THE AET 
 
 OF 
 
 PKACTICAL WHIST 
 
 A SERIES OF LETTERS DESCRIPTIVE OF EVERT PART 
 
 OF THE GAME, AND THE BEST METHOD OF 
 
 BECOMING A SKILFUL PLATER 
 
 BY 
 
 MAJOR-GEN. DRAYSON, LATE R.A., F.RA.S. 
 
 g permission, 
 
 TO 
 
 HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS 
 
 THE DUKE OF CONNAUGIIT, 
 
 K.G., &c. &c. 
 
 FOURTH EDITION. 
 
 LONDON 
 GEORGE ROUTLEDGE AND SOXS 
 
 HKOADWAY, LVUGATB HILL 
 
 Xi;\v YOKK : 9, LAFAYKTTE PLACE 
 1886
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 IT is not unusual to offer an apology for writing 
 a book, more especially when the subject treated 
 on is one which has already been ably written 
 about by other authors. I however offer no 
 apology, because the interest which is deservedly 
 taken in "Whist is so groat, and so widely spread, 
 that it is difficult to write too much on this game, 
 for anything either new or old (if put into a novel 
 form) must have its attractions. 
 
 There are at the present time many valuable 
 works on "Whist, amongst which the most able are 
 probably : 
 
 The Laws of Short Whist ; 
 
 Cavendish on "Whist ; 
 
 The Theory of Whist ; 
 
 The Correct Card, etc. 
 
 In spite of these and other books on the same 
 subject being available and often read by would-be 
 whist players, yet the number of good whist 
 players is limited, the number of very bad players 
 is legion. The causes which prevent men from 
 becoming good players are simple, and I believe 
 the defect is easily remedied. And it is mainly 
 to correct those errors which indicate the bad 
 pluyer, that the following letters are written.
 
 Stack Annex 
 
 /Pfe 
 
 PEEFACE TO FOURTH EDITION. 
 
 Ix the First Edition of this work a novelty 
 was brought to the notice of Whist players. So 
 slowly does anything new become either generally 
 known, or practised, that it occupied six years, 
 before this novelty, now termed " American 
 leads," was even submitted to trial. 
 
 In the Third Edition a still more important 
 novelty was introduced, which I have termed, 
 "Change your suit, a development of the ask 
 
 flj 
 
 for trumps." This novelty does not yet appear 
 to be understood, except by the most advanced 
 players. 
 
 A Fourth Edition having been called for, I 
 have dealt with the Discard, which is at present 
 an obscure problem. To simplify the Discard 
 has been my endeavour in this Edition. 
 
 The stereotyped system of play, and the un- 
 reasonable remarks of many card players, must 
 have been noticed by observant Whist players, 
 and in this Edition I give examples of such pro-
 
 vi Preface to Fourth Edition. 
 
 ceedings, grouping the players under twenty-six 
 classes. 
 
 The increasing popularity of Whist, as an 
 intellectual exercise, and recreation, induces me 
 to hope, that the Fourth Edition of " Practical 
 Whist " will gain the favour of progressive Whist 
 players. 
 
 SOUTHSEA, December, 1885.
 
 THE 
 
 AET OF PEACTICAL WHIST, 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 THE LAWS OF SHORT WHIST. 
 
 BEFORE venturing to join a game of whist you 
 should study well the rules. You can cross- 
 examine yourself as regards your knowledge of 
 these rules, and if you do not play whist regularly, 
 it is as well to refresh your memory occasionally by 
 looking over the laws, and also by imagining 
 cases which may occur, and then referring to 
 those laws which bear upon them. 
 
 The laws of whist, like all other laws, are for the 
 purpose of maintaining order. They should be 
 rigidly carried out, and when an offence has been 
 committed, the penalty should be exacted. 
 
 There is no proceeding more likely to cause 
 disputes, than that of letting off an offender who 
 commits an error for which a penalty has been 
 provided by the laws. Immediately the adversaries
 
 2 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 commit perhaps a greater error, and a penalty is 
 enacted, it is considered a hard case and it is 
 often urged that "We did not claim a penalty from 
 you, so it's hard for you now to punish us ; " such 
 proceedings are childish, and to play whist the laws 
 must be firmly and impartially enacted. It is the 
 most certain method to avoid disputes, for it does 
 away with all partiality, and even though the game 
 may be played for mere amusement without any 
 stakes depending thereon, yet to play it otherwise 
 than strictly is a great mistake. 
 
 If whist were a mere pastime it never would 
 have occupied the position, or the attention of 
 intelligent men that it now does. Whist, although 
 a pastime and tending to increase social intercourse, 
 is yet something more. It brings into action 
 faculties of memory, observation, judgment, pa- 
 tience, and knowledge of character, all of which are 
 necessary as means of success in the world ; thus 
 whist, like some branches of mathematics, although 
 not practically useful in everyday life, yet calls into 
 action those mental qualities which every observing 
 and reasoning person ought to possess. It also has 
 the advantage of being a game that can be played 
 up to an advanced period of life, when more active 
 pursuits cannot be carried on, or when the sight 
 and the muscles have lost their power.
 
 The Riibber and Scoring. 
 
 To learn then the laws of the game is essential, 
 and to know the exact penalty that ought to be 
 claimed is of course the same thing as knowing the 
 laws. To dispute about a penalty that ought 
 fairly to be claimed, is an indication of an ignorant 
 and litigious disputant, and to avoid such a position 
 you must thoroughly know the laws. 
 
 The following are the Laws of Whist in the 
 Club Code, and published in Laws of Short "Whist, 
 Cavendish on Whist, &c. 
 
 The notes are by the Author. 
 
 THE RUBBER. 
 
 1. The rubber is the best of three games. If the 
 
 first two games be won by the same players, 
 the third game is not played. 
 
 SCORING. 
 
 2. A game consists of five points. Each trick 
 
 above six counts one point. 
 
 3. Honours, that is ace, king, queen and knave of 
 
 trumps are thus reckoned. 
 
 If a player and his partner either separately or 
 conjointly hold : 
 
 i B 2
 
 4 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 I. The four honours, they score four 
 
 points. 
 II. Any three honours, they score two 
 
 points. 
 
 III. Only two honours, they do not 
 score. 
 
 4. Those players who at the commencement of the 
 
 deal are at the score of four, cannot score 
 honours. 
 
 5. The penalty for a revoke takes precedence of 
 
 all other scores. Tricks count next, honours 
 last. 
 
 6. Honours, unless claimed before the trump card 
 
 of the following deal is turned up, cannot be 
 scored. 
 
 NOTE. The trump card must be turned up and 
 quitted, to deprive the claimants of their right to 
 acore honours. 
 
 7. To score honours is not sufficient ; they must be 
 
 called at the end of the hand ; if so called, 
 they may be scored at any time during the 
 game. 
 
 8. The winners gain 
 
 I. A treble, or game of three points, 
 when their adversaries have not 
 scored.
 
 Scoring. 
 
 II. A double, or game of two points, 
 when their adversaries have scored 
 less than three. 
 
 III. A single, or game of one point, when 
 their adversaries have scored three 
 or four. 
 
 9. The winners of the rubber gain two points, 
 
 commonly called the rubber points, in addi- 
 tion to the value of their games. 
 
 10. Should the rubber have consisted of three 
 
 games, the value of the loser's game is de- 
 ducted from the gross number of points 
 gained by their opponents. 
 
 11. If an erroneous score be proved, such mistake 
 
 can be corrected prior to the conclusion of 
 the game in which it occurred, and such 
 game is not concluded until the trump card 
 of the following deal has been turned up. 
 
 12. If an erroneous score affecting the amount of 
 
 the rubber be proved such mistake can be 
 rectified at any time during the rubber. 
 
 Notes on Scoring. 
 
 It is essential that the score should be carefully 
 kept in t\vo ways : 
 
 First, that the tricks should be taken up and 
 packed neatly, so that your partner should at a
 
 6 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 glance perceive how many tricks have been won. 
 He can then know, at once, how many tricks are 
 required to save or win the game. The slovenly 
 manner in which tricks are sometimes packed, 
 is a fruitful cause of error and dispute. 
 
 Secondly, If you use counters for scoring, 
 those counters which indicate the trebles, singles, 
 &c., should be of a different shape or colour from 
 those which note the score of the game. Each 
 player who scores his points should score to his 
 right hand. Thus A. and B.'s score will never 
 be mistaken for their opponents' score. These 
 apparently trifling matters should be attended 
 to, and they soon become systematic, and prevent 
 any possibility of a dispute. 
 
 CUTTING. 
 
 13. The ace is the lowest card. 
 
 14. In all cases everyone must cut from the same 
 
 pack. 
 
 15. Should a player expose more than one card, 
 
 he must cut again. 
 
 FORMATION OF THE TABLE. 
 
 16. If there are more than four candidates the 
 
 players are selected by cutting ; those first in
 
 Formation of Table. 
 
 the room having the preference. The four 
 who cut the lowest cards play first, and 
 again cut to decide on partners ; the two 
 lowest play against the two highest; the 
 lowest is the dealer, who has choice of 
 cards and seats, and having once made his 
 selection must abide hy it. 
 
 17. When there are more than six candidates those 
 who cut the two next lowest cards belong to 
 the table, which is complete with six players. 
 On the retirement of one of these six players 
 the candidate who cut the next lowest card 
 has a prior right to any after-comer to enter 
 the table. 
 
 NOTE ON FORMATION OF TABLE. Legally a 
 table is complete with six players, but as a matter 
 of courtesy, and when there appears a probability 
 of one player having to sit out during a long 
 evening, the three outsiders by agreement cut to 
 decide which two play the second rubber. The 
 player who remains out then enters on the third 
 rubber, and the two icho played the first but not 
 the second rubber cut to decide who plays the 
 third rubber. Thus two only enter on each fresh 
 rubber, and all seven have an opportunity of 
 playing.
 
 8 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 CUTTING CARDS OF EQUAL VALUE. 
 
 18. Two players cutting cards of equal value, 
 
 unless such cards are the two highest, cut 
 again ; should they he the two lowest, a 
 fresh cut is necessary to decide which of the 
 two deals. 
 
 19. Three players cutting cards of equal value cut 
 
 again. Should the fourth (or remaining) 
 card he the highest, the two lowest of the 
 new cut are partners, the lower of these two 
 the dealer; should the fourth card be the 
 lowest, the two highest are partners, the 
 original lowest the dealer. 
 
 NOTE. As an illustration of the above, we icill 
 suppose the cuts to be ace and three sevens. The 
 three sevens cut again, and the cards drawn are two, 
 four, and king. The ace and two are partners, and 
 the ace deals. Again, three sevens are drcncn and a 
 ten; the three sevens draw again, and the cards 
 drawn are two, four, and king. The king and ten 
 are partners, and the tico deals and has choice of 
 tards and seats. 
 
 Although the term " cut " is used, it is usual to 
 spread the pack out upon the table, and each player 
 draws a card, that pack being used from which no
 
 Cutting Out and Roster. 
 
 card has previously been drawn to decide any other 
 selection or question. 
 
 CUTTING OUT. 
 
 20. At the end of a -rubber, should admission be 
 claimed by any one or two candidates, lie 
 who has, or they who have, played a greater 
 number of consecutive rubbers than the 
 others is or are out; but when all have 
 played the same number, they must cut to 
 decide upon the out-goers ; the highest are 
 out. 
 
 NOTE. In most cases, but particularly when the 
 table consists of Jive players, it is as well to write on 
 paper the roster, so that it can be at once decided who 
 is out : 
 
 A. 
 B. 
 
 a 
 
 D. 
 E. 
 
 are the players, and A. B. C. D. play first. The 
 next player to come in is E., and the first player out 
 decided by drawing we will suppose is B. A. C 
 and D. next draw, and A. is out, then C. and D
 
 to The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 draw, and C. is out; the roster would then be as 
 follows : 
 
 E. 
 
 B. 
 
 A. 
 
 0. 
 
 D. 
 
 D. goes out after the rubber into which he has gained 
 entrance by drawing with C. E. B. A. and C. play 
 a rubber, then E. goes out, then B., and so on. When 
 a long evening's play occurs, this roster prevents any 
 dispute as to whose turn it is to go out, and when no 
 record is kept of the rubbers, it is often a fruitful 
 cause of disputes to decide whose turn it is to quit the 
 table. Every precaution ought to be used to prevent 
 any cause for discussion at whist. 
 
 ENTRY AND RE-ENTRY. 
 
 21. A candidate wishing to enter a table must 
 
 declare such intention prior to any of the 
 players having cut a card, either for the pur- 
 pose of commencing a fresh rubber, or of 
 cutting out. 
 
 22. In the formation of fresh tables, those candi- 
 
 dates who have neither belonged to nor 
 played at any other table have the prior
 
 Shuffling. 1 1 
 
 right of entry; the others decide their right 
 of entry by cutting. 
 
 23. Any one quitting a table prior to the conclu- 
 
 sion of a rubber, may, with consent of the 
 other three players, appoint a substitute in 
 his absence during that rubber. 
 
 24. A player cutting into one table, whilst belong- 
 
 ing to another, loses his right of re-entry 
 into that latter, and takes his chance of 
 cutting in, as if he were a fresh candidate. 
 
 25. If any one break up a table, the remaining 
 
 players have the prior right to him of entry 
 into any other, and should there not be 
 sufficient vacancies at such other table to 
 admit all those candidates, they settle their 
 precedence by cutting. 
 
 SHUFFLING. 
 
 26. The pack must neither be shuffled below the 
 
 table, nor so that the face of any card be 
 seen. 
 
 27. The pack must not be shuffled during the play 
 
 of the hand. 
 
 28. A pack, having been played with, must neither 
 
 be shuffled, by dealing it into packets, nor 
 across the table.
 
 12 The Art oj- Practical Whist. 
 
 29. Each player has a right to shuffle, once only, 
 
 except as provided by Hule 32, prior to a 
 deal, after a false cut, or when a new deal 
 has occurred. 
 
 30. The dealer's partner must collect the cards for 
 
 the ensuing deal, and has the first right to 
 shuffle that pack. 
 
 31. Each player, after shuffling, must place the 
 
 cards, properly collected and face downwards, 
 to the left of the player about to deal. 
 
 32. The dealer has always the right to shuffle last ; 
 
 but should a card or cards be seen during his 
 shuffling, or whilst giving the pack to be cut, 
 he may be compelled to re-shuffle. 
 
 Notes on Shuffling. 
 
 When a new pack of cards is used, and tlie 
 cover torn off, the ace of spades will usuallv be 
 found at the bottom of the pack, and the cards 
 will be found arranged alternately red and black. 
 Many players not having observed this fact, at- 
 tempt to shuffle a new pack by dealing them in 
 threes or fives quite unaware that by so doing, 
 they scarcely alter the first arrangement. In order 
 to demonstrate this fact, we will refer to the cards 
 as R. for red, B. for black, and deal them into three
 
 Shuffling. 13 
 
 packs ; commencing on the left we should place a 
 red card, in the middle a black ; to the right a 
 red ; then on the first red we should place a black 
 card, on the second card we should place a red, on 
 the third card a black, and so on. On taking up 
 the three packets, we should find that the cards 
 had not heen altered, that the whole pack was 
 arranged alternately red and black, and if cut and 
 dealt for whist, one player and his partner would 
 hold nearly all the black cards, whilst the adver- 
 saries held nearly all the red cards. To deal out 
 the pack into five packets produces similar results. 
 To deal them in four packets, causes the hlack and 
 red cards to be sorted into four lots, two of red, 
 two of black, and is a better arrangement. But 
 probably the best and quickest method of dis- 
 arranging the pack is to place the top card in the 
 right hand, the second card below this top card, 
 the third card above the top card, and so go on 
 through the whole pack, the black cards will then 
 be nearly all massed together, and the red cards 
 similarly massed, and a little free shuffling will 
 then prevent the long suits that are so often held 
 in the first hands of the first deal with new cards. 
 "We used the term "nearly " above, for the reason 
 that in a new pack the cards are not wholly 
 arranged black and red, each thirteenth card
 
 14 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 usually breaking this order. To deal out the pack 
 therefore in three or five packets is merely a waste 
 of time, as it does not alter their order. The 
 cards should be shuffled during the deal of the 
 other pack, so as to be in readiness to be cut 
 immediately the previous hand is played out. 
 Some players have a bad habit of shuffling the 
 cards for one or two minutes after the previous 
 hand is played out, and thus waste much time 
 unnecessarily. 
 
 THE DEAL. 
 
 33. Each player deals in his turn, the right of 
 
 dealing goes to the left. 
 
 34. The player on the dealer's right cuts the pack, 
 
 and in dividing it must not leave fewer than 
 four cards in either packet, if in cutting, or 
 in replacing one of the two packets on the 
 other, a card be exposed, or if there be any 
 confusion of the cards, or a doubt as to the 
 exact place in which the pack was divided, 
 there must be a fresh cut. 
 
 35. When a player whose duty it is to cut has 
 
 once separated the pack, he cannot alter his 
 intention ; he can neither re-shuffle nor re-cut 
 the cards.
 
 The Deal and New Deal. 15 
 
 36. When the pack is cut, should the dealer shuffle 
 the cards, he loses his deal. 
 
 NOTE ON THE DEAL. Some players take up the 
 cards sideways when they are cut, and thus expose 
 the bottom or trump card before they commence 
 their deal. This exposes them to a disadvantage. 
 The adversary icho sees this card may by Law 34 
 claim afresh cut, or, if a card be turned up during 
 the deal, he may claim a fresh deal or decline to do 
 so, and his decision might possibly be guided according 
 as the trump card is or is not a high card. If the 
 pack when cut be united with one hand only and the 
 pack be lifted horizontally, the bottom card cannot 
 well be exposed. 
 
 A NEW DEAL. 
 
 37. There must be a new deal by the same 
 
 dealer : 
 
 I. If during a deal or during the play 
 of a hand the pack be proved in- 
 correct or imperfect. 
 
 II. If any card, excepting the last, be 
 faced in the pack. 
 
 38. If whilst dealing a card be exposed by the 
 
 dealer or his partner, should neither of the
 
 1 6 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 adversaries have touched the cards, the 
 latter can claim a new deal ; a card exposed 
 by either adversary gives that claim to the 
 dealer, provided that his partner has not 
 touched a card; if a new deal does not 
 take place, the exposed card cannot be 
 called. 
 
 39. If during dealing a player touch any of his 
 
 cards, the adversaries may do the same, 
 without losing their privilege of claiming a 
 new deal, should chance give them such 
 option. 
 
 40. If in dealing one of the last cards be exposed, 
 
 and the dealer turn up the trump before 
 there is reasonable time for his adversaries 
 to decide as to a fresh deal, they do not 
 thereby lose their privilege. 
 
 41. If a player, whilst dealing, look at the trump 
 
 card, his adversaries have a right to see it, 
 and may exact a new deal. 
 
 42. If a player take into the hand dealt to him 
 
 a card belonging to the other pack, the 
 adversaries, on discovery of the error, may 
 decide whether they will have a fresh deal 
 or not.
 
 A Misdeal. 17 
 
 A MISDEAL. 
 
 43. A misdeal loses the deal. 
 
 44. It is a misdeal 
 
 I. Unless the cards are dealt into four 
 packets, one at a time in regular 
 rotation, beginning with the player 
 to the dealer's left. 
 
 II. Should the dealer place the last card 
 (i.e., the trump), face downwards, 
 on his own, or any other pack. 
 
 III. Should the trump card not come in 
 
 its regular order to the dealer; 
 but he does not lose his deal if 
 the pack he proved imperfect. 
 
 IV. Should a player have fourteen cards, 
 
 and either of the other three less 
 than thirteen. 
 
 V. Should the dealer, under an impres- 
 sion that he has made a mistake, 
 either count the cards on the table 
 or the remainder of the pack. 
 VI. Should the dealer deal two cards at 
 once, or two cards to the same 
 hand, and then deal a third ; but 
 if prior to dealing that third card 
 the dealer can, by altering the
 
 1 8 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 position of one card only, rectify 
 such error, he may do so, except 
 as provided by the second para- 
 graph of this law. 
 
 VII. Should the dealer omit to have the 
 pack cut to him, and the adversaries 
 discover the error prior to the 
 trump card being turned up, and 
 before looking at their cards, but 
 not after having done so. 
 
 45. A misdeal does not lose the deal if, during the 
 
 dealing, either of the adversaries touch the 
 cards prior to the dealer's partner having 
 done so, but should the latter have first 
 interfered with the cards, notwithstanding 
 either or both of the adversaries have subse- 
 quently done the same, the deal is lost. 
 
 46. Should three players have their right number 
 
 of cards, the fourth have less than thirteen, 
 and not discover such deficiency until he has 
 played any of his cards, the deal stands 
 good ; should he have played, he is as an- 
 swerable for any revoke he may have made, 
 as if the missing card or cards had been in 
 his hand ; he may search the other pack for 
 it or them. 
 
 47. If a pack, during or after a rubber, be proved
 
 Misdeal and Trump Card. 19 
 
 incorrect or imperfect, such proof does not 
 alter any past score, game or rubber; that 
 hand in which the imperfection was detected 
 is null and void ; the dealer deals again. 
 
 48. Any one dealing out of turn, or with the adver- 
 
 sary's cards, may he stopped before the 
 trump card is turned up, after which the 
 game must proceed as if no mistake had 
 been made. 
 
 49. A player can neither shuffle, cut, or deal for his 
 
 partner, without the permission of his oppo- 
 nents. 
 
 50. If the adversaries interrupt a dealer whilst 
 
 dealing, either by questioning the score or 
 asserting that it is not his deal, and fail to 
 establish such claim, should a misdeal occur, 
 he may deal again. 
 
 51. Should a player take his partner's deal, and 
 
 misdeal, the latter is liable to the usual 
 penalty, and the adversary next in rotation 
 to the player who ought to have dealt then 
 plays. 
 
 THE TRUMP CARD. 
 
 52. The dealer, when it is his turn to play to the 
 
 first trick, should take the trump card into 
 
 c 2
 
 2O The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 his hand ; if left on the table after the first 
 trick be turned and quitted, it is liable to be 
 called ; his partner may at any time remind 
 him of the liability. 
 
 53. After the dealer has taken the trump card into 
 
 his hand it cannot be asked for ; a player 
 naming it at any time during the play of 
 that hand, is liable to have his highest or 
 lowest trump called. 
 
 54. If the dealer take the trump card into his hand 
 
 before it is his turn to play, he may be desired 
 to lay it on the table ; should he show a 
 wrong card, this card may be called, as also 
 a second, a third, &c., until the trump card be 
 produced. 
 
 55. If the dealer declare himself unable to recollect 
 
 the trump card, his highest or lowest trump 
 may be called at any time during that hand, 
 and, unless it cause him to revoke, must be 
 played; the call may be repeated, but not 
 changed, i.e., from highest to lowest, or vice 
 versa, until such card is played. 
 
 Notes on Trump Card. 
 
 The trump card, if left on the table after the 
 first trick is turned and quitted, may be called, but 
 it is not usual to do so. Consequently there is a
 
 Cards Liable to be Called. 21 
 
 rule made, and yet the penalty is not usually 
 enacted. Leaving the trump card on the table 
 after the first trick is turned and quitted may cause 
 confusion, as it may be mistaken for a lead. It 
 is careless at least to leave it exposed, and should 
 never be so left. Each player should impress on 
 his memory what the trump card is, as during the 
 play of the hand much may depend on this 
 knowledge. To ask, as some players do, during the 
 play of the hand, " What are trumps ? " indicates 
 first, carelessness as regards the whole plan of the 
 play of their hand, and also that they have forgotten, 
 if they ever noticed, what the trump card was. 
 
 CARDS LIABLE TO BE CALLED. 
 
 56. All exposed cards are liable to be called, and 
 must be left on the table ; but a card is not 
 an exposed card when dropped on the floo 
 or elsewhere below the table. 
 The following are exposed cards : 
 
 I. Two or more cards played at once. 
 II. Any card dropped with its face up- 
 wards, or in any way exposed on 
 or above the table, even though 
 snatched up so quickly that no one 
 can name it.
 
 22 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 57. If any one play to an imperfect trick the best 
 
 card on the table, or lead one which is a 
 winning card as against his adversaries, and 
 then lead again, or play several such winning 
 cards, one after the other, without waiting 
 for his partner to play, the latter may be 
 called on to win, if he can, the first or any 
 other of those tricks, and the other cards thus 
 improperly played are exposed cards. 
 
 58. If a player, or players, under the impression 
 
 that the game is lost, or won, or for other 
 reasons, throw his or their cards on the table 
 face upwards, such cards are exposed, and 
 liable to be called, each player's by the ad- 
 versary ; but should one player alone retain 
 his hand, he cannot be forced to abandon 
 it. 
 
 59. If all four players throw their cards on the table 
 
 face upwards, the hands are abandoned ; and 
 no one can again take up their cards. Should 
 this general exhibition show that the game 
 might have been saved, or won, neither 
 claim can be entertained, unless a revoke be 
 established. The revoking players are then 
 liable to the following penalties ; they cannot, 
 under any circumstances, win the game by the 
 result of that hand, and the adversaries may
 
 Lead Out of Turn. 23 
 
 add three to their score, or deduct three from 
 that of the revoking players. 
 
 60. A card detached from the rest of the hand so 
 
 as to be named is liable to be called ; but 
 should the adversary name a wrong card, he 
 is liable to have a suit called when he or his 
 partner have the lead. 
 
 61. If a player, who has rendered himself liable to 
 
 have the highest or lowest of a suit called, 
 fail to play as desired, or if when called on 
 to lead one suit, lead another, having in his 
 hand one or more cards of that suit demanded, 
 he incurs the penalty of a revoke. 
 
 62. If any player lead out of turn, his adversaries 
 
 may either call the card erroneously led, or 
 may call a suit from him or his partner 
 when it is the next turn of either of them to 
 lead. 
 
 63. If any player lead out of turn, and the other 
 
 three have followed him, the trick is complete, 
 and the error is rectified ; but if only the 
 second, or the second and third, have played 
 to the false lead their cards, on discovery of 
 the mistake, are taken back; there is no 
 penalty against any one, excepting the original 
 offender, whose card may be called, or he, 
 or his partner, when either of them has next
 
 24 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 the lead, may be compelled to play any suit 
 demanded by the adversaries. 
 
 64. In no case can a player be compelled to play 
 
 a card which would oblige him to revoke. 
 
 65. The call of a card may be repeated until such 
 
 card has been played. 
 
 66. If a player called on to lead a suit have none 
 
 of it, the penalty is paid. 
 
 Notes on Cards Halle to be Called. 
 
 However carefully laws and rules may be framed, 
 there always will remain certain cases either not 
 legislated for, or which the laws scarcely seem to 
 have anticipated. The laws relative to cards liable 
 to be called is an example of such a case. The 
 rule is very clear as regards two or more cards 
 played at once, but it is not clear when a card or 
 cards are exposed in any way on or above 1he tablr. 
 The question of lowered hands was ably dealt with 
 in the " Field " some years ago, but recent decisions 
 iu whist in the same paper appear to point to the 
 fact that if a player lower his hand so that every 
 card in it can be seen by his partner, and conse- 
 quently by the adversaries, still his cards so exposed 
 above the table cannot be called. A remarkable 
 case once occurred in my experience which points 
 to this rule being defective or not clear. Four
 
 Notes on Cards Liable to be Called. 25 
 
 players A. X. B. Y. were seated in the followiug 
 order. 
 
 X 
 A. B. 
 
 Y. 
 
 Two cards remained in each hand, X. and Y. 
 must win both tricks to win the game. A. holds 
 two small clubs, X. holds a small diamond and the 
 ace of hearts (trumps), B. holds two small hearts 
 (trumps), Y. holds king of clubs, and queen of 
 hearts. 
 
 A. leads a small club. X. has now to consider the 
 following : has Y. two trumps or one trump, has Y. 
 the best club, has Y. the queen of trumps. If X. 
 does not put his ace on the club, X. and Y. lose the 
 game. Whilst X. is hesitating, Y. lowers his two 
 cards, and says " it cannot matter what you play." 
 X. then trumps with the ace, and X. and Y. win 
 the game. 
 
 A. and B. claim that there should be a penalty for 
 this lowering of the hand ; they say that by this 
 lowering an advantage was gained, and in fact the 
 game was won by the advantage thus obtained. 
 Y. who meant nothing unfair, is willing to abide by 
 any rule that can be shown to bear on the case. 
 But no rule efficient to meet the case does bear on 
 the occurrence.
 
 26 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 i 
 
 It may be urged that you should not play with a 
 
 person who acts in this way ; but it might with 
 equal reason be urged that you should not play with 
 a careless player, who revokes or leads out of turn, 
 and such remarks do not meet the case. There ought 
 to be a penalty for such an offence ; and as calling 
 Y.'s cards, even if legal, could inflict no loss, the 
 only remedy appears to be to call on X. to win or 
 not to win the trick ; and such, I venture to suggest, 
 is a law which might be added to the Club Code, and 
 'would render the rules more efficient. 
 
 Any card exposed on or above the table seems 
 actually to meet the case; but the articles on 
 lowered hands, to which I have referred, seems to 
 give an opinion adverse to this. The question, 
 however, is one requiring more clear and definite 
 legislation. 
 
 I have seen disputes relative to exposed cards 
 among even old players in colonies and country 
 places, where a speedy reference to an authority is 
 not possible, and I will therefore refer to these. 
 
 Two cards were played at once, viz., a king and 
 a two of the same suit. The adversaries called the 
 two, and on the next trick called the king. The 
 offending player objected to the call of the king, as 
 he urged that there were two penalties being 
 claimed for one offence. Of course his objection
 
 Cases of Cards Liable to be Called. 27 
 
 
 
 was unsound ; each card could be called, as is men- 
 tioned in a note on this rule in Cavendish on 
 Whist. 
 
 Another case occurred in which two cards were 
 exposed. The first card was called, and when it 
 was the offending player's turn to lead, his second 
 exposed card was called. This, he urged, was 
 enacting two penalties, as it called an exposed card 
 and a lead also. This objection is likewise un- 
 sound. The card exposed can he called at any 
 time, no matter whether as a lead or not. 
 
 A. led the king of hearts out of turn, when it 
 was B., A.'s partner's turn to lead. B. is called 
 on to lead a spade, and A. takes the king of 
 hearts into his hand. The adversaries object to 
 this, and say that all exposed cards must be left on 
 the table face upwards ; that although the king of 
 hearts cannot be called, still it must be left on the 
 table, face upwards, as it is an exposed card. This 
 argument is unsound ; immediately a suit is called, 
 the exposed card is released from being a legally 
 exposed card, and therefore may be taken up by its 
 owner. 
 
 A. leads the king of hearts when it is the 
 adversary's lead, X., one of the adversaries, pushes 
 the king of hearts on one side, and says " we will 
 call that card presently." X. leads, and the trick
 
 28 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 is won by B., A.'s partner. Y. then says to B., 
 "now lead a spade." A. and B. object, and urge 
 that X. has already stated that he will call the 
 king of hearts, and neither he nor his partner can 
 change the penalty that one of them has chosen to 
 elect. 
 
 A. and B. are undoubtedly correct. 
 
 If X. had said " we may possibly call that card," 
 the call of a suit afterwards would have been legal. 
 Any such remark as " we will do this or that," is 
 binding. 
 
 There are a certain class of players who we may 
 term "slack players," who do and say things at 
 whist that are illegal in spirit, though no penalty 
 has been laid down for such acts. One very 
 common example is the following. 
 
 A small card is led, second player holds king, 
 queen and a small card of the suit, and plays his 
 queen, third player plays a small card, fourth 
 player hesitates, and then says, "that is yours, I 
 think, partner ? " 
 
 This remark can mean only that fourth player 
 holds the ace, if fourth player follow suit. The 
 remark is irregular, and it should be quietly 
 pointed out to the offender that it is so. The 
 fourth paragraph of Etiquette in Whist un- 
 doubtedly bears on this proceeding.
 
 Cards Played in Error. 29 
 
 CARDS PLAYED IN ERROR, OR NOT PLAYED TO 
 
 A TRICK. 
 
 67. If the third hand play hefore the second, the 
 
 fourth hand may play before his partner. 
 
 68. Should the third hand not have played, and 
 
 the fourth play before his partner, the latter 
 may be called on to win or not to win the 
 trick. 
 
 69. If any one omit playing to a former trick, and 
 
 such error be not discovered until he has 
 played to the next, the adversaries may claim 
 a new deal. Should they decide that the 
 deal stand good, the surplus card at the end 
 of the hand is considered to have been played 
 to the imperfect trick, but does not constitute 
 a revoke. 
 
 70. If any one play two cards to the same trick, or 
 
 mix his trump or other card with a trick 
 to which it does not properly belong, and the 
 mistake be not discovered until the hand is 
 played out, he is answerable for all conse- 
 quent revokes he may have made. If during 
 the play of the hand the error be detected, 
 ' the tricks may be counted face downwards, 
 in order to ascertain whether there be among 
 them a card too many. Should this be the
 
 30 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 case, they may be searched and the card 
 restored. The player is, however, liable for 
 all revokes he may have meanwhile made. 
 
 Notes on Cards Played in Error, fyc. 
 
 Rule 69 requires to be carefully impressed on 
 the memory ; many players mistake or forget this 
 penalty. 
 
 Rule 70 shows the necessity of carefully packing 
 each trick as mentioned in Notes on Scoring, other- 
 wise it would be difficult, if not impossible, to 
 discover the card played in error. 
 
 THE REVOKE 
 
 71. Is when a player, holding one or more cards 
 
 of the suit led, plays a card of a different 
 suit. 
 
 72. The penalty for a revoke : 
 
 I. Is at the option of the adversaries, 
 who, at the end of the hand, may 
 either take three tricks from the 
 revoking player, or deduct three 
 points from his score, or add three 
 to their own score ; 
 
 II. Can be claimed for as many revokes 
 as occur during the hand ;
 
 The Revoke. 31 
 
 III. Is applicable only to the score of 
 the game in which it occurs ; 
 
 IY. Cannot be divided, i.e., a player can- 
 not add one or two to his own 
 score and deduct one or two from 
 the revoking player ; 
 Y. Takes precedence of every other score, 
 e.g., the claimants two their oppo- 
 nents nothing the former add three 
 to their score, and thereby win a 
 treble game, even should the latter 
 have made thirteen tricks and held 
 four honours. 
 
 73. A revoke is established, if the trick in which 
 
 it occur be turned and quitted, i.e., the hand 
 removed from that trick after it has been 
 turned face downwards on the table or if 
 either the revoking player or his partner, 
 whether in his turn or otherwise, lead or 
 play to the following trick. 
 
 74. A player may ask his partner whether he has 
 
 not a card of the suit wHich he has re- 
 nounced ; should the question be asked before 
 the trick is turned and quitted, subsequent 
 turning and quitting does not establish the 
 revoke, and the error may be corrected, 
 unless the question be answered in the ncga-
 
 32 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 tive, or unless the revoking player or his 
 partner have led or played to the following 
 trick. 
 
 75. At the end of the hand the claimants of a 
 
 revoke may search all the foicks. 
 
 76. If a player discover his mistake in time to save 
 
 a revoke, his adversaries, whenever they 
 think fit, may call the card thus played in 
 error, or may require him to play his highest 
 or lowest card to that trick in which he has 
 renounced ; any player or players who have 
 played after him may withdraw their cards 
 and substitute others : the cards withdrawn 
 are not liable to be called. 
 
 77. If a revoke be claimed, and the accused player 
 
 or his partner mix his cards before they have 
 been sufficiently examined by the adversaries, 
 the revoke is established. The mixing of the 
 cards only renders the proof of a revoke diffi- 
 cult, but does not prevent the claim, and 
 possible establishment, of the penalty. 
 
 78. A revoke cannot be claimed after the cards 
 
 have been cut for the following deal. 
 
 79. The revoking player and his partner may, 
 
 under all circumstances, require the hand in 
 which the revoke had been detected to be 
 played out
 
 Notes on the Revoke. 33 
 
 80. If a revoke occur, be claimed and proved, 
 
 bets on the odd trick, or on amount of score, 
 must be decided by the actual state of the 
 latter after the penalty is paid. 
 
 81. Should the players on both sides subject them- 
 
 selves to the penalty of one or more revokes, 
 neither can win the game ; each is punished 
 at the discretion of his adversary. 
 
 82. In whatever way the penalty be enforced, 
 
 under no circumstances can a player win a 
 game by the result of the hand during which 
 he has revoked ; he cannot score more than 
 four. 
 
 Notes on the Revoke. 
 
 There are three penalties for a revoke when 
 the revoking players have scored three or four by 
 previous hands. There are only two penalties 
 when the score of the revoking partners is* at love, 
 one, or two. 
 
 The penalty for the revoke takes precedence of 
 every other score ; consequently, if the revoking 
 partners have no score already marked up, 
 amounting to three or four, their adversaries have 
 no option other than to take three tricks from the 
 revoking partners and add them to their own, or 
 to add three to their own score.
 
 34 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 I have known many players who, unacquainted 
 with this law, have acted illegally in their penalty. 
 Example : Score, love all ; A. and B. score two 
 by honours and two by cards. X. and Y. are the 
 better players, and fancy that the more distant the 
 goal the better is their chance. If they enact as 
 penalty three tricks from the revokers, the game 
 
 would stand 
 
 A. B. 2, 
 
 X. Y. 2. 
 
 If X. and Y. added three to their score, the game 
 would stand 
 
 A. B. 4, 
 
 X. Y. 3. 
 
 As the recognized odds in the first case would be 
 less in favour of A. B. than in the second, the first 
 would be the better penalty ; but X. Y. claimed 
 and were* allowed by the revoking players to take 
 three away from their score of two by cards, two 
 by honours, when the game stood 
 
 A. B. 1, 
 X. Y. love. 
 
 "With reference to the penalty for a revoke, I 
 was witness of the following : 
 
 A. B. scored two by cards and two by honours,
 
 Notes on the Revoke. 35 
 
 and were at love. X. and Y. were at love, but 
 in this hand A. revoked. 
 
 " Now what will you do ? " asked A. 
 
 X. and Y. consulted, and then X. said, " Mark 
 your two by cards and two by honours." 
 
 A. and B. marked four. 
 
 " Xow," said X., " I will take three from your 
 score and reduce you to one." 
 
 " You have lost your right to any penalty," now 
 urged A. " The penalty for a revoke takes prece- 
 dence of every other score, and so when you tell 
 us to score four you have lost your right to a 
 penalty." 
 
 The law as it now stands is undoubtedly in 
 accordance with A.'s argument. The penalty for 
 the revoke must be claimed and paid first, before 
 any other score is registered. If then the re- 
 voking partners be allowed and directed to score, 
 their adversaries have lost their right to any 
 claim. 
 
 That such was the intention of the original 
 framers of this law I do not think is probable, 
 but the reading of the law as it now stands is 
 certainly in accord with A.'s argument. Thus, if 
 A. B. revoke, hold four by honours, and gain three 
 by cards, no penalty can prevent their being four, 
 provided the adversaries are at love. I have seen 
 
 D 2
 
 36 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 so many mistakes made in connection with this 
 penalty that particular attention is called to it. 
 
 CALLING FOR NEW CARDS. 
 
 83. Any player (on paying for them) before, but 
 not after the pack be cut for the deal, may 
 call for fresh cards. He must call for two 
 new packs, of which the dealer takes his 
 choice. 
 
 GENERAL RULES. 
 
 84. Where a player and his partner have an option 
 
 of exacting from their adversaries one of two 
 penalties, they should agree who is to make 
 the election, but must not consult with one 
 another which of the two penalties it is ad- 
 visable to exact ; if they do so consult, they 
 lose their right ; and if either of them, with 
 or without consent of his partner, demand 
 a penalty to which he is entitled, such decision 
 is final. This rule does not apply in exact- 
 ing the penalties for a revoke, partners Jiave 
 then a right to consult. 
 
 85. Any one during the play of a trick, or after 
 
 the four cards are played, and before, but not
 
 General Rides. 37 
 
 after, they are touched for the purpose of 
 gathering them together, may demand that 
 the cards be placed before their respective 
 players. 
 
 86. If any one, prior to his partner playing, should 
 
 call attention to the trick, either by saying 
 that it is his, or by naming his card, or, 
 without being required so to do, by drawing 
 it towards him, the adversaries may require 
 that opponent's partner to play the highest or 
 lowest of the suit they led, or to win or lose 
 the trick. 
 
 87. In all cases where a penalty has been incurred, 
 
 the offender is bound to give reasonable time 
 for the decision of his adversaries. 
 
 88. If a bystander make any remark which calls 
 
 the attention of a player or players to an 
 oversight affecting the score, he is liable to 
 be called on, by the players only, to pay the 
 stakes and all bets on that game or rubber. 
 
 89. A bystander, by agreement among the players, 
 
 may decide any question. 
 
 90. A card or cards torn or marked must be either 
 
 replaced by agreement, or new cards called 
 at the expense of the table. 
 
 91. Any player may demand to see the last trick 
 
 turned, mid no more. Under no circum-
 
 38 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 stances can more than eight cards be seen 
 during the play of the hand, viz. : the four 
 cards on the table, which have not been 
 turned and quitted, and the last trick 
 turned. 
 
 Notes on General Rules. 
 
 When an offence against the laws has been com- 
 mitted, it is usual for one of the adversaries to say 
 to his partner, " Will you enact the penalty, or 
 shall I ? " This gives to one player the option of 
 enacting the penalty or leaving it to his partner to 
 do so. The most common case of such an option 
 occurring, is when there has been a lead out of turn. 
 The adversaries then have the option of calling 
 either the card erroneously played, or of calling a 
 lead. Which is the more favourable penalty to 
 enact is then the question. If a player who is 
 fourth hand when the penalty is to be enacted hold 
 ace and queen of a suit when the king is in hand, or 
 hold king and one other ca/d of a suit when the ace 
 is in hand, it would be a great advantage for him to 
 be led up to. Consequently, although the question 
 " Will you enact the penalty, or shall I," has been 
 asked, it is better that the enaction of the penalty 
 should be left to the player who will be fourth hand 
 when the penalty is enacted. If, however, the player
 
 Notes on General R^lles. 39 
 
 who has led out of turn be last player, it may be 
 advantageous to lead up to him and call his exposed 
 card. Thus it is often an important question as to 
 7j0 should enact the penalty, and this option should 
 be left to the player whose position is as stated 
 above, and not, as is often the case, assigned by the 
 player who considers himself inferior to his partner, 
 who may be considered the better player of the 
 two. 
 
 The longer I play whist the more I regret that 
 rule 91 exists, and that it is at all possible to see 
 the cards of a trick turned and quitted. Some 
 players have a habit of waiting till the last trick is 
 turned and quitted and then either look at it them- 
 selves 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 
 especially does it happen when a player has led the 
 king of a suit and follows with the ace, and his 
 partner drops the three or four. A careless player 
 will then ask to look at the last trick, and if he find 
 a two 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 any-
 
 4O The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 thing 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 a 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 which continues during the whole hand. 
 To avoid such a habit or such a result, never take 
 your eyes off the table whilst each player is playing 
 his cards ; observe each card and draw your con- 
 clusions 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 same remarks apply to the player who is 
 sorting his cards, or is otherwise occupied during 
 the play of the hand, and who is perpetually asking 
 the players to place their cards. It is only when 
 two or three cards are played so quickly as to 
 render it difficult to decide who has played particu- 
 lar cards that this demand is necessary. Such 
 persons forget that they by their want of attention 
 are calling upon three players to do that whichis a
 
 Etiquette of Whist. 41 
 
 trouble and annoyance, and is by no means neces- 
 sary if common attention is given to the game. 
 Some persons however, habitually call upon the 
 players to place their cards, and then ask to look at 
 the last trick, and often add to these two unpardon- 
 able offences a third, by asking " Now what are 
 trumps?" Such men are annoying and offen- 
 sive whist-players, and can have no proper feeling 
 as regards their duties to their neighbours. Never 
 get into these habits ; but, if you possess them, break 
 yourself of them at once. 
 
 ETIQUETTE OF WHIST. 
 
 The following rules belong to the established 
 etiquette of whist. They are not called laws, as it 
 is difficult in some cases impossible to apply any 
 penalty to their infraction, and the only remedy is 
 to cease to play with players who habitually dis- 
 regard them. 
 
 Two packs of cards are invariably used at clubs : 
 if possible this should be adhered to. 
 
 Any one having the lead and several winning 
 cards to play, should not draw a second card out of 
 his hand until his partner has played to the first 
 trick, such act being a distinct intimation that the 
 former has played a winning card.
 
 42 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 No intimation whatever, by word or gesture, 
 should be given by a player as to the state of his 
 hand, or of the game. 
 
 A player who desires the cards to be placed, or 
 who demands to see the last trick, should do it for 
 his own information only, and not in order to invite 
 the attention of his partner. 
 
 No player should object to refer to a bystander 
 who professes himself uninterested in the game, 
 and able to decide any disputed question of facts, 
 as to who played any particular card, whether 
 honours were claimed, though not scored, or vice 
 versa, &c., &c. It is unfair to revoke purposely. 
 Having made a revoke, a player is not justified in 
 making a second in order to conceal the first. 
 
 Until the players have made such bets as they 
 wish, bets should not be made with bystanders. 
 
 Bystanders should make no remarks, neither 
 should they by word or gesture give any intimation 
 of the state of the game until concluded and scored, 
 nor should they walk round the table to look at the 
 different hands. 
 
 No one should look over the hand of a player 
 against whom he is betting.
 
 Dummy. 43 
 
 DUMMY 
 
 Is played by three players. 
 
 One hand called dummy's lies exposed on the 
 table. 
 
 The laws are the same as those of whist, with 
 the following exceptions : 
 
 I. Dummy deals at the commencement 
 
 of each rubber. 
 
 II. Dummy is not liable to the penalty 
 for a revoke, as his adversaries see 
 his cards : should he revoke and the 
 error not be discovered until the trick 
 is turned and quitted, it stands good. 
 III. Dummy being blind and deaf, his 
 partner is not liable to any penalty 
 for an error, whence he can gain no 
 advantage. Thus he may expose 
 some, or all of his cards, or may 
 declare he has the game or trick, &c., 
 without incurring any penalty: if 
 however, he lead from dummy's 
 hand when he should lead from his 
 own, or vice versa, a suit may be 
 called from the hand which ought to 
 have led.
 
 44 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 DOUBLE DUMMY 
 
 Is played by two players, each having a dummy, 
 or exposed hand, for his partner. The laws of the 
 game do not differ from dummy whist, except in 
 the following law : there is no misdeal, as the deal 
 is a disadvantage. 
 
 ENQUIRY. 
 
 I HAVE played whist for some years, but never 
 with any first-class players. I never read a book 
 on whist in my life, but think I play a fair game ; 
 yet I am such a bad card-holder that I nearly 
 always lose ; so I am thinking of giving up the 
 game. "What do you recommend me to do ? 
 
 Answered by Letter No. 2.
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 HOW TO LEAEX WHIST. 
 
 IN order to obtain even mediocrity in whist, it is 
 necessary to read some of the books that have been 
 written on the subject, and it is better to read them 
 all. There is no more certain method of discovering 
 a conceited man than to play whist with him. He 
 will indicate his weak points in many ways, and one 
 that is very common is to announce that he never 
 read a book on whist in his life. This statement is 
 usually made by men who like their own play very 
 much, and fancy that although they are not quite 
 first-class players they are very near being so. 
 
 When a player has committed a series of puerile 
 mistakes during a rubber, every one of which is 
 referred to as bad play in whist books, and then 
 announces with an air of triumph, that he never 
 read a book on whist in his life, it is rather disap- 
 pointing for his partner to inform him, that his 
 style of play clearly indicates that he has not read. 
 
 Considering that the later books written on
 
 46 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 whist may be said to contain the experience of 
 nearly one hundred years of whist-playing, (for each 
 writer writes up to his own time, and builds on 
 that which has occurred before him,) it is merely 
 asserting, that one man's experience of whist 
 during probably a few years' play, fits him to play 
 as well as if he .had played all over the world 
 during a hundred years. 
 
 Many persons who blunder through a game of 
 whist, will excuse their mistakes by saying, " They 
 only play whist for amusement." 
 
 Let us now apply the same argument to another 
 case. Suppose a lady of mature years sat down at 
 a piano and banged the notes at random, without 
 any idea of time or harmony, or even of tune. It 
 would indicate a singular type of mind, if, when it 
 was suggested that there would be a more pleasant 
 noise if the lady learned her notes, she replied, " Oh 
 I only play the piano for amusement." Yet exactly 
 similar remarks are made by men of mature 
 years, who play probably three or four nights per 
 week at whist, and who have played a sort of 
 whist for years. 
 
 Just picture to yourself the ridiculous condition 
 of such a man's mind, and if yours is at all like it, 
 at once practise a little humility, and exercise 
 a little common sense, and read whist if you intend
 
 Necessity for Reading. 47 
 
 to play it, and avoid the pity which you scarcely 
 deserve when you lose a rubber, and your own and 
 your partner's money by ignorance, due to a 
 superfluity of conceit. 
 
 It is often too an indication of laziness, when a 
 man plays whist frequently and yet does not read, 
 or know the rules which long years of whist- 
 playing have proved to be the best, and the loss to 
 himself is considerable. I here wish to point out to 
 you that there is no game less of a gambling game 
 than is whist. It is a sort of three per cent, consols 
 investment, if played for points only, as it ought to 
 be played without bets. But I will demonstrate 
 what is the value that you place upon your time, 
 when you state that you have no time to read 
 about whist. If you never have read about whist, 
 you cannot avoid being a very inferior player, 
 unless you have played during several years with 
 the very best players. Assuming then that you 
 have no time to read, you must be an inferior 
 player ; and that you play whist one evening per 
 week, or fifty evenings per year. That you play 
 only shilling points with no bets, the rubber being 
 limited to eight points. "We will suppose that 
 Although you have never read about whist, you yd 
 play so well that you only lose one rubber during 
 the evening by bad play, (a very favourable view
 
 48 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 of your case) ; that you lose six points when 
 you ought to have won six points, making a 
 difference of twelve shillings each night, and thirty 
 pounds a year. 
 
 Now suppose some generous minded person were 
 to say, " Here is a book of about two hundred pages 
 I want you to read. It is rather amusing than 
 otherwise, you had better read it in instalments, say 
 one hour a day, so as to think over and digest what 
 you read. In one month, if you read only every 
 other day, you will know the book well." 
 
 Suppose to this request you replied, " I have not 
 time ; " you would in reality be saying, " My time 
 is worth thirty pounds a month, at the rate of one 
 hour every other day." 
 
 But in addition to the pecuniary value to be 
 derived from reading about whist, there is another 
 reason for doing so. "Whist is a social game. You 
 enter into partnership with one partner for a certain 
 business. If you are a good partner, every one is 
 glad to sit opposite to you, and you work in harmony 
 with this partner. If you are bad as a partner, you 
 are voted a nuisance ; you irritate your temporary 
 friend ; and you must be dull indeed if you do not 
 perceive the look of disgust which few can conceal 
 when the cards drawn shoAV that you fall to the lot 
 of the man, indicating his displeasure, and the
 
 Good and Bad Cards. 49 
 
 cheerful look that emanates from those who have 
 escaped having you for their vis-d-vis. 
 
 Such indications must surely be humiliating to a 
 man who is so self-sufficient as to boast that he 
 never reads about whist. 
 
 You say that you are such a bad card-holder that 
 you nearly always lose. Few remarks are more 
 amusing than this of yours. That you lose is a fact 
 about which there is no question, and you assert 
 that you do so because you are a bad card-holder. 
 Now there is nothing more certain than that every 
 man during, we will say 1,000 rubbers, holds nearly 
 the same number of court cards, and the same 
 number of trumps. "It is quite possible, and often 
 happens, that cards run against you for days and 
 perhaps weeks, and you hold during that period far 
 below the average of winning cards ; but as sure as 
 summer follows winter, you will find that after a 
 time you will hold above the average of cards," and 
 in a long series you will as nearly as possible have 
 held the average only. On three occasions in my 
 whist experience I lost above 500 points between 
 January and March ; but before the end of the 
 year, I was a winner of 450 points. 
 
 Early in one year I once lost 35 rubbers in suc- 
 cession ; before June of the same year I won 18 
 rubbers in succession, then lost two rubbers, and
 
 50 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 the next day Aron 10 rubbers in succession. Those 
 players who were witnesses of this last-named 
 result, exclaimed that they had never seen such a 
 card-holder but they forgot I was only making up 
 my average, and they did not remember the loss of 
 35 rubbers in succession. 
 
 To claim to be a bad card-holder is ridiculous. I 
 have often heard the claim made, and I never failed, 
 on looking over the play of the claimant, to discover 
 that when he held inferior cards he lost more than 
 he ought to have lost, and when he held good cards 
 he did not win as much as he ought. 
 
 To lose one or even two tricks in each hand is by 
 no means an unusual performance on the part of a 
 player who has never read a book on whist, if you 
 consider that there are probably five or six hands 
 for each rubber. Such play, with hands of equal 
 value all round, will lose eight instead of winning 
 eight points ; and such, I have no doubt, is the ex- 
 planation of your opinion that you are a bad card- 
 holder. It is the true explanation of every other 
 similar case that I have watched, and I am indis- 
 posed to admit miracles in whist, as an explanation 
 of facts, for which I have always found another and 
 a natural solution. 
 
 When you ask what I recommend you to do, I 
 answer, read and think about whist. Don't do as
 
 Common Sense at Whist. 51 
 
 many do : take up thirteen cards and just play 
 them anyho\v, without system, order, or reason. 
 "VVhist is a simple game ; it should in almost every 
 case be played clearly and simply ; and the usual 
 fault of bad players is, that they play whist ap- 
 parently with an absence of common sense, and 
 commit acts which, in any business habits of life, 
 would cause them to be considered little better than 
 imbeciles. In my next letter I will describe what 
 I believe the essential preliminary steps to becom- 
 ing a whist-player. 
 
 E 2
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 AVATCHING THE GAME. 
 
 To arrive at the rank of a good player, certain 
 systematic proceedings are necessary, and to which 
 I will now call your attention. By carefully attend- 
 ing to these, you will avoid one of the most dan- 
 gerous and annoying proceedings of certain players 
 who would otherwise be good, and will not commit 
 as they do, what I will term "clerical errors." 
 
 By clerical errors, I mean such palpable mis- 
 takes as leading out of turn, mistaking the trump 
 suit, playing a club to a spade suit when you hold 
 a spade, or a diamond to a heart suit when you 
 hold a heart. Thinking your partner discarded a 
 spade, when he in reality discarded a diamond, 
 and the adversaries discarded a spade, and conse- 
 quently playing to favour the adversaries, instead 
 of selecting to favour your partner. These and 
 similar mistakes, usually arise from causes which I 
 will now explain, and endeavour to point out how 
 to avoid.
 
 Watch the Cards as they fail. 5 3 
 
 Immediately the cards are drawn, to decide who 
 are partners and who deals, remember whether 
 you are first, second, third or fourth player, when 
 the deal is completed. As soon as the cards are 
 dealt, ohserve carefully the trump card, and note 
 how it may aid you in finessing, or otherwise, 
 by comparing its value with the trumps in your 
 own hand. For example, suppose the knave is 
 turned up to your right, and you hold queen, ten 
 and a small card in trumps ; your queen and ten 
 are equally good, as long as the lead comes through 
 you.. To play the queen, then third in hand, 
 instead of the ten, would he an act of stupidity, 
 unless the knave was played second in hand. 
 Again, suppose the knave turned up to your right, 
 and you hold ten, eight, seven of trumps. To lead 
 the ten, in the hopes of strengthening your partner, 
 would he weak play, for your partner must head 
 your ten to prevent the kn'ave from winning, and 
 he would do the same to a small card, and your 
 ten would be a useful card held up. 
 
 Sort your cards quickly and systematically, 
 arranging the suits alternately red and black, and 
 the cards of each suit in the order of their relative 
 value. 
 
 It is said that if you always place your trumps 
 in one position in your hand, certain opponents
 
 54 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 will note as you sort your cards, how many trumps 
 you hold. I do not consider this argument is of 
 value. If an opponent watches you sort your 
 cards for this purpose, you must be very dull if you 
 don't perceive it, and if you do find he does so, you 
 can very soon mislead him by going through the 
 motions of holding many trumps, when you have 
 only a few, or vice versd. It is a terrible error to 
 mistake the trump suit, and if trumps are always 
 sorted into one position, such an error is not likely. 
 It is a very bad habit to be occupied in any way 
 when the sorting of the hands is going on. You 
 should practise sorting your hand quickly, so as to 
 be ready for the lead, and to have formed some 
 estimate of the value of your hand before the first 
 card is led. By forming an estimate of your hand, 
 I mean, that you should note how many tricks you 
 are almost certain to win ; how many tricks you 
 may probably win ; then having noted the score of 
 your adversaries, and your own score, you know 
 whether you can save the game in your own hand. 
 If you cannot do so, you must remember how many 
 tricks you require from your partner to save the 
 game between you. If you are certain that you 
 can save the game, you may then run some risk to 
 win it ; but you must be most cautious, as the state 
 of the score alters the style of the play.
 
 Play to Score. 55 
 
 When the adversaries are four to your love, 
 you must play quite a different game from that 
 which you would play at love all. Again, if you 
 are four and the adversaries love, it would be 
 absurd to play a game which might win you three 
 or even two by cards, but might lose you the 
 trick. 
 
 Now all these important questions should pass 
 and be weighed in your mind before a card is 
 played, and if you are sorting your cards when 
 these questions should be considered, you at once 
 start at a disadvantage. 
 
 Immediately a card is led, either by your partner 
 or an adversary, you should, from what you know of 
 the cards in your own hand, form conclusions as to 
 what this card means. For example, suppose you 
 hold (with other cards) the ace, ten, five and two 
 of hearts, and that your left-hand adversary is the 
 original leader. Suppose he lead the six of hearts, a 
 rapid glance at your own hand indicates that there 
 are two cards viz., the four and three lower 
 than the card of the original leader, and these cards 
 are in one or other of the three hands. To the six 
 your partner plays the eight, third player plays 
 king, you win with ace. From the instant a card 
 is led you should never take your eyes off the table, 
 but as each card falls, draw conclusions as to where
 
 56 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 the other cards are located. A lead of the six by 
 the original leader, would indicate 
 
 First, that it was the lowest of four cards of the 
 suit. 
 
 Second, that it was the lowest hut one of a five 
 suit 
 
 Which of these two conditions really exists it is 
 impossible at present to decide. 
 
 When your partner plays the eight, it indicates 
 that if he hold either the four or three or seven he 
 is asking for trumps (as he has played an unneces- 
 sarily high card, as will be fully explained in a 
 future letter). When third hand plays the king, it 
 shows he has not the queen. Now where are the 
 three, four, and seven ? for on their position de- 
 pends your knowledge of the game. 
 
 We will suppose that having won the first trick 
 with the ace, you return the two of hearts. Second 
 hand (that is the original leader) plays the seven, 
 your partner wins with queen, and fourth hand 
 plays the three. 
 
 From comparing these cards with those which 
 fell previously, you can now form a very fair esti- 
 mate of the suit of hearts, and of the hands held 
 by one adversary at least. The original leader led 
 six, then second round played seven. He does not 
 then hold five of the suit unless he is a weak
 
 Draw Conclusions. 57 
 
 player, otherwise in the second round he would 
 play the four or three, showing his partner that he 
 had led originally the lowest but one, or what is 
 termed the " penultimate," which when led indi- 
 cates five in the suit. The play of the queen hy 
 your partner shows that he docs not hold the knave, 
 and the play of the three by your right-hand 
 adversary shows he is not asking for trumps, as it is 
 the lowest card he could play. 
 
 You now rapidly draw your inferences. Original 
 leader led from four of a suit, and these four were 
 almost certainly six, seven, nine and knave. If 
 your partner, after winning with the queen of hearts, 
 does not lead a trump, you may fairly conclude 
 that the four of hearts is not in his hand, and that 
 his first card, the eight, was not an " ask for 
 trumps." You can now place the nine and knave of 
 hearts to your left and the four to your right, and 
 you can when you like, force your partner, if you 
 consider it advisable to do so. For as eight hearts 
 are out, and as you hold two, two are to your left 
 find one to your right, the thirteen are accounted 
 for, and your partner cannot hold another heart. If 
 now one trick more would save the game, you can 
 save it when you obtain the lead by forcing your 
 partner. 
 
 This will serve as an example of the system you
 
 58 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 should adopt, of observing the fall of the cards and 
 drawing your conclusions at once. If you commit 
 the error of gazing at your own cards, as if you were 
 studying the countenances of the kings and queens, 
 instead of watching the fall of the cards, you will 
 probably be compelled to say " place your cards," 
 and you at once start at a disadvantage. 
 
 ENQUIRY. 
 
 I HAVE read Letter Three, and I note the points 
 to which you call attention ; but I find it very diffi- 
 cult, as I have a bad memory, to remember tho 
 cards that are out. Can you suggest any method 
 for improving my memory, as regards whist. If 
 I could do so, I should play much better. Also I 
 am not quite clear why men should play whist so 
 that you can know by the cards they play what 
 they hold in their hands. It seems to me they 
 may deceive you, and then all your calculations 
 are upset.
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 WHIST MEMORY. THE LEAD. 
 
 MANY persons make the same mistake that you 
 seem to have done, and appear to consider that a 
 very good memory is necessary in order to play 
 whist well. " Memory " is a word often used and 
 but little understood. What you consider Memory 
 is nothing more as regards whist than careful 
 observation, and I think I can make this clear to 
 you. 
 
 If you were asked how many steps there were 
 from the ground floor to an upstairs room, to which 
 you ascended daily, you might possibly assert that 
 you could not remember. The fact would be that 
 you had never observed or counted. Count these 
 steps, and ten minutes afterwards .even, you could 
 state the number without any exertion of memory. 
 
 Suppose you entered a dining room, and \vere 
 asked after you had been there five minutes, how 
 many chairs there were in the room, or how many 
 pictures, you could not state how many as an act of
 
 60 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 memory ; but if you had observed and counted, you 
 could at once state. You may remember the account 
 given in, I think, the "Life of Houdin the Conjuror," 
 how he passed a shop window, observed the contents 
 and then wrote them down, and thus discovered 
 how many things he had failed to observe. By 
 thus repeating his observations, he found he im- 
 proved immensely, and could soon tell by a glance 
 as much, as he had at first been able to discern by 
 a long look. 
 
 So is it at whist. If you are fiddling about your 
 cards, and sorting them when you ought to be 
 looking at the table, you fail to observe the cards 
 that fall from each player's hand, and you conse- 
 quently cannot recall what these particular cards 
 really are, and no amount of looking at the last 
 trick will do anything more than imperfectly aid, 
 and very often puzzle you as regards who played 
 particular cards. Note carefully each card as it 
 falls, and draw your conclusions from these cards - 
 as regards the state of the hand of each player, and 
 you will soon find what you call your memory is a 
 far more accurate register than what you imagine 
 it is. 
 
 You will find how essential it is, that your atten- 
 tion is not taken off during the play of the hand. 
 If anything takes your attention off the table, you
 
 Make your Cards intelligible. 6 1 
 
 cannot observe as you ought, and then consequently 
 you forget what cards are out, and cannot form a 
 just conclusion as to where other cards not played 
 are most likely to be situated. 
 
 Your second remark is one which calls for special 
 notice, and I would impress on you the importance 
 of what follows : 
 
 You say " Why should men play whist so that 
 you can know by the cards they play what they hold 
 in their hands," &c. On this depends the beauty 
 and principle of the game. In whist it is a combi- 
 nation of your own and your partner's hand, against 
 those of your two adversaries. If you and your part- 
 ner by a certain system of play, can make each other 
 understand what cards you each hold, whilst your 
 two adversaries conceal from each other, or mislead 
 each other as to what is in their hands, then you 
 and your partner are playing what is called twenty- 
 six cards, instead of thirteen, and you are pulling 
 together instead of in different directions, and your 
 combination, with equal cards to those held by your 
 adversaries, will to a certainty defeat their disor- 
 ganization. If, therefore, you have a partner who 
 is intelligent, who observes the cards that fall from 
 each hand, you should play so as to inform him of 
 the contents of your hand, although you also inform 
 intelligent adversaries, and you gain an advantage 
 by so doing. If you have a partner who plays so
 
 62 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 obscurely as to conceal from you what he has in his 
 hand, you have no alternative but to play your own 
 hand selfishly, and thus you labour under the dis- 
 advantage of having three adversaries, and must 
 lose if the cards are at all equally divided. 
 
 For example : Suppose you hold ace, two, and 
 three of trumps ; your partner turns up the queen, 
 and holds king and queen only. Your right hand 
 adversary leads a trump, you play the two, third 
 hand plays the nine, and your partner plays queen. 
 You conclude from this that your partner does not 
 hold the ten, knave, or king. If he had held 
 either ten or knave, he would not have won with 
 the queen. If he had held the king, he would 
 have played it to let you know he held both king 
 and queen, for you already know he holds the 
 queen, as it was turned up. On trumps being 
 played again by your right hand adversary, you 
 play your ace second hand, and your partner's 
 king falls to it, and the whole command of the 
 trumps is now 'against you, and a trick has been 
 lost. 
 
 This is a most palpable example of what I wish 
 to impress on you viz., that to play a strong game 
 you must play so as to make your own hand as 
 clear as possible to your partner. If either adver- 
 sary play so as to deceive you, he must also play
 
 Learn the Simple Rules. 
 
 so as to deceive his partner ; consequently lie plays 
 on a system which, in the long run must lose. 
 
 In order, therefore, to play on the most winning 
 system, there are certain cards in a suit which you 
 should lead when it is your original lead that is, 
 when your right hand adversary has dealt and you 
 commence with a lead. There are certain cards 
 to play second in hand, third in hand, and when 
 last player. Which cards to lead and which to 
 play under the ahove conditions are carefully laid 
 down in every book on whist, and these must be 
 learnt and remembered. There is no difficulty in 
 remembering them, and it is just as easy to play 
 the correct as the incorrect card. 
 
 Learning, then, what to lead, what to play second 
 and third in hand, is the mere A B C, or mechanical 
 part of whist ; consequently the commencement of 
 a game is easy and presents but slight variations. 
 As each card falls the play becomes more difficult, 
 and greater skill is required ; so that a good player 
 who has read the book may play half the hand as 
 well as a skilful player ; but when the last half of 
 the cards have to be played, the unobservant or 
 stupid player loses generally one and often two 
 tricks. 
 
 "When, then, you have learnt what to lead, 
 what card to play second and third in hand, do
 
 64 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 not run away with the idea that you know any- 
 thing of whist, you have yet to learn the art of 
 the game. But hefore you can 'be anything but a 
 very bad player, you must learn what to lead when 
 you are original leader. I will, therefore, now give 
 you a list of the conventional leads, when you 
 have certain cards in your hand. Each of these 
 leads has a ^reason for being adopted, and this 
 conventional system is the result of the accumulated 
 experience of the best whist-players during probably 
 the past hundred years. Do not, then, imagine 
 that your own personal experience is in any way 
 to be compared with that which has caused the 
 various leads given below to be adopted. These 
 leads must be learned ; so that you never need be 
 in doubt about an original lead. 
 
 When you have learned what to lead, you will 
 not act like some players who, when it is their 
 lead, wait some minutes, and then mutter that 
 they don't know what to lead. 
 
 The original lead is an easy thing, for you 
 should in nearly every case lead from your longest 
 suit: which card of this longest suit to lead, in 
 order both to protect yourself and to inform your 
 partner, and save his wasting an unnecessarily high 
 card, will now be explained.
 
 The Lead. 65 
 
 THE LEAD. 
 
 WHEN you have sorted your hand, you can at 
 once tell which is your longest suit. You must 
 have at least one suit, containing four cards. 
 Probably you may have one suit with five or even 
 six cards; this is called your strongest suit. If 
 you hold two suits each containing four cards, the 
 relative value of these cards determines which is 
 the stronger suit. Thus with queen, ten, seven, 
 and two of spades, king, queen, eight, and two of 
 hearts, the hearts is the stronger suit. 
 
 Before you commence your lead you should note 
 the score, and see whether from your own hand 
 you are certain to save the game. If you hold 
 only three trumps, with one honour, and have 
 but two tolerably sure tricks, you will require at 
 least two tricks from your partner to be safe, as 
 regards the game, as you may hope to make one 
 of your doubtful cards. But the first question 
 you should ask yourself is, "Can I venture to 
 play a forward game ? or can I only play a back 
 or safe game ? " As this is one of the most im- 
 portant problems in the art of whist, I suggest 
 that you take a pack of cards and give yourself 
 the following cards ace, queen, knave, and two 
 of diamonds (trumps), king and three of spades,
 
 66 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 ace, king, queen, five, and three of clubs, the 
 seven and four of hearts. The score is three all. 
 
 Any thoughtful player would at once see that 
 the two by honours in his own hand gave him game, 
 provided he could prevent the adversaries from 
 scoring two by cards. There is no object in the 
 holder of this hand winning the odd trick, or even 
 two by cards. If the adversaries win the odd 
 trick, it is no use to them. So the sole object of 
 the player who holds this hand, should be to save 
 losing two by cards, and not to attempt winning 
 the odd trick. Consequently he should play a 
 back, or saving game, and not a forward, or win- 
 ning game. In reality, strong as this hand looks, 
 there are only two certain tricks in it viz., ace, 
 queen, knave of trumps two of which must make, 
 for the clubs may be trumped first round, and 
 the king of spades may be taken by the ace. To 
 consider, then, the lead under these circumstances, 
 is most important. If the game were love all, the 
 correct lead would be king of clubs, then if it won 
 the first trick, the saving of the game is a certainty, 
 and you may try to win it, and your best chance 
 would be, to lead ace, then queen of trumps. You 
 have thus shown your partner your strong suit in 
 clubs, and your strength in trumps, and asked him 
 to help you play that stvle of game. If this game
 
 Example of Bad Play. 67 
 
 fail in consequence of the forward play, and of 
 your partner's bad cards, you still do not lose the 
 game, and there was more than a fair chance of 
 your winning it. If, however, the score is three 
 all, you lose the game under the same conditions. 
 
 Having on one occasion seen this identical hand 
 played by a thoughtless player who lost two by 
 cards in consequence of playing for too much, I 
 will give the results of the two methods of playing 
 it: 
 
 First, the wrong way, at the score of three all. 
 The holder of this hand I will call A., his partner 
 B. His left-hand adversary X., his right-hand 
 adversary Y. 
 
 A. led king of clubs, which won, he then led ace 
 of trumps, and followed with queen, both of which 
 made tricks. Concluding that his partner held 
 king of trumps, he led the small trump. Both X. 
 and B. failed, and A. was now trapped, as Y. won 
 the trump, and led his king of trumps catching A.'s 
 knave. Y. now led king of hearts, which won, 
 then queen of spades, on which A. played king and 
 X. ace, thus X. and Y. had won four tricks. X. led 
 nine of hearts, B. played small heart, Y. won with 
 knave, led ace of hearts, then knave of spades and 
 thirteenth trump, and won game. X. and Y. could 
 win no other trick, as B. held ten of spades. Now 
 
 V 2
 
 68 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 I will give the hands as they were located. A.'s 
 hand is already given, B. held two small trumps, 
 the four and three ; three small hearts, two, three* 
 five, with queen ; four spades, four, five, six, ten ; 
 and three small clubs, two, four, seven. X. held 
 ace, nine, eight, and seven of spades ; nine and 
 five diamonds ; ten, nine, eight, six hearts ; ten, 
 eight, six clubs. 
 
 Y. held king, ten, eight, seven, six diamonds ; 
 ace, king, knave hearts ; knave and nine of clubs ; 
 queen, knave, and two of spades. If now A. had led 
 king, then queen, then ace of clubs, Y. would have 
 trumped the ace of clubs, and led a trump after he 
 had led his king of hearts, for his reasoning would 
 probably have been as follows. Unless my partner 
 hold an honour, the adversaries are two by honours 
 and game. If my partner hold even the knave, I 
 shall make probably two tricks in trumps, and 
 clear them all out ; and make a greater certainty 
 of three tricks in hearts. On leading a small 
 trump, A. played a false card, the queen, for 
 reasons that you will see explained under the head 
 of false cards, and he won this trick, and leads the 
 five of clubs, which X. trumps with his nine, and 
 leads a small heart. Y. finesses knave, and wins 
 this trick, and concluding that his partner holds 
 knave of trumps, he leads the eight of trumps, on
 
 The Lead from Five. 69 
 
 which A. plays knave and wins, then ace of trumps, 
 which leaves Y. with king of trumps only. 
 
 A. has now won the following tricks : king and 
 queen of clubs, queen, knave, ace of trumps, 
 making five tricks. A. then plays his remaining 
 cluh, and forces out the king of trumps, and A.'s 
 two of trumps must win. Consequently, A. and B. 
 win six tricks and game ; for if X. and Y. win the 
 odd trick, it is no use to them. Consequently, by 
 back play, A. and B. win the game, instead of X. 
 and Y. doing so. 
 
 Now I wish you particularly to study these hands, 
 because although the first or original lead would be 
 the same no matter what the score was, yet your 
 second lead would be different, because in one case 
 you have to guard against one event only, viz., to 
 prevent the adversaries gaining two by cards. If 
 you were love all, you have no fear of losing the 
 game, with such a hand as that I have given as held 
 by A., and so you may venture to try and win it. 
 
 The first or original lead, therefore, should in 
 almost every case be from your numerically strong 
 suit, and the card to lead of this suit will now be 
 referred to. 
 
 With five of a suit, lead the lowest but one, 
 unless this suit be headed 
 
 By ace, when lead the ace.
 
 70 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 By ace, king ; in which case lead the king. 
 
 By king, queen ; in which case lead the king. 
 
 By queen, knave, ten; in which case lead the 
 queen, unless under one particular circumstance 
 which I will refer to at the end of this letter. 
 
 By queen, knave ; lead the queen, if you hold six 
 the smallest but one, if you hold only five. 
 
 By ace, queen, knave and two others ; lead ace, 
 then knave. 
 
 By knave, ten, and small cards ; lead the lowest 
 but one. 
 
 [These leads have exceptions when certain cards 
 are turned up in trumps, these exceptions will be 
 given in a future letter.] 
 
 By king, knave, ten; lead the ten. 
 
 By king, knave, ten, nine and others ; the nine. 
 
 By king, queen, knave ; lead the knave. 
 
 Now the object of leading a different card when 
 you have five of a suit, from what you would when 
 you hold three or four, should be quite clear to 
 you. 
 
 If in your own hand you hold five of a suit, there 
 are eight cards of the suit in the other three hands, 
 and one of these three must have no more than two 
 cards in the suit. Unless, therefore, you can extract 
 the trumps, you cannot expect to make more than 
 one trick in the suit, if you hold king, queen and
 
 Leads Continued. 71 
 
 three others. If you led a small card of the suit, 
 the first trick might be won by the adversaries with 
 the knave, the second by the ace, and you might 
 not win a single trick in that suit. If you lead 
 king, from king, queen, the king either wins the 
 first trick, or is taken by the ace. If taken by the 
 ace, the queen is the best card left in of that suit. 
 
 In some of the other cases named the lead of a 
 particular card is for one of two objects, and some- 
 times for a combination of both. It is either that 
 you lead a high card to prevent the adversaries 
 winning a trick with a low card, as in the case of 
 ten from king, ten, knave ; ace then knave from ace, 
 queen, knave and two others, to show five with 
 queen, thus to inform your partner as to the num- 
 ber of cards held by you in the suit you have led 
 from, as in the case of leading the lowest but one 
 when you hold five in the suit, not headed by the 
 cards named above. 
 
 For example, if you lead the knave of a suit and 
 it wins, and you then lead the king, your partner 
 knows you led originally from king, queen, knave 
 and tico others. If you led king originally and on 
 this winning led the queen, he would know that 
 you had led from king, queen, knave and one other, 
 or from king, queen, knave only.
 
 72 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 The Lead from Five or more Trumps. 
 
 The lead from five or more trumps differs from 
 the lead in other suits, because trumps must win 
 on their merits, whereas with other suits, an ace or 
 king may be trumped if held up too long. Also 
 unless you have dealt yourself, you see the trump 
 card in addition to those you yourself hold, and 
 thus have some knowledge of the influence of this 
 card on your own hand. Taking a palpable case, 
 suppose your partner turned up ace of trumps, 
 and you held king, queen and three others, you 
 would not lead the king, as it might fall to the 
 ace ; you would of course lead a small card. Again, 
 if you held ace, king, and three other trumps, you 
 know your ace, king, must win. So you play a 
 small trump to give your partner two chances ; 
 first, that he holds the knave, whilst the queen is 
 held by his right-hand adversary. Secondly, that 
 he hold the queen single, or with one other trump 
 only. 
 
 Again, suppose you held ace, queen, ten and two 
 other trumps, and the knave is turned up to your 
 right, you would lead the queen ; because, even if 
 the queen be taken by the fourth hand, you hold 
 ace and ten over him, and must win both, so that 
 probably his knave never wins. If you led ace,
 
 Lead from Trumps. 73 
 
 then queen, or any other card in trumps, both king 
 and knave must make. 
 
 If you hold the king, queen, and three others in 
 trumps, you lead a small one, for you may fairly 
 give your partner credit for some card which may 
 extract either the knave or ace, and your next lead 
 of king will take out the ace, and you remain in 
 command of trumps. If you led the king, you 
 might catch your partner's knave or ten, if not the 
 ace; for as a rule you may conclude that if you 
 hold a long suit your partner is probably short in 
 this suit. 
 
 Think over these leads, and you will see the 
 reasons for them, and thus you will understand the 
 principle on which leads should be adopted ; thus a 
 lead will not be a matter for memory, but for 
 common sense, and you will not act stupidly with 
 regard to them. For example, ten of trumps is 
 turned up to your right, and you hold queen, 
 knave, nine, four and three. Which card would 
 you lead ? You ought at once to see it must be 
 the queen. 
 
 I mentioned that with queen, knave, ten, and 
 two others of a suit, it was sometimes better not to 
 lead the queen. The exception is, when you 
 require but one trick from your partner to win or 
 save the game, and this one trick can be made only
 
 74 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 in this one suit which is not the trump suit, and by 
 your partner. If your partner did not know that 
 you required but one trick from him, he would not 
 put his ace on your queen, and the fourth player if 
 he held the king would win this trick, and probably 
 your partner's ace might be trumped. If both ace 
 and king are against you, it is no matter which card 
 you play, but if you played the ten your partner 
 would win with ace, and win or save you the 
 game. 
 
 This is a special case, in which you play so as to 
 have the chances in your favour, and though these 
 are slight, yet if you always play in such a manner 
 as to have the chances slightly in your favour you 
 must win, whereas if you play so as to have them 
 always against you, you must lose. 
 
 "When you hold ace, king, and five other trumps, 
 you lead the king, then ace ; for as there are only 
 six trumps in the other hands, you may bring them, 
 all down with your ace, king, and you are 
 tolerably sure to do so with a third round. 
 
 Here then are the principal leads from a suit of 
 five or more ; if you have any remarks to make I 
 will reply to them previous to giving the leads from 
 a suit of four or three.
 
 What to do. 75 
 
 ENQUIRY. 
 
 FROM the principle you have laid down for leads, 
 I conclude that 
 
 1st. With ace, king, queen, and one other, not 
 
 trumps, I should lead king, then queen. 
 
 Should I follow with ace, or lead from a fresh 
 
 suit? 
 2nd. Suppose also I hold ten, nine, six, five, two of 
 
 trumps, hearts, and ten, nine, six, five, two, 
 
 of diamonds, two small cluhs, and one small 
 
 spade, what ought I to lead ? 
 3rd. Also with knave, ten, eight, seven, six, which 
 
 card should be led in a suit not trumps, and 
 
 why? 
 4th. "With ace, king, queen of trumps, and a small 
 
 trump, ace, king, queen, and three other cards 
 
 in a suit ; should I lead the trumps first, or 
 
 the king of the long suit ? 
 5th. With king, queen, knave, and three others, 
 
 and ace, king, queen, and one other trump, 
 
 no other card above a six, what should I 
 
 lead?
 
 LETTER Y. 
 
 THE LEAD CONTINUED. ANSWER TO 
 ENQUIRIES. 
 
 HOWEVER thoroughly you may know the rules of 
 leads, or which card to play second and third in 
 hand, yet you can never by hook knowledge do 
 away with the necessity for judgment under almost 
 every condition of the game, the lead, &c. This is 
 what makes whist the fascinating study that it 
 proves to be, and gives to the intelligent player an 
 advantage over the mere book student. The game 
 of an intelligent whist-player differs more from the 
 mechanical game of the mere book-player than 
 does the pianoforte performance of a skilled 
 musician from the music ground out by a hand 
 organ. I make these remarks on account of 
 Question One in your last enquiry. 
 
 You say with ace, king, queen, and one other, I 
 should lead king, then queen, and you ask, should 
 I follow with ace ? 
 
 Whether you should follow with ace depends on
 
 What to Lead. 77 
 
 several conditions. "What cards have fallen from the 
 various hands ? How many trumps are in ? Has 
 your partner shown weakness in this suit by a 
 discard ? Have you reason to think that one 
 adversary, weak in trumps, is likely to trump 
 the ace ? Have you any other suit to lead, which, 
 if you lead from, is not likely to damage your 
 partner, &c. &c ? These considerations must guide 
 you, and not the hare fact of whether you should 
 lead out the ace after having won with the king 
 and queen. 
 
 With regard to Enquiry Two. 
 
 If the game was love all, I should lead the 
 five of diamonds. You cannot afford to expose 
 your partner to the risk of playing a game 
 under the impression that you have a strong 
 hand, as he would conclude you had, supposing 
 you commenced with the trump lead. If you 
 find your partner has a strong suit or hand, you 
 can ask for trumps, and thus show him, that 
 although you were not strong enough to start 
 with a lead of trumps, yet a trump lead is now 
 advisable. 
 
 It has been recommended by some writers on 
 whist that you should always lead a trump if you 
 hold five; with this recommendation I cannot agree. 
 If you hold six, it would almost always be right to
 
 78 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 lead one, but with five it is a more doubtful 
 proceeding. 
 
 Third. With the suit you name, the card to lead 
 would be the knave. You may possibly bring down 
 queen, king, and ace, in the first round, and will 
 then hold the best and third best card of the suit. 
 If you led the seven, and your partner held no 
 higher card, possibly the nine might win the first 
 trick, and the ace and king would then be held up 
 against you, and you might not win a trick in this 
 suit. 
 
 Fourth. With ace, king, queen, and a small 
 trump, and a six suit headed by ace, king, queen, 
 you should commence with queen, king, ace of 
 trumps. There are only nine other trumps in against 
 you, all these may come down to your three rounds 
 of trumps. Should one adversary hold four trumps, 
 you extract three of these, and then force the 
 remaining trump out with your long suit. You 
 can again obtain the lead with your remaining 
 trump, and continue your long suit, and so make 
 four tricks in trumps, and five in your long suit. 
 If the trumps out of your own hand were divided 
 as follows, five in one adversary's hand, and two in 
 each of the other hands, it might have been better 
 to have forced this hand before you led a trump, 
 if you could be sure of doing so ; but such a divi-
 
 Theory versus Practice. 79 
 
 sion as four trumps in your own hand, and five 
 in one adversary's is unusual, and you must not 
 play a hand on the assumption that something 
 unusual prevails, if you do, you will lose. I once 
 knew a whist-player who played a most scientific 
 game, hut always lost ; because the game he played 
 was based on an assumption that something unusual 
 prevailed. When he lost the game he would say, 
 " I played perfectly correctly if the cards had been 
 placed as I thought they were. I thought when 
 you led the two of diamonds you must hold ace or 
 king and had nothing in spades, and so I played 
 as I did." His error was in imagining that for 
 which there were no grounds, and always playing 
 a game suited to the unusual rather than to the 
 usual one of the cards. 
 
 Fifth. The queen of trumps, then king of 
 trumps, then knave of the six suit, this tells 
 your partner plainly that you hold ace of trumps 
 and a powerful suit. Your partner will naturally 
 conclude that your strong suit is the suit from 
 which you have led the knave, and as this lead is 
 either from a long sequence headed by a knave, 
 or king, queen, knave, and at least two others, he 
 will know by the cards in his own hand which of 
 these two it really is, and the whole plan of this 
 hand will be clear to him. He ought to perceive
 
 8o The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 that you want the suit cleared of which you have 
 led the knave, and that you hold the ace of trumps 
 in order to gain the lead. In such a hand as this 
 you will discover the stupid from the intelligent 
 player, when your partner holds ace and two 
 others of your long suit. If you lead the knave 
 he may pass this, and allow your knave to 
 make. When you follow with your king, a 
 good player would take your king with his 
 ace, and return you a trump. A stupid player 
 would allow your king to make, and would 
 hold up the ace, so that if you did succeed 
 in getting out another trump or two your part- 
 ner's ace would take the lead out of your hand, 
 and prevent you from making your two or three 
 remaining cards in this suit. 
 
 Now there are some players who have played 
 whist for probably twenty years, who never rise 
 to even this simple style of play. They will 
 say, " I did not like to take your king with my 
 aee, because your king must win unless trumped 
 by the adversaries. Consequently such a partner 
 will spoil your plans, and he is one who probably 
 announces every now and then, that he must 
 give up whist, as he holds such bad cards that 
 he always loses. If, instead of thus excusing 
 himself, he were to say, " I play my cards with
 
 False Theories. 81 
 
 such a want of intelligence that I always lose," he 
 would be stating a fact, instead of bringing forward 
 a theory relative to his being a singular phe- 
 nomenon as regards the cards dealt to him. 
 
 With four in a suit lead the lowest, unless headed 
 by ace king or king queen, in which case lead king. 
 With three lead the lowest, unless headed by two 
 high cards, such as queen knave, knave ten, &c., 
 when lead the highest, or with knave and two 
 others, when lead the knave.
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 RETURN LEADS. 
 
 RETURN or second leads differ from original 
 leads, and for many reasons. "When it is your 
 original lead, the position of the other cards are 
 entirely unknown to you; as soon as you see 
 other cards on the table, or have seen another lead, 
 you can begin to speculate on the form of game to 
 be adopted, from noting the card led by your 
 partner or your adversary. 
 
 Assuming, then, first, that your partner has led, 
 say a small heart, and you win this trick. The 
 question is, what card or suit to return him? 
 The great object of play at whist being to inform 
 your partner of the state of your own hand, it is 
 not customary to at once return to him this suit, 
 unless under the following circumstances. First, 
 that you hold the best card of this suit, when it is 
 desirable to play it out, in order to prevent the 
 chance of blocking your partner's strong suit. 
 Second, that you are very weak in all other suits, 
 and consider it undesirable to open a fresh suit.
 
 The Return Lead. 83 
 
 Third, that you hold only two of the suit, and 
 having won the first trick in it, you return to your 
 partner your only remaining card when you wish to 
 have the option of trumping th^ third round. 
 
 Under these circumstances it is better to lead to 
 your partner the correct card of your own strong 
 suit ; you may thus assume that your partner, by 
 his original lead, has informed you which is his 
 strong suit, whilst you by your return lead give him 
 similar information. 
 
 When you return your partner's lead, be careful 
 that you return him the highest of two remaining 
 cards, the lowest of three remaining cards. This is 
 one of the most important elementary rules at whist, 
 as it shows your partner whether you held origin- 
 ally three or four of the suit. Thus, with king, ten, 
 four in a suit, if you win with the king you 
 return the ten. If, however, you hold king, ten, 
 four, and two, if you win with the king you ought 
 to return the two. The fall of your card in the 
 third round informs your partner at once whether 
 you held three or four in this suit. This informa- 
 tion is more essential in trumps than it is in other 
 suits. If you mislead your partner, and tell him 
 by your play that you hold only three trumps when 
 you hold four, he may probably draw your remain- 
 ing trump, and thus lose a trick. 
 
 o 2
 
 84 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 I consider that this return of the proper card is 
 the first and most important step to correct whist- 
 playing ; and the partner who neglects it deserves 
 no other designation than that of a very bad 
 player. 
 
 There is one important consideration which 
 should guide you as regards returning your 
 partner's lead, and this is I consider another of the 
 most essential elements to success in whist, viz. : 
 to avoid leading up to a strong suit held by that 
 player who is on your right. 
 
 Suppose your partner lead a suit, of which you 
 hold knave and two small cards, and that third in 
 hand you win with the knave. To return this suit 
 would be imprudent, for the fact of your knave 
 winning shows the strength to be held either by 
 your partner or your right-hand adversary. If you 
 lead this suit again, you must place your partner 
 at a disadvantage, as the right-hand adversary can 
 win or save a good card. By waiting you may 
 force the lead into this adversary's hand, and 
 oblige him eventually to lead this suit up to your 
 partner. To lead through the strong and up to the 
 weak is one of the first principles of success in 
 whist, as you may soon prove by playing a game of 
 Double Dummy with yourself, and exposing all the 
 cards.
 
 The Lead from Six Cards. 85 
 
 The great advantage of having the original lead 
 is, that you can develop the game in any direction 
 you may select. You may commence with a trump 
 or a long suit, or strong cards, as you may consider 
 prudent. You may also inform your partner fairly 
 how many cards you hold in a suit, and thus enable 
 him to count your hand. As some of these methods 
 of conveying information to your partner are not 
 generally played, I will now call your attention to 
 them.' 
 
 You have already seen how hy leading ace, then 
 knave, from ace, queen, knave, and two others, you 
 can give information to your partner that you hold 
 five cards in the suit ; also if you lead a penulti- 
 mate, you also inform him that you hold five in the 
 suit. With the exception of some few players to 
 whom I have had the good fortune to sit opposite 
 in a rubber, and who have been satisfied that the 
 system was sound, I have not generally met players 
 who could inform me by their leads that they held 
 six in a suit. Such information, however, is easily 
 conveyed to an observant partner. The plan I have 
 adopted is as follows : 
 
 With five of a suit, not headed by winning cards, 
 or by any which require exceptional leads, I lead 
 the penultimate. With a six suit, not headed by 
 winning cards, I lead the lowest but two, when
 
 86 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 such a card cannot be taken as the highest of a 
 three suit. In the second round of the suit, I play 
 the lowest card, having the intermediate card in my 
 hand. An observant partner will note the absence 
 of this intermediate card from the two rounds of 
 the suit, and will place it and four others in my 
 hand. The following is an example of this 
 system : 
 
 Hold queen, nine, seven, four, three, two of hearts. 
 I lead the four, second hand plays five, partner plays 
 ten, fourth hand wins with knave and returns king. 
 On this I play the two, and my partner immediately 
 places five hearts at least in my hand. My left 
 adversary plays eight, and my partner trumps. 
 The three of hearts must now be either in my hand 
 or in that of my right adversary. If it is in my 
 hand, my partner knows I led from six hearts ; if 
 it is on my right, that I led from five. Either by 
 another lead or a discard I show my partner my 
 three of hearts. He can then count three more 
 hearts in my hand, and consequently knows one 
 card more than he could know had I played him 
 the penultimate only. Whenever, then, you hold 
 a six suit, the three lowest cards in which are six, 
 four, three, or six, three, two, or four, three, two, 
 or five, four, three, &c., you can indicate six in the 
 suit by leading the third card from the lowest, just
 
 The Lead from Six Cards. 87 
 
 as you indicate five by leading the penultimate. 
 Again in a lead from a suit of six headed hy ace. 
 If you lead ace, then smallest, your partner credits 
 you with five in the suit. If you lead ace, then 
 smallest but one, he may credit you with six origin- 
 ally in the suit. I have found this system very 
 effective in such a case as the following. I hold 
 ace, knave, five, four, three, two of hearts. My 
 partner holds four trumps, and the king, queen, and 
 small heart. I lead ace of hearts, second hand 
 plays six, partner seven, third hand eight. I then 
 lead three of hearts, my left adversary plays ten, 
 partner queen, and fourth player nine. Neither 
 adversary has asked for trumps, consequently the 
 two of hearts must be in my hand, and three other 
 hearts besides. My partner leads trumps, and 
 takes the first opportunity of getting rid of his king 
 of hearts, so as not to block my suit. Had he be- 
 lieved I held five hearts only, he might have re- 
 tained his king over the knave, which he might 
 have believed against him. The advantage is not 
 only that you reveal an additional card to your 
 partner, telling him you have six instead of five, 
 but you may enable him, with a suit of six, to clear 
 your suit by a discard. Headed by ace, queen, 
 knave, I still play ace, then knave, as this play 
 must clear your suit, and you cannot then reveal
 
 88 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 more than five in the suit. The opportunity may 
 occur, however, many times during a rubber ; and 
 I have experienced its practical value very often. 
 One of the best players I ever met once remarked 
 to me that he considered the echo to the call, 
 the penultimate lead, and showing six in a suit, 
 were the great advantages which a skilled player 
 possessed over a moderate player. Even average 
 observation will enable men to play other parts of 
 the game, but care and watchfulness are needed for 
 the above three systems. 
 
 The lead of ace, king, queen, knave, is another 
 important lead. If you lead king, then queen, you 
 show ace in your hand, but not knave. If you lead 
 king, then knave, you indicate queen and ace, for 
 you would not start in this way either from three 
 or four in the suit if two were small cards. In 
 trumps you may lead knave, then queen, this " up 
 hill " lead being indicative of four honours. With 
 ace, queen, knave, ten, if you lead ace, then ten, 
 it would indicate four, when your knave fell. With 
 ace, queen, knave, ten, and a small card, ace, then 
 knave, indicates five in the suit. The power of 
 thus indicating the number of cards in your suit by 
 the lead and fall of subsequent cards, is a point well 
 worth your study. 
 
 When you have won a trick in a suit from which
 
 Return Lead. 89 
 
 you have discarded, you return the card, according 
 to the number in your hand, not the number you 
 originally held. Thus if you had ruffed once, and 
 held ace, eight, four, and two, and you had ruffed 
 with the two, return the eight if you win with ace.
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 WHAT TO PLAY SECOND HAND. 
 
 IT is a much more simple problem to decide what 
 card to play second hand, than it is to know what 
 card to lead. 
 
 As a general rule the lowest card is the card to 
 play second hand. 
 
 The principal exceptions are these : 
 
 If you hold three cards in the suit led, headed 
 by two moderately high cards, such as queen, 
 knave, and the three, or knave, ten, and a small 
 Bard, or king, queen, and small cards, play the 
 knave with queen, knave, the ten with knave, ten, 
 and the queen with queen, king. If you hold four 
 cards, such as queen, knave, and two small cards, 
 or knave, ten> and two small cards, play the lowest 
 card. Bnt with king, queen, and others, play 
 queen. 
 
 Cover a high card as a rule ; that is if the nine is 
 led and you hold ten put the ten on the nine, or if 
 the ten be led and you hold the queen put the
 
 Play Second Hand. 91 
 
 queen on. The lead from king, knave, ten, is a 
 favourite lead, and if you do not cover the ten, it 
 will draw your partner's ace if he hold it, and the 
 adversaries remain in command of this suit. 
 
 "With ace, queen, ten, the queen should be 
 played second hand, except in trumps, if a low 
 card be played. 
 
 If you hold the ace of a suit and the knave is 
 led, the ace should be played on the knave. If 
 your partner hold the king, it is better that he 
 should hold this king over queen to his right. If 
 he hold the queen, it is better he should have the 
 king to his right. 
 
 With five or more of a suit headed by the ace, 
 it is better to put the ace on second in hand. With 
 king, queen, and five of a suit, the queen should be 
 played second hand. 
 
 The reason for such play is evident ; with king, 
 queen, and three others of a suit, it is impossible 
 that three rounds can take place without this suit 
 failing in some hand. The ace may be to your right, 
 the knave to your left, so that if you played a 
 small card second in hand, the knave would win 
 the first round, the ace the second, and you mighf 
 never make a trick in this suit. 
 
 With ace, queen, knave, play knave. 
 
 With ace, king, knave, play king.
 
 92 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 With ace, king, and others, play king. 
 
 "With ace, knave, ten, and others, play lowest. 
 
 In the second round of a suit you may often 
 play a valuable protecting card to your partner, 
 which wins a trick and saves your partner's hand. 
 For example, suppose you hold ten, three, and two 
 of a suit, led by your right-hand adversary. On 
 first round play your two. Queen is played third 
 hand, and your partner wins with king. On this 
 suit being led a second time by your right-hand 
 adversary, play your ten. You know knave is not 
 held by your left-hand adversary, but he may hold 
 the nine, which, if your partner hold only ace and 
 small ones, would draw the ace, and leave the 
 original leader with knave. Your ten can be of no 
 value if held up, as it must fall to ace or knave in 
 the third round. 
 
 With king and one small card, or with queen 
 and one small card, it is best to play the small card 
 unless to cover a high card led. 
 
 SECOND PLAY IN TRUMPS. 
 
 The second play in trumps differs from the 
 second play in plain suits, because trumps must 
 win on their merits. So with king, queen, and 
 two or more others, the queen is not usually played
 
 Play Second Hand. 
 
 second hand, unless a card is turned up which 
 necessarily points to such play. For example, if 
 ace were turned up to your right, and you hold 
 king, queen, and one other trump, you must play 
 your queen, otherwise you may only make one 
 trick in trumps. By playing your queen you secure 
 two tricks. 
 
 As a rule both in trumps and in other suits you 
 must consider the cards in your hand of this suit 
 and cover or not accordingly ; for example, you hold 
 king, knave, eight, and seven, and the ten is led, 
 you cover with the knave ; or with queen, knave, 
 eight, and six, you would cover the seven with 
 the eight. You must reason out these cases, as to 
 give all the examples would occupy too much space. 
 It may often be of the greatest consequence to 
 ascertain whether your partner holds an honour, 
 as this may decide the question whether you may 
 or may not play for game ; so with ace, king, and 
 two small trumps, it may be desirable to play a 
 small card on the knave, the queen must be held 
 by either your partner or left-hand adversary, and 
 as your ace and king must make, it may be desir- 
 able to pass this up. If the knave win, then your 
 king ought to be played to the next trump led. 
 When your partner has shown that he can trump 
 a suit, and wishes to do so, you should if possible
 
 94 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 stop the lead of trumps if you hold the winning 
 card, so as to give your partner the opportunity of 
 making a small trump. 
 
 It is often advisable when second player to 
 hold up the best card on the second round, this 
 in trumps is more advisable than it is in plain 
 suits. For example, right-hand adversary leads 
 a small trump, you hold queen, three, and two of 
 trumps, second hand plays the two, third hand the 
 the king, your partner the ace. Your right-hand 
 adversary on gaining the lead, leads another small 
 trump. Now you know that your queen of trumps 
 must win, so you pass this trick to give your 
 partner a chance, and play your three on it. Even 
 if third player hold knave, he may not like to play 
 it, as he supposes the queen is to his left. He 
 may probably finesse, and your partner may make 
 the ten, whilst you still hold the commanding card. 
 In plain suits this style of play must be practised 
 with great caution. You must always bear in mind 
 that the third round of a suit is very likely to be 
 trumped, and if you do not win second hand, you 
 may probably fail to make the best card; but in 
 trumps this is not the case, you must make the 
 best trump at any time.
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 WHAT CARD TO PLAY THIRD IN HAND. 
 
 THE play of the third hand is simple. You should 
 play the highest card in your hand as third player, 
 unless you finesse or hold a sequence, when you 
 play the lowest card of this sequence, provided you 
 have not a higher card than those comprising the 
 sequence. 
 
 First as to the finesse. This I will divide into 
 two parts, viz., the finesse speculative and the 
 arbitrary finesse. The first you may or may not 
 attempt, the second you must adopt. Simple as 
 are the principles connected with these finesses 
 mistakes are of most constant occurrence, so it is 
 worth while to thoroughly understand this depart- 
 ment of whist, and so to think it out as to make the 
 subject clear to yourself. 
 
 The finesse speculative is this. You hold the 
 best and the third best card in a suit say ace and 
 queen your partner leads this suit, and third in 
 hand you finesse your queen. It is almost
 
 g6 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 always better to finesse the queen with ace, queen, 
 unless you urgently require the lead, or require 
 only one trick to win or save the game, or hold 
 only two cards ace, queen and know one trump 
 remains in the adversaries' hands. The principles 
 of this finesse are that you play against an even 
 chance that the king of the suit is to your right, 
 and that yom artner, from leading the suit, will 
 probably himself hold knave or king. 
 
 This finesse speculative may be carried further 
 in trumps than in plain suits, on account of the 
 intrinsic value of trumps. But to adopt the finesse 
 speculative too much is dangerous play. With 
 king, knave, and a small card, it is not considered 
 prudent to finesse the knave, unless your partner 
 by other leads has shown weakness in this suit ; so 
 that you may consider one principle of the finesse 
 speculative to be finesse in a suit in which your 
 partner must be weak ; do not finesse in a suit in 
 which your partner must be strong. Before fines- 
 sing you should quickly impress on your memory 
 what card or cards you are finessing against, and 
 what will be the result in case your finesse fails. 
 For example, you hold ace, knave, ten, and two of 
 spades. Your partner leads the nine, second 
 player plays three. The king and queen are now 
 against you, and from the lead of nine, it is pro-
 
 Finesse Speculative. 97 
 
 bablc neither of these are in your partner's hand. 
 You now pass the nine, and if this is taken by the 
 king, fourth hand, you may conclude that you hold 
 ace, knave over queen to your right ; consequently 
 unless you lead ace, you must make ace and knave, 
 unless either is trumped. 
 
 "When a finesse speculative is successful, you 
 should wait for another lead from your partner and 
 not return at once, unless you hold the best card 
 only, and not the remaining third best card. For 
 example, with ace, queen, knave, if your knave 
 wins third in hand you should wait for your partner 
 to lead this suit again, when your queen will make 
 even if the king is in the hand of the right-hand 
 adversary. 
 
 The arbitrary finesse is the following. You hold 
 queen, ten, and three of spades, you lead the three, 
 partner wins with king and returns to you a small 
 spade. You know that the ace is now to your left, 
 but you do not know where the knave is. It may be 
 to your right ; your queen if played will be taken 
 by the ace. If both ace and knave be to your left, 
 both will win. If, however, the knave be to your 
 right, your ten will draw the ace, and your queen 
 remains the best card. Consequently, you are 
 bound to play the ten. Also, if you hold king, ten, 
 and a small card, and having led a small card,
 
 98 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 your partner wins with queen, and returns the suit, 
 you must finesse the ten for the same reasons. It 
 can he no disadvantage making this finesse, and it 
 may he an advantage, so it is arhitrary on you to 
 make it. 
 
 The finesse in trumps must he guided by 
 
 1st, the necessity for taking out two rounds, or 
 otherwise. 
 
 2nd, by the card turned up. 
 
 If a double ruff were threatened, and your 
 partner led you trumps, it might be advisable to 
 put in ace with ace, queen, and return a small 
 trump so as to secure two rounds. If the king 
 were turned up to your left it would be absurd to 
 put in queen third in hand with ace, queen. To 
 finesse against an adversary on your right, who has 
 shown that he is either very weak or has none 
 of the suit, is absurd. This is called finessing 
 against your partner, and is bad play. Also to 
 finesse queen with ace, queen, is wrong when you 
 require only one trick to win or save the game.
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 PLAY FOURTH IN HAND. 
 
 IT is the duty of the fourth hand to win the 
 trick if he can, and with the lowest available card, 
 unless this trick be his partner's, or unless he wishes 
 for good reasons to leave or place the lead in the 
 hand of that player whose trick it may happen to 
 be. Except, therefore, in very exceptional cases, 
 it is not advisable to refuse to win the trick when 
 fourth player. The exceptions to winning fourth 
 in hand will be fully explained under the head of 
 Throwing the Lead. 
 
 * 
 
 Considerations relative to play as leader, second, and 
 third player. 
 
 If you will commit to memory and reason on 
 the principles of play under the above conditions, 
 you have learnt the alphabet of whist but nothing 
 more. Do not run away with the erroneous idea 
 that, because you know the book-rules of leads, &c., 
 
 H 2
 
 ioo The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 and probably carry in your head a synopsis of 
 these, that you can play whist. The art of whist 
 has yet to be acquired, and although you may 
 acquire a thorough knowledge of how and when 
 to throw the lead, what to discard and when to 
 disregard rule, there is stiU a large field of study 
 connected with the art of the game which has yet 
 to be considered. The first subject, however, to 
 which I will call attention, on the supposition 
 that you are now well acquainted with all that 
 has already been written in these pages, is that 
 contained in the following. 
 
 On throwing the lead into a particular hand. 
 
 From your knowledge of what has already been 
 written, you will perceive what an advantage you 
 would gain if you could be led up to as fourth 
 player when you hold ace and queen, or king 
 singly guarded, or any combination of cards similar 
 to these. In the first example you must make 
 both ace and queen, in the second you must make 
 the king, unless of course either is trumped. 
 
 As I before remarked, skilled play comes in to- 
 wards the end of a hand, whilst a mere memory of 
 rules will guide you at the commencement. As 
 an example of the most simple kind, I will suppose
 
 Placing the Lead. 101 
 
 you hold seven of hearts trumps, the ace, queen of 
 spades, ace and queen of cluhs. You require three 
 tricks to win or save the game. You know the 
 ten of trumps is held by your left-hand adversary, 
 the diamonds have all heen played, the 'king and 
 three other spades are in some hands, you do not 
 know where, the king, and other clubs are also in ; 
 no other trumps are in. Now, what card should 
 you lead ? I will suppose your left-hand adversary 
 holds the king of clubs, and also the king, and other 
 spades. Consider the position of these cards well, 
 and you will see that you must make three tricks if 
 you lead your twelfth trump, and throw the lead to 
 your left. You must then be led up to in either 
 spades or clubs ; if in spades you make ace and 
 queen, if in clubs you make also ace and queen. 
 Play the cards in any other way and you will 
 probably make one trick less, unless your right- 
 hand adversary lead a spade. This simple case is 
 well worth your study, as it involves a principle. 
 
 I will give you another example. You hold 
 three cards in your hand viz., ace, knave, and two 
 of trumps, the king, queen, ten, nine, and two 
 other trumps are in against you. Two tricks are 
 required to win the game. Your left-hand adver- 
 sary leads king of trumps, your partner and right- 
 hand adversary follow suit with low cards. If
 
 IO2 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 now you take the king with your ace, you must 
 lead either your knave or your two. The knave 
 will be taken by the queen, and your two by the 
 ten or nine. If you allow the king to win, and 
 thus throw the lead to your left, your ace, knave 
 are led up to, and you must win with both. 
 
 Again, suppose king is turned up to your left, 
 and your partner has shown by previous play 
 that he holds ace, knave. Three* cards, trumps, 
 are in each hand. You hold queen, four, and three. 
 Left-hand adversary leads small trump, your part- 
 ner plays ten, right-hand adversary plays six. The 
 trick is now your partner's. If you allow your 
 partner to win this trick, he must lead up to king, 
 guarded, and king wins. If, however, you take 
 your partner's ten with your queen, you take the 
 lead, and lead through the king up to ace, knave, 
 when the king does not make. 
 
 Another example. You hold ace, ten, and a small 
 trump, knave is turned up to your right, your 
 partner leads queen of trumps, right-hand adver- 
 sary puts on king of trumps, he holding king, 
 knave, nine. If you put your ace on king, you 
 lead up to knave, nine, and lose both your other 
 tricks. If to the king you play your small trump, 
 you must make ace and ten. 
 
 Now the principles pointed out above hold good
 
 Holding back Ace. 103 
 
 in all parts of the game, but more especially when 
 only six or seven cards remain in each hand. And 
 if you were to ask me what I considered the most 
 important item connected with the art of whist, 
 I should reply, knowing when and where to throw 
 the lead. 
 
 There are some players, who when they hold 
 ace, knave, and a small card in a suit, will not 
 cover a king led by their left-hand adversary, as 
 they hope the suit will be again led up to them, 
 when they will secure both ace and knave. In 
 plain suits such play is dangerous, and the advan- 
 tages questionable when this occurs early in the 
 game. In the first place you mislead your partner, 
 and if he hold only one of the suit he will ruff the 
 next round. In the second place the adversary 
 may change the suit, and you may be led 
 through ; or if trumps be thus led, the king may 
 be a single card of the suit. Consequently you 
 must weigh well the risk you incur by such play, 
 and compare this with the probable advantages. 
 
 Such play, however, sometimes in desperate 
 cases may be adopted, and I once won a remark- 
 able rubber by similar play, and against two good 
 players. I dealt and turned up two of diamonds, 
 and held ace, ten and three besides. Ace, king, 
 queen, ten and two small hearts, one small club,
 
 IO4 1 he Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 two small spades. The score was game and game, 
 three all. 
 
 My left-hand adversary led the king of trumps, 
 on this I played my two ; he followed with queen 
 of trumps, on this I played my three. He held 
 knave and eight besides, and concluding his part- 
 ner must hold the ace, he led his small trump. 
 My partner failed to follow suit, and I won this 
 trick with my ten, led my ace, drew the knave, 
 and made six tricks in hearts. On examining 
 the cards it was found that the adversaries held 
 four honours in clubs and four honours in spades, 
 the highest card in my partner's hand being a 
 nine ; thus I won two by cards against two by 
 honours. 
 
 The play of the original leader was faulty, as he 
 was playing for too much. He should have played 
 solely to prevent me from making two by cards, 
 and this by any other system of play he could have 
 accomplished. That, however, to which I wish to 
 call your attention is, that it was a desperate case, 
 and any other play on my part would have lost 
 the game. It was essential that the had should be 
 in my hand when the last trump was drawn, and 
 as it was most improbable that either adversary 
 would lead a heart, this play alone could win the 
 game.
 
 The " Coup" 105 
 
 What has been termed the grand coup is nothing 
 more than placing the lead at a particular stage of 
 the game. For example, you hold ace, queen and 
 a small trump spades, the losing diamond of which 
 your partner holds the best card, and adversaries 
 each hold a diamond. The king of trumps is to 
 your right, and is guarded. Your partner plays 
 ace of hearts, second player plays small heart. 
 You have now the option of throwing away the 
 diamond, or df trumping the ace of hearts. A 
 careless or unskilled player would of course throw 
 away his diamond. His partner would then pro- 
 bably play his best diamond, which you would be 
 compelled to trump, and would have to lead ace or 
 queen up to king guarded, when of course your 
 adversaries win one trick. If, however, you had 
 trumped your partner's ace of hearts, and had led 
 him the diamond, he would have had the lead 
 when only two cards remained in, and he would 
 have been compelled to lead a trump through the 
 king up to your ace and queen, when of course the 
 adversaries do not make a trick. The grand coup, 
 therefore, is merely a variety of the principle of 
 placing or throwing the lead into a particular hand 
 at a particular time. 
 
 It often happens during the play of a hand that 
 you know the third round of a suit will be won by
 
 io6 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 the adversaries, you have at the same time no 
 strong suit that it is advisable to lead. Instead, 
 therefore, of opening a fresh and weak suit, it is far 
 better to place the lead in the adversaries' hands, 
 especially if you can place this lead in the hand of 
 your right-hand adversary, and oblige him to lead 
 up to your partner. 
 
 The combinations connected with throwing the 
 lead are almost endless, and afford ample oppor- 
 tunities to the skilful player. It may occur by 
 refusing to trump over an adversary, as in the 
 following example. You hold ace, six of spades, 
 trumps and knave of diamonds. Left-hand adver- 
 sary holds five and three of spades and two of 
 hearts, partner holds seven and four of hearts and 
 two of diamonds. Right-hand adversary holds 
 king, ten of spades and five of clubs. Left-hand 
 adversary leads two of hearts ; your partner puts 
 his four on this ; right-hand adversary trumps 
 with ten. If now you over trump with ace you 
 make no other trick, if you throw away your 
 knave of diamonds you make both ace and six of 
 trumps. 
 
 Again, suppose you hold ace, queen of trumps, 
 spades, king and two of hearts, and the king of 
 trumps is turned up to your right. Ace of hearts 
 is led by your left or right hand adversary. On
 
 Taking the Lead. 107 
 
 this card you throw your king to prevent having 
 the lead in the second round, and being compelled 
 to lead up to king of trumps guarded. If your 
 partner hold queen of hearts, you win a trick by 
 throwing your king. If the adversaries hold the 
 queen, you don't lose a trick by such play, as the 
 lead must come to you from right to left. If, 
 therefore, you play so that you may win, and cannot 
 lose by a particular card being played, you will in 
 the end be a winner. 
 
 You should then bear in mind that on the posi- 
 tion of the lead at the end of the game depends at 
 least one trick, and you should watch your part- 
 ner's play to note when and where he is desirous 
 of retaining or of getting rid of the leads. As 
 an example of such a case, the following will 
 serve. 
 
 I hold ace, queen of spades, trumps, ace and 
 knave of hearts. King and knave of trumps and 
 two small hearts are held by my right-hand adver- 
 sary, and are the only trumps in besides my two. 
 My partner holds king, queen and two small hearts, 
 and leads the king. On the king I play my ace 
 and return the knave. It is now for my partner to 
 win or lose a trick. If he allow my knave of 
 hearts to win, he obliges me to lead up to king, 
 knave of trumps, when the king must win. If he
 
 io8 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 take my knave with his queen, he leads through 
 king, knave and we win every trick. 
 
 You may probably ask, what is there to guide 
 you to such results? I reply, that if you have 
 observed the fall of the cards you ought to know, 
 or to be tolerably certain as to the position of the 
 four remaining trumps. If I take your king with 
 my ace, I must have some reason for doing so. You 
 must know that with four trumps remaining in, 
 your queen of hearts cannot make a trick, inde- 
 pendent of my knave ; you should, therefore, give up 
 all idea of winning with the queen, unless you play 
 it on my knave and concentrate all your thoughts 
 on the best position for the lead after this trick is 
 won. Such reasoning, combined with the value 
 you ought to give for my reasons for playing my 
 ace, should show you at once my object and you 
 ought to play accordingly. 
 
 The feebleness of some old whist-players in cases 
 similar to this is such as to cause them to lose a 
 trick almost every other hand. 
 
 You will now probably agree with me that the 
 art of placing the lead is one of the most important 
 in whist. It comes in towards the end of the game 
 when mere book players not gifted with much 
 intelligence break down. The cases that occur are 
 numerous, and when it is borne in mind that these
 
 Placing the Lead. 109 
 
 problems (unlike those at chess in which a quarter 
 of an hour's thought may he given) must be thought 
 out and acted on instantly, it is evident that great 
 observation, practice and intelligence are required 
 to make a first class player in this particular branch 
 of the game.
 
 LETTER X. 
 
 TRUMPS, THEIR USE AND ABUSE. 
 
 I HAVE much to say on the use and abuse of 
 trumps; first, because they may be called the 
 artillery of your hand, as they carry everything 
 before them ; secondly, because long experience has 
 compelled me to differ slightly from former writers 
 on whist as regards the practical application of 
 trumps. It has been stated that the first use of 
 trumps is to extract your adversaries' trumps in 
 order that you may bring in your own or your par t- 
 ner's long suit. This application of trumps must be 
 good for one side only, viz., that side which 
 possesses long suits. This side wishes to extract 
 the trumps. Then it follows that the other two 
 partners cannot wish trumps to be drawn. If 
 trumps are not drawn, the long suits will be ruffed. 
 So whilst that side holding the long suits wishes 
 trumps to be drawn, the other side do not and can- 
 not wish it ; for it is impossible in a battle that 
 what is advantageous for one side, is also advan-
 
 The Use of Trumps. in 
 
 tageous for the other. If it is possible to extract- 
 all the trumps, the remaining cards win on their 
 merits. If, however, you and your partners have 
 the minority in winning cards and long suits, it 
 follows that getting trumps out is the game favour- 
 able to your adversaries. The adversaries when 
 possessing long suits wish to extract trumps to 
 prevent you or your partner from ruffing these. 
 It therefore follows, that if you or your partner do 
 ruff, you are doing the very thing which your 
 adversaries would, if they could, prevent. 
 
 Whilst, therefore, it is true that one great use of 
 trumps is to extract trumps from the adversaries, 
 and thus to make your own or your partner's long 
 suit, yet you must be careful that in this endeavour 
 you do not play the adversary's game, and whilst 
 you are extracting his trumps, your own are also 
 extracted, and you have by your own act disarmed 
 yourself and your partner, and left the adversaries 
 in command of the trump suit ; that is, with the 
 remaining trump and a long suit to bring in. An 
 error of this kind usually arises from playing a 
 forward instead of a back game, and endeavouring to 
 make a large score when you ought to have played 
 to save the adversaries from making a large score. 
 In such a case instead of attempting to get out 
 trumps in order to establish your own long suit,
 
 112 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 you should have been contented to make one or two 
 tricks in your long suit and one or two tricks in 
 trumps by ruffing your adversaries' winning cards. 
 To attempt to extract trumps and to establish a 
 long suit when you are not strong enough to do so, 
 is a most fatal error. 
 
 If then you are not strong enough to extract 
 trumps and establish your own strong suit, it 
 follows as almost certain that the adversaries are 
 strong enough to extract your trumps and establish 
 their strong suit ; consequently the best use you can 
 put your trumps to is to win tricks with them by 
 ruffing the adversaries' winning cards if you are 
 given a chance of doing so. This fact being estab- 
 lished, I now come to a principle which has been 
 laid down by former writers on whist, but which 
 seems to have been practically misapplied by many 
 orthodox players. I refer to the heading, "Do not 
 force your partner, if you are weak in trumps" 
 
 Following this direction many players will never 
 force their partner 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
 
 Abuse of Trumps. 113 
 
 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, former writers 
 have carefully pointed out when you may force 
 your partner although you are yourself weak ; viz., 
 when he has shown a desire to be forced, or weak- 
 ness in trumps ; when you have a cross ruff ; when 
 strength in trumps has been 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 purchased. If it be because you fear to 
 reduce your partner's strength in trumps, you must 
 have assumed that he is very strong in trumps; 
 strong enough, if not forced, to extract the adver- 
 saries' trumps and establish a long suit. Then 
 comes the enquiry, 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 
 ichich may be the commencement of an ask for trumps* 
 you by refusing to give him the option of a ruff, 
 
 * Or has not led them when he had the lead. I
 
 H4 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 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 game. It is a 
 dangerous game, because you are refusing to make a 
 certain trick on the speculation that you may pro- 
 bably win more by so doing ; if your speculation is 
 incorrect, you lose by your reticence. 
 
 If you have any doubt about this question, deal 
 out the cards for a few hands of Double Dummy, 
 and note in how many instances you would lose a 
 game which you might have saved had you forced 
 your partner. 
 
 As a simple example of such a hand, take the 
 following. You hold : knave, five and three of 
 spades, (trumps) ; ace, queen, knave, five and two 
 of hearts ; ace and ten of clubs ; king, four and 
 three of diamonds. Score, love all. 
 
 It is your lead, and you commence with the ace 
 of hearts, to which your partner plays the two. 
 You follow with the knave, on which second player 
 plays king, your partner drops ten, and third player 
 a small heart. Your partner, therefore, has not
 
 Abuse of Trumps. 115 
 
 asked for trumps, and lie probably holds no more 
 hearts. Left-hand adversary leads a small club 
 partner plays another small club, third hand plays 
 knave, you win with ace, and return ten of clubs, 
 which your partner wins with king. 
 
 Your partner will now fairly conclude that you 
 have no more clubs, but he is weak in trumps, 
 holding three only, the highest, the ten ; so he leads 
 a diamond, as he considers he is bound not to force 
 you, because he is weak in trumps. Your king of 
 diamonds played third in hand is taken by the ace. 
 Adversaries then make ace, king, queen of trumps, 
 queen, knave of diamonds, queen of clubs, and 
 thirteenth trump nine tricks ; that is, three by 
 cards, two by honours, a treble. 
 
 Under such circumstances, your partner will 
 probably say, " Of course I could not force you in 
 clubs, as I was so weak in trumps," whereas he 
 should have seen that by your original lead you 
 had yourself shown no strength in trumps, so to 
 make a trick in trumps was all you could hope to 
 do. Also to lead from a suit of diamonds, in 
 which he had no court card, was rash in the 
 extreme. Yet such is the almost certain play of 
 the individual who is fettered by the idea that he 
 cannot force his partner if weak in trumps. Had 
 he led a club, you would have ruffed this, you then 
 
 i 2
 
 Ii6 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 lead him a heart which he ruffs, and you have 
 made five tricks and saved the game. Each has 
 forced the other though weak in trumps. 
 
 It is impossible to overrate the advantages of 
 saving a game which might have been lost. It so 
 often happens that when one side is at the score of 
 four, this side will hold great cards, and may score 
 two by honours, and obtain three by cards, most of 
 which is wasted strength. If they had won the 
 first game, they would then have gained a bumper r 
 whereas they are only one game to the good, so 
 that it cannot be too strongly impressed upon you 
 that when you see it is impossible to win the game, 
 and only probable that you may make a score, you 
 should concentrate your attention on saving the 
 game. 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, Unless 
 your partner has shown great strength in trumps, a 
 icish 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. 
 
 Many players have asked me, how they can
 
 When to " Force? 1 1 7 
 
 possibly tell at the commencement of a hand, 
 whether they should, or should not, force me when 
 they are weak in trumps. 
 
 I have always given the following as that which 
 should guide them. Suppose you hold ace, king, 
 and three other hearts, two small trumps, and no 
 other winning cards. You lead king of hearts ; on 
 this I play the four. You then lead ace of hearts ; 
 On this I throw the two of spades. My discard of 
 the two of spades shows I am not asking for 
 trumps ; therefore, I do not hold five trumps, nor 
 four trumps, and two honours ; it therefore follows, 
 that there are at least seven trumps in the adver- 
 saries' hands, if not eight, and as I have by my 
 discard shown no desire that trumps should be led, 
 you would be right to force me. If to your ace of 
 hearts I had discarded the six, seven, or eight of 
 spades, you would have reason to doubt the ex- 
 pediency of forcing me ; for either of these cards 
 might be the commencement of an ask, and you 
 would be right to change the suit and wait foi 
 further information before you forced me. If, how- 
 ever, you found that even my discard of the six 
 was not an ask, you should not hesitate to give me 
 the option of ruffing. I can refuse to ruff if I 
 choose, and at a very trifling expense viz., dis- 
 carding a worthless card but to refuse to give
 
 1 1 8 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 me a chance of making a small trump, merely 
 because you are yourself weak in trumps, is, I am 
 convinced, most feeble play, based on a miscon- 
 ception as regards the purpose and play of a hand. 
 To do so implies that your partner is strong enough 
 to extract trumps, and to make his or your long 
 suit, when there is not the slightest evidence that 
 should induce you to come to such a conclusion.
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 ASKING FOR TRUMPS, AND THE ECHO. 
 
 DURING many years there has been a system 
 arranged, termed " asking for trumps," " the signal," 
 and " the blue peter/' which indicates that you are 
 strong in trumps, and that you hold either five 
 trumps, or four trumps and two honours, and that 
 it is most advantageous to your hand, that your 
 partner lead you trumps at the first opportunity. 
 This "ask" is indicated by your playing an un- 
 necessarily high card, that is, on a trick won by 
 ace, third in hand, you as fourth player throw the 
 six, and next round play the two, or as second 
 player, play the four, and then next round, drop 
 the two or three. Thus asking for trumps means 
 playing a totally unnecessarily high card, when by 
 subsequent play you show you could have played 
 a lower card. You must be careful to distinguish 
 between a totally unnecessarily high card, and a 
 card played to cover another card, or to protect 
 your partner. If you hold knave, ten and two of 
 a suit, as second player, you play your ten, on next
 
 I2O The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 round you would play your two, if tills trick was 
 won by a card higher than your knave. Your 
 partner must not assume from the fall of the two, 
 that you have asked for trumps, you have simply 
 played the proper card. If you wished to ask for 
 trumps, with this hand you should play your knave 
 on the first card led. But your partner cannot tell 
 until the third round of the suit, whether you 
 have, or have not asked for trumps under the 
 above conditions. Thus the play of the second 
 hand, must be watched carefully to note whether 
 the card played, is, or is not, a protecting card, and 
 not an "ask." With fourth player, there is less 
 chance of mistake, for if the trick be already won, 
 and he throws a five or any other higher card, and 
 next round plays the two or three, it must be an 
 ask. If the card led by the original leader be a 
 high card, such as king or ace, then the play of second 
 player is not liable to be misunderstood. No player 
 can ask for trumps by his lead. 
 
 Third player may win with king, when he holds 
 queen, or with ace, when he holds king, and so in- 
 dicate his signal. 
 
 It may often happen that a player with a strong 
 hand of trumps wishes them to be led to him for 
 two reasons. First, that by the card his partner 
 leads him he may ascertain, or estimate his
 
 The Ask for Trumps. 121 
 
 partner's strength ; second, because the card turned 
 to his right may enable him to safely finesse. 
 Thus with ace, queen, knave, and one other trump 
 and king turned up to the right, it is advantageous 
 that trumps should be led to this hand through 
 the king, whereas if this hand led trumps, the king 
 must make, unless ace be led and the king is un- 
 guarded. Thus if one partner ask for trumps, the 
 other partner should lead him the highest, if he hold 
 three, and the lowest if he hold four trumps, unless 
 this partner hold the ace, when he should lead 
 ace, then lowest of the three remaining. 
 
 Those players who note carefully the fall of 
 every card will scarcely ever fail to see the call, 
 whether made by their partner or adversaries. 
 Bad players sometimes excuse themselves, when 
 they have omitted to notice the fall of the cards, 
 by saying they were not looking out for it. Such 
 a remark is a confession to the effect that the fall 
 of the cards is not noticed, except probably the 
 fall of aces, kings, and queens. 
 
 To attempt to play whist when you omit to 
 notice the call for trumps is to play at an immense 
 disadvantage. ^Nearly every moderate player now 
 understands the call for trumps, so that if one 
 player out of the four does not do so, he is over- 
 matched by those who do.
 
 122 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 There are certain conditions of a game when 
 one player, judging from the cards in his hand, 
 may see after a few rounds that the only way of 
 saving the game is to obtain a trump lead from 
 his partner. Under such circumstances he would 
 he justified in asking for trumps, although he may 
 not possess the strength indicated as that justifying 
 an original call. You should therefore note the 
 cards carefully that are played throughout the 
 hand, for your partner may not have called early 
 in the game, but may do so after half the cards 
 have been played. 
 
 There are some players who not being very 
 strong in. trumps will never lead them unless their 
 partner has asked ; such players are of course ob- 
 tuse, and do not know the principles of the game. 
 There are some cases where nothing but a trump 
 lead can save the game, and should, therefore, be 
 adopted, even though the leader is very weak and 
 his partner has not asked. 
 
 It is rarely wrong to ask for trumps if you hold 
 five with two honours ; but there are exceptions to 
 this, some of which are the following : 
 
 That you hold ace, queen, and three others, and 
 the king is turned up to your left, and you have no 
 winning cards out of trumps. 
 
 That you are at the score of four, hold ace,
 
 The Echo. 123 
 
 king, and three small trumps, single cards in two 
 suits, and no winning cards in the third. 
 
 That your partner has shown he is likely to 
 ruff a suit, in which you cannot win a trick. 
 Under the above condition you may force your 
 partner and then lead trumps, if you consider it 
 desirable. 
 
 When you see that by the fall of the cards you 
 and your partner have a double ruff. 
 
 These and other similar conditions would render 
 it doubtful whether an ask for trumps at the 
 commencement of the game was desirable. If, 
 however, during the play of the hand you discover 
 your partner is strong in any suit, you may at 
 once signal. 
 
 If possible, never ask for trumps with a ten, 
 knave, < or queen ; your partner may consider you 
 hold no more in the suit, and will perhaps try to 
 force you. 
 
 THE ECHO. 
 
 As a sequel to the " ask for trumps " another 
 system of play has been for some time adopted, 
 by which, if your partner ask for trumps, you 
 can inform him whether you hold four, or more or 
 less than four trumps ; that is, either to " ask " in 
 trumps when they are led, or ask in some other
 
 124 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 suit after your partner has asked. This echo is 
 a most powerful aid, as it is almost certain to 
 enable you to win an extra trick. The following 
 may serve as an example. 
 
 Your partner holds ace, king, queen, and ten of 
 trumps ; you hold nine, five, three, and two. 
 Your partner has asked for trumps, and im- 
 mediately after leads the queen. On this you 
 play your three. He then leads king ; on this 
 you play your two. He then knows you hold 
 four trumps. He then leads ace, on which you 
 play your five, and knave falls from one adversary. 
 Your partner now holds hest trump, and could 
 draw the remaining trump if it were in the 
 adversary's hand ; but you by the echo have told 
 him it is in your hand, so he will not draw it, 
 and you probably make it by ruffing a losing card. 
 Had you not echoed, ) r our partner would draw 
 this trump, as he would conclude it was held by 
 the adversaries. 
 
 Those players who do not play the echo must 
 play at a disadvantage against those who do play it. 
 
 It may sometimes occur that when in the first 
 lead you have decided to ask for trumps, the fall of 
 the cards shows that a trump lead is not desirable. 
 For example : king of hearts is led by your right- 
 hand adversary. You hold five trumps with ace ;
 
 How to "Ask" 125 
 
 knave, and four small hearts, and no winning cards ; 
 you, however, commence an ask in trumps. To 
 the king of hearts your partner plays the knave ; 
 original leader follows with ace. You now know 
 that your partner can hold only queen of hearts, 
 and may hold no more ; so the whole heart suit 
 is against you, and your partner's trumps can he 
 well employed in winning tricks on hearts ; also 
 the adversaries will prohably lead trumps up to 
 or through you. Instead, therefore, of completing 
 your ask, you throw a higher card than the one 
 you played originally, and thus conceal your 
 original intention. 
 
 To be able to do so, you must never ask with 
 too high a card that is, if you hold nine, sevep, 
 three, and two, commence the ask with the three, 
 not with the seven or nine. To ask with the nine 
 or seven when you hold the three or two is an insult 
 to your partner's intelligence ; it really means that 
 you consider your partner's powers of observation 
 so feeble that he might omit to notice the play of 
 the three and two, so YOU play a very high card 
 to attract his attention. Such play might prevent 
 you from concealing your commenced ask, if you 
 found reason to change your form of game. 
 
 In connection with the " ask for trumps " and 
 the " echo " the question arises as to when it may
 
 126 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 be desirable to conceal your strength, instead of 
 declaring it. It may happen that, although it 
 may suit you to have trumps led, you would 
 prefer that the adversaries led them, rather than 
 that the lead came from your partner. At the 
 risk, then, of misleading your partner as to your 
 strength it may be advisable sometimes to lead a 
 single card when you hold six or more trumps. 
 When you ruff this suit in the second round, the 
 adversaries, mistaking your strength for weakness, 
 may probably play your game by leading trumps ; 
 whereas, had you asked for trumps, you would 
 probably never have obtained a trump lead from 
 your adversaries. 
 
 "When the adversaries lead trumps, it is also 
 advisable that you conceal from them the fact of 
 your holding four trumps, and so, as the term 
 implies, it is an echo to your partner's call or lead 
 only. 
 
 Many very good players are of opinion that the 
 conventional ask for trumps has to a great extent 
 interfered with the high art of whist. They argue 
 that formerly, when the ask was not adopted, a 
 fine player would almost instinctively know when a 
 trump lead was desirable, and would act accordingly. 
 Now, say these objectors, the matter is made so 
 plain by the ask that any common observer sees
 
 The Echo. 127 
 
 it. There may be some reasons for these objections ; 
 but whether or not the objections are sound, yet the 
 system is played, and unless you also adopt it you 
 will play to disadvantage with those who practise 
 it. It may be urged, however, that some players 
 do very often omit to notice the call, and so a 
 certain amount of observation is necessary in order 
 never to omit noticing the call, when either your 
 partner or adversaries give it. 
 
 If you hold five trumps, you may echo with the 
 lowest but two, if this card be a low one, and then 
 play your lowest to next round; your partner, 
 missing the intermediate card, places five in your 
 hand. (See THE LEAD.)
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 FINESSING. 
 
 I HAVE already called your attention to the 
 finesse arbitrary, which means that under the 
 conditions there named you must play the lower 
 card of the two highest. Another finesse, which 
 might be termed the common sense finesse, is 
 when you have discovered that the highest card 
 but one in a suit has been played third in hand 
 by your left-hand adversary and you hold the 
 best and third best card in the suit. For example : 
 a small heart is led by your right-hand adversary. 
 You hold ace, knave, and a small heart. As 
 second player you play your small heart ; third 
 hand wins with king, and returns a small club, 
 which is won by your right-hand adversary, who 
 again leads a heart. On this heart as second 
 player you play your knave, because the play of 
 king third hand by your left adversary ought to 
 indicate that he does not hold the queen, so your 
 knave ought to win. The queen ought to be in
 
 Finesse Speculative. 129 
 
 the hand of your right adversary or in your 
 partner's hand. In either case it is right to play 
 your knave. It is possible that the left adversary 
 has played a false card and may hold the queen, 
 but you must not assume that false cards are 
 played as a first assumption; you must play 
 according to the usual play of a hand. 
 
 Again. Suppose you hold ace, ten, and a small 
 heart, this suit led by your right-hand adversary ; 
 you play small heart second hand, third hand 
 plays queen, and your partner wins with king. 
 You on next round finesse the ten, for the same 
 reasons that you would finesse the knave in the 
 former example. Variations of this common sense 
 finesse will occur frequently during the play of a 
 hand. 
 
 The speculative finesse is one where the chances 
 of success or failure are about equal. Suppose you 
 hold king, knave, and two small trumps (spades), 
 you lead your small spade ; partner wins with ace, 
 and returns the six ; second player plays seven ; 
 your king must now make. If the queen is to 
 your left and guarded, the queen must make ; if, 
 however, it is to your right and guarded, it will 
 not make if you finesse your knave. It is there- 
 fore advantageous to finesse your knave in trumps, 
 unless the fall of the first card from the left
 
 130 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 adversary induces you to conclude that you may 
 catch his queen, if he hold it, with your king. 
 In plain suits this finesse is dangerous, especially 
 with four originally in the suit, as you may lose 
 your knave to the queen, and your king may be 
 ruffed. If all the trumps are out, then the finesse 
 is not dangerous. 
 
 It is useless to finesse when the adversary to 
 your right has shown weakness. For example : 
 you hold ace, queen, and a small heart, and lead 
 the small heart, which your partner wins with 
 knave and returns. To play the queen would be 
 wrong, as the hand to your left must hold king, 
 or the king is in your partner's hand. Remember 
 that the finesse means finessing against a card 
 which may be in the hand of your right adversary. 
 If the card you are finessing against cannot be 
 there, the finesse is useless and dangerous. 
 
 The finesse should be only practised when the 
 chances of its success are in your favour, or when 
 a desperate game must be played. To finesse 
 when only one trick is required to win or save 
 the game is wrong. Make the winning or saving 
 the game a certainty. To finesse when only two 
 cards remain in, in each hand, and you know a 
 trump is against you or is in your partners hand, 
 is also absurd ; yet I have seen endless tricks
 
 Danger of Finessing. 1 3 r 
 
 lost by such play. For example : you hold the 
 thirteenth trump and one diamond ; your partner 
 holds ace, queen of diamonds. You lead him the 
 diamond, and from habit he finesses the queen, 
 which is taken by the king, and his ace falls to 
 your trump. Such play is due to carelessness and 
 a want of observation, yet is of extremely common 
 occurrence. 
 
 It is always well to consider what will be the 
 results of the success or failure of a finesse. Sup- 
 pose you have won the odd trick, and hold two 
 by honours, and have a king, knave in your hand 
 of a suit of which the ace has been played, the 
 queen of this suit is against you. If to the right, 
 and you finesse your knave, you win the game; 
 if to your left, you lose the knave, and may not 
 make your king ; but the probable gain is worth 
 the risk. Whether you are three or four does not 
 much matter, but whether you are game or four 
 is of considerable importance. If, however, you 
 required only one trick to win or save the game, 
 you should not finesse the knave. 
 
 As a general rule you may finesse in trumps 
 more than in plain suits ; also you may finesse in 
 the adversaries' suit, but not in your partner's. 
 
 There is one case where a finesse should be 
 adopted, for the purpose of throwing the lead. 
 
 K 2
 
 132 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 For example : you hold queen, six, five, four, and 
 two of hearts ; you lead the four, second hand 
 plays nine, partner plays king, and fourth player 
 plays three. Partner returns eight of hearts, and 
 second player plays a cluh. You may now fairly 
 conclude that your partner holds no more hearts ; 
 consequently the ace, knave, ten are on your left. 
 If you play your queen third hand, ace wins it, 
 and the knave, ten also win. If you finesse and 
 pass up the eight, fourth player wins with ten, 
 but he dare not lead out his ace, as he leaves 
 your queen the best card, and if this suit be 
 trumps, you will probably make your queen, and 
 must do so if the only cards in are the ace and 
 knave to your left, and two other cards in each 
 hand, for the lead must come from the left round 
 to your queen guarded.
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 FALSE CARDS. THE DISCARD. UNDERPLAY. PLAY 
 OF THE TWELFTH AND THIRTEENTH CARD. 
 
 THE majority of book and orthodox players, 
 have the greatest objection to play false cards. To 
 play a false card, when no object can be gained by 
 it, is detrimental to the art and success of the joint 
 play of your own and your partner's hand. There 
 are, however, numberless instances where you may 
 play a" false card which cannot injure your partner, 
 and if it mislead him, it will be no harm, whilst it 
 will mislead the adversaries, and may probably 
 give you an advantage. Again, a false card played 
 may not be a false card as regards your partner, 
 and cannot mislead him, but it may be a false card 
 for the adversaries. As an example, I will suppose 
 you hold ace, king, nine and two of trumps, and 
 the knave is led by your left adversary; partner, 
 does not cover with queen, third player plays small 
 card, and you have to win with ace or king. You 
 may now fairly assume that the queen is to your 
 light, and the ten to your left. If you play the
 
 134 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 king, one adversary, at least, knows the ace is in 
 your hand. If you win with ace, it would indicate 
 that you did not hold the king. On the original 
 leader regaining his lead, he might probably lead 
 ten of trumps ; third player, fancying the king was 
 to his right, might play queen, hoping thus to 
 obtain a third round of trumps. If he passed up 
 the ten, you might either win with ace, or let the 
 ten make, so as to hold ace, nine over queen. I 
 do not give this as an example of good play, but 
 merely to show how such a false card could not 
 well be detrimental, and might be advantageous. 
 To make an adversary change his suit, especially 
 when he leads up to you, a false card is often well 
 played. For example, you hold ace, queen of a 
 suit, queen, knave, nine of another suit, say spades, 
 your left adversary leads king of spades, second 
 player plays two, third player seven, and you play 
 nine. The same leader leads ace of spades, second 
 player plays three, third player ten. You now 
 know the player on your right holds no more 
 spades, and will trump next round, and lead 
 through your ace, queen suit. You would do well 
 to play the queen instead of your knave to his ten, 
 and thus let it appear as if the knave were in the 
 right adversary's hand, whilst you held no more in 
 the suit. Probably the leader, instead of con-
 
 The Discard. 135 
 
 tinuing the spade lead, might lead up to your ace, 
 qu een suit. The play of the false card can do no 
 harm. 
 
 Playing false cards should he avoided until you 
 hecome a skilled player, when your experience 
 will show you when and where it may be done to 
 advantage. The examples given above are simple 
 cases, which are, perhaps, worth reflecting on, as a 
 preface to future and more difficult cases. 
 
 THE DISCAKD. 
 
 When you possess no cards of the suit led, you 
 either trump, or you discard some card of another 
 suit. By this discard you should give your paitner 
 certain information : 
 
 1. If trumps have not been led by either side, 
 
 you should if you do not trump, discard 
 from the weakest suit in your hand, and 
 consequently throw away your most 
 worthless card. You must not forget, 
 that in your discard you can ask for 
 trumps, by discarding first a high, then a 
 low card. 
 
 2. If your partner has led trumps, you also, 
 
 when you discard, throw from your 
 weakest suit.
 
 136 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 3. When your adversaries have led trumps, 
 you discard from your strongest suit, 
 throwing of course the smallest card of 
 this suit. 
 
 These general rules must, of course, be tempered 
 with reason, and you must not throw away from 
 a suit such a card as may protect other cards in 
 your hand. For example, with king, three and two 
 in one suit, six, five, four and two in another, it 
 would not he safe to discard from the king suit, as 
 you might be led through this second suit when 
 second player, when if ace, queen were to your 
 left, you would lose your king. 
 
 It is always dangerous to throw away a single 
 card of one unled suit when you hold no trumps, 
 as the first lead of this suit exposes your weakness, 
 and allows your right-hand adversary to finesse 
 against you to any amount when the suit is again 
 led. It is also dangerous to throw away the only 
 remaining card of a suit in which your partner has 
 shown strength, as it prevents you from again 
 giving him his suit when you recover the lead. 
 At the end of a hand, it is essential to be most 
 careful about the discard, so as not to retain a high 
 card which cannot win, and throw a low card 
 which may win. For example, you hold two
 
 77ie Discard. 137 
 
 cards, the ace of hearts, and seven of diamonds. 
 Right-hand adversary has trumped hearts, and has 
 the lead, and leads the thirteenth trump. To 
 retain the ace of hearts is, of course, useless, and if 
 another diamond is in lower than the seven, you 
 may win this. This case may appear too palpahle 
 to need mention, but in practice such an error is 
 not unusually made by moderate players. 
 
 The greatest watchfulness is required to enable 
 you to throw away the highest card of a suit, in 
 which your partner holds the remaining winning 
 cards. For example, your partner led ace, then 
 knave of clubs. On his knave you did not play 
 your king, and the knave wins. You then know 
 that your partner led from ace, queen, knave and 
 two others, so there is only one more club in the 
 adversaries' hands. Your partner then leads ace, 
 king and a small trump, three rounds of trumps, 
 leaving one in your partner's hand, and one the 
 highest in the adversaries'. In the third round of 
 trumps you failed, and threw a small card, re- 
 taining the king of clubs. The adversaries draw 
 your partner's last trump, and lead a heart, which 
 your partner wins with ace, and returns a club. 
 This club you must take with your king, and you 
 and your partner lose every other trick. Now had 
 you discarded your king of clubs, your partner
 
 138 77ie Art of Practical Whist, 
 
 would have made two additional tricks wita his 
 three clubs, the fact of your not getting rid of 
 your king costing you two tricks. 
 
 When the adversaries have led trumps, you 
 should discard as a rule from your strongest suit. 
 But it may happen that such a discard may ruin 
 your hand. When, then, you do not discard under 
 these circumstances from your strongest suit, a 
 second discard from the same suit should indicate 
 that this suit is weak. This second discard might 
 be termed the negative, as the first discard says 
 " this is my strong suit," a second discard from the 
 same suit negatives the first. 
 
 Towards the end of a hand, and with a long 
 suit and one or two trumps in against you, it is 
 useless to discard all your other suits, and retain 
 this one suit, you cannot make all this suit, and the 
 fact of your not being able to give your partner a 
 lead by giving him another suit, may cost you one 
 or two tricks. Such a case I have often noticed, 
 and tbe following is an example. You hold king, 
 queen, knave and two of spades, the ace of which is 
 out, and the seven of hearts ; two more trumps are 
 in some hands, one probably in that of your partner, 
 and this trump may be the best. Your partner 
 holds a heart, probably the best. Left-hand adver- 
 sary plays best club, partner and third player follow
 
 Underplay. 139 
 
 suit, you must discard either a spade or your seven 
 of hearts. Suppose you discard a spade, adversaries 
 lead a spade, you win with knave and lead the 
 heart, which your partner wins, draws the remain- 
 ing trump and leads you another spade. The cards 
 heing located as follows : Left adversary, one cluh, 
 one heart, three spades. Partner, one club, one 
 trump, two spades, one heart. Right adversary, 
 one trump, one spade, three cluhs. If you had 
 discarded your heart, right-hand adversary must 
 make his trump on your spade. 
 
 Many other similar examples might be given of 
 the bad results which follow throwing away the 
 whole of a suit, and retaining only one long suit in 
 your hand, when there are trumps against you. 
 
 UNDERPLAY. 
 
 What is termed underplay, may often be suc- 
 cessfully practised against even the best players, 
 and consists in the following system of play. 
 
 Suppose you hold ace, queen and a small card in 
 hearts. Your left-hand adversary leads the two of 
 hearts, your partner plays six, third player plays 
 knave, and you win with queen. You now may 
 fairly conclude that neither king, nor ten is in the 
 hand of your right adversary. Your partner may
 
 140 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 hold one or both of these, hut ho may hold the ten, 
 and left adversary the king. If you play out your 
 ace, the king must make next round. If, however, 
 you play your small heart, left-hand adversary, 
 believing the ace to be to his left, will probably not 
 play his king second in hand. Then if partner 
 hold the ten it makes, and your ace still is held 
 over the king. This is termed underplay. 
 
 There is danger in this style of play, for second 
 player may suspect you of an attempt to underplay 
 him, and may play his best card, and as you can 
 only underplay when you are leading up to weak- 
 ness, the third round may be ruffed by your right- 
 hand adversary, and your ace may never make. 
 You run a risk to make an additional trick, and you 
 should carefully estimate whether the amount of 
 risk is great or small compared to the probable 
 gain. If you decide on underplaying in any suit, 
 it is more prudent to wait before you do so, and not 
 return at once this suit. The lead may come again 
 from the original leader, and your partner, if a 
 good player, would then play his ten, second in 
 hand, and so obtain the same results as though you 
 had underplayed, and with less risk. It is of 
 course safer to underplay in trumps than in plain 
 suits, as your trumps cannot be ruffed. 
 
 When used with discretion, underplay often
 
 Play of Twelfth and Thirteenth Card. 141 
 
 wins a trick, and if practised occasionally, a player 
 may suspect you of underplay when you have not 
 attempted it, and may run his hest card and lose it, 
 in consequence, as it is a very difficult question to 
 decide whether or not an attempt is being made to 
 underplay you. 
 
 THE PLAY OF THE TWELFTH AND THIRTEENTH 
 CARD. 
 
 It would not he giving too common a case, to 
 state that every other hand at least you have the 
 opportunity of playing a twelfth or thirteenth card ; 
 whether, or when, to do so, becomes the important 
 question. I will first deal with the twelfth card. 
 
 Suppose three rounds of a suit have taken place, 
 in which suit you originally held four. That in 
 the third round your partner failed, and you know 
 the other remaining card of this suit is to your 
 right. The play now may be divided into two 
 cases, first, when the card in your hand is the 
 better of the two, secondly, when it is the lower. 
 If you lead this card it will win a trick, when it is 
 the better card, if the left adversary does not ruff 
 it. If he ruff it, your partner may, if he can, ruff 
 over him, and have no fear of being himself ruffed 
 over, as fourth player holds a card of the suit.
 
 142 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 Influenced by this fact, many players will at once 
 lead the twelfth card, thereby imagining they gain 
 a trick, but before doing so, another probability 
 ought to be considered. The second player may be 
 weak in trumps, or may hold, say ace, king and the 
 two. To ruff with the two would be useless, to 
 ruff with the ace or king too expensive ; he there- 
 fore may discard some card which will enable bim 
 to safely ruff another suit, when this suit is led. 
 
 As an example of the preceding, take the fol- 
 lowing. You hold ace, queen and two small 
 spades, and the best heart, the twelfth, the thir- 
 teenth heart being in the hand of your right 
 adversary. Your partner holds three spades, queen 
 and one club (trumps)* Left adversary holds two 
 small spades, ace, king and two of clubs (trumps). 
 Right adversary holds four spades, and thirteenth 
 heart. Your partner leads a small spade, you 
 finesse queen and win, you then lead twelfth heart, 
 left adversary throws his spade, and you win this 
 trick, making two. You then play ace' of spades, 
 which left adversary ruffs with two of trumps and 
 wins, and plays his ace, king of trumps, making 
 three tricks to your two. 
 
 Now take the correct and more safe play. After 
 you have won with the queen of spades play out 
 your ace, you make both tricks, then play your
 
 Twelfth and Thirteenth Card. 143 
 
 twelfth heart If second player trump with 
 anything, your partner's queen must make a third 
 trick, and you win three tricks to the adversaries 
 two, with the same cards as those by which you 
 only won two tricks. 
 
 Before then you play a twelfth card, whether it 
 be the best, or not the best, note whether you hold 
 any winning cards which you can make before 
 leading the twelfth card, and which a discard 
 from the adversary might prevent your making. 
 Numberless tricks are lost by neglecting this 
 precaution, and some players never appear to 
 notice how they have lost a trick, as they continue 
 for years committing the same error. 
 
 When the twelfth card which you have an 
 opportunity of playing is the lower of the two 
 remaining, or if the thirteenth card be located 
 in the hand of your left adversary, all the 
 preceding arguments have extra force ; and the 
 play of the twelfth card is dangerous, unless 
 you want to give your partner the chance of 
 making a trump, which chance might not other- 
 wise occur. 
 
 The play of a thirteenth card has all the 
 disadvantages which attend the play of a twelfth 
 card, and does not possess many of the advantages. 
 The play of a thirteenth card has three special
 
 144 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 objects, any one of which may be the intention of 
 the leader, as regards his partner. It may mean, 
 that the leader wishes his partner to play on it his 
 best trump. For instance, your partner has turned 
 up ace of trumps, and you have reason to believe it 
 to be his only remaining trump. You hold the 
 king of trumps only. If the adversaries obtain the 
 lead they bring down your king and your partner's 
 ace together, by a lead of trumps. If, however, 
 you lead a thirteenth card, it follows, that if your 
 partner put his ace on this, the ace and king make 
 separately. Many variations of this form will be 
 evident to you, such as you holding queen, knave, 
 only, and your partner the king, so that the most 
 usual meaning of playing a thirteenth card, es- 
 pecially towards the end of the hand, is to ask your 
 partner for his best trump on this thirteenth 
 card. 
 
 Another meaning of a thirteenth card may be 
 to throw the lead into the adversaries' hands, and 
 make one of these lead up to you or to your 
 partner. It is for the non-leader's partner to 
 judge which of these two meanings of the lead of 
 a thirteenth card was intended, and he ought to 
 judge from the cards in his own hand, and from 
 those which he may reasonably suppose are in 
 those of his partner or adversary. I have lost
 
 The Thirteenth Card. 145 
 
 many games and rubbers by mistakes on the part 
 of my partner as regards the meaning of a thirteenth 
 card, but never lost a worse rubber than by the 
 following, which will serve as an example of the 
 use of a thirteenth card. 
 
 I held two small trumps, and a thirteenth card ; 
 my partner had turned up the queen. I had 
 reason to believe that strength in trumps was to 
 my right. I and my partner must win two tricks 
 to win the game and rubber ; if we did not win 
 two tricks, we lost the rubber. If my partner 
 held ace and king and queen of trumps, we were 
 game ; if he held king, queen, ten, we were game, 
 unless ace, knave were to his left, or ace to his 
 right and knave to his left ; if he held ace, queen, 
 we must win, if the lead were to come from his 
 left whilst he held ace, queen. I led him, there- 
 fore, the thirteenth card, which second player did 
 not trump. My partner held ace, queen of trumps, 
 and a low card of another suit. He now had 
 game in his hands, had he thrown his low card ; 
 but being a mere book player his only idea was 
 that I wanted his best trump, so he ruffed 
 with his ace, led his queen, which was taken by 
 the king, and we lost the game, as the adversaries 
 held the remaining best trump. Instead of ad- 
 mitting his error, and saying he had omitted to
 
 146 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 notice the score, and also to see that he must 
 make his ace, queen if he passed this thirteenth, 
 he defended himself, as many such players often 
 do, hy stating that he concluded I must hold the 
 king, and therefore wanted his hesfc trump. 
 
 It therefore requires some judgment to decide 
 whether the play of the hest trump is what is 
 meant, and even if it he meant, it does not follow 
 that another treatment of the case may not be 
 better. 
 
 The third intention of playing a thirteenth 
 card is rarely justifiable ; it is sometimes played 
 because the leader considers he cannot play any 
 other card to advantage. To play a thirteenth 
 card under these circumstances may, and most 
 probably will, mislead your partner: and if he 
 does not ruff very high, it gives an easily acquired 
 trick to the last player. 
 
 Hence the play of both twelfth and thirteenth 
 cards requires considerable judgment ; injudicious 
 play of either may lose a trick ; whereas, if well 
 played and at the proper time, they may be niado 
 of great use. 
 
 At the end of a hand it is dangerous to play a 
 thirteenth card, as it admits one of the adversaries 
 to discard and often to prevent your making a 
 second or third round in a suit, as, for example :
 
 The Thirteenth Card. 147 
 
 you hold queen and one heart and a thirteenth 
 diamond ; partner holds king and one heart and 
 thirteenth spade ; each adversary holds two small 
 hearts and one trump. If you lead your thirteenth 
 diamond, you win but one trick ; lead your heart, 
 and if your partner lead another heart instead 
 of the thirteenth spade, you win two tricks. 
 
 L 2
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 RULES AND REASON. 
 
 IN the preceding pages you nave been given the 
 rules for the lead, second play, &c., and the rules of 
 play as regards many other portions of the game. 
 These rules, especially as regards leads, apply to 
 the first or original lead. After one round of the 
 cards has been played, you necessarily know more 
 about the game than you could know from seeing 
 your own cards only. You can form some idea 
 whether your partner is strong or weak in a suit, 
 whether he is commencing an ask for trumps, 
 whether he is likely to run , &c., &c. So that after 
 one or two rounds and two tricks have been won, 
 you must necessarily allow the results of the infor- 
 mation you have gained to guide you in the play 
 of your cards that is, you must play by reason 
 and not by rule. In former years men did not 
 read much about whist; they played a certain 
 game, which by experience they fancied was a 
 good one, but their own experience was their
 
 Reason not Rules. 149 
 
 instructor. When such excellent books as those 
 produced by J. C. and Cavendish were available, 
 young whist-players read and studied these, and 
 shortly were able from reading alone to play a 
 better game than men could play who had ten 
 years' personal experience, but who had never read. 
 
 One result, however, of a large class of whist- 
 players being thus trained by reading and not 
 having an extended experience is, that one often 
 now meets men who play a game of rule and not 
 of reason ; they rigidly adhere to the rules laid 
 down as general principles, and cannot perceive 
 when to follow these rules must cause the loss of 
 a game. They seem to forget that the object of 
 whist is to win the greatest number of tricks 
 possible to be won with certain cards, consequently 
 they will often lose a trick, or even two, rather 
 than play in a manner which they consider is not 
 according to rule. Such players must lose in the 
 long run, unless their adversaries are even less 
 skilful. 
 
 I have already referred to one of these rules, 
 and I trust you will have seen what is meant by 
 the written rule. It does not mean never force 
 your partner if weak in trumps yourself; but it 
 means if you see a good chance of making more 
 tricks by not forcing your partner than you could
 
 150 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 make by forcing him, then refrain from the force ; 
 but you should always remember that it does not 
 follow your partner must take a force, even though 
 you offer it him. He may conclude, and erro- 
 neously, that you are strong in trumps, but he 
 would not conclude so unless he were considerably 
 impressed with the importance of the advice, " do 
 not force your partner if weak in trumps." Many 
 players, influenced by this recommendation, will 
 frequently throw away a game in consequence of 
 their fertile imaginations. 
 
 You may hold one honour and two trumps, 
 and you find the chances of saving the game very 
 remote unless you force your partner. He holds 
 probably four small trumps. You force him and 
 lie makes a trick, and immediately jumps at the 
 conclusion that you must be strong in trumps ; 
 so, having ruffed, he leads you a trump and loses 
 every other trick. Some players actually treat a 
 force from their partner as equivalent to an ask 
 for trumps ; as they assume that he would never 
 force them unless very strong. 
 
 Some players again, bearing in mind that it 
 is sometimes advisable to force a strong hand of 
 trumps, will continue leading a suit for an adver- 
 sary to trump, even when he holds the only 
 remaining trumps, probably three or four. At
 
 Erroneous Ideas. 151 
 
 the end of the hand they frequently congratulate 
 their partner on the manner in -which they 
 "worked out those trumps." 
 
 What other use could they imagine these trumps 
 could be put to, than to win tricks hy ruffing? 
 They ignore the value of the lead which they keep 
 placing in the adversary's hand, and seem entirely 
 to be engrossed hy giving the adversary every 
 opportunity of winning tricks. Such play is un- 
 reasonable. 
 
 " When strong in trumps do not ruff a doubtful 
 card " is another piece of advice which some 
 players seem entirely to misunderstand. With 
 four trumps and no honour, such a suit cannot be 
 called strong. Yet many players will not only 
 refuse to ruff a doubtful card, but will not trump 
 a card the best of which is almost to a certainty 
 indicated against them. They seem to consider 
 that refusing to trump and thus informing their 
 partner that they hold four trumps, is information 
 worth a trick ; so they give the adversaries a trick 
 in order to convey this information, an act which 
 appears to indicate that they consider the main 
 object of whist is not to win tricks, but to convey 
 information. 
 
 With four small trumps and no suit to bring in, 
 and with no indication from your partner that he
 
 152 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 wants trumps out, you cannot expect to make more 
 than one of your trumps, and you may very likely 
 not make that unless you ruff. Consequently 
 reason must guide you as regards the expediency 
 of ruffing with four trumps, and not rule. 
 
 A game is very often lost by a partner who 
 blindly plays by rule, and will immediately return 
 your lead of trumps when he is excessively weak ; 
 because many players, ^chen it suits their hand, say, 
 if I lead trumps I want them back. Although it 
 should be no excuse for leading trumps because an 
 honour is turned to your left, yet you may often be 
 disposed so to lead to obtain other information. 
 For example, I hold ace, queen, four and two of 
 spades, trumps, king turned to my left. Ace, king 
 and two other hearts, queen, knave, eight of 
 diamonds, queen, and three of clubs score love 
 all. 
 
 Now it is most essential that I know whether 
 my partner holds knave of trumps ; if he does, I 
 have a fair chance of winning the game, as we 
 are two by honours. 
 
 My partner leads a small diamond, which I win 
 with knave, and lead a small trump. Partner 
 wins with knave, and returns the two. I am 
 now in doubt as regards my partner's strength in 
 trumps. He has returned the two up to the king
 
 Blindly Following Rules. 153 
 
 His two should most likely, therefore, be the lowest 
 of three remaining. I win with ace, and I may 
 now conclude that king alone remains in the left- 
 hand player's hand and two more in my partner's. 
 First, I will assume that I do so conclude and 
 play my hand accordingly. I then consider it 
 useless to draw my partner's trump and one of my 
 own in order to extract the king, which must win ; 
 so I lead king, then ace of hearts both go round. 
 A third heart is won by fourth hand with queen, 
 and I note that second hand asked for trumps in 
 hearts, and that my partner failed in hearts. 
 Right-hand adversary leads a trump, on which I 
 play small trump, ten wins this to my left, king is 
 led and takes my queen. I have now won the 
 following tricks : knave of diamonds, partner, knave 
 of spades, ace of trumps, ace, king of hearts 
 five tricks. Left adversary now leads king of 
 clubs, then ace of clubs catching my queen. Then 
 knave of clubs, then knave of hearts. The adver- 
 saries have won : queen, knave of hearts, king, ten 
 of trumps, ace, king, and knave of clubs. The 
 ace of diamonds is held by my right-hand adver- 
 sary, and wins. Thus the adversaries have won : 
 two tricks in trumps, three in spades, two in hearts, 
 and one in diamonds eight, and have gained two 
 by cards against two by honours.
 
 154 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 If I had continued with a third round of trumps, 
 and my left adversary had finessed his ten, the 
 results would have been almost identical ; except, 
 perhaps, if hearts had been led up to me, when I 
 should have taken the queen. But the knave 
 must have won ; probably my queen of diamonds 
 also might have won. 
 
 My partner's hand was as follows : knave and 
 two of spades, king, nine, seven, six, and two of 
 diamonds, nine, eight, six, and four of clubs, the 
 seven and six of hearts. When I had won with 
 my queen of diamonds, he might fairly be said not 
 to have a winning card in his hand, as his king 
 of diamonds must be won by the ace or ruffed. 
 
 With such a hand, I maintain lie teas not bound 
 by rule to return my trump. By my lead, if I 
 lead a trump, I play a forward game ; and if my 
 partner returns me a trump up to the king, it 
 plainly says I can support this game. But he 
 held no single card to support me except his king 
 of diamonds. Had my partner returned me a 
 diamond I should have at once concluded that, in 
 spite of two by honours, we could not win the 
 game, so I must try for the odd trick only. 
 
 The play that would naturally follow under 
 these circumstances would almost certainly be as 
 follows. Instead of returning my trump, my part-
 
 Returning Lead of Trumps. 155 
 
 ner leads another diamond. Second player plays 
 ace and wins ; and having a four suit of hearts, 
 leads a small heart. I win with king, return ace, 
 then small heart, which partner trumps, and leads 
 king of diamonds, which right adversary trumps. 
 His partner, under the preceding conditions, would 
 not ask for trumps, so the spade would prohahly 
 be led. On the third round I make a trump, and 
 play a heart ; when the lead will most probably 
 come up to me, and I make the ace, queen of 
 trumps. By this play, my partner makes two 
 trumps ; and I make at least two, and probably 
 three. I make ace, king of hearts, and one 
 diamond, and so secure the trick at least. And 
 the game stands : three to love, instead of two all. 
 
 Some players might urge that not to return the 
 trump was selfish play, as it was playing one 
 hand instead of two ; but the play was'really the 
 reverse of this. It told me that, although my 
 hand might be good, yet my partner was so feeble 
 that he dared not lead back trumps to the king 
 against him. Not to lead back trumps was rea- 
 sonable under the conditions ; to have returned 
 trumps would have been playing blindly to rule. 
 
 "What are termed " Coups " are often cases 
 where to follow rule ensures your losing the game. 
 You must reason on the special case before you,
 
 156 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 and your reasoning and acting thereon must be 
 instantaneous. It often may happen that you 
 have to place yourself in imagination in the 
 position of an adversary, and consider what play 
 would be most likely to mislead you ; and then, 
 when nothing but a false card can save or win 
 you the game, this card must be played. I will 
 therefore now make a few remarks on 
 
 " COUPS." 
 
 There is a certain similarity in many games 
 which at first sight appear to have no likeness 
 to each other. In billiards there are some players 
 who can make some one stroke very successfully, 
 and they are always trying for this ; for example, 
 screwing in off the spot is a favourite stroke with 
 some players, and they pride themselves on it, 
 whilst they play the actual game badly. So with 
 some whist-players : they are always playing for 
 some " coup," and when this succeeds they are de- 
 lighted ; but, in playing for it, they will probably 
 lose two or three tricks or a game, and too often 
 it fails to come off. Thus the player who plays 
 the game steadily and safely wins more than he 
 who plays the game indifferently but sometimes 
 makes a good " coup." Hence, although there are
 
 157 
 
 special cases where nothing but a special system 
 of play can succeed, yet to be always on the 
 look-out for these is not advisable, when such 
 watchfulness causes you to sacrifice the play of the 
 hand. 
 
 It sometimes happens that you cannot possibly 
 win or save the game, unless one particular card 
 is in your partner's hand. You must then play as 
 if you are certain that it is there, and this requires 
 of course reason, and no rule can bear upon so 
 many varied cases. As an example, I give the 
 following, which occurred to a brother officer, and 
 which succeeded. 
 
 He held ace, king, knave, and two of hearts four 
 cards only. His partner had by the lead shown 
 that he held the two remaining clubs. Hearts 
 had not been led or thrown, and spades (trumps) 
 were all out. Consequently his partner held two 
 hearts, two clubs. Saving the game meant in 
 this case winning it, and to win it he must win 
 every trick. As there were thirteen hearts in, 
 two only in his partner's hand, it followed that 
 one adversary must hold four ; consequently the 
 two of hearts must be taken, and the game must 
 be lost if the lead could not be given to his 
 partner. His left-hand adversary led a small 
 heart, his partner played seven of hearts, third
 
 158 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 hand played ten. If now he had won with knave, 
 then led ace and king of hearts, he must lose the 
 Last trick, viz., his two of hearts. If his partner 
 held queen of hearts, the queen must be left single 
 in his partner's hand ; so it was no matter whether 
 he won with ace, king, or knave. If his partner 
 held nine he must play it second round, as he 
 held no other card; so a false card could not 
 injure his partner. He therefore won the ten 
 with his ace and led the two of hearts. Second 
 player held queen and two other hearts, hut fancy- 
 ing king must be to his left and not seeing his dan- 
 ger he played a small heart, third hand won with 
 nine of hearts, and made his two remaining clubs 
 and won the game. If he had won with his 
 knave, probably second hand might have suspected 
 a false card when the two was returned ; but ace 
 being played might indicate that the third player 
 held king, knave, ten, and had finessed the ten. 
 The " coup " is a good one to be worked out at a 
 moment's notice. 
 
 Another rather good "coup" was the fol- 
 lowing, which also occurred.. Ace, queen of 
 diamonds, and three remaining trumps were in 
 one hand the holder of these cards I will term A. 
 The king and nine other diamonds were in. It 
 was A.'s lead, and he must win every trick to
 
 "Coups" 159 
 
 save and win the rubber. A. could win four tricks 
 to a certainty, but the king of diamonds ought 
 to win. The adversaries did not know all the 
 trumps were in one hand, and it was A.'s lead. 
 If he led his three trumps, then the ace of 
 diamonds, the king must make wherever it was. 
 If the king were to his right and guarded, it must 
 win. There was one .chance, viz., that the king 
 was to his left, and that, if the queen were led 
 before the ace, second player not knowing where 
 the ace was and wanting only one trick, might 
 not cover. A. therefore led queen of diamonds, 
 and second player did not cover. Consequently A. 
 won his five tricks and rubber. The chances were 
 certainly against such a result ; but, as A. argued : 
 If his partner held the king, it was no matter ; if 
 right-hand adversary held it, the game must be 
 lost. So he took the only chance in his favour, 
 and this chance came up favourably. 
 
 Now reason alone could guide a player to such 
 play as this no rule is applicable. It is a case 
 where you know the position of cards which the 
 adversaries do not know, and you play on the chance 
 that they may play certain cards under these 
 peculiar circumstances. 
 
 Both these are instances of a s{yle of play that 
 might be adopted at practical whist If all the
 
 160 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 cards are seen and their position known, such a 
 result could not occur. Therefore it is not a 
 problem to be worked out by mechanical rule, 
 but they are cases requiring intelligence, and a 
 quick calculation not only of where it is possible 
 certain cards may be located, but what certain 
 players may do under the peculiar circumstances. 
 
 The advantages then to be derived at whist are 
 from a judicious combination of rule and reason. 
 Rule enables you to judge what cards your partner 
 holds, and reason applies to the best method of 
 using these. 
 
 I once won a very neat game by the following 
 amusing combination. I held four small trumps 
 (spades), ace, king, and two small hearts, three 
 small clubs, king, and one diamond. The king of 
 spades was turned up to my left : my partner led 
 knave of hearts, and queen covered it second hand. 
 Knowing my partner to be a careful player, I at once 
 concluded he had led me the highest of three cards, 
 and as this was his original lead, he must hold a four 
 suit which could only be trumps, and he did not like 
 to lead up to king. I won the heart with my king, 
 and led my small trump ; partner won with knave, 
 and led me a small heart ; I won this with ace, and 
 led him another 'trump ; my second lead of trumps 
 showed him I held four. He won this trick with
 
 77ic Lead from Ace Queen. 161 
 
 the queen, led the ace and caught the king. I 
 knew now that he held the other trump. He 
 then led ten of hearts, after which I remained 
 with the thirteenth, we had now won three tricks 
 in trumps and three in hearts. He then led a 
 small diamond, I played king third hand, and it 
 was won by ace fourth hand, who led queen, 
 then knave. I ruffed the knave and led my 
 thirteenth heart which won, and my partner's 
 last trump won, making three by cards, two by 
 honours. The cards held by myself and partner 
 were, ace, queen, knave, and five other trumps ; 
 ace, king, knave of hearts and ten ; king of dia- 
 monds ; that is, seven court cards out of sixteen. 
 The adversaries held four honours in spades, three 
 honours in diamonds, and one honour in hearts 
 and trumps. The point here to which I wish to 
 draw attention is, that if your partner in his 
 original lead shows you that he leads from a three 
 suit only, you may fairly conclude that he holds 
 four trumps, but considers it advisable not to lead 
 them. Some players will persistently avoid leading 
 from an ace, queen suit. I do not consider that 
 the advantages to be gained by waiting to finesse 
 your ace queen compensate for the incorrect in- 
 formation you give your partner as to the nume- 
 rical strength in your hand.
 
 1 62 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 Rule applies strongly to original leads, and the 
 play of the first half of a hand, after this reason 
 comes in, and the nearer the end of the hand the 
 more does rule become useless and reason takes 
 its place. Hence there are very many players 
 who are good for the first half of the hand, but 
 are feeble in the extreme towards the end. 
 
 As a coup for your amusement, I give the fol- 
 lowing. Give the adversaries four by honours in 
 every suit : give yourself and partner any of the 
 other cards you choose, and win five by cards 
 against them, you to have the lead. It is of 
 course a double dummy game. 
 
 Finally, I suggest that you should never consider 
 it impossible that a game can be lost unless you 
 hold ace, king, queen of trumps, and the adver- 
 saries are at love, so save the game when you can. 
 I once lost five by cards when I held ace, king, 
 and four small trumps, king and one diamond, 
 king and one spade, and three small clubs ; it was 
 my lead and I led a small trump. Arrange the 
 cards in the various hands so as to see how this 
 happened, and could not be prevented after I had 
 led. My partner held one trump only.
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 YOUR PARTNER. 
 
 WHIST is a game of partnership. You and your 
 partner play against two other partners. It is twenty- 
 six cards against twenty-six when the partners 
 play to mutually assist one another. It is thirteen 
 cards against twenty -six when each partner plays 
 for his own hand. To play a strong game it is 
 essential that you assist your partner and your 
 partner aids you. To play against three adver- 
 saries, one of whom is your partner, is not an 
 uncommon event, and although it has been stated 
 that the advantage which a good player has over a 
 bad player is only about five per cent., yet this five 
 per cent, occurs in every hand, and if there are 
 seven deals to a rubber, the advantage is multi- 
 plied to thirty- five per cent. It follows, therefore, 
 that you must do your best to help your partner 
 and he should do his best to aid you. In order 
 that you make the most out of your partner you 
 must form an accurate estimate of his whist 
 
 M 2
 
 164 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 capacity. "When you are afflicted with a partner 
 unacquainted with the rules and incompetent as a 
 reasoner, you must not play a high-class game, you 
 must make matters as simple to him as possible, 
 you must expect him to thwart all your great and 
 promising schemes, and usually to play the adver- 
 saries' game instead of yours. To attempt any thing 
 great with him is simple ruin ; it would be like a 
 fine rider mounted on an awkward hack, riding to 
 hounds as if he were on a trained hunter ; at the 
 first timber leap you come a cropper. So. you 
 must not attempt a game beyond your partner's 
 course. You must deny yourself many promising 
 results which would certainly be obtained had you 
 a good player opposite to you, and must play a 
 cramped game, and consider yourself fortunate if 
 you lose only one trick each hand. 
 
 It is useless to attempt to teach a bad player 
 how to play whist by lectures given during the 
 deals; to remind him of his glaring errors only 
 fuddles his brain the more, for if he is so dense 
 that he cannot perceive his mistakes and has 
 played whist many years, it is expecting too much 
 to hope that a five minutes' lecture will cure him 
 of his faults. Besides, looking at it from a selfish 
 point of view, a bad player, by the rule of chances, 
 ought to be twice your adversary for once he is
 
 Your Partner. 165 
 
 your partner, and although he may lose you 
 several tricks when he is your partner, he will also 
 give you twice as many tricks when he is twice your 
 adversary ; it is most essential, therefore, that you 
 discover as quickly as possible the capacity of your 
 partner, so as not to attempt a game beyond his 
 powers ; if you venture any advice to him let it be 
 to advise him to win every trick he can. And 
 probably the sooner he gets all his winning cards 
 out of his hand the sooner will his power to damage 
 you be gone. 
 
 With such a player it is useless to lead him a 
 strengthening card. If he hold the ace and ten 
 and another of a suit, and you lead him the queen 
 or knave, he will put his ace on, as he will tell you 
 had he not done so the king might make that the 
 king must make second lead he seems to ignore. 
 If you return him the correct card when you hold 
 two or three you merely inform the adversaries 
 and fail to obtain any results from your partner. 
 False cards do not mislead him, for he fails to 
 notice them, consequently you play with such a 
 partner in much the same manner as you would 
 with a dummy, you make your own hand as un- 
 intelligible to the adversaries as it is to your 
 partner, and you muddle on as best you can. 
 That a partner should lose you five tricks in one
 
 1 66 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 hand seems difficult, yet not long since I was 
 favoured with a partner who succeeded in accom- 
 plishing this feat as follows : I held six hearts headed 
 by ace, king, queen, ace, and three small spades 
 (trumps), two small clubs, one small diamond. 
 
 It was my lead, and I led king of hearts in 
 order that my partner should not labour under any 
 misunderstanding as regards my suit. Fourth 
 hand played knave of hearts to my king ; I then 
 led a small trump ; partner won with queen and 
 returned me a small trump. I won with ace and 
 led a third round of trumps second hand failed 
 and partner won with king ; I now concluded I 
 should win the game as my partner by returning 
 the small trump told me he held four originally. 
 My partner having won with king of trumps led 
 knave of diamonds, which second player won with 
 queen, and he then led the twelfth trump which 
 was the best and drew mine, and made five tricks 
 in diamonds ; my partner held two more hearts, 
 and had originally only three trumps. Had ho 
 returned me the king then a small trump I should 
 have held the lead after the third round of trumps, 
 and could have forced the remaining trump held 
 by the adversaries, with my hearts. So I must 
 have made four more tricks in hearts and my last 
 trump. If again he had led me a heart, similar
 
 Estimating Your Partner. 107 
 
 success would have folio-wed. I thus lost five 
 tricks by two errors of the most puerile description. 
 My partner of course had a reason for his play ; 
 he did not like to lead a heart, as he thought it 
 would be trumped ! My partner had played Cards 
 for certainly thirty years. When you consider 
 that the return of an incorrect card, and the lead 
 afterwards of an unwarrantable card, may cost 
 you five tricks, you will perceive the amount of 
 damage that a bad partner may entail on you. 
 
 To ascertain quickly the capacity of your partner 
 is most important ; you may often discover this by 
 looking over his hand before you join the rubber 
 and noting how he selects cards for particular 
 purposes. A partner who is careful to return the 
 lowest of three and the highest of two remaining 
 cards, who notes the call for trumps, and will echo 
 to your lead, can be made something of. "When, 
 however, you find a partner is studying the faces 
 of the cards in his hand, and does not look at 
 the table whilst the cards are being played, and 
 consequently is always asking to look at the last 
 trick, you may be sure that sooner or later he will 
 get you into trouble, and you must not expect 
 much from him, and dare not consequently attempt 
 a very refined game. Many old whist-players get 
 into a system of playing which is often eccentric
 
 1 68 The Art of Practical Whist, 
 
 and unsound, but on which these individuals pride 
 themselves. I once knew a player who always, 
 whenever it was his lead, led trumps no matter 
 what his hand might be, and he was convinced 
 it was the right thing to do. He was constantly 
 a loser at the end of the year, but this result he 
 attributed to his bad luck. 
 
 When you know your partner to possess these 
 eccentric idiosyncrasies, you must of course play a 
 different game from that you would attempt with a 
 reasonable partner. Next to discovering the 
 capacity of your partner is the importance of dis- 
 covering the powers of your adversaries. Having 
 formed an estimate of these, you may trade on 
 this estimate, and often with favourable results. 
 If you find your adversary is a mere book player 
 you can fairly calculate what card he will play 
 under certain circumstances, and can lead or 
 finesse accordingly. I once won a game which 
 will serve as an example of such play, which is, 
 however, applicable only under such exceptional con- 
 ditions. I held king, queen, knave, and two of spades 
 (trumps), ace, king, and three hearts, two clubs 
 (small), and two diamonds (small). My partner led a 
 small heart, ten fell second hand. Knowing my part- 
 ner to play by rule, I estimated that he held four 
 hearts, and that a ruff would be made by second hand
 
 An Amusing Game. 169 
 
 on another round. The ace of spades was turned up 
 to my left; I decided to lead trumps, but the question 
 was which card to lead. I wanted two rounds of 
 trumps. Knowing how carefully my left adversary 
 followed rule, I was aware that if I led the king or 
 knave he would in the orthodox manner cover with 
 ace. I therefore led the queen, hoping that he 
 would follow the rule and pass it ; he did so, and 
 the queen of course won. Having found this, I 
 led the small trump as I now believed he would 
 credit my partner with king. This also came off, 
 as he played his ace on the small trump, and my 
 partner dropped ten. He now believed my 
 original lead was from queen, knave, and another, 
 and that the king only was on his left, as he held 
 two more trumps and a long and strong suit in 
 diamonds, he believed another round of trumps 
 would bring down king and knave together, and 
 leave him with the thirteenth trump. He there- 
 fore led a third round and found that my partner 
 held no more, his partner held another, and I won 
 the trick with knave, and drew his other trump 
 with king. A small heart from me was won by 
 my partner with queen ; he returned another heart, 
 and we Avon five tricks in hearts, three in trumps, 
 and one in clubs, and won game. Had I led king 
 of trumps my left adversary would have taken this
 
 1 70 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 with ace, would have shown his partner his strong 
 suit in diamonds, would then have forced his partner 
 with a heart, regained the lead in his diamonds^ 
 forced his partner again in hearts, and would thus 
 have won five if not six tricks, as he could have 
 forced me with his diamonds. This was a game 
 played entirely against rule as regards leads, but it 
 was specially adapted to the style of play which I 
 knew the left adversary was likely to adopt. 
 
 You may probably remark that this example of 
 play is in direct opposition to the rules which I 
 have already advised to be carried out. It is not 
 so opposed. The rules given are those that under 
 ordinary circumstances should be adopted, and 
 which have been found the best, to enable you to 
 win the greatest number of tricks, for you must 
 not lose sight of the fact that the golden rule for 
 whist is to win the greatest number of tricks that 
 are possible to be won with the cards held by your- 
 self and your partner. If by using your intelli- 
 gence you perceive that if you follow these rules 
 you will lose, then another and a higher rule comes 
 in, viz. to play so as to win. It is this which gives 
 the great charm to whist as a study, no amount of 
 knowledge of rule or system can enable you to do 
 away with thought, and the reasoning required for 
 ever recurring cases. So that you must be ever
 
 Enquiry. 171 
 
 mentally on the alert to watch for these, and take 
 the advantage which offers with strategic skill. The 
 study then of the capacity and peculiarities of your 
 partner and adversaries ought to be as much a part 
 of the art of whist as is the study of the cards in 
 your hands ; the latter are the weapons with which 
 you fight ; the former are the enemy and the ally 
 against or with whom you do battle. 
 
 ENQUIRY. 
 
 The rules you have given for the lead, finesse, 
 throwing the lead, &c., take a long time to learn, 
 but a longer to put in practice during what I 
 may call the excitement of play ; what then amidst 
 all these rules, laws, advice, &c., would you recom- 
 mend as the most important items to be impressed 
 on the mind of a beginner ? I fancy that there are 
 certain parts of the game, such as throwing the 
 lead, which can only be practised after long expe- 
 rience at whist. Still it is advisable to do as little 
 damage to your partner as possible, when you are 
 only a moderate player and I want to know how 
 I am to advance from a bad to a moderate player ?
 
 LETTER XVI. 
 
 WHAT TO LEARN. 
 
 I CONSIDER it most necessary that you should 
 learn " the lead ; " unless you do so you commence 
 under a great difficulty. The correct lead ought 
 to be learned in one or two hours. Deal yourself 
 thirteen cards and elect one suit as trumps, then 
 think what card to lead and examine the rules to 
 see if you are right. As second player rememher 
 to split knave, ten, and small card queen, knave, 
 and small card, king, queen, and small card, that 
 is, play the lower of the two high cards. When 
 you win a trick the first round of a suit, return the 
 higher of two remaining, the lowest of three re- 
 maining. If your partner lead a suit which you 
 win third in hand, lead him the correct card of 
 your strongest suit at once. Return at once your 
 partner's lead in trumps unless under most peculiar 
 circumstances, such as those given in a former 
 letter (No. XIV.). Watch the fall of the cards, so 
 that you do not miss your partner's ask. Echo, if
 
 Simple Rules. 173 
 
 you hold four trumps, to your partner's lead or 
 call. Hold up your cards so as not to expose your 
 hand. Never touch a card till you have decided 
 which card to play. 
 
 Follow these directions and you have the founda- 
 tion of whist-playing. Make yourself so thoroughly 
 acquainted with these rules that you never need 
 occupy your mind with them, and you will then 
 keep your head clear for the more complicated 
 parts of the game. If you have to keep your 
 attention occupied as to what to lead, or play 
 second hand, &c., it is impossible to help getting 
 muddled about other portions of the game.
 
 LETTER XVII. 
 
 THE PLAY OF A GAME -OF WHIST. 
 
 You will find in the latter part of Cavendish, in 
 the Field occasionally, and in the Westminster 
 Papers what are termed " illustrated hands," that 
 is, the whole fity-two cards arranged in the four 
 hands, and the play given by which a certain 
 number of tricks were won, on one side or the 
 other. To arrange the cards as given, and to 
 work out the hands, is an excellent method to 
 discover and to impress on the memory, what may 
 be done with the cards. You must, however, 
 bear in mind that this is theoretical and not 
 practical whist. That when the cards are all 
 exposed, the problem is all clear. In practical 
 whist, however, there comes in the element of 
 individuality, the personal error, as we may term 
 it, of each player the probability of an adversary 
 making a mistake, of his not making a finesse 
 which might come off, and of his making one 
 which does not come off, of his being misled by a
 
 Problems at Whist. 175 
 
 false card, of his inability to discover the cards in 
 his partner's hand when he commences the game 
 and leads. From these and similar causes a multi- 
 tude of games are just missed being won at whist, 
 which would certainly be won were all the cards 
 exposed to view. Also many games are lost at 
 whist which would not be lost if you saw all the 
 cards and had been playing double dummy. It 
 consequently follows that practical whist is a very 
 different game from what we may term theoretical 
 whist. As an amusing example of this I recom- 
 mend you to arrange the cards in the manner given 
 below. It is a case which once occurred to me at 
 double dummy. You will then perceive that if 
 any player had played at whist as it is necessary 
 to play in the follo\ving case, he would probably 
 have been accused of trying to lose the game. I 
 call my own hand A., my dummy's hand D. Left 
 adversary's hand X. Right adversary's hand Y. 
 Hearts trumps. 
 
 A.'s. 10, 6, 4 hearts. Ace spades. Ace, king, 
 
 queen clubs, 10, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 diamonds. 
 X.'s. Ace, king, queen, knave hearts. King, 
 
 10, 7, 4 spades. 10, 7, 4 clubs. King, 
 
 2 of diamonds. 
 D.'s. o, 3, 2 hearts. 9, 8, 5, 3, 2 spades. 
 
 Ace, queen, knave, 9, 8 diamonds.
 
 176 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 Y.'s. 9, 8, 7 hearts. Queen, knave, 6 spades. 
 
 Knave, 9, 8, 6, 5, 3, 2 clubs. 
 It was A.'s lead, the score was A. D. 4, X. Y. 
 
 love. 
 
 You will perceive that X. Y. were four by 
 honours, so the odd trick won the game. 
 
 At a first glance it appeared that A. D. could 
 win only four tricks, viz., three in clubs, one in 
 spades. A little closer examination, however, 
 showed that A. could win the odd trick. Now you 
 arrange the cards. Take only half a minute to 
 consider, and then with A. and D.'s cards win the 
 trick. You will then perceive that this hand must 
 be played in a very different way from that in 
 which it would be played at practical whist. It 
 requires but little thought to see how the odd trick 
 must be won by A. and D. But it is not too much 
 to say that no amount of thought or experience 
 could enable A. and D. to win the odd trick had 
 they been playing whist against X. and Y. as 
 partners, and consequently unacquainted with the 
 position of the cards in the various hands. Con- 
 sequently I do not place very much value on the 
 capacity which enables a man to work out double 
 dummy problems without fail, when I consider the 
 application of this capacity for whist. The two
 
 False Cards. 177 
 
 cases are entirely different, and bring into play 
 entirely different mental powers. A problem at 
 dummy requires quiet calculation, whist-playing 
 requires a quick calculation of probabilities from 
 the evidence before you, and an acute perception 
 as to whether this evidence is genuine or false. If 
 an adversary has played a false card, the evidence 
 on which you have to estimate probabilities is false, 
 so you must also judge whether or not the adver- 
 sary has played you a false card. A mere plodding 
 mathematical intellect will solve a problem of 
 double dummy. It requires something more subtle 
 in the mind to enable a nian to play whist. 
 
 False cards, which are so much condemned by 
 the orthodox player, cannot be played at double 
 dummy, as no deception can take place. At whist, 
 however, they may, and often do produce singular 
 results ; and although I must caution you never to 
 play a false card until you have advanced beyond 
 the condition of a moderate player, yet when you 
 become more skilled a false card often wins or 
 saves the game when nothing else could do so. 
 Some time ago I won a game by false cards being 
 played, which is an amusing instance. I required 
 three tricks to save and win the game. Diamonds 
 were trumps. I hoped to obtain a ruff from my 
 partner in clubs, and I held queen, knave, and
 
 1 78 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 nine of diamonds. Ace turned to my right. Towards 
 the end of the hand, right hand adversary led king 
 of trumps. On this I played my queen. He then 
 led a spade, which left adversary won, and then 
 returned a trump. Right hand adversary finessed 
 ten ; and I won with knave and led a cluh ; to my 
 surprise my partner won this, and led the eight of 
 trumps. Right hand adversary held ace and four 
 of trumps, and he now concluded that my partner 
 held seven of trumps behind the eight, that his 
 partner held the nine, and that I held no more. 
 If he put his ace on the eight, his partner's nine 
 would fall, and the seven would remain the best 
 trump in, so he played his four. My nine won, and 
 we won the game. At double dummy we must 
 have lost. 
 
 At the commencement of a hand you may per- 
 ceive that if your partner is moderately strong, you 
 can ensure game, or at least a large score. Suppose 
 you hold king, seven, five, two of diamonds, trumps; 
 ace, queen, four of spades ; king, eight, two of 
 clubs ; queen, knave, eight of hearts. Score love 
 all. This is a good hand. Two honours in your 
 partner's hand, would give you a fair chance of 
 game. You lead the two of diamonds, second hand 
 plays ten, partner plays eight, fourth player three. 
 From the fall of these cards you perceive that two
 
 The Play of a Hand. 1 79 
 
 by honours arc against you, you therefore cannot 
 win the game. The object, therefore, should be to 
 try and save it. Taking a possibly unfavourable 
 view of your hand, you find only one tolerably 
 certain trick in it, viz., ace of spades. Your 
 partner may hold the nine of trumps, but it is two 
 to one against his doing so. If he does not hold 
 it, there are in the adversaries' hands six more 
 trumps, which may be divided between them three 
 and three or four and two. 
 
 Suppose left adversary, after winning with ten of 
 trumps, leads a small heart, third player plays ten, 
 and you win with knave. If you play another 
 trump you almost to a certainty throw the lead 
 into the hands of your left adversary, which may 
 be good play as you are again led up to, and this 
 suits your hand. But it would be very doubtful 
 whether another trump should be led merely for 
 the purpose of getting out the adversary's trumps, 
 as you would then leave your king singly guarded, 
 and your object now should be to make king of 
 trumps, ace, queen of spades, and king of clubs, by 
 which means you save the game out of your own 
 hand if your partner win only one trick. If your 
 partner can win two tricks so much the better. 
 But your main object in the game now should be 
 to throw the lead into the hand of your left adver- 
 
 N 2
 
 180 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 sary, and not to consider the object to be to draw 
 trumps. The difference between the two systems 
 of play you will perceive is distinct. You change 
 your game from the attack to the defence. Dis- 
 arming your antagonists when at the same time you 
 disarm yourself is not always sound play. If, for 
 example, you hold a small trump, and each adver- 
 sary holds a better trump, it is very tempting to 
 lead this trump and bring down the adversaries' 
 two together. But if the only chance you have of 
 making another trick is to ruff with your losing 
 trump, it would be a mistake to lead it, even 
 though it took out the adversaries' trumps. Many 
 a game is saved in this way, and many players fail 
 to notice how it is saved. Suppose you require one 
 trick to save a game, and you see your only chance is 
 to make a rujf. You succeed in this, and your 
 adversaries make their trumps separately on tricks 
 which neither you nor your partner could win. 
 The adversaries will often congratulate themselves 
 on this result, and will imagine that they could not 
 do better than make their trumps separately. 
 
 Although it is rarely advisable to commence a 
 game by leading a single card and thus playing for 
 a ruff, yet there is no rule without an exception, 
 and in desperate cases it might be tried. When 
 however, you come accidentally as it were on a ruff
 
 Giving Your Partner the Lead. 181 
 
 and succeed with a weak hand of trumps in making 
 a trump, the great object is to give your partner 
 the lead in order to obtain from him another ruff. 
 To do so requires some consideration as regards the 
 previous leads, but you will understand what I 
 mean by the following example. 
 
 Suppose you led a small club, your partner third 
 in hand wins with ace and returns you a spade, 
 which you ruff. To attempt to give your partner 
 the lead by leading him another club is useless, for 
 as he won with ace, he cannot hold either king or 
 queen, so another club must give the adversaries 
 a lead, and your trumps will be immediately 
 drawn. You must try the suit that you have not 
 led. Say for example diamonds are trumps ; your 
 partner won with ace of clubs, so you must try him 
 again with a heart. He may obtain the lead in 
 the heart, he cannot obtain it in the club. When 
 weak in trumps and weak in playing cards, the 
 only possible chance of a score is a double ruff, and 
 this you may often obtain Avhen you find an origi- 
 nal lead from an adversary of a suit in which you 
 hold five, and your partner shows strength in 
 another suit in which you hold only one or two. 
 Giving your partner the chance of a discard is 
 often a means of obtaining a double ruff. For 
 example, right adversary leads king of clubs, you
 
 182 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 hold four clubs, with the ten, your partner plays 
 eight of clubs, and king wins. Right adversary now 
 leads a small spade in which suit you hold ace king, 
 queen and one other. You may now fairly con- 
 clude that original leader led from ace king, knave 
 of clubs, and is waiting for the finesse, your partner 
 is either asking for trumps, or holds only the 
 queen, nine of clubs, or no more. You play your 
 queen of spades and partner's two falls, lead ace 
 of spades and partner's ten falls. You then lead 
 king of spades, and partner throws nine of clubs. 
 You then lead him a club and he ruffs, having got 
 rid of his remaining club. 
 
 When you or your partner has obtained a 
 ruff in a suit and the game is in danger, you 
 should alter the play of ace king when you lead. 
 Suppose you hold no winning card in any suit, but 
 possess the losing trump of the two remaining in ; 
 the winning trump being in the adversaries' hands. 
 You require one trick to save the game, and you 
 hold no club. Your partner leads you the king of 
 clubs. If he has led from king queen, and the ace 
 is against you, the ace would win this trick, your 
 trump might be drawn, and the adversaries might 
 lead a long suit and win the game. Under such 
 circumstances you would be justified in trumping 
 the king. If, however your partner had led you
 
 An Example. 183 
 
 the ace with ace king, you of course would not 
 have trumped the ace. It is therefore usually 
 better to play ace then king, instead of king then 
 ace, when you or your partner have ruffed a suit, to 
 prevent your partner tramping a card which is 
 equivalent to the best card in the suit. 
 
 In the play of a hand you must draw your con- 
 clusions as to where particular cards are located 
 from the best evidence presented to you. But be 
 very careful that you do not allow a fanciful 
 imagination to take the place of fair induction. I 
 have lost many a game in consequence of this 
 imagination of my partner. The following is a case 
 that occurred: My partner held knave, seven of 
 clubs, a small spade, the lower of two remaining, 
 a small diamond and a small trump (hearts), the 
 lower of two remaining. I held ace queen, two of 
 clubs and two small diamonds. My right adver- 
 sary led four of clubs. I played the two, third 
 hand played the five, and partner won with seven. 
 After a little hesitation my partner led the small 
 spade ; second hand won with higher spade ; I dis- 
 carded a diamond, and fourth player discarded six 
 of clubs. Right adversary then led king of 
 diamonds. His partner took this with ace, drew 
 my partner's trump, and made the remaining tricks 
 with diamonds.
 
 184 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 " Why did you not lead the club up to the weak 
 hand ? " I inquired. 
 
 " Because I thought you must have the other 
 spade," was my partner's reply. 
 
 " Why should you think so ?" 
 
 " Well, I don't know why, but I fancied you 
 must have it." 
 
 That is, my partner's fertile imagination, based 
 on no evidence, lost a trick. 
 
 This is a very common phase of the bad player ; 
 instead of leading cards up to a weak hand, and 
 thus giving his partner every opportunity of fines- 
 sing, he will imagine some card must be in his hand, 
 when there is no evidence to indicate its presence, 
 and then will play in such a manner that if it is 
 not there, he must give the adversaries a great 
 advantage. 
 
 Your attention in the early part of the play of a 
 hand should be given to discover where certain 
 cards are situated which have not been played, for 
 the advantage gained by good over bad players is 
 usually in the last four or five cards. 
 
 You must bear in mind that to play out an ace 
 or any other winning card of a suit does not give 
 you all the advantages to be derived from this 
 card. Your ace, if led, will be played to by the 
 adversaries with the lowest cards in their hand.
 
 Play for Game. 185 
 
 If, however, you remain fourth player and your ace 
 is led up to, you not only win with it, but you 
 usually capture and destroy the best card in that 
 suit, and held by your right adversary. 
 
 If there is any other lead available, I usually 
 object to lead king, from king queen and another. 
 There are two hands against you to one for you, in 
 which the ace may be situated. If you lead the 
 king and the ace is against you in either adversary's 
 hand, you make the queen only. If the ace is to 
 your right, you probably make both king and queen 
 if you don't lead either. 
 
 You must at all times play your hand with a 
 view to save or win the game, or to make a score. 
 So that the play of the hand varies according to 
 your own or the adversaries' score. 
 
 If, again, you are certain by one system of play 
 to reach four, but by another to reach game, or if 
 the play fail, to reach only three, play for game or 
 three, unless the chances of success are very much 
 against you. 
 
 You must expect, if you play at whist much, to 
 sometimes win, sometimes lose ; to hold cards far 
 above the average some days, and far below the 
 average at others. Some players are so constituted, 
 that they chuckle and exult when they hold four by 
 honours, as though these honours were some proof
 
 1 86 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 of their own skill or power. When, however, these 
 same persons have a ran of luck against them, they 
 look the picture of misery, and not uncommonly 
 become unnecessarily fault-finding. Avoid these 
 manifestations of weakness. Whist is a philo- 
 sophical game, and should be played calmly, and 
 without any demonstration. 
 
 Another bad habit, which is not unfrequent 
 among some players, is to play their cards, whether 
 winning or losing, in very different ways. A 
 winning card is banged on the table, whilst a 
 losing card is quietly dropped out. Play all cards 
 quietly, and in the same manner. 
 
 Some men are so weak, that their countenances 
 mirror their hands, and you can tell by an adver- 
 sary or a partner's look, whether or not his hand 
 is good. It is needless to tell you, such, a de- 
 monstration gives an adversary a great advantage.
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 THE LAWS OF WHIST. 
 
 IT rarely happens that many rubbers of whist 
 are played, especially by inexperienced players, 
 without a question or dispute arising as regards 
 the penalty which may or can be claimed for 
 certain offences. These disputes may usually be 
 classed under three heads, viz.: 
 
 1st. Those which arise from a want of know- 
 ledge of the rule which distinctly bears 
 on the case. 
 
 2nd. From the facts that occurred being ob- 
 scure, and it being difficult to decide on 
 the actual occurrences. 
 
 3rd. From there being apparently no rule 
 which distinctly bears on the special case 
 under dispute. 
 
 The most numerous are those coming under the 
 head of class 1. I have, therefore, in the index, 
 (Rules) given the page and the number of the
 
 1 88 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 rule applying to the most common questions ; and 
 I will here mention what I have found the most 
 numerous class of disputes. 
 
 In all the following cases X. and Y. are 
 partners against A. and B. 
 
 CASE I. 
 
 Two cards played at once, the upper card seen, 
 the lower card concealed, can both be called. 
 
 Rule. Both can be called ; the rule distinctly 
 says, any card exposed on or above the 
 table, even though snatched up so quickly 
 as not to be named, is an exposed card, 
 and liable to be called. 
 
 CASE II. 
 
 A player A. draws a card from his hand, and 
 separates it so completely, that he holds it nearly 
 a foot from the cards in his hand. One adversary 
 X. sees it to be a court card ; the player then 
 replaces the card in his hand, and is about to play 
 another card, when the adversary X. says, " I call 
 your king." The card happened to be the queen. 
 A. replies, " I have not the king." " I mean the 
 queen," says X., which A. does hold. A. objects to 
 this guessing, and refuses to play any but the small 
 card.
 
 Enacting a Penalty. 189 
 
 Ruh. A.'s position is sound ; X. could not 
 name the card, but having knave in his 
 own hand, it followed that either king or 
 queen must be the card partly exposed 
 by A. X. guessed, and his guess was 
 wrong, so that A. not only is not bound 
 to play the queen, after the king had 
 been called, but X., from naming a wrong 
 card, has rendered himself or his partner 
 liable to have a suit called, when it is next 
 the turn of either to lead. 
 
 Such a dispute as the above could 
 only occur with feeble players. A man 
 who allows his hand to work before his 
 head, is always blundering. To pull out 
 a card before you have decided to play it, 
 is one of the most silly acts you can 
 commit at whist. 
 
 CASE III. 
 
 X. and Y., partners against A. and B. X. leads 
 out of turn, when it is Y.'s turn to lead. A. says 
 "I will leave the penalty to you, partner." B. replies, 
 "No I would rather you enacted it." X. claims that 
 A. and B. have lost their right to enact a penalty, 
 as they have consulted. 
 
 Rule. Rule 84 says tnat the partners may
 
 190 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 agree as to who is to enact the penalty, 
 and what is agreeing but discussing which 
 is to enact it. They cannot lose their 
 right to enact a penalty, hut X. and Y. 
 may claim that as A. decided that B. 
 should enact it, B. must do so. The 
 usual remark is, " Will you enact the 
 penalty, partner, or shall I ? " 
 
 CASE IV. 
 
 X. Y., partners against A. B. A. leads nine of 
 hearts, X. trumps with ten of clubs, having the 
 ace in his hand the turn-up trump. B. plays 
 small heart, and Y. says, " They are both ours," and 
 puts king of trumps on his partner's ten, and 
 throws ace of hearts on the table ; A. and B. 
 claim a revoke, Y. says there were only two cards 
 in ; his partner held ace of trumps, and when he 
 said " They are both ours," he intended to throw 
 down his two cards. 
 
 Rule. Whatever Y. intended to do, he actually 
 played a trump to the heart, and then 
 led a heart, and so revoked. The most 
 frequent revoke is when only two cards 
 remain in, and the players play in a 
 hurry.
 
 Calling a Lead. 191 
 
 CASE V. 
 
 X. Y., partners, against A. B. X. leads five of 
 spades when it is A.'s lead. A leads small spade, 
 on which X. plays the five. B. wins this trick 
 and the two next. Y. wins the fourth trick, and 
 he is then called on hy A. to lead a heart. He 
 objects, for two reasons : 1st, that X. has got rid 
 of his exposed card ; and 2ndly, that as three tricks 
 have been won, it is too late to call a lead. 
 
 Rule. Y.'s objection is ridiculous. Getting 
 rid of his exposed card does not prevent 
 the other penalty for his offence being 
 enacted, viz., calling a suit when it is 
 the turn for him or his partner to lead. 
 After the offence has been committed, 
 A. could not call on X. and Y. to lead 
 a suit until it was their turn to lead. 
 
 CASE VI. 
 
 A. leads when it is B. his partner's turn to do 
 so. X., an adversary, calls for a club from B. 
 B. immediately leads a heart, and it is discovered 
 that B. held a club. X. claims a revoke (rule 61). 
 B. states he did not hear X. call for a club. A. 
 says he did not hear a club called. Y. says he did 
 hear a club called.
 
 192 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 Rule. This is coming very close to a question 
 of facts. Each witness may be con- 
 sidered prejudiced, but as Y. was further 
 from X. than either A. or B., it ought 
 to follow that if he heard the call, A. 
 and B. ought to. It is unreasonable to 
 assume that A. and B. were deaf, and 
 Y. gifted with acute hearing. Although 
 two witnesses did not hear, their evidence 
 is negative evidence, whereas Y.'s evi- 
 dence is positive. The dispute is an 
 unpleasant one, and should be guarded 
 against by speaking loud enough to pre- 
 vent any mistake. 
 
 CASE VII. 
 
 X. holds the three best hearts in his hand, 
 and one trump diamonds. Y. holds the remain- 
 ing trump, the best ; and three losing spades. 
 X. says " The four tricks are mine, the three best 
 hearts and the remaining trump." A. and B. 
 claim to call these cards and call the trump, by 
 which they would win three out of the four tricks. 
 X. objects, as he says he should have played the 
 three best hearts and then the trump. 
 
 Rule. X.'s objection is unsound, and A. and 
 B.'s claim just. X. assumes that his
 
 Claiming Revoke. 193 
 
 partner could not make a mistake. He 
 assumes that if he led a heart, it would 
 be impossible that his partner would 
 trump it. There is nothing impossible 
 in such a proceeding. By naming his 
 cards as the best, he cautions his part- 
 ner not to make a mistake, and so the 
 penalty claimed is sound whist law. 
 
 CASE VIII. 
 
 X. and Y. win three tricks. X. then shows four 
 by honours, and claims game. A. and B. throw 
 down their cards. Then X. and Y. throw theirs 
 down- and it is seen that X. had revoked. A. 
 and B. claim the revoke, as the cards had not 
 been cut for the next deal. X. and Y. say, " As 
 the cards were thrown down by A. and B. it is 
 too late." 
 
 Rule. Rule 59 applies. X. and Y. are 
 liable to the penalty for a revoke. 
 
 CASE IX. 
 
 A. and B. win a certain number of tricks, 
 pack them up, and show three by cards. They 
 suppose they have won three by cards. They 
 claim three by cards and score them. X., who 
 is gathering the tricks for his partner, does not
 
 194 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 object to the score. Y., however, is lighting a 
 cigar during this scoring and until the two 
 packets of tricks are mixed. He then says, " "What 
 are you scoring ? " 
 
 " Three by cards," remarks A. 
 " Only two by cards," says Y. 
 Y. then takes the pack, and laying it out in 
 fours, says, " You cannot show me how you won 
 three by cards." As some of the cards are mixed, 
 A. and B. state they are not called upon to prove 
 how they won three by cards. They claim that 
 their score is correct, and that Y. has no right to 
 question the score at this late period. 
 
 Rule. Y.'s claim is frivolous and vexatious. 
 The time to object was when the adver- 
 saries were scoring three by cards, and 
 before the two packets were mixed. To 
 dispute a score after the proof of that 
 score is very difficult is unjust. It 
 ought to be made when its proof or 
 disproof exists. 
 
 CASE X. 
 
 A. and B. win two by cards and hold two by 
 honours. During the next deal they discuss the play 
 of the hand, and before the trump card is turned,
 
 Claiming Honours. 195 
 
 A. says to B., " Score four." X. turns up the trump 
 card, and then says, " What are you scoring ? " 
 " Two by cards and two by honours," replies A. 
 " You never called your honours," remarks X. 
 " And scoring them is not sufficient." 
 
 Rule. Case 2 in " Cavendish " applies to this 
 case. How could A. and B. be four, 
 unless they intimated that the extra two 
 above their tricks were honours. X. 
 should have questioned the score before 
 he turned the trump card, if he were 
 really in doubt as to how the score 
 was made up. To wait until he has 
 turned up the trump card indicates a 
 desire to entrap the adversaries on a 
 mere technicality. 
 
 CASE XI. 
 
 A. and B. win the trick and hold two by honours ; 
 they score the trick, and X. goes on with the deal. 
 Just as X. is about to turn up the trump card, A. 
 says, " Stop ; are we not two by honours ? " Be- 
 fore it is agreed that A. and B. were two by honours, 
 X. turns up and quits the trump card, and claims 
 that it is too late to score honours. 
 
 Rule. Immediately a question as to A. and 
 B. holding honours was raised, X. should 
 
 o 2
 
 196 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 have waited to turn up the trump card 
 till the question was settled. But A. 
 requested X. to stop, which X. did not 
 comply with. The fact of his hurrying 
 on with the deal, during the discussion 
 ahout honours, does not prevent honours 
 from being counted, as A. had claimed 
 them before the deal was completed. 
 
 CASE XII. 
 
 A. and B. hold two by honours, but make no 
 mention of them until X. has turned up the trump 
 card, so as to be seen by each player. The card is 
 held in his hand, but is not quitted when A. and B. 
 say " Two by honours." X. says, " Too late, the 
 trump card is turned." (See Rule VI.) 
 
 Rale. This case occurred at the Halifax 
 Club. Upon referring to the Field it 
 was decided that the trump card must 
 be turned and quitted to render the 
 claim for honours invalid. Rule VI., 
 therefore, appears misleading, as it there- 
 in says, honours, unless claimed before 
 the trump card of the following deal is 
 turned up, cannot be scored. 
 
 The above decision, however, is un- 
 doubtedly just, and for the following
 
 A Misdeal and Honours. 197 
 
 reasons. Suppose the trump card hap- 
 pened to be face upwards ; it would 
 then be turned and seen as soon as the 
 fifty-first card was dealt or removed from 
 above it. And under this condition the 
 adversaries of the dealer would be too 
 late to score honours. Again, the exact 
 instant when the trump card is turned 
 enough to be exposed, may be a question 
 of dispute, but the fact of its being 
 turned and quitted is not open to 
 dispute. 
 
 CASE XIII. 
 
 A. and B. hold two by honours, and win three by 
 cards. A., who collected the tricks, miscounted 
 them, and said, " "We have just missed the game. 
 "We are four." A. scored four, and cut for X. to 
 deal. X. commenced his deal, and misdealt. The 
 cards were then cut for B. to deal. After the 
 cards were cut, X. remarks, " What do you 
 score ? " 
 
 A. replies, " Two by cards, two by honours." 
 
 "You were three by cards," says X., "but you 
 never named or called your honours." 
 
 " Then I will call them now and score game," 
 replied A.
 
 198 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 "You cannot score honours now, as I have 
 
 dealt," replied X. 
 
 " You have not dealt, you misdealt," replied A., 
 
 " and I claim to score my honours." 
 
 Rule. This case occurred at the Club at Simla, 
 in 1877. As an outsider the case was 
 referred to me. I gave it as my opinion 
 that a misdeal was no deal, and did not 
 invalidate the scoring of honours. The 
 case was much discussed and was re- 
 ferred home. The decision, however, 
 of the home authorities was not as de- 
 cisive as it should or might have been. 
 The reason why a misdeal should not 
 be considered as a deal, when honours 
 are to be counted, is the rapidity with 
 which a misdeal may be made. Suppose 
 A. and B. held honours, but have not 
 named them when the cards are cut for 
 the next deal. They see there is plenty 
 of time to call and score them before 
 the trump card is turned and quitted ; 
 but X., the dealer, deals the first two cards 
 to his left adversary, and the third card 
 to his partner, and thus completes a mis- 
 deal with the first three cards, and if a 
 misdeal were to count as a deal, then A.
 
 Detached Card. 199 
 
 and B., would in consequence of X.'s fault 
 and act be deprived of their right to 
 score honours a result which cannot 
 be just, and cannot therefore be law. 
 Hence I think it always ought to be 
 decided that a misdeal does not prevent 
 honours from being claimed. 
 
 CASE XIY. 
 
 A. draws a card from his hand and almost 
 touches the table with it, but suddenly changes 
 his intention of playing it, and replaces it among 
 his other cards. 
 
 X. says, " That is an exposed card, you must leave 
 it on the table." 
 
 A. says, " Name it." 
 
 X. replies, " It is not necessary to name it. Rule 
 56 says, any card in any way exposed on or above 
 the table, even though snatched up so quickly that 
 no one can name it, is an exposed card, liable to 
 be called, and your card was exposed above the 
 table, and though I cannot name it, I know it to 
 be a court card." 
 
 A. claims that unless named the card cannot be 
 called. 
 
 lluk. Rules 5G and 60 refer to this case. 
 A card detached from the other cards
 
 2OO The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 but not quitted, is a detached card only. 
 If it can be named, it becomes an ex- 
 posed card, and liable to be called. 
 There is no penalty for a detached card ; 
 but to detach a card when you have not 
 decided to play it, gives the adversaries 
 a chance of naming this card, and con- 
 verting it into an exposed card, with all 
 its penalties. 
 
 CASE XV. 
 
 A. played a club to a spade and held a spade. 
 His partner asked him if he did not hold a spade. 
 " Spade led," replied A., " oh, yes, I have a spade." 
 " Play your lowest spade," said X. Whereupon 
 A. played the three. " Is that your lowest," re- 
 marked A.'s partner. "No ; I have the two," replied 
 A. He then wished to take up the three and 
 play the two ; but X. argued that, by rule 61, A. 
 was liable to a penalty for a revoke by playing 
 his three, and his two was liable to be called as 
 he had named it. What is the law in this 
 case? 
 
 Rule. The bearing of law 61 has been much 
 discussed, and an able letter from Caven- 
 dish in the Field, in 1877, argues the 
 case very fairly and justly. Rule 64
 
 Is it a Revoke? 201 
 
 says, in no case can a player be com- 
 pelled to play a card which would oblige 
 him to revoke. If A. were not allowed 
 to correct his mistake by playing his two 
 and leaving his three an exposed card, 
 just as he would be allowed to do if he 
 had played a diamond to a heart when 
 he held a heart, he would be compelled 
 to play a card which would oblige him 
 to revoke. Again, rule 73 says, the " re- 
 voke is established when the trick in 
 which it occurs is turned and quitted/' 
 In case 15, X. claims that the revoke is 
 established immediately A. plays the 
 three when he holds the two, the act 
 of playing being the establishment of the 
 revoke, instead of the turning and quit- 
 ting of the trick. Taking the bearing 
 of rules 64 and 73, it appears that X. 
 cannot be supported by the laws as fairly 
 interpreted. Again, it is a principle in 
 whist law, that the penalty should bear 
 some proportion to the offence ; that the 
 penalty for a revoke should be claimed 
 for playing a three instead of a two 
 without power of correcting this error, 
 appears giving a very severe punishment
 
 2O2 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 for a very light offence, and is not just 
 according to whist law. 
 
 CASE XVI. 
 
 A. in dealing turns up a card face upwards, he 
 turns it face downwards so quickly that neither 
 X. nor Y. knows what the card was. They ask 
 A. what the card was which was exposed, and in 
 his partner's pack. A. asserts he is not compelled 
 to name it. 
 
 Rule. A.'s proceeding is an attempt at un- 
 fairness. He must have seen the card, 
 and thus knows one card in his partner's 
 hand, and yet he refuses to give the 
 information obtained by his own clumsy 
 dealing to his adversaries. A. is not 
 warranted in concealing from the adver- 
 saries the value of the exposed card, and 
 thus not giving the adversaries the option 
 of a fresh deal. 
 
 CASE XVII. 
 
 A., whose turn it is to lead, leads the ace and 
 two of clubs, both cards falling together on the 
 table. X. calls the two of clubs as the lead, and 
 requests the ace be left as an exposed card on the 
 table. X. wins the two of clubs with his queen,
 
 Unjust Claim. 203 
 
 plays a thirteenth heart, and calls the ace of clubs 
 
 on it. Can X. enact these penalties ? 
 
 Rule, Certainly. Both the ace and two are 
 exposed cards ; either can be called for the 
 lead, and the other called at any time. X. 
 is acting strictly by rule in what he does. 
 
 CASE XVIII. 
 
 A. leads, B., his partner, plays before X. the 
 second player, and Y. also plays before X. A. 
 says to X., "Don't win the trick, your partner has 
 played before you." By rule 68, Y. was justified in 
 playing before X., because B. had played before X. 
 Is there no penalty that can be inflicted on A. for 
 attempting to enact a penalty to which he is not 
 entitled ? 
 
 There is no other penalty for attempting to 
 claim that to which you are not entitled, 
 other than the ridicule which a man 
 naturally deserves who shows his ignor- 
 ance of the laws of a game that he has 
 probably played for years. 
 
 CASE XIX. 
 
 Inquiry : I have been witness during the past 
 two months as a bystander to the following cases 
 at whist, and it appears to me, that further
 
 204 The Art of Practical Whist, 
 
 legislation is required as to this particular point. 
 A. and B. were partners, A. dealt, and his deal 
 was so slovenly that he took up one of his partners 
 cards with his own ; he thus held fourteen cards, 
 his partner twelve. The adversaries having each 
 thirteen, had no means of knowing the state of the 
 adversaries' hands. A. won the first trick, he then 
 played ace king, of a plain suit, and laid down the 
 four honours in trumps and claimed game. He 
 and his partner, as well as the adversaries, threw 
 their cards on the table, when they were all 
 mixed, and the adversaries never had a chance 
 of discovering the defects in A. and B's. hands. 
 On the second occasion four other players were 
 playing when a similar occurrence took place, 
 with the exception, that A. and B. (A. being 
 the dealer who took up one of his partner's cards) 
 held no winning cards, whilst X. and Y. held two 
 by honours, and won three by cards. But towards 
 the end of the hand, A. announced that he had 
 four cards in his hand, and his partner only two, 
 so, by rule 44, it was a misdeal, and X. and Y. can 
 score nothing. So that A's. carelessness prevented 
 X. and Y. scoring game. Is there no penalty for 
 such an offence ? 
 
 Rule. As the laws at present stand, X. and 
 Y. in the first case might have requested
 
 Fourteen Cards. 205 
 
 A. and B. to lay their remaining cards 
 on the table, when, by counting, they 
 would have discovered that one must 
 have held fourteen, the other only twelve 
 cards, consequently A. and B. were not 
 entitled to score anything. In the 
 second case there was no remedy. It 
 was a hard case that X. and Y., by a 
 fault of A., should not be allowed to 
 score their game. Still such is the law 
 at present. I cannot but think that 
 additional legislation on this point might 
 be made, and probably in the following 
 manner. The dealer is responsible that 
 he deals thirteen cards to each player. 
 Each player must be responsible that he 
 hold no more and no less than thirteen. 
 If two partners hold twenty-six cards 
 between them, one holding more, the other 
 less than thirteen, whilst the adversaries 
 hold thirteen each, no score made by 
 the partners holding the unequal number 
 of cards can be counted in that hand, 
 whereas any score made by the partners 
 holding thirteen each can be counted. 
 Such a law would at once meet the case. 
 The three cards in last part of the hand,
 
 2o6 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 viz., three in say A.'s hand and one in B.'s 
 being played so that the last card in A.'s 
 hand is allotted to B., but does not render 
 him liable to a revoke. There might 
 thus result a heavy penalty for playing 
 with fourteen cards in one hand and 
 twelve in the partner's hand. The 
 question is, I think, worth considering. 
 
 CASE XX. 
 
 A. revokes, X. at end of hand, says, " I will take 
 three tricks from A.'s packet and add them to my 
 own." 
 
 "You can't do that," remarks A., " it is making 
 a double penalty. I will bet five pounds you 
 cannot." 
 
 X. makes no remark but leaves the room, and 
 brings in "Cavendish on Whist," and shows A. 
 rule 72, by which X.'s claim is correct. X. then 
 says, " That is five pounds you owe me." 
 
 " You never took the bet," remarks A. "You 
 said nothing, and therefore it is no bet." X. claims 
 it as a bet. 
 
 Rule. Although the dispute is relative to a 
 whist law, the question is one more 
 nearly connected with the laws of betting. 
 A. offered a bet of five pounds, X. said
 
 Unsatisfactory Proceedings. 207 
 
 nothing, neither did the other players, 
 neither prohably did a dozen bystanders. 
 Each player and bystander might there- 
 fore claim five pounds. This is unfor- 
 tunately a by no means uncommon 
 proceeding -with some persons, the bet 
 is loosely made, and after the point is 
 decided, a claim is made or disputed. 
 To have made this bet binding on A., X., 
 before leaving the room should have 
 said, "I feel certain I am right in my 
 claim, and I accept your bet if you are 
 equally certain," an assent from A. would 
 then have made it a bet. To leave the 
 room without speaking, and to look at 
 the law in the book, gives a slight 
 suspicion that it was a case of " If I'm 
 right I win five pounds, if wrong it's no 
 bet." 
 
 On one occasion I was witness of a somewhat simi- 
 lar proceeding. A player, A., dropped two cards, 
 X. claimed them as exposed cards. A. positively- 
 asserted that X. could call one only as he intended 
 to lead the other. X. as proof of his being right 
 said, " I will bet you a thousand pounds to one I can 
 call both." " I will take that bet," remarked A. The 
 law was referred to, and X. was shown to be correct.
 
 208 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 "A pound I win," remarked X. "Nonsense," 
 replied A., "you were certain of the law, it was 
 only a joke and no bet." If X. had been wrong, 
 it might be interesting to know if A. would have 
 considered it a joke. 
 
 CASE XXI. 
 
 A. holds ace, king, and two small trumps, turns 
 up the ace, and when it is his lead leads the king. 
 Y., his right hand adversary, without waiting for 
 X. or B. to play, plays the two of another suit. A. 
 says to X., " Play your highest trump." X. asserts 
 the demand is illegal, that no rule obliges him to 
 play his highest under these conditions. What is 
 the rule ? 
 
 Rule 68 says that X. could be called on to 
 win or not to win the trick ; it does not 
 say he can be called on to play his highest. 
 The penalty in this case differs from the 
 penalty for the offence named in Rule 86, 
 where, a player may be called on to win 
 or refrain from winning, or to play the 
 highest or lowest of the suit led. Con- 
 sequently there appears to be no penalty 
 for this offence. Yet the act of Y. gives 
 X. an advantage; he knows Y. holds no 
 trump, consequently he might play to
 
 Penalty at Dummy. 209 
 
 advantage a card which he would not 
 think of doing had he heen unaware of 
 the fact revealed hy his partner. It may 
 admit of question whether the same 
 penalty ought not to exist in Rule 68 as 
 exists in Rule 86. 
 
 CASE XXII. 
 
 A. is playing with a dummy against X. and Y. 
 It is X.'s lead, but A. leads the three of hearts 
 (trumps), X. makes no remark, but leads the six of 
 hearts, Dummy plays seven, Y. plays eight, and 
 calls the three of hearts. A. takes up the three of 
 hearts and wins the trick with the nine of hearts, 
 and shows the rule to X. and Y., that he is not 
 liable to a penalty for exposing his card. Y. then 
 says we will have a lead then from you, lead a 
 club. A. objects, and says, having elected to call 
 the three of hearts, you cannot now change and 
 call a suit. "WTiat is the law ? 
 
 Rule. The call of the three of hearts was 
 illegal. There is no such penalty for A. 
 as exposing a card. There is no law by 
 which A. could be called on for a suit 
 when it is his lead, as the rule for 
 Dummy says " If, however, he lead 
 from Dummy's hand when he should lead
 
 2io The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 from, his own, or vice versa, a suit may bo 
 called from the hand which ought to have 
 led." But it says nothing about a penalty 
 for Dummy or Dummy's partner leading 
 when it is the adversary's lead, although 
 it seems reasonable that some penalty 
 ought to be instituted. 
 
 CASE XXIII. 
 
 The players hold four cards each, A. and B. 
 have won only one trick. It is Y.'s lead, and X. 
 says, now you cannot win another trick. A. offers 
 to bet he can win another trick, which bet X. 
 accepts. Y. leads ace of hearts, which A. wins 
 with the two of trumps, and X. then shows the 
 three remaining trumps, and on looking into A.'s 
 hand it is found he revoked when he trumped the 
 heart. Does A. win his bet ? 
 
 Rule. A.'s act is very much like the act of a 
 sharper. A. and B. having gained only 
 two tricks three tricks cannot be taken 
 from them, otherwise A. might have been 
 caught in his own snare. X.'s bet re- 
 ferred undoubtedly to winning every trick 
 by fair means, not by foul, and amongst 
 honest players the bet would be given in 
 favour of X.
 
 Exposed Trump Card. 211 
 
 CASE XXIV. 
 
 It is B.'s lead, at the commencement of a hand. 
 A. says, " It is no matter what you play, I have 
 game in my hand." X. then requests A. to lay 
 down his hand, which A. refuses, as he asserts the 
 demand is illegal. What is the rule ? 
 
 Hulc. There is no penalty for saying I have 
 game in my hand, the remark is against 
 etiquette, and it rarely saves time to make 
 such a remark, a little patience would 
 soon have revealed the fact to the adver- 
 saries, who would then probably have 
 thrown up their cards. 
 
 CASE XXV. 
 
 A. deals and turns up queen of spades, and allows 
 this trump card to remain on the table after the 
 second trick is turned and quitted. X. leads ace 
 of spades at the third trick, and calls the queen 
 of spades on the trick. A. says, "Well, I will 
 play it, but it's sharp practice." An opinion is 
 requested. 
 
 The whole question indicates the tyro, and shows 
 that the disputants were very young. 
 
 Rule 52 says, that the trump card is liable to 
 be called if left on the table after the first
 
 212 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 trick is turned and quitted. A. left it 
 till after the second trick was turned and 
 quitted. Does A. consider that if trumps 
 had not been led he might have left his 
 queen exposed till the eighth or ninth 
 trick had been won ? It is certainly not 
 usual to call the trump card if left after 
 the first trick is turned, but the rule posi- 
 tively states it may be called when so 
 left. After the second trick it deserves 
 to be called, even in order to cure A. of 
 such slack habits. Leaving the trump 
 card exposed indicates negligence. The 
 remark about sharp practice indicates a 
 bad temper, and both are amongst the 
 worst faults of a whist player. 
 
 CASE XXVI. 
 
 A. B. and X. Y. enter a club card room and 
 draw for partners. A. deals, and during the deal 
 C. enters the room; he says I thought I should 
 have been in time to cut. He then walks out of 
 the room. In two hands A. and B. win a bumper. 
 C. is not in the room, so A. says what are we to 
 do. 
 
 " Cut again for partners, I suppose," said X. 
 
 They draw, and A. and X. are now partners.
 
 Exposed Card. 213 
 
 They take their seats and A. commences dealing, 
 when C. again enters the room, and remarks that 
 he has been cut out of the rubber, and that it was 
 a hard case. An opinion is requested. 
 
 Rule. A. B. X. Y. were not bound to go in 
 search of C. He left the room without 
 any directions to the players. If he run 
 the risk of staying away long enough for 
 the rubber to be won, he ought to have 
 asked one of the players to draw a card 
 for him for the next rubber, and also 
 asked that he might be sent for, the 
 whole dispute is due to C.'s negligence 
 and the four players cannot be accused of 
 making a hard case for him, as he never 
 even intimated that he would play in the 
 next rubber. 
 
 CASE XXVII. 
 
 A. drops a card face upwards on the table. 
 When it is A.'s turn to play the adversaries call 
 on him to lead this card. Is not this calling a 
 lead, which is a penalty that cannot be exacted for 
 an exposed card. 
 
 Ruk. It is calling the exposed card, which 
 card can be called at any time; that it 
 can be called when it is A.'s lead is not
 
 214 The Art of Practical Whist. 
 
 the same tiling as calling a lead. When 
 a player has rendered himself liable to 
 have a lead called you can call any suit. 
 In this case you only call an exposed card. 
 
 CASE XXVIII. 
 
 A. plays with dummy against X. and Y. It is 
 dummy's lead, but A. leads ace of clubs. X. stops 
 A. and reminds him it is dummy's lead. A. with- 
 out haste plays from dummy's hand the king of 
 clubs. X. calls A.'s ace on the king, and finding 
 he cannot exact this penalty calls a suit from 
 dummy. What is the law ? 
 
 Ruk. X. is too late, the time to call a lead 
 was when dummy led the king of clubs, 
 that is, X. can call a lead from the hand 
 which ought to have led, but not after he 
 has allowed this hand to lead. 
 
 CASE XXIX. 
 
 A. says, " You need not play ; look at my hand." 
 He lowers his hand, but does not quit it, and 
 shows four honours in trumps and an ace, king, 
 queen suit. X. and Y. claim to call his cards, X. 
 holding no card of the suit in which A. had ace, 
 king, queen. Can they do so. 
 
 Rule. There is no penalty for lowering the
 
 Dummy. 215 
 
 hand so that even your partner sees it, 
 though such a proceeding is most irregu- 
 lar and in many cases may give your 
 partner a great advantage. There appear 
 some grounds for instituting additional 
 legislation as regards lowered hands, 
 some cases at present appearing very 
 unsatisfactory. 
 
 CASE XXX. 
 
 A card from dummy's hand is dropped on the 
 floor, its absence not noticed till half of the hand 
 is played. What is the penalty ? 
 
 Rule. The card is restored to dummy's hand. 
 No penalty for revoke. 
 
 CASE XXXI. 
 
 Dummy omits to play to a trick. Is there any 
 penalty ? 
 
 Rule. The same penalty as at whist. Rule 69.
 
 APPENDIX TO SECOND EDITION. 
 
 ON DRAWING THE LAST TRUMP. 
 
 I WILL suppose that you hold the best trump, and one 
 other only remains in one of the adversaries' hands. Many 
 fairly good players will, without hesitation, draw this 
 trump, and consider that it is the right thing to do. The 
 questions relative to drawing or not drawing this last 
 trump involve some of the most delicate points in whist. 
 I once saw four tricks lost by drawing the last trump, and 
 so consider a few remarks on this question may not be out 
 of place. The case was as follows : 
 
 A. and B. partners against X. Y. A. led a spade, the 
 king, which won, then a small spade, to which my partner 
 dropped ten, third player won with ace, and I played knave ; 
 my partner held no more spades, I held no more, and B. 
 held no more ; five spades remained in A.'s hand. B. then 
 led two of trumps, diamonds, A. won with ace, and re- 
 turned the eight, partner played nine, B. won with king, I 
 played a small diamond ; B. then led three of tramps, I 
 played small trump, A. failed, and my partner won with 
 ten. B.'s original lead showed he held four trumps. My 
 partner had now the queen, and B. held the knave. My 
 partner held also king, queen, knave, ten, and another 
 heart. He therefore played his queen of trumps, drew 
 the knave from B., a small heart from me, and a small 
 heart from A. He had drawn the last trump. He then 
 led the ten of hearts, B. played a heart, I also played a 
 heart, A. won with the ace, and made five tricks in spades. 
 That is, he made ace of hearts and five other tricks, making 
 eix. My partner, being a rough player, could not see the
 
 Appendix to Second Edition. 217 
 
 danger of his act in drawing the last trump under these 
 conditions. " What was I to do ? " he asked, " I must draw 
 the last trump to try and make my hearts." 
 
 Now note what would have happened, had he led his ten 
 of hearts before he drew the trump. The ace in A.'s hand 
 would have won, A. would then have led a spade, my 
 partner trumps this, and B. obtains a discard. But A.'can 
 never get in again to "make his remaining spades. So the 
 other tricks depended on the value of the other cards, and 
 the king and queen of hearts certainly would have won. 
 B., if he trumped, could not put his partner in again, so 
 that A. could never have a chance of making his remaining 
 spades ; so that to draw the last trump from an adversary 
 is sometimes a most disastrous act, and requires most subtle 
 reasoning before it is done. 
 
 In like manner, it may happen that your partner has 
 shown that he holds three or more of a suit of which no 
 one else holds any, and that you hold the losing trump, 
 one of the adversaries holding the other. Towards the end 
 of the game, it becomes a very neat problem to decide 
 whether or not you play out your losing trump. I once 
 succeeded, in a remarkable case, by thus playing the losing 
 trump, as follows : 
 
 I knew my partner held four remaining clubs, and 
 four other cards, which I had reason to believe were two 
 diamonds and small hearts. I held three diamonds with 
 the ace the remaining two being small four small 
 hearts the best of the suit being in against me and one 
 trump, a losing trump. I led the losing trump, which was 
 won by my right hand adversary, who then led king of 
 diamonds ; I passed the king, and he then led a small dia- 
 mond, which I also passed, and my partner won with 
 knave, and he then made four tricks in clubs, making five 
 tricks out of the eight cards. Had I held up my trump, 
 the play would probably have been as follows : I lead 
 a small diamond, partner third in hand plays knave, fourth 
 hand wins with queen, and returns a small diamond. If I
 
 218 Appendix to Second Edition. 
 
 put on my ace, I cannot win another trick, if I do not put 
 it on, I can win another trick with my trump, besides the 
 ace, because my partner would lead a club, and if the 
 adversary ruffed this, I must make my trump. Conse- 
 quently, if I do not lead my trump, I and my partner make 
 three tricks, or perhaps four. If I lead my trump, I and 
 my partner make five tricks, and perhaps six. So that to 
 draw, or not to draw, the last trump is a most important 
 question. 
 
 Some years ago, when I first worked out this question, I 
 have been frequently taken to task by confident players for 
 not drawing the last trump, when I have known that, by 
 not doing so, I have saved at least one trick, and I believe 
 that the examples I have given will demonstrate that there 
 is a very complicated problem sometimes connected with 
 this question. 
 
 Another important matter, connected with taking a third 
 round of trumps, I consider worth remarking upon. Sup- 
 pose you hold ace, knave, seven, five, and three of trumps, 
 and I have turned up the two. Upon gaining the lead 
 you lead me the five, I win Avith queen, and return to you 
 the eight. You win with ace, and eight trumps are now 
 out ; you know the two is in my hand, the king to your 
 left, and no other trump to your right. Now many players, 
 instead of forcing out the king, which must make a trick, 
 will play a third round, extract their partner's trump, and 
 throw the lead in the adversaries' hand. Such a proceeding 
 may and often does lose a trick, as it prevents me from 
 ruffing or obtaining a discard. Any way, it must give the 
 adversaries the advantage of taking out two trumps for one, 
 which they could not do unless they had obtained the lead. 
 
 Both these questions, but especially the former, are well 
 worth attention.
 
 APPENDIX TO THIBD EDITION, 
 
 CHANGE YOUR SUIT. 
 
 A Development of the Ask for Trumps. 
 
 MANY years ago, when the system was introduced of 
 playing an unnecessarily high card, when you wished your 
 partner to lead you a trump, this system was termed, 
 ''Asking for trumps," "Hoisting the Blue Peter," and 
 "Signalling." I now venture to suggest that these terms 
 should be expunged, and that in their place whist-players 
 should call this system an intimation that the person so 
 playing an unnecessarily high card, wishes that on his 
 partner gaining the lead, the partner should " CJiange his 
 suit to trumps." 
 
 My reason for considering this change of term desir- 
 able is a most important one, and the change of term 
 tends to prepare the minds of whist-players for that which 
 I now propose. 
 
 Siippose you desire that trumps should be led, and 
 it is your partner's lead. Your partner leads king of 
 hearts, diamonds being trumps ; to this king of hearts you 
 play the five of hearts ; your partner then leads ace of 
 hearts, to this you play the two of hearts ; by such play 
 you tell your partner to "change his suit to tiumps." 
 Your partner after a time will find it just as easy to say, 
 you asked me to " change the suit to trumps," as he now 
 finds it to say "you asked me for trumps," or "you 
 signalled. " 
 
 It having become a conventional term to say, " You 
 asked me to change my suit to trumps," I now come to a 
 development of this system which will enable those
 
 22O Appendix to Third Edition. 
 
 players who adopt it to convey to their partner informa- 
 tion which may, and will, on many occasions be worth two 
 or even three tricks. 
 
 As at present understood, suppose my partner held no 
 trumps, or the thirteenth trump, or the losing trump 
 when the winning trump was in the hand of an adversary, 
 and suppose he led the king of a suit and followed it by 
 the ace ; to his king I play the four, to the ace I play the 
 two ; he would, according to the present understood con- 
 ventional system, say, " My partner is asking for trumps " 
 when I have none, or if he held the thirteenth trump he 
 would say, " My partner is asking me to lead my thir- 
 teenth trump, so his 'ask' must be a mistake." If, 
 however, he was accustomed to say, ' ' My partner is ask- 
 ing me to change my suit, and it cannot mean that he 
 expects me to lead him a trump, as I have none, or only 
 one he therefore wishes me to cJuinge my suit from that I 
 am now leading." This change of suit towards the 
 end of the game, when all, or nearly all, the trumps are 
 out, is often of the greatest importance. The following 
 example will show the value of the system which I wish 
 to bring into notice. 
 
 I held seven cards, viz. , queen and ten of hearts (the 
 twelfth and thirteenth in that suit), the eight and four of 
 spades, the ace, ten, and two of diamonds ; my partner 
 held king, four, and three of diamonds, the ace, king, 
 seven, and two of spades ; clubs were trumps, and were 
 all out, no spade had been led, and no diamond had been 
 led. The lead was with my right adversary, who led a 
 small diamond ; to this I played my two, third hand 
 played queen, and my partner won with king. 
 
 My partner then led king of spades, second hand played 
 a small sftede, I played my eight, and fourth hand a 
 small spade ; my partner then led ace of spades, second 
 hand played a small spade, on this I threw my four of 
 spades, and fourth hand played a small spade. This was 
 the turning point of the game ; on my left were the queen,
 
 Appendix to Third Edition. 221 
 
 knave, and nine of spades, my partner knew that I held 
 the two remaining hearts, and the adversaries had shown 
 strength in diamonds ; it appeared, therefore, that I was 
 more likely to get the lead with a spade, than I was if he 
 led a diamond. He therefore continued his lead of spades : 
 second hand discarded a diamond, I discarded ten of 
 diamonds, fourth hand won with nine of spades, and then 
 made queen and knave of spades ; the ace of diamonds 
 being the only trick I made out of my six remaining 
 cards. My partner naturally said, "I could not make 
 out what you meant by asking for trumps ; there was no 
 meaning in it, as all the trumps were out. I had 
 nothing but spades and two small diamonds in my hand, 
 and the adversaries having led diamonds, I thought it 
 safer to continue spades," and my partner certainly com- 
 mitted no fault in play by so continuing his spade. If, 
 however, he had been accustomed to say, "my partner 
 by playing his eight of spades before his four is asking me 
 to change my suit to trumps, but as I have no trumps he 
 must mean me to change my suit, and a diamond ia the 
 only thing I can lead him " if he led me a diamond, I 
 should have finessed my ten, then made ace of diamonds, 
 and the two remaining hearts, thus winning three more 
 tricks than if my partner had continued with a spade. 
 
 Here is another example. My partner has led trumps, 
 and only two remain in, viz., the best in my hand, the 
 losing trump in my left adversary's hand ; I hold seven, 
 six, and two of spades, ace and three of diamonds, and 
 ten of clubs (trumps). My partner leads king of spades, 
 on this I throw my six ; he then leads knave, showing 
 four honours in spades, on this I throw my two ; he 
 changes his suit to a diamond, I win with my ace, lead my 
 best trump and extract the thirteenth from my left 
 adversary, and again lead the spade, and we win every 
 trick. 
 
 If on this occasion my partner had said, " I am puzzled 
 to know why he ' asks for trumps,' when he knows I have
 
 222 Appendix to Third Edition. 
 
 none, of course I must continue my spades/' the 
 consequence would have been that the third round of 
 spades would have been trumped by fourth player, who 
 held king and queen of diamonds, and the adversaries 
 would have won two tricks instead of none. If, however, 
 my partner had said, ' ' I am asked to change my suit to 
 trumps, but as I have none, a fact with which my 
 partner must be well acquainted, he must mean me to 
 change my suit to a diamond," he would as naturally 
 have led me a diamond at this stage of the game, as he 
 would have led me a trump at the commencement. 
 
 I will now give one or two examples of the power of 
 this intimation to " change the suit," which come in 
 towards the end of a hand. The cards are located as 
 follows : 
 
 X.'s hand, ace, king, knave, ten and three of diamonds, 
 the six of hearts, the three of spades. 
 
 Y., X.'s partner, ace, queen, knave, ten of hearts, seven 
 and four of diamonds, nine of clubs. 
 
 A., Y.'s right-hand adversary, nine, eight, seven of 
 hearts, six of spades, nine, six, two of diamonds. 
 
 B., A.'s partner, king and four of hearts, queen, eight, 
 and five of diamonds, nine and ten of spades. Clubs 
 trumps. 
 
 It is X.'s lead, and X. knows that Y. holds no spade ; 
 X. leads king, then ace of diamonds, then knave of 
 diamonds, which Y. trumps. Y. leads ace of hearts, then 
 queen, which B . wins with king, and then makes his two 
 spades. Thus X. and Y. by the present system of play, 
 would win two tricks in diamonds, one in hearts, and one 
 trump, making four tricks out of the seven. 
 
 We will now suppose that X. and Y. understood the 
 present so-called " ask for trumps," as change your suit to 
 trumps. X., on the fall of Y.'s second diamond would 
 change his suit ; he would not change it to the spade, 
 because by the fall of previous cards he would know that 
 Y. held no spade, therefore to his partner's signal to change
 
 Appendix to Third Edition. 223 
 
 his suit he would necessarily lead a heart. Now no matter 
 whether Y. finesses his ten, or plays his ace third in hand, 
 still A. and B. win only one trick, viz., the king of 
 hearts, and X. and Y. win six tricks. That is, the signal 
 towards the end of the game, to "change the suit," was 
 worth two tricks to X. and Y. 
 
 That X. should lead his king, then ace, then a third 
 diamond, was correct play as far as conventional play is 
 concerned. That he should start a fresh suit, viz., 
 hearts, would not have been warrantable when one round 
 more cleared his diamonds, and he could not know that 
 his partner had not the queen of diamonds, so by no 
 present system of play could X. know how advantageous 
 a heart lead would be to his partner. If, however, X. 
 and Y. understood the signal of change your suit, X. would 
 at once lead a heart, and X. and his partner would win 
 two more tricks than they could win by continuing a 
 diamond lead. 
 
 The adoption of this system among scientific whist 
 players will give additional advantage to the highly 
 intelligent players, for it may be made use of at times, 
 when some trumps are in. 
 
 At present the play of an unnecessarily high card 
 means only ' ' Play me a trump as soon as you get the 
 lead." If, however, we adopt the code I recommend, and 
 agree that the first meaning of the play of an unnecessarily 
 high card means " Change your suit to trumps," but that 
 if the previous play of the cards shows that this unneces- 
 sarily high card cannot mean cJiaiige your sitit to trumps, 
 then it means change your suit to one of the two others 
 which you are not leading in other words, it says, " any 
 other suit will be better for me than a continuation of a 
 third round of the suit you are now leading." 
 
 Not long since, I lost five tricks in one hand in conse- 
 quence of my partner not being acquainted with this 
 " change your suit " signal. I held four honours and one 
 small card in spades, and two small hearts ; my partner
 
 224 Appendix to Third Edition. 
 
 held ace, king, and two small haarts, and three small 
 spades. The adversaries held the twelfth and thirteenth 
 club in one hand, and the three best hearts after ace and 
 king were out. Three spades had been discarded. My 
 partner led king of hearts, then ace; I played "the 
 change your suit " signal, which he did not understand. 
 He said afterwards, "I thought it unsafe to open the 
 spades, as I might sacrifice your hand, so I thought it 
 safer to continue'my heart, and then, if even fourth hand 
 won this, he would, if he led a spade, lead through my 
 weak spades up to your strong spades. " No doubt this 
 reasoning was strong and sound, according to present 
 rules, but my signal to change the suit, would, if it had 
 been understood by my partner, have given us five tricks 
 more. 
 
 Having considered the advantages of this system, I 
 will now refer to its probable disadvantages. I will 
 suppose that my partner has advanced as far as to speak 
 of the present conventional "signal," as "Change your 
 suit to trumps." He sees me play this " signal " and he 
 holds the losing trump, the better trump being in the 
 adversary's hand. Is my partner, if a reasonable player, 
 likely to conclude that I wish him to lead his losing trump, 
 or will he consider that my signal means " Change your 
 suit?" 
 
 Again, supposing the two remaining trumps are held, 
 one by my partner the other by me, and I ask him to 
 cliange his suit. Is he likely to think I wish him to draw 
 my trump ? or will he accept my intimation that he is to 
 change to another suit ? Mistakes might happen by such 
 means, but I do not think they are likely at least with 
 an intelligent player, and when the "Ask for trumps" 
 has been altered to " Change your suit (to trumps)." 
 
 Thus at the early stage of the play of a hand, I suggest 
 that the playing an unnecessarily high card means, 
 " change, your suit to trumps." When, however, the 
 trumps have all been played, or when only one or two
 
 Appendix to Third Edition. 225 
 
 remain in, and when the play of an unnecessarily high 
 card cannot mean " lead a trump," then the play of an 
 unnecessarily high card means, " change your suit." 
 
 I feel convinced that if two players acquainted with 
 this system, played with equal cards against two others 
 unacquainted with it, there would be a considerable per- 
 centage in favour of the former over the latter. 
 
 This is not the introduction of a new conventional 
 signal, but merely increasing the powers of ene at present 
 in use, and which is now rather cramped and arbitrary in 
 its meaning. When whist players become accustomed 
 to say, "You asked me to change my suit to trumps," 
 instead of saying " You signalled for trumps," I think 
 the system will be found practically useful. A player 
 now might say "You signalled for trumps when they were 
 all out what was I to understand by that ? " If he said, 
 " You asked me to change my suit to trumps, when they 
 were all out," he would not be likely to ask what to 
 understand by that, for trumps being out of the question, 
 must be considered out of the demand, and " Change 
 your suit" can alone be the meaning of the play of the un- 
 necessarily high card. 
 
 When winning trumps are led by your partner, the 
 present conventional system of intimating that you hold 
 four in the suit, by playing the lowest but one, followed 
 by the lowest, would still be followed without any chance- 
 of confusion. The play of the unnecessarily high trump 
 would if we kept to the letter of the principle mean 
 change your suit to trumps, as the first meaning; as 
 however, trumps were being led, the play of the unneces- 
 sarily high card in trumps could only mean that tha 
 player held four trumps at least. 
 
 When a player is leading winning cards, and his partner 
 indicates that he wishes the suit changed, and when all the 
 trumps are out, the player would at once use his judg- 
 ment as to whether he should continue his suit, or change 
 it. If the player held enough winning cards in the suit 
 
 Q
 
 226 Appendix to Third Edition. 
 
 to win the game out of his own hand, of course to change 
 would not be desirable ; so that a responsibility rests on 
 the player asking for a change of suit, as great as now 
 rests on the player "asking for trumps." This responsi- 
 bility however does not diminish the value of the signal 
 to "change your suit" when trumps are out. 
 
 When a player holds two other suits besides that which 
 he is leading, and trumps being out, the signal to change 
 suit may leave him in doubt as to which of the other 
 two suits to lead. A careful and observant player 
 however is not likely to make an error, and his partner's 
 signal means " change tlie suit," as anything ia better than 
 continuing as you are playing.
 
 APPENDIX TO FOURTH EDITION. 
 
 THE first edition of this book was published in the early 
 part of 1879. Up to that date it had been the practice to 
 lead the penultimate card from any suit consisting of five 
 or more. No matter whether the suit was one of five, six, 
 or more cards, yet the penultimate card was the conven- 
 tional card to lead. 
 
 Having during many years adopted a different lead, I 
 called attention, in the first edition of this book, to the 
 system I had practised, which was to lead the penultimate 
 with five in a suit, the ante-penultimate with six. I 
 devoted four pages of the book to demonstrating the 
 advantages of this lead, which may be called the penulti- 
 mate and ante-penultimate, or the fourth best card, 
 according to taste. 
 
 In the criticisms which appeared of my book, this lead 
 of the fourth best card was either overlooked, or was 
 treated as a sort of eccentricity. At that time I was 
 stationed in Nova Scotia, and during 1879, 1880, and 
 1881 I received several letters from gentlemen in 
 America, relative to this lead ; and they told me they had 
 adopted my suggestion, and intended to carry it out. It 
 struck me as curious that in America the value of this 
 lead should be appreciated, whilst in England it was 
 treated with neglect. 
 
 In the early part of 1885, six years after I had pub- 
 lished the system, it was discovered in England that ike 
 Americans had invented the lead of the fourth best card, 
 which, as " Cavendish " announced in the Field, was the 
 most important advance in whist since the introduction 
 of the call for trumps. So important does this lead 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 appear, that the same distinguished writer has compiled 
 a book on the same subject, which he terms " American 
 Leads." I fail to perceive why that which was first 
 brought into notice by me in 1870 should be ignored or 
 sneered at, but in 1885, when it is supposed to emanate 
 from somebody or somewhere in America, is claimed as of 
 such vast importance as to deserve a whole book on the 
 subject. 
 
 The lead of the fourth best card is certainly an advance 
 in whist, but as regards its practical advantage, it is far 
 inferior to the novelty I introduced in the third edition 
 of this book, and which I termed " Change your suit," 
 " A development of the ask for trumps." This improve- 
 ment has as yet received the same treatment as my intro- 
 duction of the lead of the fourth best card viz., it does 
 not appear to have been understood. Surely it cannot 
 be again necessary for this novelty to be taken up by the 
 Americans, and then introduced into England as an 
 American idea. I. therefore venture to call the attention 
 of advanced, and scientific whist players, to the change of 
 suit, as a question of even greater practical importance 
 than the American lead. 
 
 As some confusion seems to exist relative to the card 
 or cards to be thrown away under special conditions, I 
 wrote on this subject to the Field, and on October 17th, 
 1885, an article of mine was published under the head 
 of 
 
 The Discard. 
 
 IT is customary to discard the most worthless card, or 
 cards, when you cannot follow suit. If, however, trumps 
 are declared against you, then you discard from your 
 strongest suit. This subject is treated at page 135 of this 
 t book. The suggestion which I offer relative to the dis- 
 card is as follows : If trumps are declared against you, 
 discard from your strongest suit. If, however, the 
 adversaries lead trumps, and your partner take up the
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 229 
 
 lead, then to your partners had of trumps discard from 
 your weak suit. Thus, to the adversaries' lead of trumps, 
 discard from your strong suit ; to your partner's lead of 
 trumps, discard from your weak suit. 
 
 To guard against such a probable contingency as having 
 to discard from a weak suit when the adversaries lead 
 trumps, 1 suggest the discard of an unnecessarily high 
 card in that suit, bringing to bear the "Change your 
 suit," which I have already mentioned. Thus the discard 
 of a seven of spades followed by the discard of a three or 
 four of spades, means change the suit from spades, or in 
 other words it means, though obliged to discard a spade 
 to the adversaries' lead of trumps, yet by the discard of 
 an unnecessarily high card in spades, I show that my 
 strength is not in that suit. 
 
 At present it appears to be considered a hard and fast 
 rule, that you must discard from your strong suit when 
 the adversaries lead trumps. Under ordinary conditions 
 this system works well, but there are many hands where 
 to discard from the strong suit is equivalent to throwing 
 away a trick. The system which I here suggest enables 
 a player to afford more information to his partner, than 
 he can do by the present system of play. To discard the 
 four, then the two of a suit to the adversaries' lead of 
 trumps would be an unintelligible proceeding to whist 
 players at present. By my system it means, though I 
 discard from this suit, yet the suit is weak, and I do not 
 want it lead. 
 
 To discard as a rule from your strong suit when the 
 adversaries lead trumps, and from your weak suit when 
 your partner leads them, I extend from original leads of 
 trumps to second, third, or fourth leads ; and by my 
 discards my partner reads my hand better, than if he were 
 bound by the discard, in accordance with the original lead 
 of trumps. 
 
 The present accepted rule is a hard and fast rule, inas- 
 much as having once made a discard it is impossible to
 
 230 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 negative this. My suggestion remedies this defect and 
 affords an opportunity of showing, that although obliged 
 to discard from a weak suit wheli trumps are led by the 
 adversaries, yet this suit is not a strong one ; it therefore 
 follows that one, if not both, of the other suits are strong. 
 The advantage of this discard is most clearly shown when 
 the last trump is drawn by your partner. At present it 
 does not appear to be clearly understood that though the 
 adversaries may have originally led trumps, yet when 
 your partner draws the last trump, trumps are not 
 declared against you ; therefore your discard ought to 
 be from your weak suit. Your partner at this point of 
 the game has the lead and commands the situation, and 
 consequently it is better for him to know which is your 
 strong, than which is your weak suit. A partner with 
 the king and one other card, or the queen and one other 
 card, would not dare to lead you the honour if he had no 
 indication of your strength in that suit. If, however, he 
 knew your strong suit, he would at once lead you that 
 honour. 
 
 There is another advantage also in informing your 
 partner of your strong suit over that of intimating a 
 weak one a strong suit is at once individualized, but a 
 weak suit may leave it doubtful which of the other two is 
 really the best suit to lead. 
 
 This question of the discard, though always requiring 
 judgment, will, however, I believe, become more simple 
 of comprehension by the above system. 
 
 A VERY long experience of whist and whist players, in 
 various parts of the world, has caused me to come to the 
 conclusion that men with peculiar types of mind exist in 
 every country, and these men are mere repetitions of each 
 other. In the burning plains of sunny India, or amidst 
 the snows of Canada, we find individuals who have never
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 231 
 
 met and have never heard of each other, yet when they 
 join in a rubber of whist, they will commit exactly the 
 same mistakes, will make word for word the same excuses, 
 and at delicate points of the game will err in the same 
 manner. The repetition of similar proceedings has induced 
 me to group whist players under various heads, and, 
 after careful consideration, I cannot divide them into 
 fewer than twenty-six classes. Each class has its specialty, 
 some individuals belonging to two or three of these. In 
 this little work the peculiarities of twenty-six types of 
 whist players are described, with illustrations of the play 
 each adopts, and the remarks each usually makes. The 
 classes are : 
 
 1. The Old-fashioned Player. 
 
 2. The Young Player. 
 
 3. The Player who never read a Book on Whist. 
 
 4. The Book Player. 
 
 5. The Player who only Plays for Amusement. 
 
 6. The Crafty Player. 
 
 7. The Great Card Holder. 
 
 8. The Unlucky Player. 
 
 9. The Whist Authority. 
 
 10. The Excitable Player. 
 
 11. The too Deliberate Player. 
 
 12. The Man who won't Learn. 
 
 13. The Man with a Bad Memory. 
 
 14. The Mean Player. 
 
 15. The Man who takes his Pound of Flesh. 
 
 16. The Unobservant Player. 
 
 17. The Litigious Player. 
 
 18. The Good Bad Player. 
 
 19. The Bad Good Player. 
 
 20. The Man with the Pre-occupied Mind. 
 
 21. The Popular Player. 
 
 22. The Unpopular Player. 
 
 23. The Undependable Player.
 
 232 Appendix, to Fourth Edition. 
 
 24. The Superstitious Player. 
 
 25. The Selfish Player. 
 
 26. The Inspired Player. 
 
 The Old-fashioned Player. 
 
 IN the days when Hoyle was the great authority on 
 whist, and the game was ten and when u Can you one, 
 partner 1 " was the enquiry from the player who at the 
 score of eight held two honours whist was a steady, half- 
 sleepy kind of game. The whole evening might be 
 occupied in playing two rubbers, and the loss of a trick, 
 or even two tricks, in a hand was an incident of no great 
 consequence, as the game might still be recovered or 
 pulled up. Some of these old-fashioned players still exist, 
 and not unusually refuse to adopt any of the changes 
 introduced into modern play. 1 have met and "played 
 with several such players, who would not play the "ask for 
 trumps. " If in your ignorance of their views you did ask 
 for trumps, they would, when .it was their turn to lead, 
 select any other suit, no matter how disastrous such a lead 
 might be. "I saw your signal, sir," they would say, 
 "but I have set my face against this new-fangled play. 
 I think it is unfair ; you might as well kick me under the 
 table, or signal with your fingers. No, I won't play that 
 game, so it is no use signalling to me." 
 
 Parts of the game these old gentlemen would play well, 
 but when it came to a delicate finish, such as taking your 
 partner's trick in the eleventh round, so as to lead through 
 a strong card on your left, they were completely " out of 
 the hunt." " What can be the use of winning my trick, 
 I cannot imagine," they would exclaim ; " it did no good." 
 If you attempt to explain how by that means you won 
 every trick, or if you endeavour to show them that, had 
 they taken your trick, you could have won one more, 
 their reply usually is, "I can't understand your new
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 233 
 
 schemes. I play a straightforward old-fashioned game, 
 and it does well enough for me." 
 
 These old-fashioned players, however, will not unusually 
 find fault with their partners, but the fault they find is 
 generally based upon some result of chance. "If you 
 had only led me a diamond instead of a heart, I should 
 have won the trick. I cannot imagine why you should 
 lead me a heart. " 
 
 " I had nothing in either suit, and I had no indication 
 of your strength in diamonds. " 
 
 " Oh ! but I couldn't have anything in hearts." 
 
 " Why not ? " 
 
 " Because 1 had ace, queen, knave of diamonds." 
 
 " But how was I to know that ?" 
 
 " Oh, you ought to have played a diamond. If we lose 
 this game, it is your fault. " 
 
 The old-fashioned player as a rule covers a moderately 
 high card second in hand. This is by no means an 
 unprofitable proceeding. If you know your partner 
 never asks for trumps, you are not likely to be misled 
 by such a card, and you are as fourth player often saved 
 by it. Say, for example, you hold ace, five, and two of 
 spades ; your partner holds king, ten, and three ; original 
 leader holds queen, knave, nine, eight, and leads the 
 eight. If your partner played the three to the eight, 
 your ace would be drawn ; if he covers with ten, ten wins. 
 By the modern play the ten followed by the three might 
 be taken for an ask. 
 
 Some old-fashioned players play very soundly, and can 
 remember whether the twelfth card in their hand is the 
 winning or losing card ; but those who are so old-fashioned 
 as to ignore all the modern alterations of whist must play 
 at a disadvantage. If two Hoyles were .partners against 
 two even second-rate modern players, I consider that it 
 would be about three to two each rubber against the 
 Hoyles. 
 
 The old-fashioned player's game is fossilized ; he cannot
 
 234 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 alter it, and he does not wish to alter it. He actually 
 would cease to take an interest in the game if he had to 
 play according to new ideas. All his whist traditions are 
 based upon old-fashioned play. " King ever, queen never," 
 and " when in doubt play a trump/' are his maxims, and 
 these he carries out to the bitter end. He usually tires, 
 after three rubbers, and then gives up for the evening. 
 
 The Young Player. 
 
 THERE are few things that cause more annoyance to 
 good whist players than when a young and inexperienced 
 player expresses a wish to join a rubber. No one likes to 
 tell him that he does not know enough of the game to 
 stand a fair chance of holding his own ; and he will pro- 
 bably himself state that he is a bad player and does not 
 know much of the game, and so will to a certain extent 
 disarm criticism. He, however, upsets all calculation and 
 spoils a good rubber. Whoever is unfortunate enough to 
 cut him as a partner feels he is over-matched, provided 
 the cards are anything like even. It is a perpetual mental 
 strain on his partner to discover how much or how little 
 he knows of the game. In one hand he will drop the 
 three to your king and the two to your ace, and you think 
 he may be asking for trumps. You fear to lead him a trump, 
 and it turns out that he held only three small trumps. 
 In the next hand he will play the six to your king and 
 the four to your ace, and this time you find he did want 
 trumps, and actually meant to ask for them, his former 
 play being mere carelessness. 
 
 Young players may be divided into two classes the 
 young player who is humble, and the young player who 
 is self-sufficient. 
 
 The former receives thankfully any hints that are given 
 him after the rubber is over, he treasures these in his 
 memory, and probably during the next rubber puts them 
 into practice. Such a man will eventually rise in the
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 235 
 
 whist rank, and be welcomed as a partner and respected 
 and feared as an adversary. 
 
 The latter, however, is disposed to argue, and pays but 
 slight attention to your suggestions, being fully engrossed 
 in telling you why he played a particular card, and to all 
 intents and purposes endeavouring to prove that he made 
 no mistake at all, or if he did make a mistake, yet it made 
 no difference in the game. 
 
 He will also sometimes carry his self -sufficiency so far as 
 to ask the opinion of a good player, and then dispute his 
 opinion, and assert that he was right and his informant 
 wrong. The young player not unusually has read a little 
 about whist, but he either fails to put in practice what he 
 has read, or when he does adopt book he practises it just 
 at the wrong time. " I can't see why I was wrong " is the 
 common exclamation of the self-sufficient young player, 
 and he derives great pleasure in looking over the hand of 
 a good player, and when a finesse fails, informs the 
 bystanders that, bad player as he is, he wouldn't have 
 played in that way. 
 
 The young player is easily carried away by a little good 
 fortune. In his heart he does not believe that he is so 
 much worse a player than those he plays with. By the 
 aid of very good cards he may win a rubber against good 
 players, and he is then misled with the idea that he stands 
 a good chance of winning in the long run. After he has 
 lost several rubbers by bad play, he considers that the 
 cards were against him, and that he is unlucky. After a 
 long time he learns one or two principles of whist, and 
 then prides himself on these, and is satisfied that he is 
 qualified to play in a first-class rubber. His great delight, 
 however, is to join a rubber where the other tliree players 
 are more ignorant of the game than he is. Then he lays 
 down the law, and complains of the stupidity of his partner. 
 That he has lost two tricks by his own bad play he is 
 totally oblivious, but he carefully explains how the game 
 was lost, and lost only by a particular lead of his partner's.
 
 236 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 Young players as a rule are not desirable in a good 
 rubber ; they should look on and watch the play, and, 
 when possible, obtain from a good player his reasons for 
 playing particular cards. With the books that at present 
 exist on whist, every young player who wishes to join a 
 rubber ought to know the leads, what to play second 
 hand, third hand, and what to return when he has won a 
 trick ; then, by watching good play, he may improve. 
 
 The Player ivho has never read a Book on Whist. 
 
 THE players who have never read a book on whist are 
 becoming more and more scarce. Yet we sometimes find 
 such a man, and he not unusually informs us of the fact. 
 He does so usually from a feeling of vanity. He believes 
 he plays an excellent game, and he wishes people to know 
 that he owes no thanks to anyone on account of this 
 excellence. He has taught himself everything. He, by 
 aid of his greater intelligence, has arrived at the same 
 result that other men are merely guided to by means of 
 instructors. He has no occasion to follow the slow 
 routine that other persons have followed, for he has 
 played whist ten or fifteen years, and therefore has great 
 experience. It is all very well to talk about conventional 
 leads, penultimates, &c., but the men who never read 
 consider such refinements impractical. 
 
 " Partner, you ought not to have led that third 
 round of spades, because it was certain to be rufied by 
 one of the adversaries whilst the other adversary dis- 
 carded." 
 
 " But how was I to know that ? " 
 
 "Because you held four spades, and I led you the 
 three, and dropped the two to your second lead, showing 
 I had five ; so on the second round you left each adversary 
 without a spade." 
 
 "But how could I tell you had five spades? " 
 
 " Do I not tell you because I led the penultimate, and
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 237 
 
 it is laid down in the modern books that a lead of the 
 lowest but one shows five in the suit." 
 
 "Oh, I never read a book on whist in my life, and I 
 find that men who do read make just as many or more 
 mistakes than I do. I couldn't tell you had five spades ; 
 I thought you had only two. It's all nonsense talking 
 that way.'' 
 
 The man who never read a book on whist, sometimes, 
 although rarely, gains an advantage by his non-conven- 
 tional play. He puzzles his partner, but also puzzles his 
 adversaries, and perhaps, once out of three or four times, 
 he gains a success by this confusion. Then he remembers 
 his success, and forgets his disasters, and is more firmly 
 convinced than ever that reading is of no practical 
 benefit. 
 
 He understands the "ask for trumps," and plays it ; *but 
 sometimes he will ask for trumps when he has not one 
 trump in his hand. His partner with surprise remarks, 
 at the end of the hand, " You asked for trumps." 
 
 " Of course I did ; I wanted them out." 
 
 "But you had not sufficient strength to warrant an ask. " 
 
 " 1 had none at all, but I knew it would be a good plan 
 to take out two for one, and I couldn't lead them, so I 
 asked." 
 
 The man who never read a book on whist will most 
 likely tell you that he has not done so ; and should he not 
 tell you, the style of his play will most certainly inform 
 you. 
 
 The Boole Player. 
 
 THE book player is to a great extent the very opposite 
 of the man who has never read a book. With players 
 who are gifted with perception, the book player plays at 
 a great disadvantage. A game of whist is a game of 
 competition, which cannot be worked out in the same 
 plodding manner that is possible at double dummy. It 
 is at whist possible to deceive an adversary to stop him
 
 238 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 from continuing a suit by playing a false .card, when, 
 unless he change the suit, the game may be lost, or you 
 may fail to win it. A thorough book player rarely, if 
 ever, plays a false card ; he considers that the most im- 
 portant item in whist is not to deceive your partner. As 
 an example of a false card, I will suppose you had one 
 small trump, three other trumps being in against you ; the 
 knave, ten, and one small spade ; the king and one other 
 diamond, this last suit not having been led. Hearts 
 trumps. You require one trick to save the game. If you 
 can make the king of diamonds, you make this one trick. 
 Left adversary leads king of spades ; on this you play your 
 knave. He hesitates, and considers it safer to change his 
 suit, and must lead either a diamond or trump, and leads 
 a diamond, and you make your king. 
 
 You can predict to a certainty what the book player 
 will play to your lead, and you can tell to almost a 
 certainty what he holds in his hand. Although, as a rule, 
 there is a great advantage in making your hand intelligible 
 to your partner and your adversaries for you cannot well 
 make it clear to the one without also making it intelligible 
 to the others yet it frequently happens that it is better 
 to keep secret the contents of your hand. The mere 
 book player would consider this proceeding little short of 
 sacrilege. The book player has the greatest dread of 
 forcing his partner when he himself is weak in trumps. 
 He considers that the holding up of trumps is some 
 protection against the loss of tricks ; and, although his 
 partner has shown no strength in trumps, he yet 
 obstinately refuses to give him the opportunity of making 
 a small trump, because he reads in the book that " If 
 weak in trumps, do not force your partner." Sooner than 
 do so, he will open a three suit, the highest of which is a 
 ten, and lead tip probably to an ace, queen in the fourth 
 hand, and sacrifice his partner's king. Or he will even 
 give the adversaries an easy trick with a small trump, 
 because he thinks it must be a good plan to force the
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 239 
 
 adversaries, because he is weak in trumps. A player 
 with book on the brain sometimes commits such an act as 
 the following, from which I have suffered more than once. 
 My partner turned up the queen ; I held no honour, and 
 only three trumps. I have a very indifferent hand, but 
 have made one trick, and my partner one. I find on the 
 second round of spades my partner fails. I can now see 
 a third trick by my partner trumping the spade ; so on 
 "winning the second of my two tricks I force him. He 
 holds queen and three other trumps, and when I force 
 him, he assumes that I must be very strong in trumps, so 
 after ruffing he leads his queen of trumps, and loses every 
 other trick. 
 
 At the end of the hand he is furious. " What else 
 could I do?" he exclaims. " I of course thought you must 
 be very strong." 
 
 " But I did not ask for trumps," I reply ; " when I had a 
 chance of leading them I did not lead them, so I could 
 not be very strong. Why did you not think that I was 
 forcing you to try and make the fifth trick ? " 
 
 " If my partner forces me, I conclude he is very strong 
 in trumps ; that's what the book says." 
 
 This form of book player is one who does not -win many 
 points during the year ; still, he follows the cast-iron rule. 
 
 Another system of play adopted by the book player is 
 never to trump a doubtful card if he holds four trumps. 
 
 The argument this player puts forward is, that he con- 
 siders it of the greatest importance to inform his partner 
 that he does hold four trumps. If he ruff a doubtful 
 card, he fears his partner may conclude that he has only 
 three trumps. Now, in the first place, unless it had been 
 laid down as a rule that you never ought to trump a 
 doubtful card when you hold four trumps, your partner 
 would not be misled as regards the number of trumps in 
 your hand. So let us suppose that no such rule existed, 
 and we at once get rid of one reason for not ruffing. 
 Next comes the question, What are you to do with your
 
 240 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 four trumps ? If three rounds of trumps can be taken 
 out, and the trumps are equally divided, you will then 
 make your fourth trump. If, however, one hand hold 
 also four trumps, you may not make a single trump out 
 of your four. The only use of having the thirteenth 
 trump is to bring in a suit at the end of the hand ; but if 
 you hold four trumps, it is improbable that you hold five 
 in another suit, and so, unless your partner hold a long- 
 suit, and obtains the lead, you gain nothing by holding 
 the thirteenth trump. 
 
 I will suppose that the following occurs : You hold 
 queen and a small spade ; four small diamonds, trumps ; 
 king and three small clubs ; queen and two small hearts. 
 Right hand adversary leads a small spade, on which third 
 player plays king, and wins, and returns a spade, on 
 which third player plays ace, and your queen falls. He 
 then leads a third round of spades, and you, as second 
 player, have now a doubtful card on the table, to ruff or 
 not to ruff. The book player would no more think of 
 ruffing this card than he would think of throwing away 
 the king of trumps on his partner's ace. 
 
 "Trump a doubtful card like that with four trumps in 
 my hand !" he exclaims. "Why, it would have been 
 madness ; you might have held the knave. Read the 
 book read the book. " 
 
 Now the book does not say do not trump a doubtful 
 card, with four small trumps. It says, do not trump a 
 doubtful card if strong in trumps, &c. But a higher ques- 
 tion enters into this problem. Let us assume that the book 
 player's partner does hold the knave of spades, and that 
 it falls to the trump. It does not follow that a trick has 
 been lost, for it is by no means improbable that not one 
 of the four trumps would win a trick, except on that 
 particular card. To always ruff a doubtful card when 
 you hold four small trumps would be as unreasonable as 
 never to ruff under such conditions. 
 
 Many book players who once adopted as a rule
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 241 
 
 " never ruff with four trumps " have, after discussing 
 this question with me, tested the results of both systems 
 of play, and nearly all have informed me that they have 
 become convinced that double as many tricks are won by 
 ruffing as by not doing so. It was only by long and 
 careful watching that I came to the same conclusion. 
 
 The mere book player rarely possesses originality, and 
 cannot, by a sort of inspiration, hit off the only method 
 which can or may win or save the game at a crisis. He is 
 usually a plodder, and, in some instances, would rather 
 lose a game by playing to rule, than win it by striking 
 out a novel mode of play, which, however, could alone 
 win the game. 
 
 The book player is a safe man as a partner, but is not 
 very dangerous as an adversary. 
 
 The Man who only Plays for Amusement. 
 
 THE varieties of character brought into prominent 
 notice by the game of whist enable an observant player 
 or bystander to derive much amusement and instruction. 
 
 There are few qualities more essential to guide a man 
 to an upright and honourable course through life than 
 self-esteem. Anyone, with the organ of self-esteem 
 properly developed, will be his own moral policeman. 
 When, however, this same organ is too largely developed, 
 its owner will struggle hard to prevent his love of self 
 from being in any way depreciated or lessened. When 
 any individual thus constituted joins a rubber of whist, 
 and happens to be an indifferent player, or, being a fair 
 player, makes mistakes which he ought not to make, he 
 usually seeks for some excuse as a defence. One of the 
 most common excuses is to assert with a somewhat 
 offhand manner, " Oh, I don't trouble myself much about 
 it ; I only play for amusement." 
 
 Of course, such a remark very nearly means rudeness ; 
 it hints that other men who are playing make a business 
 
 R
 
 242 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 of the game, whilst he is like a philosopher playing 
 marbles with children. It seems strange, also, that a 
 man can derive more amusement from playing badly and 
 losing tricks than he can derive from playing skilfully, 
 and with judgment. If, however, this man who only 
 plays for amusement lose, by bad play, several rubbers, 
 it is not unusual to hear him complain of his bad luck ; 
 and sometimes he will give up whist for a time, having, 
 as he says, such bad luck that the game is too expensive. 
 If he really only played for amusement, such proceedings 
 would be inconsistent. This type of man is not unusually 
 somewhat indolent, and not of a reflective nature ; and to 
 him it is a great mental labour to remember the cards 
 that have been played, and to follow out the scheme of a 
 hand of cards. He finds that he makes a series of 
 mistakes, which, if he committed in business or in any 
 other affairs, would gain him the reputation of an im- 
 becile. Some excuse must be found for this want of 
 intelligence, and perhaps the best, because it carries with 
 it a sting against good players, is to intimate that so 
 trifling a subject as whist is beneath his notice, except as 
 a toy, and that whilst other men devote time and thought 
 to its combinations, he is above such trifles, and merely 
 takes up and throws down his cards " for amusement." 
 
 The Crafty Player. 
 
 CRAFTY players are of various classes. There is the 
 crafty player whose greatest delight is to deceive and 
 surprise everyone by playing such false cards that the 
 remaining cards that fall from his hand are startling by 
 their unexpectedness. This playing of false cards is not 
 for the purpose of gaining any tricks by so doing ; it is 
 merely to produce surprise, and to deceive the players. 
 This type of the crafty player is more rare than is 
 another viz., the player who has an object in being 
 crafty. Such a one, if he hold ace, ten, and another of a
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 243 
 
 suit, will rarely play his ace on a king led by an adversary, 
 but will let the king pass in hopes of making both his ace 
 and ten. I once saw a crafty player succeed in winning a 
 game, which he ought to have lost, by the following. He 
 held three small trumps, a five suit headed by a knave, a 
 four smt headed by ace, queen, and a single card in the 
 fourth suit. His partner was a bad and an unobservant 
 player. His adversaries were good players. In the four suit 
 he asked for trumps, which his partner did not observe ; so, 
 when he ruffed the second round of the suit in which he 
 held originally only one card, the adversaries considered it 
 desirable to force him, as they believed they were forcing 
 the strong hand. He consequently made two tricks in 
 trumps, and he and his partner together made five tricks, 
 And saved the game. But for this "ask," the adversaries 
 would have led trumps, and have gained four by cards. 
 
 The crafty player experiences the greatest gratification 
 when such a proceeding comes off successfully, and he 
 will remember it for months afterwards, and will chuckle 
 over it with delight. 
 
 To finesse very deeply is also another of the usual habits 
 of the crafty player. He will pass up as third player a 
 nine, when he holds ace, queen, ten, and another ; and, 
 when you fancy he has not a winning card in a suit, will 
 come out with the three best cards. 
 
 There are many minute particulars which the crafty 
 player observes, and which escape the attention of the 
 average class of whist performers. He will bear in mind 
 certain peculiarities on the part of the players, exhibited 
 when they take up a bad and when they take up a good 
 hand ; and he remembers these, and deduces from them con- 
 clusions which affect the form of game he plays. He notes 
 how the adversaries and partners sort their cards, and 
 will not unusually be as certain of the number of trumps 
 held by his partner as though he had seen his hand. 
 
 When he is looking on at a rubber he notes the play of 
 each player, and estimates the skill possessed by each. If 
 
 R 2
 
 244 Appendix to Foiirtk Edition. 
 
 there should be any peculiarity in the style of play on the 
 part of any individual he notes this, treasures it in his 
 memory, and makes use of this information when he cuts 
 into the next rubber. He will practically alter the well- 
 known proverb, and will say that he may not deserve 
 success, but he'll do more he'll command it. He care- 
 fully estimates his partner's capacity, and will make the 
 most out of what he possesses. He is the last man in 
 the world to point out to his partner any defects in his 
 play. " What is the use," he will say, " of educating a 
 man who, in the very next rubber, may be your opponent ? 
 If all four played with equal skill, what percentage of 
 gain should I obtain ? Persuade them all that they play as 
 well as you do, and they will attribute their losses to bad 
 luck, and I am quite content to let them think so. " Con- 
 sequently, the crafty player is dangerous as an adversary, 
 though useful as a partner, and is usually a winner in the 
 long run. 
 
 Tlie Great Card Holder. 
 
 THOSE persons who have studied the law of chances are 
 aware that, given a certain time, an average is sure to be 
 the result in a variable quantity. We may have exces- 
 sively hot days in summer, and scarcely one remarkably 
 cold day in winter, and we may delude ourselves with the 
 idea that during the year we have had an excess of heat. 
 If, however, we add together the number of degrees 
 shown on each day of the year by any thermometer, and 
 compare the sum thus obtained with the sum shown in 
 the same manner of another year, we find there is. 
 scarcely any difference. 
 
 If we take some fifty of those ruled cards given us by the 
 attendants at Monte Carlo, and mark on these the rouge 
 or noir, we shall find that we have marked as nearly as 
 possible an equal number of reds and blacks. So with 
 hands at whist. If we registered the number of court
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 245 
 
 cards and the number of trumps held by a given number 
 of players during one hundred rubbers, we should find that 
 each player held during these hundred rubbers as nearly 
 as possible the same number of court cards and of trumps. 
 In spite of this it is one of the commonest things to hear 
 in every whist club that A. is a great card holder, and B. 
 a very bad card holder. When John Roberts, Junior, 
 played billiards at Bombay, some of the Parsees, who 
 play a fair amateur game, complained that he was such 
 a lucky player that he never had a difficult stroke to play. 
 His skill in breaking the balls was so much beyond their 
 perception that they could not account for the result 
 except by claiming that it was due to luck. 
 
 To a great extent the same principle holds good in whist. 
 There are men who, by a delicate perception, make such 
 good use of their cards, that they win more with good cards 
 und lose less with bad cards than do other players. Their 
 good hands are remembered, their bad hands forgotten, 
 and the results only attended to, and they gain the reputa- 
 tion of holding great cards. Some persons, however, who 
 lose "have gained the reputation of holding great cards, 
 and this is mainly due to the fact that the adversaries or 
 lookers-on have formed their conclusions from imperfect 
 data. During one day or even one week a player may hold 
 cards above the average in value, and he is assigned the 
 character of a great card holder. During the next week 
 he holds cards considerably below the average, and these 
 cards are forgotten, and he still retains his reputation for 
 luck. If, however, he has won fewer tricks than he 
 might have won when he held good cards, and lost more 
 than he ought to have lost when he held bad cards, he 
 will be a loser on the two weeks. 
 
 Runs of what is termed luck do take place in a sort of 
 uniform order. During three or four days the cards that 
 are taken up seem almost as though they had been taken 
 from the twenty cards rejected for ecarte. It seems im- 
 possible to win a trick ; then, as the average is again made
 
 246 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 up, the cards are so good that it is almost impossible to- 
 avoid winning. The man who obtains the reputation of 
 a great card holder because he wins is usually one who, 
 when he holds bad cards, defends his hands well, and 
 saves a trick which a less skilful player would lose. When 
 he holds good cards he wins a trick more than an in- 
 different player would win, and probably wins a game 
 when another player would reach only four. The loss or 
 gain of one trick sometimes causes the loss or gain of a 
 rubber. A game may be just saved, and the adversaries- 
 rea.ch four. In the next hand they may hold four by 
 honours, and win three by cards. They thus win one 
 game only instead of a bumper, which they would have 
 won had they gained the first game. Under such condi- 
 tions it is not unusual to find the run of the cards change, 
 and those who lost the first game eventually win the rubber. 
 Some players who, by bad play, just miss winning a game 
 or rubber, console themselves with the belief that it made 
 no difference if they hold another good hand which 
 enables them to win the game which they previously 
 missed winning. But it is just under such conditions 
 that the average of cards tells against them. If a player 
 realizes the fact that he, during a year, holds only a cer- 
 tain number of court cards and of trumps, he knows that 
 the second good hand, which enabled him to win that 
 game which he could have won with the first hand, is a 
 good hand wasted. It is the same as though a man with 
 a limited quantity of ammunition missed a bird with his 
 first shot, but brought him down with his second barrel,, 
 and then claimed that it was the same thing. It is not 
 the same thing. He has expended a charge of powder 
 and shot to no purpose. If his supply of ammunition 
 were unlimited it would be of no consequence ; but our 
 supply of winning cards is not unlimited we can only 
 hold the average. I have long been of opinion that the 
 average of moderate whist players lose a trick at least 
 every other hand, and the majority of these fail to per-
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 247 
 
 ceive that they do so. If we trace out the results of these 
 losses during an evening's play, they will not unusually 
 account for the plus and minus exhibited by the score. 
 The conclusion, then, to which we are led is, that the 
 great card holder is a myth. To believe that, during a 
 long period, one man is favoured with good hands and 
 winning cards, whilst another is never favoured with such 
 advantages, is a superstition. That there are men who play, 
 as it is claimed, a first-class game, and yet usually lose, I 
 admit, but they will be described under class 18. To hint 
 that such men do not play a winning game would be con- 
 sidered little short of high treason ; nevertheless it is a. 
 fact, as probably other whist players have discovered 
 during their own experience. 
 
 The Unlucky Player. 
 
 " I HAVE such bad luck at whist, that I really must 
 give it up. I never hold a card, and scarcely ever 
 more than two trumps. So I lose all interest in the 
 game." How often we hear such complaints, and the 
 complainer really believes what he says. He is iinder 
 the impression that the invisible powers have some sort 
 of spite against him, and sift the cards for his especial 
 annoyance. "When a finesse fails, he exclaims, "Just my 
 luck. Of course, whatever I do is wrong ; " and he 
 then seeks commiseration by relating how many points he 
 has lost. That his losses can be due to bad play he 
 cannot believe. Now and then he admits that he loses a 
 trick, but that cannot make such a difference as between 
 his and A. or B.'s score. Not long since I was looking 
 over the hand of one of these unlucky players, and saw 
 the following cards : 
 
 Ace, knave, ten, eight, and two of clubs (trumps) ; king, 
 queen of spades ; king and two of diamonds ; ten, nine, 
 seven, and two of hearts. Queen of clubs turned to his. 
 right. Score, love all.
 
 248 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 With such a hand it was impossible to lose the game 
 except by a revoke. The queen turned to his right 
 would give an opportunity for a finesse, and 1 concluded 
 that, if his partner held king of trumps, he might win the 
 game. A lead of trumps certainly ought to have been 
 tried. The unlucky player, however, led a small heart, 
 on which his partner played king, fourth player ace, and 
 returned the queen, then a small diamond. On this the 
 unlucky player played small diamond, which was won by 
 queen third hand, and a heart was returned which was 
 ruffed by the dealer. A diamond was returned, and the 
 unlucky player's king fell to ace played on his left. 
 Another heart was led, which the dealer again ruffed, and 
 led a third round of diamonds. The unlucky player ruffed 
 this with his two of trumps, and was ruffed over with the 
 three. His adversaries had now made three tricks in 
 trumps, ace, queen of hearts, ace, queen of diamonds, 
 .and consequently won the trick. They won no other 
 tricks, as the unlucky player's partner held ace of spades 
 and king of trumps, so he scored two by honours, but lost 
 the trick. " Just my luck," he exclaimed ; " all my cards 
 ruffed." 
 
 " Suppose you had led a trump," I suggested. 
 
 "What! up to the queen? Oh no, I couldn't risk 
 that." 
 
 Now suppose he had led a trump. His partner's king 
 would have made ; on the return of the trump he finesses 
 his ten, leads the ace, and takes out every trump. He 
 then plays king, then queen of spades, winning with both, 
 then small heart. It is more than probable that he would 
 have made his ten of hearts, and his partner the ace of 
 spades. Consequently he would have made five tricks in 
 trumps, two in spades, and one in hearts, making eight 
 tricks in his own hand ; and the game consequently 
 must have been won, instead of losing the odd trick. On 
 mentioning this result to the unlucky player, he said 
 that he was so unlucky, that he never dared lead up to an
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 249 
 
 honour, as he was sure to lose the game if he did. That he 
 had actually lost four tricks by his feeble play he could not 
 believe ; he considered that he had not played in any way 
 wrong. "That is judging by results," he asserted, "and 
 I should play that hand the same way again." This was 
 an excellent example of the unlucky player who never 
 holds a card. A grand hand wasted a sort of express 
 rifle in the hands of an infant. 
 
 Watch the cards held by the habitually unlucky player, 
 and without doubt they will be found average cards ; but 
 when he holds a good hand he does nothing with it, and 
 when he has a bad hand he loses every trick that it is 
 possible to lose. His complaints, however, are long and 
 loud ; he is convinced that he is a victim of an invisible 
 power, which he terms bad luck, and he is perpetually 
 on the watch for evidence to corroborate his belief, and 
 when by bad play he loses, he claims this as evidence. 
 
 TJie Whist Authority. 
 
 Ix almost every country club in England, and in clubs 
 in the colonies, there is one player who, by a combination 
 of successful play and confidence, is looked on as a whist 
 authority. Sometimes this title is deservedly earned. 
 He may be a man who has played in the best whist com- 
 pany, or in all parts of the world who has studied the 
 game in all its combinations, and is competent to offer an 
 opinion on difficult points at issue. It is not such a one 
 to whom we refer under this heading, but to those who 
 are to a certain extent self-elected authorities, and are 
 only considered so on the principle that a one-eye'd man 
 is a king among the blind. Once I had an opportunity 
 of playing whist in a rather out-of-the-way locality, and 
 among the players was K. , an old gentleman who played 
 rather an indifferent third-class rubber. He, however, 
 laid down the law after each hand, and lectured his 
 partner about the manner in which he had manipulated
 
 250 Appendix to Foiirth Edition. 
 
 his cards. It is needless to add that his remarks were all 
 wrong. Some weeks afterwards I met a gentleman, who, 
 hearing I had been at that place, remarked, "Ah, you 
 must have played whist with K. He is a splendid whist 
 player quite an authority ; you don't often meet a better 
 player than he is." 
 
 In his own circle K. was an authority, and he was not 
 disposed to resign his rank. Men not uncommonly be- 
 come recognized as authorities when their merits do not 
 deserve it, in consequence of a positive and determined 
 manner, and also by never admitting that they have made 
 a mistake, and also by defending their play, and finding 
 defects in the play of those who may be considered their 
 opponents. Such authorities are amusing, and instruc- 
 tive as regards mental peculiarities. It is better to 
 encourage rather than oppose such players. It is impos- 
 sible to convince them that they have formed a wrong 
 estimate of their powers, and it is a most thankless office 
 and labour if you do convince them. Listen with defer- 
 ence to their advice, but be careful how yoii practise what 
 they preach, especially if they do not succeed in winning 
 in the long run. The refinements of whist playing are 
 beyond them as a rule, though they may be well 
 acquainted with the rough principles common to average 
 players. 
 
 Of all the amusing types of whist players, however, 
 perhaps the most amusing is the local whist authority, 
 who is in reality only a third-class performer. 
 
 The Excitable Player. 
 
 THE excitable player is one of the most dangerous part- 
 ners that you can sit opposite to. You can never predict 
 what blunders he may not commit. He keeps you in a 
 constant state of nervousness, and in spite of all your 
 watchfulness he is sure, sooner or later, to cause a disaster. 
 If the queen of trumps is turned to his right, and he
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 251 
 
 hold ace, king, knave, and another, he will not lead his 
 king and wait patiently to finesse his knave, but he will 
 dash out his ace, king, and then small trump, because he 
 wants trumps out, and will very likely lose his knave, and 
 thus only make two tricks in trumps. 
 
 As soon as a lead is made, he catches hold of a card in 
 his hand, and without waiting to see what the player 
 before him has played, will bang his own card on the 
 table, and very likely, if fourth in hand, will play his ace 
 on the nine, when he holds the ten, which would have won 
 the trick. If he lead what he believes must be a winning 
 trick, he gets his next card ready, and before he notices 
 what the other players have played, throws his next card 
 on the table, and thus frequently renders himself liable 
 to have a suit called for leading out of turn, in conse- 
 quence of his supposed winning card being ruffed. When 
 he holds the two remaining cards in his hand, and 
 believes he has the game to a certainty, instead of playing 
 these deliberately, he bangs down one, then leads the 
 other, and finds he has revoked in the two last cards 
 the most common revoke of any. During the whole of 
 the hand he is in a state of hurry and excitement. He 
 makes up his mind as he sorts his hand to one style of 
 game, and he perseveres with this in spite of being warned, 
 by the fall of the cards, that such a game will be fatal to 
 success. If his partner, second in hand, play the ten of a 
 suit, and on the second round drops the two, he at once, 
 on obtaining the lead, dashes out a trump, and when 
 he finds his partner very weak in trumps, exclaims, 
 " Why did you ask for trumps ? " 
 
 On being informed that he did not ask, he replies, 
 " Not ask ! why you played your ten, then your two ; what 
 is that but an ask \ " 
 
 " I held knave, ten, and two, and the ten is the correct 
 card to play. Had you waited, you would have seen it 
 was not an ask." 
 
 " Oh, I concluded it must be an ask, and I couldn't wait.
 
 252 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 If it had been an ask, and I had not given you a trump, 
 then you would have blamed me." 
 
 To lead out of turn, to play a heart to a diamond, or a 
 club to a spade, is an act not uncommon with the excit- 
 able player. 
 
 When you have not the slightest indication to guide 
 you whether, towards the end of a hand, you should lead 
 a diamond or a heart, and you lead the suit which is not 
 best for your partner, he exclaims at the end of the hand, 
 " There, you lost that trick. If yoxi had led me a heart, I 
 should have made two by cards." 
 
 " But ho\v was I to know the heart was best for you ? 
 Neither suit had been led." 
 
 " I couldn't have a diamond. Why, I had ace, king, 
 knave of hearts." 
 
 " But how could I know that ? " 
 
 " Oh, you might have known it." 
 
 ' ' It was impossible I could have known it ; it is non- 
 sense to talk like that." 
 
 " It isn't nonsense at all ; it is just your bad play, though 
 you do think yourself a good player. If I had been in your 
 place, I should have led my partner a heart ; and you have 
 lost two tricks." 
 
 To attempt to reason with the - excitable player is 
 merely to cause him to lose his temper. He must be 
 treated like a spoilt child, his numerous errors never 
 referred to, and his assertions however wrong treated 
 with silence. The harmony of a rubber is not unusually 
 spoilt by the excitable player. The best method of 
 improving indifferent play is, after a game has been 
 played out, to discuss the reasons why certain cards were 
 played at certain times. This calm discussion does not 
 suit the excitable player ; he wants no discussions. "He 
 played as he thought best, and he wants to hear nothing 
 more about it. He may have made a mistake, but he 
 doesn't think he did. It might be an error of judgment, 
 but he had no means of knowing. It's of no use talk-
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 253 
 
 ing about a game when it is over. Other people make 
 mistakes just as often at he does." 
 
 Although the excitable player is very averse to having 
 any remarks made relative to his own bad play, he is 
 most unmerciful on a partner who is even a worse player 
 than he is. Should his partner really play badly and 
 lose a trick or two, he is by no means reticent of his 
 opinion, but expresses it in the most forcible language, 
 any sentence of which, if applied to him for even greater 
 blunders, would render him a very unpleasant speaker. 
 The excitable player is neither desirable as a partner nor 
 as an adversary, although, when occupying the latter 
 position, you naturally have the chances in your favour. 
 
 The too Deliberate Player. 
 
 PERHAPS the most wearying class of whist player is the 
 deliberate player, when his deliberation is carried to 
 excess. There are some players who seem to take a 
 delight in repeatedly committing acts which are alike- 
 unpleasant to their partner and adversaries. The pecu- 
 liarities of the too deliberate player are the following. 
 He takes up his cards after the deal is completed, very 
 slowly, sometimes taking up each card separately. He 
 sorts his hand two or three times, looking earnestly at 
 each card as though he were trying to recognize a friend. 
 Having completed this sorting of his cards, he probably 
 asks what the score is, and then again looks over his 
 hand. If it is his first lead, he waits half a minute at 
 least whilst he reflects ; then takes hold of a card, and 
 almost separates it from his hand. He replaces it, however, 
 and then plays another card. As soon as the dealer has 
 taken up the turn-up card, the too deliberate player asks 
 to look at it. If he has again to lead, he asks to look at 
 the last trick ; and in fact, whenever he is in doubt what 
 card to play, he always asks to look at the last trick. 
 
 Slow as he is at the commencement of the play of his
 
 254 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 hand, this slowness is nothing in comparison to that 
 which he exhibits towards the end of the hand. When 
 it comes to the question whether he should ruff or not 
 ruff the twelfth card, third in hand, his hesitation 
 becomes almost painful. You lead him the ten, and you 
 know the knave is held to your right ; second player has 
 not trumped, and your partner has now the chance of 
 making a small trump. When it comes to his turn to 
 play to this trick he waits nearly a minute, fingers two or 
 three cards, shuffles about in his chair ; then looks up 
 at the ceiling, catches hold of the two cards on the table, 
 and at length trumps with the two of trumps. 
 
 If asked why he deliberated so, he will tell you he 
 wanted to make sure, and required to think a little. In 
 nearly every case where there is only one possible card to 
 play, he will wait and hesitate, first taking hold of one 
 card, then of another. Just as you are expecting his 
 card to be placed on the table, he stops and asks to look 
 at the last trick, and also probably, with an air of surprise, 
 will enquire what are trumps. After all this deliberation 
 he will not unfrequently play very slowly a club to a 
 diamond, when he has only one club in his hand, and 
 will suddenly seize this card and say, ' ' 1 beg your 
 pardon ; I meant to play the club. " 
 
 Sometimes this style of play is due to mental defects ; 
 the brain works slowly, the idea seems to enter the brain 
 through the perceptions in the seed form, and to require 
 time in order that it may develop into a mature state. 
 More frequently, however, it is the result of habit long 
 indulged in, and encouraged by the player himself, who 
 considers that this deliberation not only enables him to 
 guard against errors in play, but also is a proof of 
 cautious intelligence. Such a player, however, is rarely 
 reliable. He has not the quickness of perception to seize, 
 from slight indications, the style of game to be played at 
 a particular part of the hand ; his mind seems to experience 
 a difficulty in mastering the simplest problem in the
 
 Appendix to Fotirth Edition. 255 
 
 play of the hand, and sometimes, like a child repeating 
 responses, he gets behindhand, and plays the wrong 
 card at the wrong time, being just behind, by one 
 round of the cards, the mental condition which he ought 
 to have reached. 
 
 If any hint is given as regards the slowness of his play, 
 he probably remarks that it is no use playing in a hurry, 
 and the more he is hurried, the slower he plays. A game 
 played with such a partner or adversary becomes weari- 
 some, and you feel disposed rather to lose a game than 
 continue playing it. When the adversaries have played 
 four by honours, have won six tricks, and hold the three 
 remaining trumps between them, the too deliberate 
 player refuses his partner's suggestion to throw up the 
 game. "No, no ; play it out," he suggests. When the 
 game has been played out, and the adversaries have won 
 four by cards, and held four by honours, he will point 
 out an ace, queen in his hand, which, he seriously asserts, 
 might both have made tricks had he been led up to to 
 what use, he does not explain. 
 
 The Man who won't Learn. 
 
 THOSE persons who have played whist during some 
 fifteen or twenty years are usually satisfied with their 
 game, and believe it to be without flaw or defect, and 
 incapable of improvement. Unless this player has played 
 in a rubber in which some first-class player has been a 
 performer, he will to a certainty possess some chronic 
 defect in his play, and when he has for antagonists two 
 first-class players he will consequently suffer. 
 
 If any sensible man were playing a game at billiards, 
 and played the wrong game without knowing it, he 
 would be thankful for suggestions as to the game he 
 ought to have played. He would at once feel that the 
 adviser was a generous man, for this adviser was in reality 
 placing weapons in the hands of a man who might at any
 
 256 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 time become an adversary, and, in conseqiience of this 
 advice, a more formidable adversary. At whist, however, 
 the attempt to advise or instruct a player is not unusually 
 to produce an exactly opposite effect. 
 
 I have frequently sat opposite a partner who, at the 
 end of a hand in which he has lost two or three tricks, 
 would himself commence the conversation by such 
 remarks as these, ' ' Now, partner, you must not find 
 fault with me ; if you find fault, it makes me play far 
 worse than I otherwise should play. I do my best, and 
 that is all I can do, so it's no use scolding me." 
 
 Now if you found fault with a man's stature, or the 
 shape of his nose, or the colour of his eyes, or anything 
 else belonging to him which he could not alter, the above 
 remarks might possess some reason in them. When, 
 however, any individual asserts that he not only does 
 not wish to know by what means he loses tricks, nor does 
 he want to know how he might play a better game than 
 he does play, and that supplying him with this informa- 
 tion actually makes him play worse, it exhibits a pecu- 
 liarity of mind which, in any business habits of life, 
 would almost qualify a man for a lunatic asylum. 
 
 Another specimen of the man who won't leam is the 
 following. During the play of the hand he either forgets 
 a card, or makes a great mistake in some other way, by 
 which he loses a trick. At the end of the hand you point 
 out to him how it was he lost a trick, or perhaps two. 
 Instead of attending to the point in question, by which 
 probably he might learn some important fact relative to 
 the play of a similar hand in the future, he will at once 
 become aggressive, and will reply, ' ' Yes, I lost a trick, 
 perhaps ; but then yesterday I saw you lose a trick when 
 you didn't trump that doubtful card." 
 
 Perhaps the most offensive form of this peculiarity is 
 exhibited by the man who usually plays a fairly good rub- 
 ber, but at times will form a total misconception of the 
 manner in which the play of a hand should be conducted,
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 257 
 
 and by this misconception will lose probably two or three 
 tricks. Such a case we will suppose is the following. I hold 
 knave, and one small trump, spades ; ace, king of clubs ; 
 five small hearts ; four small diamonds. Ace of trumps 
 turned to my right. I lead a small heart partner wins 
 with ace, and leads a small trump ; I win with knave, 
 and fourth hand drops nine of trumps. I consider it 
 possible that my partner may have overrated my strength 
 in hearts. I know that my left-hand adversary is not 
 likely to hold more than one other trump viz., the ten ; 
 so I consider it safer to play a back, or saving game, 
 instead of a forward, or winning game. I therefore play 
 ace, then king, of clubs, in hopes of getting a ruff in clubs 
 and making the fourth trick. I then play another 
 heart, which second player wins with queen, and then 
 leads a diamond, which my partner wins with queen. 
 My partner then leads another trump, on which second 
 player plays a small trump. I play the four, my remain- 
 ing trump, and fourth player wins with ten and leads 
 queen of clubs ; my partner and right adversary follow 
 suit, and I discard a diamond. He then leads knave of 
 clubs, my partner follows suit, and right adversary 
 discards a heart. He then leads king of hearts, which 
 my partner ruffa with seven of trumps, is ruffed over 
 by queen by the fourth hand, and fourth hand leads 
 ace of trumps, and catches my partner's king. At the 
 end of the hand I call my partner's attention to the 
 fact that had he played my game we should have won 
 one more trick viz., by a ruff on the club. 
 
 "One more trick," he exclaims ; "why, you played 
 deuced badly by not returning me the trump. I, of 
 course, thought you had no more trumps." 
 
 " But," I rejoin, " it was very dangerous leading back 
 up to the ace, especially when the nine fell on my left. 
 If, also, I had held no more trumps, should I have led 
 out ace, then king of clubs to ask for a ruff? " 
 
 " That is all .nonsense," exclaims the man who won't 
 
 8
 
 258 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 learn ; " you played badly, and if you had led back a 
 trump, the adversaries' ten would not have made a trick." 
 
 " But your king would have fallen just the same, and 
 you had only four trumps, whilst my right adversary held 
 five, and among them ace, queen, and eight. The only 
 chance of our making another trick was by you giving me 
 a ruff" in clubs." 
 
 " Don't talk to me ! " exclaims my partner ; " we 
 couldn't have made another trick. If I had led you a 
 club it would have been very bad play, and you lost two 
 or three tricks by not returning me the trump ; yqu will 
 never admit you are wrong." 
 
 The discussion ends, because to reason with such a 
 player is impossible ; but my partner, being quite incapable 
 or unwilling to perceive his error of judgment, announces 
 next day that I lost a game by not returning a trump 
 when he led trumps, but played for a ruff instead, and 
 then found fault with him for not playing correctly. 
 
 Every whist player must have met and played with 
 men of this type, and it leads me to the conclusion that 
 there is in the human mind, just as there is in the human 
 body, only power up to a certain standard. Just as some 
 men cannot raise from the ground more than a certain 
 weight, so some whist players can only comprehend up to 
 a certain standard in the game ; beyond this they are not 
 capable of rising, and when the problem is beyond them 
 they talk the greatest nonsense. 
 
 Nearly every whist player must have learned from 
 experience that during one or two rubbers he loses a trick 
 by an error of judgment, which error probably no one 
 perceives except himself. Consequently no one can or 
 need tell him of it. When, however, he loses a trick by 
 an error of judgment which he is not aware of, it is the 
 greatest proof that can be given of his incapacity for 
 further improvement when he declines to hear how he 
 erred when he defends his bad play, or excuses himself 
 by pointing out the defects of hia partner.
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 259 
 
 The Man with the Bad Memory. 
 
 WHAT is termed memory at whist is nothing more than 
 careful observation and attention. If we observe every 
 card as it falls, and note the effect produced on the 
 remaining cards of the suit that are in our hand, by 
 the fall of these cards, we are not likely to forget any 
 important card, and consequently we cannot be classed 
 with those who have a bad memory. I have always 
 remarked that the men who themselves state that they 
 have a bad memory for whist, are those who, when the 
 cards are being played, are occupied in inspecting the 
 cards in their own hand as though these cards were works 
 of art, in which they were specially interested. Conse- 
 quently they are compelled some six or seven times 
 during the play of the hand to ask that the players place 
 their cards, or to look at the last trick. When it comes 
 to the end of the hand, such men break down to a 
 certainty. If you wish to give your partner a ruff 
 in the third round of a suit (the ace and king of which 
 have been played), and lead him the knave, he will begin 
 to gaze about, first at the ceiling, then at the floor, wait 
 for half-a-minute, and at last probably murmur, " I can't 
 remember," and will fail to ruff and allow the queen to 
 win the trick. The man with the bad memory will often 
 have the means of winning the game, holding probably 
 the twelfth and thirteenth cards of a suit when all the 
 trumps are out, but he will forget probably that there is 
 no other card of this suit in any other hand, and will 
 lead a card which allows the adversaries to win all the 
 remaining tricks. ' ' I thought there was a better card 
 in " is of course his excuse ; the fact being that he had 
 not observed the fall of the cards. 
 
 The man with the bad memory is probably the most 
 trying partner to one's temper that any whist player may 
 be favoured with. You can never predict what blunders 
 
 s 2
 
 260 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 he may make ; to play a sound game with him will 
 probably bring about a disaster. Any plan which you 
 may have worked out he is as likely as not to thwart, 
 and you play the whole rubber against three adversaries. 
 You hold three trumps, but a suit of six hearts, headed 
 by ace, king, queen ; you lead your partner the king of 
 hearts and then a trump, and three rounds of trumps are 
 taken, your partner remaining with the lead. He 
 hesitates, and then plays you a diamond, and leads up 
 to ace, queen in the fourth hand and sacrifices your king. 
 You never get in again and never make another heart. 
 Upon enquiring why he played thus, he says, " Oh, I 
 thought it was the adversaries led the heart, and I had 
 only one more, and I had four small diamonds." You 
 find your partner ruffs a club in the second round of 
 the suit, so you lead him the king of hearts, holding also 
 the ace, then a club. He ruffs the club, and instead of 
 returning a heart so as to obtain a second ruff, he leads a 
 diamond, and the adversaries win this diamond, draw all 
 your partner's trumps, and make two clubs. 
 
 " Why did you not return me a heart, partner ? " 
 
 " Why, I thought it was sure to be ruffed. I held five 
 myself, and as it had been round twice, I knew it must be 
 ruffed in the third round." 
 
 " It had only been round once ; I led the king to show 
 you I held the ace, and then gave you the ruff in the 
 club." 
 
 " Oh, well, I thought it had been round twice that was- 
 my reason for not returning it. I only forgot that it had 
 been round but once." 
 
 The disasters that follow the man with the bad memory 
 are too numerous to mention. It is a common error for 
 him to retain a thirteenth card in his hand at the end of a 
 game, when he holds only two cards, and to discard the 
 other, when the adversaries have led, and consequently to 
 retain a card which by no possibility could win. 
 
 Among the blunders made by the man with the bad
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 261 
 
 memory, I have seen and suffered from the follow- 
 ing : 
 
 I had failed in clubs in the second round, all the 
 trumps were out ; my partner held one club, there were 
 four better clubs in the adversary's hand. My partner 
 held four diamonds, ace, queen among them. He led 
 the club, and gave the adversaries three tricks. He had 
 merely forgotten that I had failed in clubs, and because 
 I was compelled to discard a diamond, he would not lead 
 it. We held the five best diamonds between us, and 
 might have won three more tricks than we did win. My 
 partner merely had what he called a bad memory. 
 
 To forget the turn-up card is the most common pro- 
 ceeding with the man who has a bad memory. It is no 
 use retaining this card, as it merely informs the adver- 
 saries, and is overlooked by the partner whose memory 
 is bad. He, holding the twelfth and best trump, will 
 invariably draw your turn-up and thirteenth trump if he 
 has the chance, "just to make sure," as he explains in 
 justification, though this making sure loses to almost a 
 certainty one trick, and probably two. A man who 
 possesses this peculiarity must be treated in a peculiar 
 manner. If you wish him to ruff a suit third time round 
 or fourth time, it is advisable to play away such cards as 
 knaves and tens, when these are not the best, and retain 
 a four or a five. If you lead him such a card as the 
 knave, he will probably not ruff it, though the king and 
 queen may be in the fourth hand ; but if you lead a five, 
 he will ruff, and he forgets about your discard, and will 
 not take it for an ask for trumps. So when you possess 
 a partner with a bad memory, it is a perpetual strain on 
 your mind to endeavour to fathom his mental peculiarities, 
 and to make the most of the feeble intelligence with 
 which you are for a time in partnership.
 
 262 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 The Mean Player. 
 
 MEAN players are luckily rare, and are soon found out. 
 The principal characteristics of the mean player are the 
 following : He as a rule is not a very good player, and, 
 therefore, does not care to enter fairly into the battle, 
 but endeavours by certain little artifices to win. He 
 carefully watches the run of the cards, and the capacity 
 of the players. When he finds that he is in luck, he is 
 ready to bet on the rubber, or game, or odd trick. If he 
 has a good partner and is playing against bad players, he 
 is equally prepared to bet. If he win his bet and change 
 partners, he declines to bet again. He sees no reason 
 why he need bet without he likes. He will take odds, 
 say six to four, or something in that way, but he does not 
 care to bet every time. If no bets are made, and the 
 mean player has won three rubbers in succession, and is 
 consequently a winner, he suddenly discovers that he has 
 an engagement, that he cannot play any more. He is 
 sorry to break up the rubber, but he must go. Or he is 
 compelled to write a letter which cannot be delayed. The 
 great object of the mean player is to leave off a winner ; 
 and when he thinks it probable that the run of the cards, 
 may turn against him, he ceases playing, and conse- 
 quently gives no chance to his adversaries to win back 
 what they have lost. The mean player must be a man 
 with a small mind, and though he considers his system a 
 veiy cunning one, it is in reality based on a wrong 
 principle, for when in bad luck he would go on playing, 
 and would lose probably six or seven rubbers. Conse- 
 quently, he limited his winnings, but placed no limits on 
 his losings. If the mean player adopted the directly 
 opposite course, and limited his losings when in bad luck, 
 but allowed his winnings to reach any height when in 
 good luck, the results would be more satisfactory. 
 
 No one ought to complain when a man has lost, and is.
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 263 
 
 desirous of ceasing to play. But when a man has won, 
 and then announces his wish to cease playing, it does 
 look as though the only object of such a player was to 
 win money ; whereas, a real whist player takes as much 
 interest in a rubber of whist, independent of the stakes, 
 as a chess player takes in a game of chess. It is the 
 exercise of mental power which is the great delight, and 
 the stakes are the acknowledgment of that power having 
 been well employed. If no stakes were played for, or no 
 register kept of the results of the rubbers, there would be 
 no proof of the relative merits of players. The mean 
 player would not then care to play. His object is to win 
 money, not to play whist. 
 
 Tlie Man who takes his Pound of Flesh. 
 
 THERE are some whist players who are like Shylock in 
 their acts. There is a law for whist, and they will exact 
 this law to the utmost. If an adversary hold his cards 
 rather low, and then partly separates a card from the 
 pack, he calls this card at once, if it is likely to be of 
 benefit to him. " Don't tell me it was not separated ; 
 why, I saw it plainly. It is an exposed card ; put it down 
 on the table." 
 
 " That saves the game," remarks his adversary, as he 
 wins the fifth trick. 
 
 " How does it save the game ? " enquires the Shylock. 
 
 " Because my partner turned up the knave." 
 
 " Oh ! very well ; I now call your highest trump, as you 
 have rendered yourself liable by rule 53 to have your 
 highest or lowest trump called." 
 
 In every case where it is possible to claim a penalty the 
 Shylock will claim it. He has no mercy, and very often 
 he endeavours to claim a penalty to which he is not 
 entitled. There seems some obscurity in the law relative 
 to claiming a penalty to which you are not entitled. I 
 consider the fairest law is, " That any person making a
 
 264 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 demand for a penalty to which he is not entitled should 
 lose his right to any penalty." Suppose a player drop a 
 three of clubs on the table, the card is an exposed card ; 
 when it is his partner's lead, the Shy lock calls on this 
 partner to lead a trump an illegal claim. A nervous 
 player might be induced by this claim to play out a trump, 
 and expose consequently another card. Of course, the 
 only penalty is to call the exposed card, so that to demand 
 a lead is attempting to claim that to which you are not 
 entitled ; and as a punishment for this false claim, the 
 original error ought to be condoned, the false claim can- 
 celling the error of exposing a card. 
 
 The man who takes his pound of flesh is always on the 
 watch to deal quickly in case the adversaries held honours 
 and have not at once called or scored them. If the adver- 
 saries win the trick and hold two by honours, and with 
 their markers score three, he deals and then says, " How 
 are you three ? " 
 
 " Two by honours and the trick." 
 
 " The first I ever heard about honours ; you never called 
 them, and by rule 7 scoring is not sufficient, so take down 
 two from your score." 
 
 " The utmost rigour of the law is always carried out by 
 this class of player ; he is unmerciful, and takes every 
 advantage that the law enables him to claim." 
 
 On one occasion a bystander remarked, in answer to the 
 question, "Should you have played as I did?" "If you 
 had led your spade you would have saved the game." 
 
 The adversaries had not scored or referred to the 
 scoring when this remark was made. They, however, had 
 won three by cards and held two by honours, and they said 
 "a treble." Shylock asserted that the bystander ought 
 to pay the stakes, as he informed the players of their 
 honours. The players denied this, stating that they well 
 knew they were game and rubber. Shylocks must be 
 guarded against.
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 265 
 
 The Unobservant Player. 
 
 A MAN who possesses only feeble perceptive powers is 
 a weak whist player. If he thinks or attempts to reason, 
 he does so from imperfect or erroneous data. He will 
 lead you the card most likely to damage your hand, in- 
 stead of the card that will be most advantageous to you ; 
 and he always has a reason for such acts, though the 
 reasons are based on error. Among the common errors 
 of the unobservant player are the following : 
 
 I hold four trumps viz., king, four, three, two, clubs 
 being trumps ; five spades viz., king, knave, five, three, 
 two; king and one diamond ; king and one heart. Ace 
 of trumps turned to my right. 
 
 I lead the three of spades ; partner wins with queen and 
 returns ace, to which my two falls. My partner holds four 
 spades. He now does not notice that my two falling to 
 the second round shows that my original lead was from 
 five, consequently the adversaries hold no more spades. 
 If, therefore, he leads a third spade, one adversary discards, 
 the other makes a small trump. 
 
 Enquiring at the end of the hand why he led this third 
 round of spades, his remarks are usually, " Why I thought 
 you must have something in the suit, or eke you would 
 not have led it." 
 
 " But did you not perceive that as you held four, and 
 the fall of my card showed that I held five, it followed 
 that all the remaining spades were in your and my hand ? 
 
 " Oh ! when your two fell I thought you were perhaps 
 playing for a ruff, and then you would have complained 
 that I did not return your lead. " 
 
 " What ! lead for a ruff in my first and original lead, 
 with a three and two of a suit ? " 
 
 " I couldn't tell ; I've often seen people play that way." 
 
 f< Then, again, when you led me a trump I won with my 
 king, and ventured to return the two up to the ace. When.
 
 266 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 you took a third round of trumps my three fell ; then why 
 did you draw the remaining trump which must be in my 
 hand ?" 
 
 " I wanted to make sure, and to get out all the trumps 
 so as to make our spades. I couldn't tell you held the 
 remaining trump." 
 
 " Did I not return you the two, and then my three fell 
 to the third round ? " 
 
 ' ' Oh, but you so often play false cards so as to deceive 
 the adversaries, that I thought probably you held no 
 more trumps." 
 
 "Again, in another hand, you did not see my ask for 
 trumps, partner." 
 
 " I didn't see you ask for trumps." 
 
 " Did I not play my six of clubs to your lead of king, 
 and then the two to your ace ? Then you led a third club, 
 which was ruffed." 
 
 " But the queen was turned to my right, and I cotildn't 
 well lead up to that." 
 
 " I held ace, king, and four other trumps ; yet the 
 adversaries made three tricks by ruffs." 
 
 "I thought my right adversary played the two of clubs, 
 and that he was asking." 
 
 Diamonds were led to my right ; I play knave second 
 hand and win. I hold knave, queen, ace. My unobser- 
 vant partner holds king and two small diamonds. Each 
 time he wins a trick he carefully avoids leading a diamond, 
 until my left adversary has discarded two diamonds ; then 
 he leads a diamond, and my queen is ruffed. 
 
 " Why did you not lead a diamond, partner? " 
 
 " Why, it was A.'s original lead, and I wanted to keep 
 my king guarded. I thought he had all the diamonds." 
 ?*! " Then what did you think I held in diamonds, when 
 I played my knave second hand and it won ? " 
 
 " I couldn't tell what you had. I thought perhaps you 
 had no more, so I thought I had better keep my king 
 guarded."
 
 Appendix to Foiirth Edition. 267 
 
 " Consequently you opened two fresh suits and led up 
 to ace, queen in each case, and sacrificed my king of each * 
 suit. Why not lead through the strong hand of diamonds, 
 if you believed it so strong ? " 
 
 " It's all very well talking when the hand is over, and 
 we know where the cards were. It would perhaps have 
 been better as it turned out to lead the diamond, but I 
 couldn't possibly tell that." 
 
 The unobservant player never sees an ask for trumps 
 if made by the adversaries, and is as likely as not to lead 
 up to a fourth hand, which fourth hand has asked. 
 When it comes to the end of a hand, the unobservant 
 player is the most dangerous, as he will then almost to a 
 certainty commit some act which alone could lose the 
 game. Not long since I lost a rubber with such a partner, 
 and the case serves as a good example of this type of 
 man. 
 
 I held five cards viz., king, knave, and two of 
 trumps, diamonds being trumps ; one small spade, one 
 small club. I had turned up the king of trumps, and had 
 led a penultimate in trumps, and there had been two 
 rounds of trumps, and by the fall of the cards it was 
 almost certain that the two trumps remaining, which were 
 the queen and eight, were held by my right hand adver- 
 sary. It was my partner's lead, and we must win four 
 out of the five tricks to win the game. If the adversaries 
 won two tricks they won the game and rubber. My 
 partner held ace, king, knave of spades, king and queen, 
 of clubs. He led the king of spades, which won, and to 
 which I played the nine ; he then played the king of 
 clubs, which my right adversary won with ace, and 
 played a small club, which I was obliged to ruff, and 
 then had to lead with king, knave up to queen, eight 
 fourth hand, and of course lost the rubber. 
 
 The unobservant player could not be convinced that he 
 had played stupidly. His excuses were as follows : " I 
 held ace, king, knave of spades, and I wanted to show
 
 268 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 you that I held these, so that I might finesse the knave ; 
 then there was only the ace of clubs to heat my king, and 
 you might have held that ace. I can't see that I played 
 wrong." 
 
 "But," I ask, " did you not know I held three more 
 trumps, and, having only five cards in my hand, your 
 attempted finesse in the spade was useless? Play out 
 your ace of spades, and I discard my only club and win 
 the game." 
 
 " I couldn't tell you had only one club," complains 
 the unobservant player. 
 
 It seems sometimes most singular how some people 
 with such foggy intellects can get through the usual 
 routine of daily business, for if they brought into daily 
 affairs the same unreasonableness, and the same want of 
 observation, they must fail in anything they xindertook. 
 
 Another peculiarity of the unobservant player is that 
 he will commit the same style of error, game after game. 
 He sees that he loses a trick by a certain method of play- 
 ing, yet he will not alter this method, and day after day 
 he loses by adopting it. He never improves, and fails to 
 perceive, though he looks over the hands of good players, 
 the difference between his and their style of play. Job 
 never had for a partner an unobservant player, or his 
 reputation for patience would not have been gained. 
 
 'fhe. Litigious Player. 
 
 WE not unfrequently meet the litigious player. He is 
 a man much given to argument and dispute. Although 
 there are certain rules laid down for whist, yet these 
 rules do not, and cannot, meet every variation in the 
 game, or solve all the cases that crop up. The litigious 
 player is perpetually starting such cases. He is not as bad 
 as the man who will have his pound of flesh, but he is 
 not desirable in a whist club. Here are some of the acts 
 of the litigious player. He is dealing, and during the
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 269 
 
 deal one of the adversaries remarks, " Is it not our deal, 
 partner ( " The litigious player stops and says, " It is no 
 misdeal ; you have interrupted me in my deal. If I make 
 a misdeal, I deal again." 
 
 "I did not interrupt you in the deal," replies the 
 speaker. ' ' I merely asked my partner if it were not 
 our deal." 
 
 " That is interrupting me in the deal ; now I will make 
 you a bet that you cannot claim a misdeal." He will 
 argue this point during several minutes, and seems to 
 take as much interest in his discussion as he could take 
 in the play of the hand. 
 
 Whilst dealing, the litigious player deals one of the 
 cards, that should have been dealt to an adversary, so 
 rapidly that it falls on the floor. The adversary picks up 
 this card. "No misdeal," exclaims the dealer; "you 
 have touched the cards." 
 
 During the play of the hand the litigious player's 
 partner plays a diamond to a heart, but perceives his mis- 
 take, and plays a heart instantly. The adversaries call 
 the defaulter's highest heart. 
 
 " You cannot call that," exclaims the litigious player, 
 " now that he has played." 
 
 " Yes I can," reply the adversaries. " He must allow 
 a reasonable time to enable us to claim which penalty we 
 choose." 
 
 " There was plenty of time." 
 " Certainly not ; he played his card at once." 
 " I maintain there was time for you to call before he 
 threw another card on the table." 
 
 The litigious player will continue this dispute during 
 several minutes, and is prepared to bet he is right. 
 
 The litigious player leads ; just as his partner is about 
 to play, the dealer takes up the trump card. He stops 
 his partner from playing, and says, though he knows well 
 what it is, " Show me the trump card." 
 " Six of spades," says the dealer.
 
 270 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 " No it was not. Lay the six of spades on the table ; 
 that is an exposed card. Now name the trump card. " 
 
 In such acts the litigious player experiences great 
 delight, and -will never lose an opportunity of arguing a 
 question. 
 
 When playing with a litigious player, you cannot be too 
 careful to keep well within the law, in order to avoid 
 disputes. 
 
 The Good Bad Player. 
 
 I HAVE frequently heard it stated that A. or B. did 
 not understand anything about whist, yet were so lucky 
 that they nearly always won. Not being a believer in 
 the superstition that some men possess the power of 
 attracting all the trumps and court cards into their hands, 
 I have watched the play of several men who have gained 
 this reputation, and I class them under the head of "good 
 bad players." They are to a certain extent bad players, 
 inasmuch as they do not follow out some of those rules 
 which long experience has shown to be the best in the 
 long run, and so they are considered bad players by the 
 more orthodox performer. But they will often use such 
 quickness of perception, that they will snatch a trick 
 under conditions where a first-class player would not 
 attempt to snatch it. They play what we may term an 
 irregular game, and they play this irregular game well. 
 They are bound by no rules in fact, they ignore most 
 rules ; but they exercise a plain common sense, and often 
 judgment, which stands in its stead. In the somewhat 
 old-fashioned game, where it was considered sacrilege to 
 force your partner if weak in trumps, they gained a 
 greater advantage than they could do now, as they would 
 give their partner the chance of making his trumps, and 
 had no compunction in doing so, even though they held 
 but three small trumps in their own hands. The good 
 bad player is a very close observer, and knows what style
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 271 
 
 of game the adversaries will play under certain conditions. 
 I have seen such a player adopt the following among 
 many other curious variations of the game. He held ace, 
 queen, knave, and eight of spades, trumps ; ace, queen, 
 six, four of hearts ; king, knave, and two of diamonds ; 
 queen and four of clubs. The king of spades was turned 
 up to his right. 
 
 He commenced his lead with the two of diamonds ; his 
 partnerjwonwith ace, and returned three of hearts ; second 
 player played seven of hearts, and the good bad player 
 deliberately played his six third in hand. Fourth player 
 won the trick and concluded that the good bad player 
 held no more hearts, and led a trump, which was what he 
 wanted, as he captured the king, led his ace, knave, and 
 drew all the trumps ; then played his ace, queen of hearts, 
 and found that the king of hearts lay to his left, and the 
 knave, which fell second hand, to his right. 
 
 Upon asking afterwards why he played in that manner, 
 he said he knew he should at once get a trump from his 
 left adversary, and that was the only way in which he was 
 certain to catch the king. If he asked for trumps and his 
 partner led them, he should finesse his knave, and would 
 then have the lead, and he did not see how to put his 
 partner in again so as to get another trump through the 
 king. As it turned out, the queen of hearts would have 
 been taken by the king in the first round, just as it was 
 taken in the third round ; and as his partner held only 
 four small hearts, they made two tricks in hearts, which 
 was all they could make in that suit, after his partner had 
 led a heart. 
 
 The play was what nearly every orthodox player would 
 call bad play, but the result was the gain of a trick ; and 
 such play was adopted because the good bad player 
 could predict almost to a certainty that fourth hand would 
 lead a trump. 
 
 A player in this class will rarely finesse, his object in 
 the majority of cases being to win every trick he can win
 
 272 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 without risk. You will never find a player of this de- 
 scription at the end of a hand have to throw away an ace 
 or a king, with which he might have won a trick, whilst 
 his queen or his knave, having been finessed, was captured 
 by the fourth hand. He is like a billiard player, who 
 will always pot the white and make double baulk, rather 
 than attempt a difficult stroke which may give him a 
 great break, but may leave his adversary a large score. 
 The good bad player often deserves more credit for his 
 skill than he usually obtains. 
 
 The Bad Good Player. 
 
 THAT a man who plays a very good rubber, understands 
 the theory of the game, is a most careful observer of the 
 fall of the cards, will remember towards the end of the 
 hand whether his five of trumps is the winning or losing 
 trump of the two remaining in, can continually lose can 
 be accounted for only, it might be assumed, by the theory 
 that he is a very bad card holder and an unlucky 
 player. 
 
 The best general is he who makes the fewest mistakes, 
 for mistakes must be made, both in campaigns and in 
 whist. Now in whist there are mistakes of various kinds. 
 The bad good player will never trump the twelfth card 
 third in hand when it is the best, nor will he fail to 
 trump it if there is a higher in. He will never draw his 
 partner's last trump, when he holds the only other trump, 
 in consequence of failing to observe that his partner held 
 four trumps. Towards the end of the hand, he will to a 
 certainty perceive the advisability of taking his partner's 
 trick in order to lead through a strong hand, and give his 
 partner the finesse, and so win an extra trick. These and 
 other similar acts establish the reputation of the player, 
 and he is referred to as " one of the best players." Yefc 
 he does not win ; and how can this be accounted for, 
 except by admitting that he is a very bad card holder ?
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 273 
 
 The manner in which some of these players play a hand 
 of whist is similar to the manner in which a Chinaman 
 paints a landscape. You may examine the details of this 
 landscape with a microscope, and you can detect no defect. 
 The features of the figures are perfect, you can see nearly 
 every hair in the heads of the people represented, the 
 patterns of the dress are beautifully executed, and yet 
 the perspective and general effect of the drawing is un- 
 natural and untrue. So with some whist players : they 
 are perfect at details, but they lack the requisite dash at 
 the right time, and they fail in the necessary caution 
 that ought to be adopted at others. There are at whist 
 mistakes of various kinds. A bad player will trump your 
 best card and lose a trick thereby ; the bad good player 
 will never do anything so atrocious as that, but he will 
 probably lead out of turn, or fail to see that you have 
 taken his trick, or when he has asked for trumps, and 
 you, holding five trumps and an honour, see a certainty of 
 game by forcing him, he will refuse to take your force, 
 though by that force alone the game could have been 
 won. He will insist that to force your partner when he 
 asks for trumps must be bad play and he will not sub- 
 mit to the form of game which you indicate to him. At 
 other times he will play for a great game. lie holds four 
 trumps and a five suit ; he first endeavours to clear his 
 five suit and then finds that he gets the second round of 
 this suit ruffed. "When he gets in, he leads trumps, and 
 finds [the adversary who did not ruff also holds four 
 trumps ; and all the trumps being drawn, the adversaries 
 bring in a suit of four diamonds, and your partner loses 
 the game. He struck out and carried on a form of game 
 on which he had decided, before he had seen enough of 
 your weakness in other suits, to demonstrate, that his style 
 of game was dangerous. He is in reality too often en- 
 deavouring to accomplish some grand game, which if it 
 succeeded would no doubt gain the game, but which if it 
 failed loses the game, and the error he too often makes 
 
 T
 
 274 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 is not correctly estimating the improbability of its 
 success. 
 
 When there are two methods of finishing a game, the 
 bad good player will usually select the most complicated. 
 The following is an example of such play. There were 
 three cards in each hand. I held the king of trumps 
 {which I had turned up), a small trump, and a small club. 
 My partner held ace, knave of trumps, and the thirteenth 
 heart. I had no indication that my partner held ace and 
 knave. Left adversary held two trumps, the only others 
 remaining in. It was my partner's lead; he led me the 
 thirteenth heart. If ace, knave of trumps, were to my 
 left, and I ruffed with my king, I lost it, and might lose 
 .all three tricks. If I passed up the heart, I must make 
 my king. I had plainly shown that my king was guarded 
 .and the queen of trumps had been played. If I lost all 
 three tricks, I lost game and rubber ; so the question was 
 .should I ruff with my king, or pass the heart. Knowing 
 my partner had the reputation of being a very good 
 player, I could not credit him with holding ace and 
 knave. Had he held ace and knave, I believed he would 
 have led his knave, to show me he held the ace, and then 
 his thirteenth heart, when of course I ruff with my king, 
 and we win all three tricks. As it was, we lost this one 
 trick and just missed winning the rubber in that hand, 
 and in the next we lost it. 
 
 I was at once condemned by my partner for having 
 played "shamefully." 
 
 " What could I lead the thirteenth heart for, but to 
 ask for your king ? " he exclaimed. " It will not admit of 
 argument." 
 
 " You might play it in order that the lead should come 
 up to me, and thus enable me to make my king, and save 
 the game. Did you know my king was guarded ? " 
 
 " Of course I knew your king was guarded, but what 
 had that to do with it ; my thirteenth card could only be 
 a request for your king."
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 275 
 
 "Supposing you had held the two small trumps, or 
 only one, and ace, knave, and another had been to my 
 left, I should have lost the game if I ruffed with my king, 
 and saved it if I passed your thirteenth heart. Why 
 complicate the game ; why not lead your knave and make 
 the game clear ? " 
 
 " I could not make the game clearer than I did, and 
 your bad play lost the rubber." 
 
 This is an example of the bad good player. It was a 
 delicate point where such a player fails to see the difference 
 between a certainty and a risk, and he cannot or will not 
 admit the accuracy of the position. 
 
 Among the singular acts of the bad good player, I have 
 witnessed such as the following : 
 
 A player held the knave, nine of trumps ; the king of 
 trumps it was known was to his left, and the ace, queen 
 had been played. His right adversary led ten of trumps, 
 on which he played his nine, third player passed it, and 
 the ten won. A small trump was next led, and his knave 
 fell to the king. 
 
 On asking this player (who played in most respects an 
 excellent rubber) why he did not cover the ten with his 
 knave, he replied, to my astonishment, " What was the 
 use ? My nine and knave were of equal value, and the 
 king was on my left." 
 
 The same player on another occasion held ace, ten only 
 of diamonds, and was fourth player ; I held queen, 
 knave only. A small diamond was led to my right, and 
 second in hand I played my knave ; third player played 
 small diamond, and my partner put his ace on my knave, 
 and returned the ten when my queen fell to the king of 
 original leader. 
 
 " Why did you take my knave, partner ? " 
 
 " Of course I took it to show you I had only two ! " 
 
 It seems difficult to believe that a good player could 
 commit such acts ; yet they are committed, and I class 
 such men as bad good players. 
 
 T 2
 
 276 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 The Man with the Pre-occupied Mind. 
 
 ON whatever business or amusement a man may for the 
 time being be occupied, on that should he devote the 
 whole of his attention. More particularly is this the case 
 when whist is the occupation, for a man is then not 
 independent he is in partnership, and his partner suffers 
 or benefits by his acts. To a whist player it is as annoying 
 to lose a rubber by the stupidity or want of attention of 
 his partner, as it would be for an epicure, who is preparing 
 a choice dish, to have it spoilt by a careless attendant up- 
 setting a salt-cellar into it. The amount of stakes lost or 
 won by such acts has nothing to do with the case. It is 
 the fact that you have held cards which might have won 
 a rubber, and that your partner has thwarted you by his 
 want of attention, that causes the annoyance. It is little 
 short of an insult to you when your partner, who can 
 play a fair game, makes blunder after blunder, and then, 
 as excuse, informs you that he is thinking of something 
 else. It is a sort of intimation that his gigantic intellect 
 has such important matters occupying it, that he cannot, 
 like you, condescend to apply it to such a trifle as whist. 
 Too often such excuses are the indication of a weak and 
 vain man. He does not possess the power of concentra- 
 tion, and, like many men in various walks of life, 
 pretends he is above his business, whereas his business is 
 above him. The man with the pre-occupied mind requires 
 but few remarks. He is usually feeble at everything, 
 always thinking, if he can really think, of something else 
 than the business on which he is then occupied. 
 
 The Popular Player. 
 
 POPULARITY might fairly be described as "the art of 
 making other people pleased with themselves." If a man, 
 either from the desire to be popular, or from the natural 
 sweetness of his disposition, makes other people imagine
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 277 
 
 that he thinks very highly of them, he is tolerably 
 certain to be popular. This attribute may be considered 
 the chief qualification of the popular player. There are, 
 however, other items necessary in order that the whist 
 player should be popular. 
 
 In the first place, the man who is a popular player 
 rarely, if ever, finds fault with his partner. Should his 
 partner commit endless errors, and lose trick after trick, 
 he only smiles, pretends not to see the blunders, or makes 
 some excuse in order to prove that the mistake was one 
 which anyone might have made. If his partner, by the 
 most ordinary play, succeeds in winning a game, he com- 
 pliments him on his skill, and probably, after the rubber, 
 informs him that many men would have lost that game, 
 or, at least, would have failed to win it. To be a 
 popular player a man must not win too much. If a man 
 generally wins, the fact itself raises the jealousy of many 
 men, and they feel depressed and their pride hurt by the 
 fact of one man always winning whilst they always lose. 
 He should never lose his temper or be angry, no matter 
 how much he loses by the faults of his partner, and he 
 must exercise mercy when the adversaries break a whist 
 law, and have rendered themselves liable to a penalty. 
 A man must be what may be termed " oily " who is very 
 popular as a whist player. He must himself play a very 
 good game, or his partner will not approve of him ; and 
 he must never defend his play, though he may have 
 played perfectly. Should his partner, who may be quite 
 wrong, find fault with the cards he played, " Perhaps it 
 would have been better," or, "I think you are right, 
 partner," are safe terms to use, though he knows that in 
 neither case is he stating what he thinks, nor is he 
 stating what is true. 
 
 " Why should I try to teach other men to play as well 
 as 1 play ? " a popular player once said to me. " If I 
 instruct my partner, he may in the next rubber, as my 
 adversary, pelt me with my own missiles. These men
 
 278 Appendix to Fozirtk Edition. 
 
 don't know, and don't want to know ; they all really 
 believe they play as well as I do, so I let them think so, 
 and I win, and they attribute it all to luck." 
 
 It becomes then a very serious question whether ' ' the 
 popular player " is or is not genuine and trustworthy. He 
 may be gifted naturally with a sweet and retiring dispo- 
 sition, holding a mean opinion of himself, and thinking 
 highly of his neighbours ; but and we fear, in some cases, 
 it is quite possible that the popular player is crafty and a 
 humbug. There are, however, popular players who deserve 
 their popularity in consequence of their sociable and genial 
 dispositions. They are excellent company, always good- 
 tempered, take their losses patiently, and their success 
 without any display of triumph. They play whist for the 
 love of the game, they are always ready to admit an 
 error when they have committed one, and willing to 
 quietly discuss a whist problem for the purpose of de- 
 ciding this problem on its merits. When they argue, it 
 is for the purpose of eliciting truth, not to get the better 
 of an adversary by quibbles. Such men are trustworthy 
 as partners, not objectionable as adversaries, and most 
 desirable as friends and companions. You feel safe with 
 such men, both at the whist table and away from it. And 
 when two or three of such men belong to a whist club, 
 they give a tone and a character to the style of play which 
 causes the rubbers to be most enjoyable. The difference 
 between the popular player who really deserves his popu- 
 larity, and the popular player who by craftiness gains a 
 certain amount of general favour, is as marked as is the 
 difference between the honest house-dog and the crafty 
 jackal. Popularity may be deserved, and it may be 
 pilfered. Sometimes it requires discernment to distin- 
 guish to which of the two items it belongs.
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 279 
 
 The Unpopular Player. 
 
 IT is the easiest thing in the world to be unpopular as 
 a whist player. The principal qualifications are, to be an 
 excellent player in a club where the other players are 
 but moderate performers, and to speak the truth, and ex- 
 press in words, not think only, your opinions. 
 
 Of course, when thus defining the attributes of an un- 
 popular player, it is supposed that he does not owe his 
 impopularity either to his being an unobservant, a mean, 
 or a crafty player, or because he is an example of any 
 of those objectionable classes of players described under 
 previous headings. A man may possess all the qualifica- 
 tions of a whist player, and yet be unpopular merely in 
 consequence of stating the truth. I once heard an in- 
 different player state that he would not play in the same 
 rubber with A., as he was such a disagreeable partner. 
 Upon asking in what way he was disagreeable, I was 
 informed that he was always finding fault with his 
 partner's play. 
 
 "But is he correct when he does find fault that is, does 
 he endeavour to point out your errors, and thereby try tx> 
 make you play a better game ? " 
 
 ' ' No doubt I committed errors, but then I don't sit 
 down at whist to be schooled. I play my own game, and if 
 my partner does not like it, why he need not play with 
 me, or I won't play with him." 
 
 Translate this remark into its actual meaning, and it 
 would fairly read as follows : Not having studied the 
 game of whist, and not understanding the art of the 
 game, I play a bad rubber, but I have no wish or inten- 
 tion of improving. When I am told that I play badly, 
 my self-esteem and pride are hurt. I would sooner doze 
 in a fool's paradise, and imagine I play as well as anybody 
 else, than have it demonstrated to me that I play badly, 
 and be taught how to play better. When a man tries to
 
 280 Appendix to Foiirth Edition. 
 
 awaken me from my delusion ,"-! consider that he is very 
 unpleasant. 
 
 A very wise man once remarked to me, after my 
 partner, who was a Lieutenant-Governor, had lost me a 
 rubber by bad play, " D. has been holding high official 
 positions too long to play a good rubber." 
 
 " What has that to do with it ? " I asked. 
 
 "Because," replied my informant, "he is a vain man, 
 and no one would venture to tell him that he plays whist 
 like an idiot. Consequently, he never improves, but 
 commits the same errors year after year. He really 
 imagines he plays a first-class rubber." 
 
 If we were to gather from good whist players their 
 information relative to the means by which they have 
 attained their excellence, we should probably hear that 
 in their early whist-playing days, any blunder they 
 committed was condemned, by their more experienced 
 partners in terms, which impressed on their memory this 
 error, and they never committed it again. 
 
 In my young days I made a particular mistake in the 
 play of a hand when I had one of these plain-speaking 
 partners, and stupidly replied to my partner's scolding by 
 asking him if he had never before seen a man play as 
 badly. 
 
 " Only once before," he replied, " and then the poor 
 creature went to a lunatic asylum the next day. He was 
 suffering from softening of the brain." 
 
 No whist player will venture to use unnecessary force 
 in his language when he points out a glaring defect in his 
 partner's play, unless he find that the defaulter repeats 
 this error again and again, or commits the common error 
 of unteachable and conceited men of attempting to 
 defend their blunders, or by assigning some ridiculous 
 reason for playing as they did play. An apt and willing 
 pupil is, and ought to be, thankful to be told how his 
 game may be made stronger. When, however, as is often 
 the case, a man commits an egregious blunder, and upon
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 281 
 
 this blunder being pointed out to him, he announces that 
 he should play just the same again, he exhibits an obstinate 
 self-sufficiency that is irritating to reasonable men. Tell 
 him so, and to him you become o,n unpopular player. 
 
 It is quite possible, and not uncommon, that an un- 
 popular player owes his unpopularity merely to the fact 
 that he is a good player among those who are bad that he 
 is candid and straightforward, and, in spite of the fact 
 that it is unwise in a business point of view to teach other 
 men to play as well as he does, yet he has such a love of 
 the science of the game that he points out to other 
 players their blunders, and thus hurts their self-esteem. 
 
 The Undepettdable Player. 
 
 THE minds of some whist players seem to be so consti- 
 tuted that they cannot adhere to anyone system of play. It 
 is a most important matter at whist to so understand your 
 partner's play that you can form a very fair estimate of 
 the cards in his hand after he has played three or four 
 cards . You know, if he has the original lead and is a depend- 
 able player, by the card he leads what suit is his strongest. 
 You can also predict by the card he plays second or third 
 hand what cards he cannot hold, and what cards it is 
 probable he may hold. This conversation of the game, 
 as it is termed, enables two good whist players who are 
 partners to play their hands almost in the same manner 
 as though they saw the cards which each held. When, 
 however, you are unfortunate enough to be afflicted with 
 a bad partner, you are in a measure playing blindfold. 
 You can never make out what your partner wants ; you may 
 suspect, or you may guess, but you can never be certain, 
 and it is not improbable that, after duly estimating the 
 probabilities offered you by your partner, you may lead 
 him the very card which alone can lose you the game. 
 
 The undependable player will probably commence his 
 first lead by leading from his strongest suit, a suit in
 
 282 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 which you also are fairly strong. You are strong in trumps, 
 so you extract the trumps, return him. his lead, and. 
 by this means win the game. During the next hand your 
 partner, on gaining the lead, leads you a spade. You are 
 fairly strong in trumps, and you extract these, return him 
 his lead, and then find that he led from a " singleton, " 
 and wanted to ruff this suit. The next time that he leads 
 a suit you are at a loss to know whether this is his strong 
 or his weak suit, and you play entirely in the dark, so 
 that your two hands, instead of working together, are 
 very often pulling in opposite directions. 
 
 Your partner may lead a suit in which you hold ace 
 and one small card, and three small trumps. You win 
 with your ace, and at once return him the remaining card 
 in this suit, showing him you are able to ruff it on the 
 next round. Your partner wins with king, and opens a 
 fresh suit in which he has no winning card, and at the 
 end of the hand explains that he did so because he 
 thought that you imagined him much stronger than he 
 really was in his original lead, and that was why you had 
 returned it to him at once ; so, to show you he was not 
 strong, he opened a fresh suit. 
 
 You lead him as an original lead ace of clubs, hold- 
 ing ace, nine, and three small clubs. Ace wins, and you 
 lead him a small club. King wins second hand, and the 
 third round of clubs is led by the then leader. Your 
 partner throws away a good card, and queen wins third 
 in hand, and your partner, who held only three small 
 trumps, says he did not like to ruff it, as he feared you 
 might hold the queen. 
 
 When the game reaches a point at which, unless you 
 hold one particular card, the game must be lost, such a 
 partner will never play as though you held this card, but 
 will lead a card which must lose the game, no matter 
 whether you do or do not hold this card. As an example 
 of such play the following is very common : Knave of 
 trumps turned to my left, and still held in left adversary's
 
 Appendix to Foiirth Edition. 283, 
 
 hand ; the king of trumps still in, and the only trump in, 
 besides one in my partner's hand (and the knave) ; my 
 partner holds a thirteenth card, and this one trump. If 
 we lose one trick we lose the rubber. Unless I hold the 
 king of trumps and a winning card, and my partner leada 
 his trump, we must lose the game. The undependable 
 player at such a point will to a certainty lead the thirteenth 
 card, and will in excuse say, " You could do as you liked 
 with it ruff it, or not. I thought it too dangerous to lead 
 the trump." 
 
 It is very difficult to imagine how a man who reasons 
 in this manner at whist ever performs with reason the 
 ordinary duties of life. If, towards the end of the hand, 
 you lead the undependable player the twelfth card, and 
 the thirteenth card of the suit is to your right, and you 
 have led the better of the two cards, your partner pro- 
 bably hesitates for some time, nmnnurs something about 
 "better make sure," and ruffs probably with the ace of 
 trumps. 
 
 The undependable player is usually gifted with a most 
 fertile imagination. After he has lost two or three tricks 
 by very bad play, he will explain to you his reasons, some- 
 what in the following manner : 
 
 " I thought you would be sure to hold the king of spades 
 and the ace of hearts, and I did not give you credit for 
 anything in diamonds ; so though I held ace, king of 
 diamonds, and had won with the knave, I thought it 
 better not to play my diamonds, and so give up the com- 
 mand of the adversaries' suit." 
 
 " And so you held up your ace, king of diamonds till 
 one adversary had thrown away his diamonds, and you 
 made neither ace nor king." 
 
 " Oh, that was unlucky; but I thought it very dangerous 
 to play them out." 
 
 " But why should you imagine that I had king of spades > 
 ace of hearts, and all the diamonds against you ? " 
 
 " Well, I couldn't tell what you had, but I supposed
 
 284 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 you must hold something, and I thought it was the king 
 of spades, &c., &c." 
 
 With the undependable player for your partner, you 
 can venture nothing which would call for an exercise of 
 memory or judgment on his part, for he will to a certainty 
 fail to remember, and when he attempts to judge, he will 
 come to a wrong conclusion. 
 
 The Superstitious Player. 
 
 IT is very seldom that we find any person who has 
 played whist during many years who is entirely devoid 
 of superstition. Some players will not admit that they 
 have any superstition, but by their acts they demonstrate 
 that they are superstitious. 
 
 The most common forms of superstition exhibited at 
 whist are the following : 
 
 Having choice of seats for the first rubber, to take the 
 hinges of the table, so that the hinge points from one 
 partner to the other. As an improvement on this, an old 
 whist player confidentially informed me once that he did 
 not believe the hinges had much to do with the run of 
 the cards, but he invariably selected to sit with his back 
 to the north, so that he and Ms partner were north and 
 south. 
 
 Another player told me that when he had the choice of 
 seats in the first rubber, he preferred to sit so that he and 
 his partner were in the direction that the wind was blow- 
 ing at the time, so that if an east wind was blowing, then 
 he liked that he and his partner should sit east and west. 
 
 When turned out of the winning seats, to always move 
 round the table to your fresh seat, in the same direction 
 that the sun appears to travel, is a most important pro- 
 ceeding according to the ideas of the superstitious player. 
 
 " Follow the table," as they say at Monte Carlo that 
 is, take the winning cards and the winning seats is one 
 of the axioms of some players ; whereas other players,
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 285 
 
 who go against the table will take the losing cards and 
 the losing seats when they have the choice. When I and 
 my partner have lost a rubber, I have frequently been 
 told by my partner, " I thought so ; you would take those 
 cards, and I knew they were the wrong ones." 
 
 Some superstitious players have a horror of holding or 
 turning up as trumps some particular card or suit. No 
 sooner is this card seen than they exclaim, ' ' All over !" One 
 of my friends looks upon the four of clubs as his evil genius, 
 whereas another feels certain he will lose if he turn up 
 diamonds as trumps. In my own case, I place implicit 
 faith in the ten of hearts. If I turn this card as trumps, 
 or if it is the first or second card that I see in my hand, I 
 feel confident that I shall win the rubber, and I very 
 often do win. If I lose the rubber, of course I forget the 
 fact. The nine of spades, however, is my unlucky card. 
 Should I turn up this card, or find it the first card in my 
 hand, I know it is a bad business for myself and partner. 
 Some superstitious players have a firm belief in turning 
 a ring on their finger, or shifting it from one hand to the 
 other, or getting up and turning their chair round, with 
 the sun of course, or calling for new packs of cards, or 
 getting up from the table and walking to the end of the 
 room, all of whicli proceedings are supposed remedies for 
 bad luck. Some players have assured me that there are 
 particular houses in which they never win, and some 
 partners with whom they never hold a card. All these 
 conclusions they imagine have been arrived at from a full 
 and fair examination of facts. 
 
 One superstitious player, when he became my trusty 
 friend, confided to me the most valuable information viz., 
 how to win to a certainty at whist. He kept a diagram of 
 his luck, like thos"e representing the rise and fall of the 
 barometer ; as long as his luck was in the ascendant, he 
 played whist. As soon as the line of luck indicated a 
 fall, he ceased playing during some days, till he believed 
 the line had reached its lowest point and was ready to
 
 286 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 
 
 ascend ; then lie would play again. Unfortunately, the 
 results of this system were not successful, for I found 
 that during six months he was a loser of over three 
 hundred points. 
 
 The thoroughly superstitious player is rarely a strong 
 player. At whist we may, to a certain extent, command 
 success ; but this is not gained by such fetish-like pro- 
 ceedings as those to which we have referred, but by 
 keeping one's head clear, by watching the fall of the 
 cards, giving one's entire attention to the game, never 
 running unnecessary risks, and by playing a bad hand 
 well. He who adopts this course need not place much 
 value on choice of cards, seats, or other superstitions. 
 
 The Selfish Player. 
 
 SELFISHNESS is very easily shown at whist. Some 
 players seem to consider that one trick won by them is 
 worth two won by their partner. Such players will feel 
 hurt if a card in their hand is sacrificed, though this 
 sacrifice enables their partner to win two tricks. They 
 would sooner ruff a card with their remaining trump than 
 lead it to their partner, and by so doing win an extra 
 trick. When you have shown a suit of great strength, 
 and have then extracted trumps, the selfish player will be 
 more disposed to try and make a trick from his own hand 
 than return you your own suit, though it seems almost 
 certain that you could win every trick. A remarkable 
 instance of the fatal results of this selfish play occurred to 
 me a short time ago. I held ace, king, queen, knave, 
 eight, and two of spades ; the queen, nine, and two of 
 diamonds (trumps) ; two small hearts, two small clubs. 
 The four of diamonds turned to my right. I led king of 
 spades, then queen of trumps both won ; then nine of 
 trumps, which my partner won with ten, and then played 
 ace, which caught king ; then knave, drawing all the 
 trumps. We had thus won five tricks, and held two by
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 287 
 
 Tionours, when I looked on game as a certainty, as I 
 anticipated the return of the spade. My partner, how- 
 ever, was a selfish player, and as he held king, queen, 
 knave, and two other clubs, he wanted to make these ; so 
 he led knave of clubs, which the adversaries won with 
 ace, and the adversaries then made four tricks in hearts, 
 and saved the game, as I was compelled to discard spades. 
 My partner claimed that he had as much right to show 
 me his suit as I had to show him mine, and added that he 
 wanted to win the game with his clubs. The selfish 
 player has the greatest disinclination to throw away the 
 best card of his partner's suit ; he likes to hold up an ace 
 and block your suit, and will not hesitate to sacrifice card 
 after card in his partner's hand, rather than unguard a 
 king, or ruff with a good trump. I have actually seen 
 selfish players refuse to lead a trump to their partner's 
 call, merely because they Could ruff a suit, and wanted to 
 make a trick themselves, when probably their partner 
 held every winning card in the suit they were so anxious 
 to ruff. Also, I have seen them ruff their partner's best 
 and winning card merely because, as they said, it was 
 their best chance of making this trump. 
 
 In spite of the indications which you give the selfish 
 player, he will play his own game, and for the advantage 
 of his own hand only, though by so doing the result' is 
 the loss of a trick. 
 
 The, Iiispired Player. 
 
 THERE is an old story told of an Irishman who was 
 driving a pig towards Cork when he met a friend, who 
 enquired where he was driving the pig. 
 
 " Away from Cork," was the answer, spoken very 
 loud. 
 
 " But you are going towards Cork," was the surprised 
 answer of the enquirer. 
 
 "Whist!" said the Irishman, "it is to Cork I am
 
 288 Appendix to Foiirtk Edition. 
 
 going, but I am telling the pig I am going away from 
 Cork." 
 
 Those persons acquainted with the obstinate nature of 
 the pig, and Irish pigs in particular, will appreciate the 
 cunning of the Irishman. And those persons who have 
 been afflicted with some style of whist partners will feel 
 considerable sympathy with the Irish pig driver. 
 
 We sometimes possess a partner at whist who seems as 
 though his object were, to play in the directly opposite 
 manner, to that in which, by our leads, &c. , we have indi- 
 cated that we wish him to play. He will avoid through- 
 out the whole hand returning his partner an original 
 lead ; he will open a fresh suit, and lead up to ace, 
 queen, knave, fourth hand, and sacrifice his partner's 
 king, and when he regains a lead will do the same with 
 another suit. Whenever it is possible for him to select 
 one card out of his hand which is the very worst for his 
 partner, he is sure to select this. With very fair cards 
 we find that we lose trick after trick which we ought not 
 to have lost, and finally, though we held the preponder- 
 ance of winning cards, yet we lose the rubber. When we 
 try to recall where such a partner commenced his mis- 
 takes, and what he ought to have led or played at par- 
 ticular times, we find it difficult to exactly condemn each 
 act, but every lead was unfortunate, and every doubtful 
 question was answered unwisely. To such a player the 
 inspired player is a most pleasing contrast. There are 
 some men who, in addition to playing a sound game, 
 seem to possess an intuition as to their partner's hand, 
 and to divine what cards it is best to play or lead, so as to 
 enable their partner to make the most of his hand. I do 
 not mean by inspiration merely those conclusions to 
 which any observer is led by the fall of the cards, but a kind 
 of subtle intelligence, which enables him to change a 
 style of game at the slightest indication ; to discover an 
 ask for trumps before the ask is completed ; or to detect 
 a ruff before his partner has failed, or has played a card
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 289 
 
 which plainly proves he can hold no more. The inspired 
 player will detect when a false card is played, and pro- 
 bably derive an advantage from the fact. He will not 
 be deceived by an adversary's false card, nor misled by 
 his partner having played one. He is not to be taken 
 in by under play, nor " bluffed " by an adversary 
 throwing his queen of trumps on the king led, and yet 
 holding the ten, with which he hopes to ruff. The 
 inspired player leads the ace, and draws this ten. He is 
 never taken in by the fourth player, who holds ace, ten, 
 refusing to place his ace on the king led ; but he seems 
 to have some power of divining that a trap is being laid 
 for him, and changes his suit, and waits. He will form 
 such a correct estimate of the capacity of his adversaries 
 that he defeats all their combinations, and prevents them 
 from making what they have considered certain tricks. 
 When as many as four or five cards remain in each hand, 
 he will perceive where at that instant it is desirable to 
 place the lead, and will thus probably make an extra 
 trick. When weak in trumps, and anxious to save the 
 game by a ruff, he will, from his knowledge of his adver- 
 saries, probably lead a trump, and such a card as would 
 indicate strength, knowing that the act cannot injure his 
 partner, and will prevent the adversaries from leading 
 trumps. When you possess such a partner you find that 
 you make a trick with every card in your hand that 
 could by any possibility win a trick. You never find 
 that your kings are sacrificed by your partner leading up 
 to ace, queen, knave. He plays a card which places the 
 lead to your left, and forces your left adversary to lead 
 up to you, and thus enables you to make your kings. In 
 fact, your two hands seem to work like a well-oiled piece 
 of machinery, and there is no waste of power by friction. 
 With players of this description a rubber becomes a high 
 intellectual treat. 
 
 The inspired player must be a man possessed of the 
 quickest perceptions, and high reasoning powers. With-
 
 2 go Appendix to Foiirth Edition. 
 
 out appearing to use any great mental exertion, he 
 observes every detail. He soon notes the peculiarities of 
 particular players, and can, from the manner in which 
 they play a card, predict almost to a certainty whether 
 this card is an ask for trumps, a false card, or when 
 played in the usual order. One rarely, if ever, sees the 
 inspired player wish to look at the last trick ; he has 
 drawn his conclusions as to the probable cards in each 
 hand, from those played by each player, long before the 
 trick has been turned or quitted. He knows exactly how 
 far he can trust his partner's skill, or want of skill, and 
 will not run too much risk by asking or expecting a bad 
 partner to play like a good player. 
 
 The inspired player is comparatively rare ; he is a man 
 particularly gifted with those qualities which are brought 
 into activity by the art of whist. He perceives the weak- 
 nesses of those with whom he plays, and like a skilful 
 general gains the greatest advantages from these. Whilst 
 he obeys rule up to a certain point, lie will not hesitate to 
 play against all rule when he finds that such a proceeding 
 can alone succeed ; and it is the tact he displays in know- 
 ing just at what point of the game, or hand, to avoid 
 rule, is the reason why he deserves the name of the 
 inspired player. 
 
 The inspired player is the highest class of whist player, 
 and the most desirable as a partner. 
 
 The Remainder. 
 
 UNDER the head of " The Remainder " I place those 
 players who do not even in a small degree come under 
 any one of the previous headings. If those persons who 
 have had much whist experience reflect on the partners 
 and adversaries with whom they have had the pleasure 
 of enjoying the social rubber, I believe they will come to 
 the conclusion that the remnant is very small. We all 
 exhibit " our little ways," and " it is our nature to." We
 
 Appendix to Fourth Edition. 291 
 
 to a great extent are unable to alter our long-acquired 
 habits, and though we may be fully aware of our defects, 
 we, during the interest of a rubber, fail to keep them in 
 check. 
 
 In penning the preceding lines, I trust that no reader 
 will believe I have done so from malice, nor will my many 
 whist friends conclude that their special peculiarities have 
 been referred to. 
 
 The players herein described are types of whist players, 
 and I can probably recall some thirty or forty specimens 
 of each type or class, varying from those who exhibit 
 each peculiarity in the greatest and most minute manner. 
 Most whist players take an interest in whist anecdotes, 
 and I therefore hope that my fellow whist players may 
 find some amusement in this small addenda in which I 
 attempt to describe " whist players and their ways." 
 
 THE END. 
 
 BRADBORY, AONEW, & CO., PRINTERS, WH1TEFRIARS.
 
 from which it was borrowed.
 
 Sl0 260