) could get in his ace if he had it later; and as he (A.) wished to " get in his little trump," he played the 9 of spades and took the trick. He then played ace of clubs and read his partner's call. The ace took, but he had no more trumps. Having, by his crazy notion of getting in a little trump, spoiled his own hand and ruined his partner's chances, he led a heart. If he had played his k. of clubs and followed with the ace, he could have made answer to his part- ner's call. The 9 of spades led by him, passed by his partner, would have drawn the ace. D., who held k, 10, 9, and 7 of diamonds, would have led the 7 ; A.'s kn. would have taken the trick, leaving the tenace in his partner's hand. But the de- lighted A., who had got in his little trump, now played a heart to C.'s best suit, who led a club for D. to ruff, and make the wreck complete. This is an illustrative lead of a singleton second- play in order to get in a little trump. They who fancy that sort of play may run out . the game at their leisure. It is the worst-mannered imitation- whist that is played. The Echo. 139 THE ECHO. More is implied by this term than the mere answer to a call for trumps. It is quite as likely to be a reply to what was unintentionally an- nounced. It can be a sign that is made at the same time that it is a response to something inferred or shown. " You, saw my signal," says the trump-caller. "Yes, and you saw my 60110," says his partner. This is its commonest inter- pretation. But after a hand has been well played, A. says, " I thought that we might lose the odd trick. I could not trace the iO until I saw your echo on D.'s lead ; then I felt sure that if he led the suit again, your 10 and my thirteenth trump would give it to us." It is important that the echo should be made at the earliest practicable moment The readiest means for making it must be accorded. A. calling for trumps must be at once told by B. at any sacrifice of suit that he, B., has four. If the trumps are out, and either A or C. or D. lead a suit which having run to the exhaustion of the master cards becomes a strength in B.'s hands, 140 Whist Universal. B. inust announce his coming usefulness by be- ginning the echo. If A. leads from a long suit which is also B.'s best, or if he is strong, in it, he must tell by the retention of his smaller card or cards that he echoes strength. The echo in plain suits that indicates four trumps is easy to make. The echo in trumps is usually easy, although the fact that partner may hold three high trumps and one very low one may hinder the sacrifice (if it really seems to be such) of one of those high cards. But the plain-suit echo which distinguishes whether C. does or does not follow suit to the ace originally led by A., but does not care when A. leads queen or kn. or 10 or 9, whether C. follows or trumps, is more diffi- cult of management. If a king or any card lower than the 9 is originally led, if B. does not attempt to win the first trick he plays his lowest card, whatever number of cards he holds in the suit. But when ace is led, if C. follows suit, B. holding four cards exactly of that suit retains his lowest card, — playing of course the second best if he wishes to call for trumps, or the third best if he does not. 1 If the first card thrown by A. the leader is a qu., kn., 10, or 9, B. holding four cards of that suit, and unable or unwilling to take the trick, retains . The Echo. 141 his lowest card. If the suit is continued by A. or C. or D., and B. cannot take the trick, he plays his middle card. If played again whether B. has or has not taken the second trick, he plays his highest or lowest card of the suit according to the fall of the cards ; but if he plays his lowest he has not called for trumps. If B. is required to return the lead to his partner he plays his highest card, no matter if he holds two more or three more of the suit. B. having retained the lowest card upon the first play of his partner, may upon some after-play discard from the suit originally led : if he does so he throws not the lowest card, but the middle card. The fall of the small card does not in- dicate a call for trumps, because it must be under- stood that when playing this echo B. is playing not for his own suit, although he holds four cards iu it, but for his partner's suit, because his partner originally held five cards in it. The fall of the cards will determine whether A. did or did not hold five or more cards of the suit that he began with, — either qu., kn., 10, or 9, — while at any rate he upon his original lead of ace did have four more. The echo properly played and properly watched by the partner holding the suit in which it is made of account, may prevent the opportunity being 142 Whist Universal. given to the opponents to trump, may induce the lead of trumps for the safety of the suit, or may convey surest information that a force may be effective against a strong trump-hand. The echo is a reply to a player who doubtingly inquires. By the card that he throws he says, "In this suit do you think you can give help ? " And echo answers, "Can give help." Common-Sense Whist. 143 COMMON SENSE WHIST. Game by Lewis. Mr. F. H. Lewis writes to Mr. Proctor : " Success at whist depends upon the faculty of combination and the rapidity and accuracy with which correct inferences can be drawn from the fall of the cards ; and if information is to be withheld because the adversaries may make use of it for the purposes of their strategy, the whole science of the game is gone. But there may be and frequently is what I call an abuse of uniformity, where in order that his hand may be counted or his cards known, a player will, under all conditions and without ref- erence to the score, play according to conven- tional rule. Good players will however frequently deviate from recognized play, and indulge in what I hope I may be permitted to call the common- sense of whist. " To illustrate the last observation, I send you a game in which I played A. It will be observed that I had ace to five and did not lead the ace, and that I had five trumps and did not lead one. 144 Wkist Universal. Both conditions were combined in my hand which might have induced one set of players to lead a trump notwithstanding the knave turned, and another set to lead the ace of the suit. In my judgment either play, although in the direction of uniformity, would have been bad whist, taking the score into consideration." The hands are as follows, — the score standing A.B. 3, CD. 2 ; knave of hearts turned : — SPADES. HEARTS. CLUBS. DIAMONDS. A., ace, 8, 6, 3, 2 9, 6, 4, 3, 2 ace 7, 2 C, k., 10, 5 10, 5 8, 7, 5, 2 kn., 10, 9, 5 B., qu., 9 8, 7 kn., 9, 6, 4 k., 8, 6,4, 3 D., kn., 7, 4 ace, k.,qu.,kn. k., qu.. 10, 3 ace, qu. Let an ordinal player read those hands and decide in what manner A.B. are to make two by card. The Play. (The italicised card wins the trick.) A. C. B. D. 1. S. 3 S.5 S. qu. S. 7 2. S. ace S. 10 S. 9 S. 4 3. S. 2 S. k. H. 7 S. kn. 4. H. 3 H. 5 H. 8 K kn. 5. C. ace C. 2 C. 4 C. k. 6. H. 2 H. 10 C. 6 H. qu. 7. H. 4 C. 5 C. 9 C. qu. Common-Sense Whist. 145 A. begins his game as if his suit were not headed by the ace, leading fourth best. D. begins to sig- nal. B. returns A.'s suit in hope of making a trump on its return to him, — a very silly play, but A. had best take such advantage of it as he may. A. plays the smallest card of five, and B. sees that A. must have numerical strength in trumps. He leads through the signal. D. clears his club suit, and thinks he is sure of the game. A. leads a trump to draw two for one ; of course B. can have no more. At the seventh play D. should play his sure trump, follow with the best, and then have thrown queen of clubs. A. wins the trick, and follows up the spade. A. C. B. D. 8. S.S C. 7 D. 3 C. 3 C. throws a club, to say that he has not the kn. D. refuses to trump, but his game is gone. A. C. B. D. 9. 8. 6 C. 8 D. 4 C. 10 To this last lead of a spade D. throws his 10 of clubs, hoping for a diamond lead. A. falls into no such trap, but plays the losing trump. A. C. B. D. 10. H. 6 D. 5 D. 6 Hh 11. H. 9 D. 9 C. kn. H. ace 12. D. 2 D. 10 D. 8 D. ace 13. D. 7 D. kn. D.L D.qu. 146 Whist Universal. A. throwing the lead into D.'s hand, of course makes for B. the diamond k. A.B. make two by cards. This game could not have been won if a con- ventional lead had been adopted. It was played with brains, and not by rule. The calculation as to what might be done with the cards held after the lead was thrown, as well as that which counted upon the possible strength of the adversary and his play, must be made and acted upon from the first. He had a good partner, and there was an error made by the opponent ; but the fact remains that by no other lead than the one made by him, the value of which he carefully weighed, could Mr. Lewis have won the game. Test Game. 147 TEST GAME. What is always to be regretted by players who study whist and replay the hands that were errone- ously played, is that persons persistent ever in wrong leading will not give even a small portion of the time wasted in the excitement that their poor playing affords them, to examine the analysis of a test game. " I play whist to take the tricks," says your very brusque man who sees what is directly before and very near to him, but nothing beyond. You cannot talk him out of the notion that if he has one little trump and can get it in before it is called for, he has made a trick. His argument to him is unanswerable : " I should have lost it, should n't I ? The opponents would have drawn it, and now I have made it. I had but one, and instead of giving it up and losing a trick, here is my trick made." He cannot understand the better management of the cards that form his hand for the benefit of his partner, or for his own advantage. He can get this one trick, — that he knows ; and as he sees no chance of getting any more, or at any rate sees the chance of getting 148 Whist Universal. that, at whatever cost of result to anything or anybody, he makes his little trump. We print a hand that was played in this way, and follow the false play by the correct play, of the same hand, to show how easily the game that was thrown away by the poor player was won by the good one. The odd card in this hand was needed to win a series of rubbers at Five-Point Whist, in which the games stood exactly even. D. turned the 7 of spades ; each side had won a treble, and the game stood 4 to 4. A.'s hand was qu., km, 10, 9, 4, and 3 of diamonds; k., 8, 6, 4, and 3 of clubs ; 6 of spades ; and 8 of hearts. A. properly leads the qu. of diamonds, on which C. begins a call, playing the 6. The qu. takes, and A. leads his single heart, the 8. C. throws the 9, beginning a second call ; B. the ace, and D. the 2. B. strong in trumps, to give A. the chance he seeks, returns the 5 of hearts ; D. plays qu., A. the 6 of spades, and C. the 4 of hearts. A. leads the kn. of diamonds ; C. throws the 5, closing a double call, B. the ace, and D. trumps with the 4 of spades and leads the 7. A. delighted with the success of his ruse exclaims, " Oh, I Ve got mine in ! " and plays the 3 of clubs, C. the k. and B. the 2 Test Game. 149 of spades. C. leads ace of spades, and B. plays the 3 ; D. the 2 of clubs, and A. the 4 of clubs. The whole game is now open to C, who reads B.'s hand of trumps and clubs. C. plays kn. of hearts, B. the 3, and D. the k. ; and A. the 3 of diamonds. D. follows with the 10 of hearts, A. with the 4 of diamonds, C. the 8 of diamonds, and B. may trump or not as he pleases. If he does not trump, D. continues the hearts ; in any event C. knows that *B. can have but three of the remaining tricks. The smart singleton has made the little trump and trick, and lost the rubber. The whole game follows : — A. c. B. D. qu. d. 6d. 7d. 2d. 8h. 9h. ace h. 2h. 6 s. 4 h. 5 h. qu. h. kn. d. 5d. ace d. 4 s. 3 c. k. s. 2 s. 7 s. 4 c. ace s. 3 s. 2 c. 3d. kn. h. 3h. k. h. 4d. 8d. 5 s. 10 h. 6 c. ace c. qu. c. 5 c. 9 d. k. d. 10 s. 7 c. k. c. 8 s. kn. c. 10 c. 8c. 9 s. qu. s. 6 h. 10 d. hi. 8. 9 c. 7h. 150 Whist Universal. The hand of A. lias been given. C. held ace, k., kn., 9, and 8 of spades ; kn., 9, and 4 of hearts ; ace of clubs ; k., 8, 6, and 5 of diamonds. B. held qu., 10, 5, 3, and 2 of spades; ace, 5,. and three of hearts ; qu., kn., and 9 of clubs ; ace and 7 of diamonds. D. held 7 and 4 of spades ; k, qu., 10, 7, 6, and 2 of hearts ; 10, 7, 5, and 2 of clubs ; 2 of dia- monds. Now we will have a good player handle the same cards that A. held. He leads the qu. of dia- monds, C. 6, B. 7, D. 2. At once he sees that the k. and ace are not on his left, neither of them on his right, and probably not the ace on his left. With his strength, and with so good a suit of clubs to open, he had better let his partner manipulate the diamonds. He leads the 4 of clubs. C. must take this, and he is forthwith in a quandary. B. has played high in clubs and diamonds, and D. as low as possible. But C.'s best play is a trump, and he leads k., then ace. Another round will bring qu. or 10, and he follows with the 8. B. plays 10, risking kn. with 9 against, for D. cannot have the two cards. B. has now the club for a force; if not taken he plays another. His ace of hearts, qu. of spades, ace of diamonds, and small Test Game. 151 spade must make ; and if the qu. of clubs is trumped, his partner's k. is good. The whole game follows, — B. compelling the surrender that correct play at the outset insured : A. C. B. D. qu. d. 6 d. 7d. 2 d. 4 c. ace c. 9 c. 2 c. 6 s. k. s. 2 s. 4 s. 3 c. ace s. 3 s. 7 s. 4d. 8 s. 10 s. 2 h. 6 c. 9 5. qu. c. 5 c. 8h. kn. h. ace h. 6 h. 3d. kn. s. qu. s. 7h. 8 c. 4h. hi. c. 7 c. 9d. 5 cl. ace d. 5 5. 10 h. If the good player to whom we have intrusted the hand that A. threw away had not understood the situation of the cards by the fall in the first round, and instead of playing properly had thrown another diamond, the result would have been dis- astrous. For example : — A. C. B. D. qu d. 6d. 7d. 2d. 9 d. 5 d. ace d. 4.5. 6 s. h. s. 2 s. 7 s. 152 Whist Universal. 3 c. ace s. 3 s. 2 c. 8h. kn. h. ace h. 6h. 4 c. ace c. qu. c. 5 c. 3d. 9 h. 3 h. qu. h. 4d. 4 h. 5 h. h h. G c. 8d. 5 s. 10 h. 8c 85. kn. c. 7 c. If the average player would forego his rush to play cards at random, and study these three games for an hour, he would probably know more of whist than by his manner of practice he will be able in his lifetime to learn. The Laws of Whist. 153 THE LAWS OF WHIST. It appears that the system of American Leads is applicable to each of the three methods by which whist is played. But why should there be three methods, and wherein do they differ ? Three reasons may be given for the dissimilarity that exists between the regulations of Long and Short Whist, — honours, stakes, and time. Probably everybody knows that the game of whist used to be played for ten points, — six by cards and four by honours, — and that in London it was cut in twain because with more chances in less time there could be more exchanges. Something to make it of interest, — from a dime to a ducat, from a pound to a palace, in accordance with the whim or the ability of respective players, — was put at hazard, dependent upon the quality of cards that were held and the skill of the players who held them. The honours in whist were and are a most essential feature in a game that must be brief to be interesting. The laws that govern such a game should be terse and definite, and 154 Whist Universal. incapable of misconstruction. Nor would it appear difficult for a player versed in the game and fully aware of its requirements to frame a code that should be satisfactory to meet all emergencies. But the fact that the laws of Short Whist are "loosely worded" has been apparent to all Eng- land ever since they were adopted, as is evinced in the always occurring demands and decisions. Mathews said, "A rule established in England, good or bad, goes without change for generations." Inasmuch as the tenor of the orders