/ ' 4 . \ WHIST DEVELOPMENTS WHIST DR/n QPMRffS AMERICAN LEADS AND THE PLAIN-SUIT ECHO BY “CAVENDISH,” AUTHOR OF “THE LAWS AND PRINCIPLES OF WHIST,”. ETC., ETC. SECOND EDITION. LONDON : THOMAS DE LA RUE & CO. 1SS5 PRINTED BY THOMAS DK DA KUK AND CO., BUN II I LI- ROW, LONDON. TO NICHOLAS BROWSE tBIST CORDIALLY DEDICATED T . •• ■ '\ BY THE AUTHOR. 213861 PREFACE. During the last twenty years the practice of Whist - players has undergone considerable modifi- cation. The discard from the strong suit (on adverse declaration of command of trumps), the lead of the penultimate (from suits of more than four cards), the echo of the, call for trumps, and variations in the mode of leading from certain combinations of high cards, have been introduced at different times, and have met with the approval of the great majority of good players. Recently, still further advances have been made. The leads of the lowest from suits of four cards, and of the penultimate from suits of five cards, have been shown to be merely part of a general law, which requires the lead of the fourth -led card when a strong suit is opened with a low card ; and the same law requires, as a corollary, the lead of the original fourth -bed on the second round, when a high card led is followed by a low card of the same suit. 213861 X PREFACE. Also, it has been seen that the practice which has obtained when leading from certain combi- nations of high indifferent cards was capable of a generalisation, which brings leads from high cards, as well as from low ones, under uniform rules. In this volume, the developed system of leading (under the title of American Leads) is thoroughly investigated. Lastly, a determination of the cases in which the third hand should endeavour to get rid of the com- mand of his partner’s strong suit, has only been systematically attempted of late. All good players know that it is disadvantageous to block their part- ner’s long suit; but hitherto it has been left to the ingenuity of individuals, on the impulse of the moment, to decide when and how the unblocking should be done. In this volume, an effort has been made (under the title of The Plain-Suit Echo) to generalise the cases where the leader’s partner, when he does not head the trick, should play to unblock by retaining his lowest card (playing a higher one). Portland Club, July , 1SS5. CONTENTS AMERICAN LEADS. CHAPTER I. Introductory 1 CHAPTER II. Low Card Led 4 First Maxim of American Leads .... 5 CHAPTER III. Low Card Led (continued) 7 CHAPTER IV. High Card Led (followed by low Card) . . . .11- Second Maxim of American Leads ... 15 CHAPTER V. High Card Led (followed by low Card, continued) 17 CHAPTER VI. High Card Led (followed by bigb Card) .... 22 Table of Leads, No. I . . 22 Third Maxim of American Leads .... 25 XU CONTENTS. CHAPTER VII. tAG „ High Card Led (followed by high Card, continued) .29 Table of Leads. No. IT 3G CHAPTER VIII. The Management of Teumps 97 Thump Led Originally ........ 37 Low Trump Led after a Force 38 High Trump Led after a Force . . ' . . 40 THE PLAY OF THE SECOND HAND. CHAPTER IX. The Play of the Second Hand (as affected by recent Calculation and by American Leads) ... 47 THE PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. CHAPTER X. Introductory '. . . . 53 Ace Led Originally 53 Ace Led, followed by Queen 54 Ace Led, followed by Knave 55 Ace Led, followed by Original Fourth-best 56 CHAPTER XI. The Play of the Third Hand ■ (continued) . . . CO Ace Led, followed by any Card, when the Third Hand holds Four of the Suit exactly CO CONTENTS. Xlll CHAPTER XII. The Play of the Third Hand (continued) ... 73 Re , Calling foe Trumps 73 CHAPTER XIII. The Play of the Third Hand (continued). . . 82 King Led Originally 82 CHAPTER XIV. The Play of the Third Hand (continued) . . 86 Queen Led Originally 86 Queen Led, followed by Knave ..... 87 Queen Led, followed by Ten or Nine . 87 Queen Led, followed by any Card, when the Third Hand holds Four Small Cards of the Suit exactly 91 CHAPTER XV. The Play of the Third Hand (continued) . . 59 Knave Led Originally 99 Knave Led, from Knave, Ten, Nine. . . 99 Knave Led, followed by Ten 101 Knave Led, followed by Nine or Eight 102 Knave Led, followed by any Card, when the Third Hand holds Four Small Cards of the Suit exactly 106 CHAPTER XVI. The Play of the Third Hand (continued). . . 108 Knave Led, from King, Queen, Knave. . 108 Knave Led, followed by any Card, when the Third Hand holds Four Small Cards of the Suit exactly Ill XIV CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVII. The Play of the Third Hand (continued) . . 115 Ten Led Originally" 115 ■ Ten Led, when the Third Hand holds Four Small Cards of the Suit exactly 117 Nine Led Originally 118 CHAPTER XVIII. The Play of the Third Hand (continued) . . 120 The Plain-,Suit Echo 120 Plain-Suit Echo (Table) 121 IPs Subsequent Play 121 Calling for Trumps 122 CHAPTER XIX. The Play of the Third Hand (continued) . .123 Low Card Led Originally 123 Low Card Led, followed by Lower Card, when the Third Hand holds Four Cards of the Suit exactly" 123 CHAPTER XX. The Play of the Third Hand in Trumps . . 133 159 ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS AMERICAN LEADS. AMERICAN LEADS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. American Leads propose a systematic course when opening the strong suit at Whist, thus bringing the whole scheme of leading within the purview of general principles. Three objections are urged against the adoption of American Leads. 1. That they complicate the game. It is no objection to an intellectual game that it exercises the minds of the players. But it is doubtful whether the play is materially complicated by the American system of leading. 2. That they seldom affect the result. The explanation is that American Leads add little which is new to the game. They rather aim at con- solidating the present practice, and at extending a law of uniformity to cases not hitherto provided for. 3. That the precise information afforded may be of more use to the opponents than to the leader’s partner. Experience alone can decide on this objection. Under all other Whist conditions it is an acknow- ledged advantage to convey information of strength, £ 2 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. notwithstanding - that it is published to the whole table. It seems unlikely that a player will be at a disadvantage in the long run because he imparts too much information. No doubt moderate players may lack the quick perception which would enable them to take full advantage of the American rules. This is no reason why better players should be deprived of that advan- tage. Beginners can at least be drilled into playing according to rules which are, as the author believes, sound in theory. Whether the student will ever be able to profit by the application of such rules must depend on his aptitude for the game. At all events lie may easily learn to speak its language intelligibly, for the benefit of partners who do understand it. In the following pages, A is the original leader; Y is the second player; B is the third player; and Z, the fourth player. B A It is assumed that the leader’s partner (B) is capable of drawing correct inferences from the card led. An original lead is also assumed (or at least a lead of the 4 AMERICAN LEADS. 3 player’s own choice, not dictated by the previous fall of the cards). It is further assumed that the original lead is from the strongest suit, and that a strong suit consists of at least four cards. It is admitted that there are exceptional hands ; that the leader may prefer to open a three-card suit of say, ace, king, queen, when he holds a four-card suit of say, five, four, three, two ; or, that, with four 0 small trumps and three cards of each of the other suits, he may have good reasons for not commencing with a trump. Eut, in a theoretical discussion, such hands may be ignored, for the very reason that they are exceptional. 4 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. CHAPTER II. LOW CARD LED. With an average strong suit containing four cards, when the suit is opened with a low card, the lowest is the card selected. The third hand is expected to play his highest card; therefore to lead a high card would he an unnecessary sacrifice of strength. Take as an example such a suit as queen, ten, eight, seven. This is a suit of minimum numerical strength, i.e., of four cards exactly. From this com- bination the lowest card, the seven, is led originally. Here American Leads propose only a change of nomenclature. The seven is led on either the old or the new system. But instead of calling the smallest card of minimum numerical strength the lowest card, it is now to he called the fourth-best card. When the fourth-best card is led, the third hand knows the leader holds three other cards in that suit, all higher than the one led, — in the example, three cards all higher than the seven. Now add one more card in this suit, say the four. The leader’s suit is queen, ten, eight, seven, four. The recognised rule and the American rule again coincide. On either system, the seven, the penulti- mate card of five, is led. The nomenclature only is altered. Instead of calling this card the penultimate, AMERICAN LEADS. 5 it is called, as before, the fourth-best , counting from the top of the suit instead of from the bottom. Now let another card be added, say the two. The leader’s suit is queen, ten, eight, seven, four, two. From a suit of six cards, most players still lead the penultimate; some lead what they call the ante- penultimate. It does not appear that any good reason can be assigned why the player should change from the seven to the four because, in addition, he holds the two. Hence, discarding the terms penulti- mate and anti-penultimate, the American method still takes the fourth-best card — the card of minimum numerical strength — as the one to be selected for the original lead, disregarding any or all lower cards. Every suit, then, Opened with a low card, whether of four or more cards, is treated as though the cards below the fourth -best were not in the leader’s hand ; and, whatever low card is led, the third player can always place in the leader’s hand, exactly three cards higher than the one first led, as shown by the following tabulated example : — From Qn, 10, 8, ,, Qn, 10, 8, ., Qn, 10, 8, „ Qn, 10, 8, Lead 7 7, 7, 7, 4 ■b 2 ifcc., &c., &c. The fourth best card — in the above example the seven — is sometimes called the card of uniformity. The first maxim laid down by American Leads is, — When you open a suit with a LOW card, lead your FOURTH-BEST. 6 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. It is said that no advantage is gained by showing your partner you hold six or seven cards of a suit. That, however, is not the point. What you do show, and what you want to show is, that you invariably hold exactly three cards all higher than the one first selected. It has already been stated that with some few hands the original lead may be from but three cards. The only caution necessary on this head is, that rigid inferences should not be drawn. The case of least infrequent occurrence is that of a trump lead from three trumps, with very good cards in plain suits. AMERICAN LEADS. 7 CHAPTER III. LOW CARD LED (CONTINUED). Some examples of the practical working of the first maxim of American Leads, exhibiting both advan- tageous and disadvantageous combinations, are ap- pended. The cards lie as follows : — Ace, Kg', 9 6, 5, 2 Qn, Knv, 8, 7, 4, 3 Present Play. First Trick . — A leads 4; Y plays 10 ; B plays king ; Z plays 2. B knows that A has at least three more cards of the suit, but cannot place any one card. Second Trick (B to lead). — B leads ace ; Z plays 5 ; A plays 3 ; Y trumps. B knows that his partner, having led the four and now playing the three, has at least three more cards of the suit, but cannot place any one card. WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. American Play. First Trick . — A leads 7 (bis fourth-best) ; Y plays 10; B plays king; Z plays 2. B knows that A holds exactly three cards of the suit, all higher than the seven. B having ace and nine himself, can mark queen, knave, eight in A’s hand. And, what is most valuable, B knows at once that A has the entire command of the suit. This B did not know even after the second round, according to the other way of leading. Tins knowledge may affect B’s play. B may lead trumps in consequence of finding the command of the suit in A’s hand; or he may. lead his ace to force Y (who cannot hold any more of the suit unless he is calling for trumps), with the certainty that Z will not remain with the command. So, Second Trick (B to lead). — B leads ace; Z plays 5 (hence he cannot hold the four) ; A plays 3 ; Y trumps. B knows that A holds queen, knave, eight, four of the suit. The only card he cannot place is the six. If A held it, he would equally have begun with the seven. The six may be either in A’s hand or in Z’s. The difference then, as regards B’s knowledge under the two systems, is this : — According to the present play B knows almost nothing about A’s suit ; according to the American play B knows nearly every- thing. Especial attention is drawn to the fact that the most useful information (viz., that A has the com- mand), can be imparted on the first round of the suit. AMERICAN LEADS. 9 No doubt the cards may be re-arranged so as to give an advantage to YZ, in consequence of the pre- cise information afforded by A’s first lead. Thus, let Y hold ace, king, nine, a disposition of the cards just as probable as the former. The cards then lie as under: — Ace, Kg, 10, 9 6, 5, 2 Qn, Knv, 8, 7, 4, 3 If A leads the four, Y puts on the king and 15 trumps. But if A leads the seven, Y plays the nine, as, the seven being A’s fourth-best, he must hold queen, knave, eight. The lead of the seven, as against the four, is here advantageous to YZ. Or, let Z hold the ace and B the two, the cards lying thus : — Kg. 9. 2 Ace, 6, 5 Qn, Knv, 8, 7, 4, 3 10 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. First Trick . — A leads 7 ; Y plays 10 ; B plays king ; Z plays ace. Again, B knows that A has the entire command of the suit. Second Trick (Z to lead). — Z leads 6 ; A plays 8 ; Y trumps; B plays 2. And, if Z obtains the lead again, he can force Y with the certainty that Y will not be overtrumped. For A, having led his fourth-best, cannot hold queen, knave, and nine. One of these three cards must be in B’s hand. This knowledge Z would not possess, unless he could tell that A held originally three cards (and not four), higher than the seven. Third Trick (Z to lead).- — Z leads 5 ; A plays 3 ; Y trumps with his smallest trump. Z having returned the six, and now leading the five, has no more. Of the high cards, queen, knave and nine are still to be accounted for. A -cannot hold them all. Therefore, Y can infer to a certainty that one of them is in B’s hand. Y can fearlessly make use of his smallest trump ; but, if he were in doubt as to B’s holding a third card of the suit, he might be tempted to ruff with a higher trump. And, according to the present system, Y would lie in doubt. For with queen, knave, nine, eight, seven, four, and three, A would lead the seven originally (the lowest of an intermediate sequence), instead of his fourth-best. It is for the reader to judge where the balance of advantage lies. Comparing the very substantial advantage gained by AB in the first instance AMERICAN LEADS. 11 (especially the knowledge to B, after the first round that A has the command of the suit), with the advantages gained by YZ, in the second and third instances, there can scarcely be a doubt, in the writer’s opinion, but that the balance of advantage lies with the lead of the fourth-best. Take another example. The cards lie thus : — Qn, Knv, 2 Ace, 4, 3 Present Play. First Trick . — A leads 6 * Y plays 8 ; B plays knave; Z plays ace. B knows that A holds at least three cards all higher than the six. But which three of these cards, king, ten, nine, seven, A holds, or whether A holds all four of them, B cannot tell. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads king ; Y trumps ; B plays 2 ; Z plays 3. And B retains the command of his partner’s suit. He dare not play the queen on the second round, as, for anything he knows, Z may hold the ten. B 8 Y Z A Kg, 10, 9, 7, 6, 5 12 WIIIST DEVELOPMENTS. American Play. Tirst Trick . — A leads 7 ; Y plays 8 ; B plays knave ; Z plays ace. The only three higher cards to be accounted for arc king, ten, nine, and B knows that A holds them all, and therefore that A has the command of the suit. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads king; Y trumps; B plays queen (that lie may not block the suit), his partner being marked with ten, nine) ; Z plays 3. A can place every card in the suit. Unless Z is calling, B has one card to give back, viz., the two, for, if he held both four and two, he need not have got rid of the command on the second trick, and indeed would have been wrong to do so. Z having played the three holds the four single. Suppose, to the second round, Z had played the two, B holding the three or the four. A could not have placed either of the remaining cards. A must not jump to the conclusion that B has no more of the suit, because B played the queen. A, by first leading the seven instead of the six, has told B in whist language, that if his hand and the fall of the cards allow it, he is to unblock the suit on the second round. When B does as he has been bid, A must not spoil the whole proceeding by drawing inferences rigidly. All A is justified in inferring is that B may or may not hold one more, and that it is certain B does not hold both the others. Unquestionably, as before, the cards could be so AMERICAN LEADS. 13 arranged in YZ’s hands as to make it disadvantageous for A to begin with the seven rather than with the six. It is admitted, however, that there is not an invariable advantage in beginning with the fourth- best. "What has to be proved, in order to discredit the American Lead of fourth-best, is, that the balance of advantage is against the leader. This proof has yet to be brought forward by the opponents of the scheme. 14 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. CHAPTER IV. HIGH CARD LED. (followed by low card ). When ace is led, from ace and four or more small cards, the second lead, according to the present play, is the lowest card. The same when king is led from king, queen, and small cards, and the king wins the trick. Also, when ten is led from king, knave, ten, and the ten wins the trick. In these cases, calculation shows that there is not much to choose between the original lead of a high card or of a low one. A high card is preferred in order at once to force out the higher cards, or to make tricks early in the suit, lest the later rounds should be trumped. On the second round, then, the leader is in much the same position as though he were opening a suit with a low card. According to the American play the second lead in these cases should be the original fourtli-best , — the card which would have been selected if the suit had been opened with a small card. Whatever low card is led, the third player can always place, in the leader’s hand, exactly two cards higher than the one selected AMERICAN LEADS. 15 for tlie second lead, as shown by the tabulated example : — . Lead Then From Ace, Knv, 9, 8, „ Ace, Knv, 9, 8, „ Ace, Knv, 9, 8, » Ace, Knv, 9, 8, The second maxim laid down by American Leads may be thus stated : — On quitting the head of your suit, lead your original FOURTH-BEST. The above rule applies to the second round of the suit only. Some American Lead players have an idea that, for the sake of uniformity, the maxim should be made to apply to all cases where the head of the suit is quitted. Thus, having led king, ace, from ace, king, six, five, three, they maintain that the third lead should be the five (the original fourth- best) and not the three. But, after two rounds of a suit are out, the third lead depends so much on the previous fall of the cards, that it does not seem advisable to lay down any absolute rule. Moreover, holding the second and third-best remaining cards, with or without a small one, after the second round of a suit, if the higher one is led, and it is not covered second hand, it is a direct intimation to partner to please himself about trumping it; if the lower one is led, it is an instruction to partner not to pass it. If a rule is to be laid down that, holding the second and third-best remaining cards IS WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. after the second round of a suit, the leader is always to proceed with the lower one, partner will be obliged to trump it, whether the! leader wishes it passed or not. AMERICAN LEADS. 17 CHAPTER Y. i HIGH CARD LED (followed by low card, continued ). Some examples of the application of the second maxim of American Leads are now given, to show how the rule works in practice. The cards lie thus : — Qn, to. 3 Kg, 4 7, 6, 5 Ace, Knv, 9, 8, 2 Present Play. First Trick . — A leads ace; Y plays 4 ; B plays 3 ; Z plays 5. Second Trick . — A leads 2; Y plays king; B plays 10 ; Z plays 6. B can place at least three more cards of the suit in As hand; hut, as to their value, he is in complete ignorance. A’s long suit is blocked by his partner, c 18 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. American Play. First Trick . — A leads ace; Y plays 4; B plays 3; Z plays 5- Second Trick . — A leads 8 (liis original fourth-best); Y plays king; B (holding queen, ten, is able to place knave, nine in A’s hand, therefore he) plays queen ; Z plays 6. B knows that A holds knave, nine, two (unless Y is calling for trumps). B can place every card in the suit except the seven; and A’s suit is freed, a possible gain of two tricks. It will be seen from the example that the lead of the original fourth-best gives B the information that A commands the suit after the second round. This knowledge, which is of great importance, is often unattainable under the present method of continuing with the lowest. For instance : suppose A leads ace, then seven ; that Y, holding only knave, ten, plays those cards ; that B, holding king, eight, three, plays three, then king; and that Z follows suit with small cards. B now knows that A remains with queen, nine, and a small card, and that he has the entire command of his suit. If A’s cards were ace, queen, nine, seven, six, and, after ace, he had led the six instead of the seven, B could not place the queen, and would not be able to tell whether A commands the suit. No doubt the cards can be re-arranged so as to make the lead of the original fourth-best disadvan- tageous to A. Thus : to refer to the first example, AMERICAN LEADS. 19 give A the same cards, and place the others as below : — Kg, Qn, 10, 4 6, .5, a B y z r A Ace, Knv, 9, 8, 2 If A leads ace, then two, Y plays four, then queen. If A leads ace, then eight, Y (being able to place .knave, nine in A’s hand) plays four, then ten, and keeps the command of A’s suit. It is for players to judge where the balance of ad- vantage will lie in the long run. Now take the case of king led, from king, queen, when the king wins the trick. The cards are as under : — Knv, 7 Ace, 8, 3 B Y Z A 10, 5, 2 Kg, Qn, 9, 6, 4 C 2 20 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Present Play. First Trick . — A leads king; Y plays 7 ; B plays 3; Z plays 2. Second Trick . — A leads 4 ; Y plays knave ; B plays ace; Z plays 5. B knows that A holds queen and at least one other card of uncertain value. Whether A commands the suit or not, B is ignorant. American Play. First Trick . — A leads king ; Y plays 7 ; B plays 3 ; Z plays 2. Second Trick . — A leads 6 ; Y plays knave ; B plays ace ; Z plays 5 . Queen, with either ten or nine, and the four, are marked in A’s hand. In either case A has the entire command of the suit. When ten is led from king, knave, ten, and the ten wins the trick, with good players the ace must he in the second hand and the queen in the third, or both ace and queen must be in the third hand. Anyhow B must hold queen, and may hold ace also. It is, therefore, of but little importance which of his small cards A leads after the ten. For the sake of uniformity, A may as well con- tinue with his original fourth-best. It cannot do any harm ; and it will sometimes tell B whether the lead AMERICAN LEADS. 21 was from four cards or from more than four. Thus : — Qn, 2 Ace, 5 9, 8, 6, 4 Kg, Knv, 10, 7, 3 If A leads ten, then three, B can only mark king, knave in A’s hand. If B leads ten, then seven, B can mark king, knave, three in A’s hand, with nine, eight against him. This knowledge may be useful, espe- cially in trumps. When nine is led from king, knave, ten, nine, the high card happens to be the fourth-best. Hence, if nine wins (which will seldom happen with good players) the leader continues with his lowest card. 22 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. CHAPTER VI. HIGH CARD LED (followed by high card ). Headers of these pages, which are addressed only to advanced players, are supposed to know the ordinary leads. Hut as the volume may fall into the hands of those who are not familiar with the mode of leading from high n o cards, the following table of leads is subjoined : — Table of Leads, No. I. ( When no qualification is stated , the lead is the same , irre- spective of the number or value of the cards in the suit.) FROM LEAD Ace, Kg, Qn, Kuv (trumps) Ace, Kg, Qn, Knv (plain suits) Ace, Kg, Qn (trumps) Ace, Kg, Qn (plain suits) Ace, Qn, Knv, 10 Ace, Qn, Knv (more than one small) Ace. Qn, Knv (one small) Knv, then Ace Kg, then Knv Qn Kg, then Qn Ace, then 10 Ace, then Knv Ace, then Qn Kg, Qn, Knv, 10 Kg, Qn, Knv (more than one small) Kg, Qn, Knv (one small) Kg, Knv, 10, 9 Kg. Knv, 10 10 Knv Kg, then Knv 9 10 Qn, Knv, 10, 9 Qn, Knv, 10 (more than one small) Qn, Knv, 10 (one small) Qn, then 9 Qn, then 10 Qn, then Knv Knv, 10, 9, 8 Knv, 10, 9 (more than one small) Knv, 10, 9 (one small) Knv, then 8 Knv, then 9 Knv, then 10 10, 9, 8, 7 (trumps) 10, 9, 8 (more than one small, trumps) 10, 9, 8 (one small, trumps) 10, 9, 8 (plain suits) 10, then 7 10, then 8 10, then 9 fourth-best AMERICAN LEADS. 23 American Leads leave the above as they are at present. It will be observed that, m some cases, the higher of two high cards is led, on the second round, when the suit consists of only four cards ; but that when it consists of more than four cards, the lower of two high cards is led on the second round. Refer, for instance, to ace, queen, knave, where ace is followed by an honour. With four of the suit, ace, then queen is led ; with more than four, ace, then knave. The reason is, that if partner remains with king and one small one after the first lead, the leader, holding five or more originally, desires the king to be played to the second trick, so that his suit may not be blocked. But, if the leader had only four originally, he cannot afford to let the second trick be won twice over, as then there is a much greater chance that the eventual command will remain against him. It follows that, if A leads originally ace, then queen, B will place knave and one small one in the leader’s hand ; if A leads ace, then knave, B will place queen and at least two small ones in A’s hand. So also, if queen is led originally. Say ace is put on second hand. A now has the lead again. If he led from only four cards, he cannot afford to waste his partner’s singly-guarded king, so he now leads the knave. But if he holds. two small cards in addition to the knave and ten, he wants B’s king out of the way. Therefore, with knave, ten, and more than one small card remaining, he goes on with the ten. Again he leads the higher of two equal cards when he held but 24 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. four originally; the lower when he held more than four (see Table of Leads, No. I ). And B will count his partner’s hand. The lead was from four cards at most if queen is followed by knave ; from five cards at least if queen is followed by ten. Now suppose queen is led, and that the second hand puts on the king. A gets the lead again, and all question about B’s blocking the suit is at an end. That, however, is no reason A should refrain from in- forming his partner whether the lead was from four cards or from more than four. A, therefore, pursues the uniform plan, of continuing with the higher of his two indifferent high cards when he led from a maxi- mum of four ; and of continuing with the lower of his two indifferent high cards, when he opened a suit of more than four. The same applies to knave, ten, nine. Knave, fol- lowed by ten, signifies nine and at most one small one remaining ; knave, followed by nine, signifies ten and at least two small ones remaining. And similarly, with ten, nine, eight, in tramps, ten followed by nine shows four at most; ten followed by eight shows five at least. In plain suits a high card is not led from ten, nine, eight. All that American Leads propose here is to make the rule constant, by extending it to other cases. Thus : — with king, knave, ten, the ten is led. If the ten forces the ace, and A gets the lead again, he has no alternative but to go on with the king, as his high cards are not of indifferent value. Consequently, no AMERICAN LEADS. 25 information can be given as to the number of cards led from. But suppose the ten forces the queen, or both queen and ace, and that A obtains the lead and desires to continue his suit. His king and knave are high indifferent cards, both marked in his hand, and it is, in one sense, immaterial which of them he leads. But he may as well tell his partner whether he led from four cards originally, or from more than four. This he can do by pursuing the uniform plan of selec- ting, on the second round, the higher of his two in- different cards, viz., the king, when he remains with king, knave, and only one small one; or, by selecting the lower of his two indifferent cards, viz., the knave, when lie remains with king, knave, and more than one small one, just as he would, for example, in the case of a lead from queen, knave, ten. To know whether your partner led from king, knave, ten, four in suit, or from king, knave, ten, more than four in suit, may be of great value, especially in trumps. Hence, the third maxim of American Leads : — With two high indifferent cards lead the higher if you opened a suit of four; the lower if you opened a suit of five. This maxim is not strictly true; it is stated as above because it is more important to mark the differ- ence between four and five, than to mark the difference between five and more than five. Nevertheless, a uniform method should be adopted in the latter cases. Por example: — knave is led from king, queen, knave, and at least two small ones {see Table of Leads, No. I.). Whether the leader next proceeds to lead 23 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. the king - or the queen, lie is marked with a minimum of five in the suit originally, and with the other ho- nour. His king and queen are indifferent cards. If, at his second lead, he continues with the king (the higher of his indifferent cards), he remains with his minimum, viz., queen and two small ones. But if he goes on with the queen (the lower of his indifferent cards), he remains with king and at least three' small ones. Here the application of the principle shows whether the lead was from five cards exactly, or from more than five. Or again ; the lead is nine from king, knave, ten, nine. Whether the leader also holds the eight, or smaller cards, makes no difference. The nine is still led, as it is the card which immediately conveys the greatest amount of precise information. The queen ' comes out, and A has the lead again. He now holds three high indifferent cards. If he leads the king, he remains with knave, ten only. If he does not lead the king he remains with king, knave, or king, ten, and at least one other card of the suit. As between the lead of the knave or the ten, on the second round, those who like to refine on refinements prefer the knave with only one small card, the ten with more than one small card, widening the principle by leading the lowest of three indifferent cards when the suit led from con- sisted of at least six cards. In actual play, it will seldom be of much use to show the precise number of small cards remaining when more than five cards are led from. The information of most value is that the lead was from more than four cards, and that the AMERICAN LEADS. 27 leader remains with the command. This is known, whether the knave or ten is the second card led. The example is given more to show fine players the effect of uniformity of play on B’s inferences, than to pro- claim a rule by which the leader may show whether he opened a suit of four, five, or six cards. What is particularly insisted on is, that the leader is not to go on with the king (queen being out first round), when he led from more than four cards. With ace, king, queen of a plain suit, king, then queen is led, as after the lead of the king, ace and queen are not indifferent cards ; so no information can be imparted as to number. But, in trumps, the queen is first led. Ace and king are now indifferent cards. After what has already been said, it is hardly necessary to observe that if, after queen, the leader proceeds with the ace, he led from at most four trumps ; if, after queen, the king is led, the leader remains with ace and at least two small trumps. The information conveyed by the selection of the king rather than the ace, on the second round, or vice verm, may be of the utmost value. Leads from king, queen, and small cards are not entered in the table, as if king is taken by the ace, the queen must necessarily be next led. And, if the king wins the trick, the case does not come under the head of a high card followed by a high card. A small card, the original fourth-best, is then led, as already decided, unless the lead was from king, queen, knave and a small card, when knave is led after king. 28 "WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. In trumps, however, the lead of king, from king, queen, declares also the ten in hand. If knave, ace fall to the first trick, king, ten are indifferent cards, and if ten is next led the lead was from more than four trumps. AMERICAN LEADS. 29 CHAPTER VII. HIGH CARD LED ( followed by high card, continued). The leads considered in the previous chapter are mainly those in which, after the first trick, the leader remains with high cards which are indifferent cards. But he may remain with high cards which are not indifferent. He must then on the second round, lead the card which gives information as to his command- ing strength, postponing to the third round any attempt to convey information as to his numerical strength. The information will often have been forestalled, in these- cases, by the fall of the cards in the first and second tricks. Still, system should be pursued for the sake of uniformity. With ace, king, queen, knave of trumps, the only way in which the leader can declare, to a certainty, that he led from a quart-major is by leading knave, then ace. For an adverse strong hand, not objecting to having trumps out, may hold up the ace on the first and second rounds. Hence, after knave has been led, ace, king, queen are not indifferent cards. After the second lead of ace, king, queen become indifferent cards. Consequently, if king is led on the third round, the leader remain's with queen only ; if queen is led on the third round, the leader remains with 30 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. king, and at least one small one. With such very- powerful cards, it will rarely make any difference whether king- or queen is led on the third round ; nevertheless, it is as well to follow rule for the sake of uniformity. With ace, king, queen, knave of a plain suit, king is first led. Ace, queen, knave are not indifferent cards. Knave, after king, is the only card that shows the lead to have been from a quart-major. If the knave wins it may be assumed that the ace is not held up adversely. After the second lead, ace and queen become high indifferent cards. If ace is led on the third round, the leader remains with queen only; if queen is led on the third round, the leader remains with ace and at least one small card. If the leader opens an ace, queen, knave, ten suit, he leads ace, then ten, irrespective of the number he holds in the suit. He thus at once demonstrates great commanding strength, and enables his partner to unblock, should the third hand remain with king singly guarded. The number of cards led from is not declared. Queen and knave are now marked in the leader’s hand, and they are indifferent cards. If on'the third round the queen is led, the leader remains with knave only; if on the .third rpund knave is led, the leader remains with queen and at least one small card. Prom ace, queen, knave, ten, nine, the old lead was ace, then nine. But this leaves the third hand in doubt ivhether A remains with queen, knave, ten, or with queen, ten, or with knave, ten. The most AMERICAN LEADS. 31 certain information of commanding strength is con- veyed by ten after ace. Consequently, on the American plan, if ace is followed by nine, A can only hold queen, ten, or knave, ten and at least one small one. If neither queen nor knave falls, and B does not hold one of them, precise information is not given as to the command. If either knave or queen falls, the other honour and the ten are marked in A’s hand. These cards are indifferent cards. The lead of the honour on the third round shows an original lead from five cards exactly ; the lead of the ten on the third round, shows more than five. The experiment of leading the ten on the third round should only be attempted with a partner who can be depended on not to trump it. The recognised way of leading from king, queen, knave, ten after the first lead of the ten is wrong; so the conditions of this combination will have to be examined at length. The original lead of the ten supposes that, if the third hand' holds ace he will put it on and so clear the suit. If the ace is forced from any hand, the present practice is for A next to lead the queen, it being said that the third player can place king, knave with the leader, but that he does not know where the queen is. This, however, is not sound. If A proceeds with the king, it is because he does not hold the queen, as has been already stated. And, provided the third hand can depend on his partner not to lead a losing- card, on the second round, when he holds a winning one, it is clear, if A goes on with the knave that he 32 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. also holds the queen. Consequently, when ten forces ace, the queen and knave are indifferent cards. If the second lead is the queen, the leader ought to hold king, knave only ; if the second lead is the knave, the leader ought to remain with king, queen, and at least one small card. Observe, that if ten led forces ace, the king is not an indifferent card. When the ten wins the first trick, king, queen and knave are all indifferent cards. For if the lead was from king, knave, ten, without the queen, the next lead is the original fourth-best. Hence (ten having won the trick), if the king is the second lead, A remains with queen, knave only. If the second lead is the queen or knave, A remains with two other honours and one small card. As between queen and knave, those who wish to refine further select the queen when they originally held king, queen, knave, ten, and one small card ; the knave, Avhen they origi- nally held king, queen, knave, ten, and more than one small card. These remarks only apply to the case of A’s con- tinuing the suit. If the ten forces the ace from Y or B, and the suit is then led by anyone but A, the posi- tion of the queen is not determined, so A must play the queen, or B will' infer that it is against. The same applies if the ten forces the ace from Z, and Y returns the suit (an unlikely case). If the ten forces the ace from Z, and B or Z returns the suit, A can play knave, as then the position of the queen is determined. Queen, knave, ten, nine follows the same rule as ace, queen, knave, ten. Queen, then nine, is led AMERICAN LEADS. 33 irrespective of number. For, when queen is led, knave, ten are marked in the leader’s hand ; but the third player cannot place the nine. Hence, the second lead of nine gives the most information of commanding- strength. After the second lead, knave and ten become indifferent cards. Knave is led on the third round, if the leader remains with ten only; ten is led on the third round, if the leader remains with knave and at least one small one. The same applies to knave, ten, nine, eight. Knave, then eight, in all cases. After that, the lead of ten shows nine alone in the leader’s hand ; the lead of nine shows ten and at least one small one in the leader’s hand. Ten, nine, eight, seven, in trumps, follows the same ride ; ten, then seven. After that, the selection of the nine shows a lead from only four trumps; the selection of the eight shows a lead from five trumps at least. It should be borne in mind that all rules are subject to the fall of the cards. It is assumed that only small cards are played, unless the contrary is stated. Really good players will, of course, depart from rule when the fall of the cards shows it to be advisable. To take some simple instances. A holds ace, queen, knave, ten, nine. The lead is ace, then ten. Rut suppose that to the ace Y’s king falls. A is by no means bound to go on with the ten, telling Y that lie holds queen, knave. He might go on with the nine, in hopes of sneaking a trick. Or, queen is led from queen, knave, ten and small, ace is put on, and B’s eight falls. When A leads the D 34 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. suit again, lie should lead a small one, as if B has any move, he can only hold nine or king. Further, it must not be forgotten that there is such a thing as an exceptional original lead. Thus, if A. leads queen and then knave, he may hold ten only, or one small one only, or ten and one small one. Hence, the only certain inference B can draw is that A has not led from cjueen, knave, ten, and more than one small card . Or, nine is led, and king comes out. B must not take it as a matter of course that A holds ace, queen, ten, or ace, knave, ten. He may have only two of those cards. Suppose that A gets the lead again, and continues with the ace, and that the knave falls. If A led from ace, queen, ten, nine, he must now, in plain suits, go on with the queen, as, if he leads the ten, it is not a certainty that he also has the queen. In trumps, if king falls to the nine, A should go on with the queen, as that card shows ace still in his hand. If the knave now falls, A should go on with the ten. This is not the lower of two indifferent cards, as it is not a certainty that A has led from four trumps. Therefore, leading the ten, in preference to the ace, gives no information as, to number. These remarks apply with redoubled force to all leads other than the original lead. After the first trick or two, a player obtaining the lead for the first time, may open his legitimate strong suit; or he may be influenced in his choice by the previous fall of the cards. After four or more cards have been seen, j udgment (for which no rules can be laid down) comes AMERICAN LEADS. 35 in. The more advanced the hand, the more necessary it is to adapt the play to circumstances, and therefore to draw inferences with a reservation. The following Table of' Leads sums up the treat- ment of suits when a high card led is followed by a high card. Those who are familiar with the leads given in Table I, as all Whist-players ought to be, need only pay attention to the additional matter. 36 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Table oe Leads, No. II. r ruoM ' No. in LEAD Suit. 1st. 2nd. 3rd. Ace, Kg, Qn, Knv (trumps) 5 Knv Acc Qn Ace, Kg, Qn, Knv (trumps) 4 Knv Acc Kg Ace, Kg, Qn, Knv (plain suits) 5 Kg Knv Qn Ace, Kg, Qn, Knv (plain suits) 4 Kg Knv Ace Ace, Kg, Qn (trumps) 5 Qn Kg Ace, Kg, Qn (trumps) A. Qn Acc Ace, Qn, Knv, 10 •5 Ace 10 Knv Ace, Qn, Knv, 10 4 Ace 10 Qn Ace, Qn, Knv and small 5 Ace Knv Ace, Qn, Knv and small 4 Ace Qn Kg, Qn, Knv, 10 5 10 Knv* Kg, Qn, Knv, 10 4 10 Qn* Kg, Qn, Knv, 10 5 10 Qnf Kg, Qn, Knv, 10 4 10 Kgf Kg, Qn, Knv C Knv Qn Kg, Qn, Knv 5 Knv Kg Kg, Knv, 10, 9 6 9 Knv I Kg, Knv, 10, 9 4 9 KgJ Kg, Knv, 10 5 10 KnvJ Kg, Knv, 10 4 10 KgJ Qn, Knv, 10, 9 5 Qn 9 10 Qn, Knv, 10, 9 4 Qn 9 Knv Qn, Knv, 10 5 Qn 10 Qn, Knv, 10 4 Qn Knv Knv, 10, 9, 8 5 Knv 8 9 Knv, 10, 9, 8 4 Knv 8 10 Knv, 10, 9 5 Knv 9 Knv, 10, 9 4 Knv 10 10, 9, 8, 7 (tru tups) C 10 7 8 10, 9, 8, 7 (trumps) 4 10 7 9 10, 9, 8 (trumps) ,5 10 8 10, 9, 8 (trumps) 4 10 9 * It' 10 forces Ace. t If 10 wins the first trick. X If Queen or Queen, Are are out.. AMERICAN LEADS. 37 CHAPTER VIII. THE MANAGEMENT OF TRUMPS. Trump led originally. The selection of card, when a trump is led origi- nally, is the same as in plain suits, subject to the variations when leading from high cards, pointed out in the Table of Leads, and to the value of the turn-up card. Variations on this last head are too elementary to be dwelt on in a work addressed to advanced players. Those who use common sense hardly require to be told that with such a suit as queen, knave, nine, eight, two, if partner turns up ace, king, ten, or seven, the leader should begin with the two, and not with his fourth- best. It is equally obvious that with ace, queen, knave and small, ten turned up by partner, the leader should open with a small one ; or that, with ace, queen, ten and small, knave turned up to the leader’s right, the first lead should be the queen ; and so on for other combinations, the principal of which will be found in most books on Whist. 38 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Low Trump led after a Force. When the player forced holds only four trumps, he trumps with his fourth-best. If he then leads a low trump, he goes on with his lowest remaining card. Thus, with ace, king, six, two, he would trump with the two and lead the six, unless desirous of getting out two or three rounds of trumps at once. When the player forced holds five trumps, he takes the force with his fourth-best card. If he next leads a low trump, he continues with his lowest. Three more trumps, all higher than the one with which he took the force, are now marked in his hand. When the player forced holds six trumps, he should still take the force with the fourth-best card. He now remains with five trumps. If he next leads a low trump, he should lead the fourth-best of these five. Three trumps higher than the one used to trump with are marked in his hand, with the chance of his also holding a lower card than the one led. JE.g . : — 10, 7 Ace, 4 Kg, 9, 3 Qn, Kuv, 8, 6, 6, 2 A is forced and trumps with the six. Then, AMERICAN LEADS. 39 First Trick . — A leads 5 ; Y plays 4 ; B plays 10 ; Z plays king. Second Trick (B to lead). — B leads 7 ; Z plays 3 ; A plays knave ; Y plays ace. It is a certainty that A still holds two trumps higher than the six, and that there is one trump superior to the six against. It is also very probable that A holds the deuce. B must not infer the deuce to a certainty in A’s hand, as, in trumps, false cards are often played against the leader. Here, Z, holding king, nine, three, two, originally, may have played the three on the second round, in hopes of inducing AB to miscount the position of the remaining trumps. The rule of taking the force with the fourth-best, holding more than four trumps, is subject to a rather large exception. When the fourth-best trump is of such value that taking the force with it may imperil a trick later on, it must be reserved. For instance, with such cards as king, knave, nine, eight, three, a careful player would rightly trump with the three and lead the eight. For the time, partner is not informed as to the number of trumps held. It follows that, when a force is taken with a low card, and a medium trump is next led, the third hand should bear in mind the possibility of the leader’s not having shown number, for the reason men- tioned. Thus, with king, knave, eight, three, the play woidd be the same as with king, knave, nine, eight, three. With six trumps, two of which are small (the fourth- best being too high to trump with), number can be 40 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. shown by trumping with the penultimate. Then the fourth-best must be led. 'When the small trump comes down later, the original possession of six is shown. Thus, with king, knave, nine, eight, three, two, the force is taken with the three. The eight is then led, and partner is in the dark as to number. Suppose now the trump leader is forced again with the two. He remains with three trumps, all higher than the eight. B’s inference, when A tramps with a low tramp and then leads a lower one, is that A had five or more trumps originally. If A trumps with a low trump and then leads a medium one, B can only decide by watching the sub- sequent fall of the cards, whether, 1. A had four trumps originally. If so, he pro- bably has good cards in plain suits. Or whether, 2. A had more than four tramps originally, with medium cards too high to part with in order to show number. Or whether, 3. A being very strong in the other plain suits, is leading the highest of his weak tramps. H'kjU Trump led after a Force. When, after a force, the player holds such high tramps that he has to open the suit with a high card, he leads according to the number of tramps he now holds, not according to the number he held originally. Take first the case of four trumps, one of which has been used for trumping. From queen, knave AMERICAN LEADS. 41 and two small ones, the fourth-best is Jed; from queen, knave and one small one, queen is led. Henwe, a player bolding - queen, knave and two small ones, and having been forced, should lead the queen. With five trumps the player who has been forced, and who then leads a high card, treats the suit as though he held only four originally : For example : — with ace, queen, knave and two small ones, one having been made use of in trumping, ace, then queen (not knave), should be led. There is some difference of opinion about this; so the case will have to be examined. The object of leading knave after ace (holding aee, queen, knave, and more than one small one), is that partner may not block the suit, if he held king and two small ones originally ; or rather, in trumps, that he may have the option of unblocking. But when one of the five trumps has been disposed, of, the leader’s object would be not to leave to his partner the option of winning the second trick twice over. With six trumps it is scarcely necessary to add that, after a force, high cards are led as though five had been held originally. Some players with more than four trumps, and about to lead high trumps after the force, trump with the fourth-best card. There is, however, hardly a case in which more information is conveyed bv so doing than by trumping with the lowest. And having regard to the possibility of being afterwards over- trumped, or of afterwards having to overtrump, it is 42 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. not advisable, in these cases, to sacrifice even a moderate card in the trump suit. For instance : — 10,7 Kg, 9, 8 5, 4, 3 Ace, Qn, Knv, 6, 2 A is forced, and trumps with the six. Then, First Trick . — A leads ace ; Y plays S ; B plays 7 ; Z plays 3. Second Trick . — A leads queen ; Y plays king ; B plays 10 ; Z plays 4. Y now, either accidentally or by design, leads a suit of which neither Z nor A has any. Z trumps with the five ; he either wins the trick, or the command of trumps is left in Y’s hand. If A had trumped, in the first instance, with the deuce, as he ought to have done, he would have been able to overtrump with the six, and would have kept the command. The foregoing instructions assume that the trump lead is of the leader’s own motion. If, for instance, his partner had called for trumps, he would follow the ordinary book rule, viz., with three trumps, trump AMERICAN LEADS. 43 with lowest, and lead highest; with four trumps echo with penultimate and lead from highest downwards ; with five trumps echo with penultimate and lead lowest, except with ace, when that card is led irre- spective of number. THE PLAY OF THE SECOND HAND. ' v , - ■■ THE FLAT OF THE SECOND HAND. CHAPTER IX THE PLAY OF THE SECOND HAND (as affected by recent calculation a nd by Amer ican Leads'). When an honour is led originally, (of course from strength), the second hand, holding one higher honour, has hitherto been instructed to pass the honour led, if he holds at least four of the suit ; to cover the honour, if he holds less than four, except his honour is the ace, when he should generally cover, irrespective of number. As regards ace on an honour, second hand, the rule is sound. But as regards covering queen with king, or knave with queen or king, Dr. Pole’s calculations have demonstrated that it is more advantageous to pass, even with numerical weakness. This assumes that an honour is only led originally from the combi- nations given in the Table of Leads. When the play of the third hand comes to be examined, it will be taken for granted that the second hand passes an honour led, whatever number of cards he may hold in the suit, provided he has only one honour, that honour not being the ace. 48 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Similarly, when knave is led originally, the second hand holding king, queen, and one or more small ones, should pass. Ace must be in the third or fourth hand; and if the knave led wins the trick, the second hand at the worst makes the third trick in the suit instead of the second. When a small card is led, the second hand is in- structed to play his lowest, unless he holds certain combinations of high cards, such as ace, king; king, queen, Sic. The details of cases in which a high card should be played second hand, on a low card led, are well known to good players, so they need not, be repeated here. The instructions given in Whist books suppose the original lead of a deuce. But when a medium card is led, a fourth-best on the American system, the second hand, should remember that the leader holds three cards higher than the one selected. Hence it may be that, if the second hand has several high cards in the suit, he can place the intermediate cards with the leader. When this is the case, the second hand should cover the card led with the lowest card which will win the trick. A few examples will render this quite clear. A’s original lead is an eight. Y holds ace, king, ten, with or without small ones. If the eight is A’s fourth-best card, A must hold queen, knave, nine. Therefore, Y should play the ten, / not the king. Or, A leads a seven originally. Y holds ace, king, knave, eight. PLAY OF THE SECOND HAND. 49 The seven being A’s fourth-best card, A is marked with queen, ten, nine. Therefore, Y should play the eight. Again, A leads six. Y holds ace, queen, knave, eight, seven. The cards required to complete the sequence, viz., king, ten, nine, are in A’s hand. Y should play the seven (see also Chap. III). So with the king and another, second hand, if the nine is led originally, Y should put on the king, as A most probably holds ace, queen, ten. Or, if eight is led, and Y holds king, nine, he should similarly play the king, on the assumption that the lead was from ace, queen, ten, eight. With queen and one other second hand, ten being led, the second hand should play the queen. The lead is presumably from king, knave, ten. If the ace is in the third hand no harm is done ; if in the fourth hand, the queen saves the ace. This case is familiar to all good players. It is only mentioned here in illus- tration of the general principle which should guide the second hand in covering. Similarly, when A quits the head of his suit, and leads his original fourth-best, the second hand should cover with the card next higher than the one led, if he can place in the leader’s hand intermediate cards which make up a sequence. Por instance : — A leads ace originally. Y holds king, queen, ten, four ; to the ace he plays the four. Second trick, A leads eight, his original fourth- best. He therefore holds knave, nine, and at least E 50 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. one small card. To the eight, Y plays the ten, not the queen. Carrying this a step 1 ower down, if A leads ace, then seven, and Y holds king, queen, knave, eight, two, to the ace Y plays the two, and to the seven he plays the eight, as A must hold ten and nine {see also Chap. V). The play of the third and fourth hands may he occasionally modified by the successful covering of a medium card by the second hand. Under these cir- cumstances, the third hand should be cautious in returning his partner’s lead ; the fourth hand shoidd be more ready, if he has no special game of his own, to return the lead through the strong. THE PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. * - • " \ ) THE PLAT OF THE THIRD HAND. CHAPTER X. INTRODUCTORY. The play of the third hand, as laid down in Whist books, is meagre and unsatisfactory. In the following pages a fuller explanation than has hitherto been afforded will be given of the duties of the third player, especial attention being drawn to the cases in which the third hand should unblock the leader’s strong . suit. An original lead from a plain suit will be assumed ; also that the strongest suit, containing four or more cards, is chosen ; that the card selected is the one prescribed by American Leads; and that small cards fall, unless the contrary is stated. Thus : — A’s lead from ace, queen, ten, six, two, is ace, then six. But, if the adverse knave falls to the first round, the ten would be the next lead, queen, ten now ranking second and third best, as in the lead from ace, queen, knave, and small ones. Ace led originally. The lead is from ace, queen, knave, and one or more small ones, or from ace and at least four small ones. 54 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Ace led , followed by queen. The leader remains with knave and only one small card ( see Table of Leads, No. II, Chap. VII). The only case that calls for remark, is the one of B’s holding king and two small cards originally. B should play the small card to the queen. The lead was from four cards only, and the ten is certainly against. Here the chance of loss by unblocking with the king is greater than the chance of gain. Eg . .- — Kg, 6, 5 B Y Z A Ace, Qn, Knv, 2 First Trick. — A leads ace; Y plays small; B plays 5 ; Z plays small. Second Trick. — A leads queen ; Y plays small ; B plays 6 (not king) ; for if king is played, either Y or Z will remain with the command after the third round, unless each of them held exactly three cards of the suit originally. Even if B held king, ten and a small card origi- nally, he should pass the queen, unless he wants the lead. PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 55 Ace led, followed by knave. The leader remains with queen and at least two small cards {see Table of Leads, No. II, Chap. VII). If 15 held king and two small ones originally (king and one small one remaining), he should play the king on the knave, that he may not block the suit. The oidy exception is, if Y does not follow suit, B should then pass, as by playing the king, he may leave ten guarded in Z’s hand. It may be that Z does not follow suit to the knave, when, if B plays the king, he may leave ten guarded in Y’s hand. The risk, however, is slight, and it ought to be run. With king and three small ones originally, E should pass the knave, unless he wants the lead, as he still has the power of getting rid of the command on the third round. Thus : — Kg, 5, 4, 3 10, 8, G Ace, Qn, Knv, 7, 2 First Trick . — A leads ace ; Y plays G ; B plays a small one; Z plays 9. 56 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Second Trick . — A leads knave ; Y plays 8 ; B plays a small one ; Z trumps. Third Trick (Y to lead.) — Y leads 10; B plays king (although he knows it will he trumped), and so gets rid of the command. Observe the advantage to A, provided he can depend on B for correct play. If all follow suit to ace, knave, and the knave wins, it is certain that B holds king and a small one. A does not continue a third round, as he knows one adversary will trump and the other will discard. A also knows that, if trumps come out, he can certainly bring in the suit, even if Z tramps the knave ; for B will next play the king, and will remain with a small card with which to put in his partner. Suppose the suit is not led a third time, and that, late in the hand, B, remaining with king and one small card, has to discard from his partner’s suit. He can count cpieen and two others in A’s hand, and the ten single against. B should therefore discard the king. Getting rid of the command by the discard i is a point concerning which all hut the best players are very remiss. The discard of the king does not deceive A as to the position of the small card. B was marked with king and a small one when he passed the knave. Ace led , followed by original fourth-best. If ace is followed by ten, the leader remains with queen, knave, and may or may not also hold any smaller cards. PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 57 B’s play with king and twosmall ones originally (king and one small one remaining), is the king to the ten, that he may not block the suit. He may now safely play the king even if Y renounces to the ten. The exception, with regard to ace followed by knave, when Y renounces, does not apply to ace followed by ten. Suppose Y trumps ten led after ace, and that B plays the king. A must not jump to the hasty conclusion that B has no more of the suit. A selects the ten in preference to the queen, with the very object of inducing B to play the king, should B hold king and one small card. All unblocking play is liable to cause a careless leader to draw false inferences. The leader should bear in mind the possibility that the third hand may be getting rid of the command, whenever that player drops a high card. With king and three small ones originally, though B runs no risk of loss by playing the king on the ten, he should pass, in order to enable A to count his hand (king and at least one small one remaining). With more than four originally it is obvious that B must pass the ten ; otherwise, if the lead was from ace, queen, knave, ten only, B would block his own suit. When ace is followed by a lower card than the ten, if Y does not trump and B has the king, of course he plays it. If B had three of the suit originally and remains with a high card (not the king), and a low card, he should remember, before playing to the second round, that A holds exactly two cards higher than the one now led. If the cards that have fallen, and the cards remaining in B’s hand, show that the 58 ■WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. two higher cards in A’s hand command the suit, provided B parts with his high card, B should play it to the second round. This point has already been insisted on when treating of American Leads (Chap. V), but it is so important that two more examples are added : — Qn. 4, 3 Kg, 5 8, 7, 2 Ace, Knv, 10, !), 6 First Trick . — A leads ace ; Y plays 5 ; B plays 3 ; Z plays 2. Second Trick . — A leads 9 ; Y plays king; B should play queen. For knave, ten and at least one small one are marked in A’s hand. Again : — Qn. 10. 8 Kg, 9 5, 3,2 Ace, Knv, 7, 0, 4 PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 59 First Trick . — A leads ace; Y plays 9 ; B plays 8 ; Z plays 2. Second Trick . — A leads 6 ; Y plays king; B should play queen as A must hold knave, seven and at least one small card. 60 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. CHAPTER XI. THE PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND (CONTINUED). Ace led, followed by any card, when the third hand holds four of the suit exactly. If the second hand follows suit to the ace, the third hand should prepare, at once, to get rid of the com- mand by retaining his lowest card. There is no novelty in this mode of play. It is as old as Hoyle ; hut it is strangely neglected by modern players. Under “ Particular Games to be played, by which you run the risk of losing one trick only to gain three,” Hoyle says : “ Suppose your partner is to lead, and in the course of play, it appears to you that your partner has one great suit: suppose ace, king, and four small ones, and that ypu have queen, ten, nine, and a very small one of that suit ; when your partner plays the ace, you are to play the nine ; when he plays the king, you are to play the ten; by which means you see, in the third round, you make your queen, and having a small one remaining, you do not PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 61 obstruct your partner’s great suit; whereas if you had kept your queen and ten, and the knave have fallen from the adversaries, you had lost two tricks in that deal.” Hoyle does not say how you are to know your partner has a “ great suit.” In his day, king was led from ace, king, knave, to inform your partner that you have ace and knave remaining, especially if you changed the suit after leading the king, and tried to put the lead into your partner’s hand. But ace was led from ace, king suits, unaccompanied by knave, as well as from suits of ace and four or more small cards. The case quoted is not fully stated by Hoyle ; the probable meaning is that, ace being frequently led from a suit of at least five cards, you should prepare to get out of your partner’s way holding such cards as queen, ten, nine and another. Hoyle put the queen in the third hand, most likely to get rid of the alter- native lead of ace, from ace, queen, knave, four in suit. It is a pity that players do not pay more attention to the little the father of the game has bequeathed them. If they did, they would hardly need to be told that the principle involved in Hoyle’s “Particular Game ” applies to other combinations. The lead of ace is either from a minimum of five cards, or from ace, queen, knave. Take the five-card lead first. A B hold between them at least nine out of thirteen cards ; one played by Y, in following suit, leaves at most three cards to be accounted for ad- versely. The point for B to aim at is to keep his 62 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. smallest card, that he may not block the suit. For instance : — Kg, Qn, Knv, 2 B 8 Y Z 9, 4, 3 A Ace, 10, 7, 6, 5 First Trick . — A leads ace ; Y plays 8 ; if B plays 2, A’s suit is irretrievably blocked, and B does but encumber his partner with help. B should play knave; Z plays 3. Second Trick . — A leads 6 ; Y trumps ; B plays queen ; Z plays 4. To the third round, B plays king, and A remains with the command. Or, again : — K o> 10, 8 7, 6, 5, 2 B Y Z 9 A Ace, Qn, Knv, 4, 3 PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 63 First Trick . — A leads ace ; Y plays 8 ; B plays 5 ; Z plays 9. Second Trick . — A leads knave; Y plays king; B plays 6 ; Z renounces. Third Trick (A to lead).— A leads queen; Y plays 10 ; B plays 7. And A’s suit is unblocked. If B had played the two to the ace ; the five to the knave ; and the six to the queen, A, the player with the numerical superiority, would have been blocked. The only case in which B can possibly lose by his attempt to unblock is as follows : — Z must hold none of the suit ; A must have led from five cards exactly, and A’s small cards must all be very low ones. The risk of loss is so trifling that it is hardly worth considering. If Y does not follow suit to the ace, the risk of loss is greater, as B must pursue his tactics on the second round or he has called for trumps. Hence, when Y is void, B, holding four of the suit, should play his lowest card to the ace. This is the only exception ; and even then B should be on the alert to unblock on the later rounds, if the fall of the cards shows that A remains with the command. F.rj . : — Qn, 9, 8, 3 B Y Z A Kg, 6, 6, 4 Ace, Knv, 10, 7, 2 64 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. First Trick . — A leads ace ; Y trumps ; B plays 3 (not eight) ; Z plays 4. Second Tric/c (Z to lead). — Z leads king ; A plays 2 ; Y renounces ; B plays 8. Third Trick (Z to lead). — Z leads 5; A plays 7. B should play queen. Bor A remains with two cards higher than the seven ; and these must he knave, ten. B’s four cards may he of indifferent value, when he cannot block or unblock A’s suit, however he plays. Nevertheless B should pursue a uniform system, when- ever he holds four cards exactly, and Y follows suit to ace led. Example : — Qn. Knv, 10, 9 Kg, 5, 3 Ace, 8, 6, 4, 2 First Trick . — A leads ace; Y plays 7; B plays 10; Z plays 3. Second Trick . — A leads 4 ; Y trumps ; B plays knave; Z plays 5. Third Trick (Z to lead). — Z leads king; A plays 2; B plays 9. And the queen is marked in B’s hand, as B must have originally held four of the suit. The information as to the position of the queen would not have been given if B had played nine, then PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 65 ten, then knave. B has not called for trumps, will be explained in the next chapter. Again : — 6, 4, 3, 2 Kg, 5 Knv, 7 Ace, Qn, 10, 9, 8 This First Trick . — A leads ace ; Y plays 5 ; B plays 3 ; Z plays 7. Second Trick . — A leads 9 ; Y plays king ; B plays 4 ; Z plays knave. 1 does not lead a trump, so it may be assumed he is not calling, and the five is therefore his lowest card in the suit. Consequently, B must hold the deuce. And, as he would only play in this way with four of the suit exactly, he must hold one other card, in this instance the six. The deuce and six are marked in B s hand. A could not have told the position of the six, if to ace, and nine, B had played the two and the three. If a small card is missing after the second round, A can place two more of the suit exactly in his partner’s hand. It is just possible that an adversary may have commenced a call for trumps on the first round, and may have withdrawn it on the second ; but this contingency F 66 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. is unlikely. A will often be able to place tlie whole suit. Thus : — Kg, Qn. 8. 8 Knv 10,4,2 Ace, 9, 7, 6, 5 First Trick . — A leads ace; Y plays knave; B plays 8 ; Z plays 2. Second Trick . — A leads 6 ; Y trumps ; B plays queen; Z plays 4. No one having played the trey in two rounds, B has it. He must therefore have held exactly four of the suit originally. So, in addition to the trey, B holds one other card, which must be the king ; and Z has the ten single. A may be able to place the suit, as to number, after the first round. Thus : — Kg, Kny, 5, 2 Qn, 8, 4 Ace, 10, 9, 7, 6, 3 PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 67 First Trick . — A leads ace ; Y plays 4 ; B plays 5 ; Z trumps. Z now leads a trump. It is highly improbable that Y is calling for trumps. If not, B holds the deuce of A’s suit. Hence B has three more exactly, and Y has two more. Note also, that Y cannot place the suit. Moreover, A may be enabled to count the cards, in consequence of B’s playing his lowest card to the ace. For instance : — 9, 6,5 Qn, 7, 4 Ace, Knv, 10, 8, 3 First Trick . — A leads ace ; Y plays 2 ; B plays 5 ; Z plays 4. It is certain that B has not three more of the suit exactly. Second Trick . — A leads 8; Y plays king; B plays 6 ; Z plays 7. Later in the hand, B discards tire nine. It is cer- tain that B has no more, and that Z has the queen. A knows, if he leads the suit again, that B can trump it; or, if Y trumps it, that B is favourably placed for over- trumping. These negative inferences are of more importance F 2 68 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. than at first sight appears, so a second example is given : — Qn, 9, 2 Knv, 3 Kg, 10,4 Ace, 8, 7, 6, 6 First Trick . — A leads ace ; Y plays 8 ; B plays 2 (therefore had not four of the suit originally); Z plays 4. Second Trick . — A leads 6 ; Y plays knave ; B plays queen ; Z plays king. Later in the hand, B discards the nine. If A has the lead, he can force B, with the certainty that Z has the ten. For, if B had held four of the suit originally, he would have played the nine to the first trick, instead of the deuce. A’s lead may he from ace, queen, knave, and only one other card. In this case, it is impossible for B to lose by keeping his lowest card when ace is led. As soon as queen is led after ace, B knows that lie cannot block the suit. He must, nevertheless, play PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 69 his next higher card to the queen, or he has called for trumps. If, on the third round, he plays his lowest card, he has only abandoned an attempt to unblock. The play of the small card on the third round does not constitute a call, as will be explained in the next chapter. Example : — 10 , 9 , 8,4 5 , 3,2 Ace, Qn, Knv, G First Triclc . — A leads ace ; Y plays 7 ; B plays 8 ; Z plays 2. Second Trick. — A leads queen ; Y plays king ; B plays 9 (or he has called for trumps) ; Z plays 3. Third Trick (A to lead). — A leads knave ; B plays 4. B has not called for trumps; he is marked with the ten single. If he had played, first the two, then the eight, then the nine, A could not have placed the ten. Also, when Z fails to follow suit to the first trick, B may similarly have to abandon his unblocking tactics 70 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. on the third round, even though A led from five cards. For instance : — Qn, Knv, 7, G Kg, 10, 5, 2 B Y Z A Ace, 9, 8, 4, 3 First Trick . — A leads ace ; Y plays 6 ; B plays 5 ; Z trumps. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 4 ; Y plays knave; B plays king; Z trumps. Third Trick (Y to lead). — Y leads queen. B must play 2, as there is nothing to show him that A holds the nine. B has not called for trumps ; he has only abandoned an attempt to unblock. If, in the above case, A’s cards had been ace, nine, eight, seven, three, he would have led the seven on the second round. Then B could safely have played the ten on the third round, as A would have been marked with nine and eight. It is not denied that combinations may be invented with which B’s attempt to unblock may turn out disastrously. But there can be no doubt that the great balance of advantage lies with the unblocking- system. PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 71 If, after having led the ace, A discontinues his suit, in consequence of the fall of the cards, or of losing the lead, the ace being trumped, B may have to discard from the suit, or may have to return it. If B, holding four originally, has retained his lowest card to ace led, he must discard his middle card. If he discards his lowest, he undoes all he has already done, and completes a call for trumps. If, after discarding, he returns the suit, he treats it as though he had only three originally, and returns the high card. So also, if B wins or attempts to win the second round, and then continues the suit, he must lead the higher of his remaining cards ; and similarly, if he has to discard after playing a winning or covering card to the second round, he must discard the higher of his remaining cards. Or, not having discarded from A’s suit, B may obtain the lead and may desire to return the suit, only one round of it having been played. B will rarely be placed in this position, unless the king has fallen to the ace, or Z has trumped the ace. If Y renounces to the ace, B does not attempt to unblock. It is clear that B must not return his lowest card, or he undoes all he has already done, and completes a call for trumps. As a rule, B should return his highest card. There may be exceptional cases, depending on the fall of the cards. These must be left to the judg- ment of the individual. The foregoing is contrary to the accepted rule of play with regard to returned leads. But as the lowest 72 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. card cannot be returned, for the reasons already given, B’s only resource is to return one of the others. It will no doubt be objected that this unusual return may cause A to miscount B’s hand. It may have this consequence at first, if A, being- unaccustomed to the return, is a player who draws his inferences rigidly, and especially if he cannot place a missing small card in B’s hand. It often happens now that A cannot tell, from the card returned, whether B has two more or no more of the suit. So in this case, it will sometimes happen that A will not be able to tell how many cards of the suit B has remaining. The return here proposed will most likely be a bitter pill for the old school of Whist-players to swallow. They have been brought up to return the higher of two remaining cards, the lowest of three, and they will probably continue in that faith. If, however, they wish to unblock their partner’s suits, and to play their cards to the best advantage, they will have to depart from the cherished Whist-maxim of their youths, when an ace is led originally. If they are content to stand still, no one can prevent them ; but they may be sure that the Whist-players of the future, having nothing to unlearn, will return any card which experience tells them will most probably conduce to success. PLAY OP THE THIltD HAND. 73 CHAPTER XII. THE PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND (CONTINUED). Re, Calling for Trumps. A call for trumps, according to Clay, “ consists in throwing away an unnecessarily high card;” and, he adds, “ it is requisite to pay great atten- tion to this definition.” Also, “it must he very carefully observed that the invitation must be given on the first round of a suit [and completed on the second] .... unless it is right for you to take or attempt to take the trick in the first [or second] round.” Now to test this definition when the third hand attempts to unblock. A leads ace ; B, holding queen, ten, nine, three, plays nine. This card is not an unnecessarily high card. A now leads a small card of the suit ; B plays ten. It is obvious that B has not called for trumps, or he would have played the ten before the nine. Whatever 74 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. card B plays on the third round, he does not complete a call. For example : — Kg, Knv, 7, 2 Qn. 10. 9, 3 B Y Z A Ace, 8, 6, 5, 4 First Trick . — A leads ace ; Y plays 2 ; B plays 9 ; Z trumps. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 5 ; Y plays king; B plays 10 ; Z renounces. Third Trick (Y to lead ). — Y leads 7 ; B plays 3 (as by playing the queen he may give away a trick). B has not called for trumps. B cannot convert into a call what never was a call. His small card, played to the third round, says he began getting out of his partner’s way on the first and second rounds, but without playing an unnecessarily high card ; and, seeing from the fall of the cards, that pursuance of his tactics may lose a trick, he has abandoned them on the third round. After the third round, A can place queen single in B’s hand. “ When you are at last obliged to play your lowest card, your partner, if he is a good player, will understand your change of intention.” (Clay). PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 75 If, in tlie example, the two and the tliree change places, A will notice the absence of the deuce on the first round. When B plays the ten on the second round, either B is unblocking or Y is calling. A can- not tell which ; but this he knows for certain that B is not calling. Take another case : — 10, 9, 6, 5 Kg, 8, 7, 4 Ace, Qn, Knv, 2 First Trick . — A leads ace ; Y plays 4 ; B plays 6 ; Z plays 3. Second Trick . — A leads queen ; Y plays king ; B plays 9 (that his attempt to unblock may not be mis- taken for a call) ; Z renounces. Third Trick (A to lead). — A leads knave ; Y plays 7 ; B plays 5. B has not called for trumps; A can place the ten in B’s hand and the eight in Y’s. It may be argued that B lias perhaps withdrawn a call. To justify the withdrawal, the aspect of the game must have changed. Referring to the examples, B has not withdrawn a call. If, in the first case, he wanted trumps before he knew Z could trump A’s suit, 76 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. a fortiori he would want trumps afterwards ; and, in either instance, he would have completed the call on the second round. The only case at all likely to lead to misunder- standing is that in which B has to make an effort to win the second trick, Z having renounced to the first. Bor instance : — Qn, Knv, 8, 3 Kg. 10, 9, 3 B Y Z A Ace, 7, 6, 5, 4 First Trick . — A leads ace ; Y plays 3 ; B plays 9 ; Z trumps. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 5 ; Y plays knave ; B plays king ; Z trumps. Later in the hand, Y leads queen. B, not knowing where the eight is, plays the two. If the' play is analysed, it can be shown positively that B has not called for trumps. The ten is marked in B’s hand, as soon as Y plays the knave to the second trick. Hence, when the two comes down, it is apparent that B has been attempting to unblock ; that he has altered his tactics on the third round, and, that, having four of the suit originally, lie remains with the ten single. PLAY OP THE THIRD HAND. 77 In the examples, A’s small cards have been pur- posely so arranged that B cannot tell where the com- mand of the suit is. If he can tell that A has it, he of course throws his high card on the third round, and all doubt vanishes. Thus, let the eight and the five change places in the above example. A leads ace, then six. Two cards higher than the six are marked in A’s hand. So, when Y leads the queen, B can safely play the ten. Beplace the cards, as in the last diagram (the eight being in Y’s hand, and the five in A’s) ; and let Y lead the queen on the second round of the suit. B must play king. Now the ten is not marked in B’s hand. Presently, Y has the lead again and leads knave. B plays two. What is A now to infer ? This is about as difficult a case as can be devised. It is a hard nut for even good players to crack. But it is a nut of some rarity ; and it must be cracked by those who desire to make the best use of their cards. The question can only be answered by following the whole hand. Z has had the lead twice, so at least two tricks must have been played in other suits before B’s deuce comes down ; possibly more. During the play of these tricks, if B gets the lead and wants trumps out, he will lead them. If he does not get the lead he will generally have had the opportunity of calling in the suit led by Z. If he has the lead and does not lead a trump, or if he might call and docs not do so, A woidd rightly infer that B has not been calling for trumps, but that he has been attempting to unblock. , 78 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. To reduce all this to a simple rule : — When B to his partner’s original lead of an ace plays a higher card on the second round than he did on the first, he is not calling for trumps ; and this holds, whatever the value of the card he plays on the third round. Also, if A misses a small card, he is not to jump to the con- clusion that there is of necessity a trump call. For instance : — Knv, 8 Qn, 10, 9, 2 B Y Z A Eg, i Ace, 7, 6, 5, 3 First Trick. — A leads ace ; Y plays 8 ; B plays 9 ; Z plays 4. Second Trick. — A leads 5 ; Y plays knave ; B plays queen ; Z plays king. Z does not lead a trump, so, presumably, he is not calling. A gets the lead. The deuce is marked in B’s hand. B may be calling or unblocking. A must not lead a trump on speculation, unless it suits his hand. There is one case in which AB may come to great grief, viz., that of a speculative trump lead on the part of A. Thus : — A leads ace; Y plays eight ; B plays nine ; Z plays four ; and A does not hold the deuce. PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 79 A has a wretched hand, with very little likelihood of getting the lead again. The score is A B, love ; Y Z, three or four. A naturally says to himself : — “ If any one but my partner is calling, it is all over with us.” So he leads a strengthening trump, on the chance, and then finds B has been getting rid of the command. No doubt hands could be constructed, in which, if A were quiet with trumps he would save the game, which he loses in consequence of his speculative trump lead. But, in the majority of such cases, A would lose the game anyhow, unless B is strong in both trumps and plain suits. Speculative transactions cannot be ex- pected, in the majority of cases, to turn out profitably. There may be a call late in a hand. After some five or six tricks have been played, B sees that he must have a trump lead from A, if possible. B has already played the deuce of A’s suit, and to the second and third rounds he plays first the eight, and then the four. According to Clay, this play is not a call. It rather seems to mean, however, that, when the suit was first led, B did not deem himself justified in calling; but, the aspect of the game having changed, a trump lead would now be very advantageous, or anything but a trump lead would be disadvantageous. It is clear that B is not trying to unblock, or he would have played the four to the first trick. It is admitted that B, having begun to unblock, can hardly make a late call in his partner’s suit, however much he may wish to do so. It is comparatively seldom, however, that late calls are required ; but suits are often blocked which might have been unblocked. 80 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. So, on the balance, the advantage is with the un- blocking- system, notwithstanding that B may thereby preclude himself from making a late call in A’s original suit. It may be objected that, if B follows the unblocking system, he is prevented from calling for trumps at all in bis partner’s ace suits. This, however, is not so. If the highest cards of B’s four are a tierce, it is obvious that he can unblock and call by first playing the middle card of his tierce. If B’s two middle cards are in sequence, or of indifferent value, it is equally obvious he can unblock and call by first playing his second-best card. With one honour, the ten, and two small cards, B’s chance of eventual loss by calling with the ten is small ; and as, by the hypothesis, he is strong in trumps, the risk ought to be run. With two honours and two small cards, the second- best card is too valuable to use for calling. Thus, if with king, queen and two small ones, B plays the queen to the ace, he may give away a trick to an adversary who holds knave and two small ones. With king, knave, the queen may fall to the first or second trick, and an adversary may remain with ten guarded. With queen, knave, if B plays knave to ace, he may find king, ten over him. The abandonment of the call in these cases is of no great moment. B will either get the lead on the second round, when he can lead a trump ; or the suit will be trumped, and B will have the opportunity of getting the lead or of calling in another suit. With PLAY OF THE THIRD H AND. 81 queen, knave, B will lose the second trick, and will get the lead or will call in the suit next led. B loses hardly anything by postponing the call. In the ordinary course of unblocking he is bound to play one of his honours to the second trick; therefore, with two honours and two small cards, he cannot complete a call on the second round. And, as he is strong in trumps, it is all the more essential that lie should not keep the command of his partner’s suit, there being then a great probability that A will bring it in. 0 G 82 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. CHAPTER XIII. THE PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND (CONTINUED). King led originally. The lead is from ace, king, or from king, queen, witli most probably two or more other cards of the suit. If B holds ace, knave only, he should put ace on king and return knave. With ace, knave, and one other card (even the ten), B should play his lowest card to the king, and the ace to the small caYd next led, unless the suit is then trumped by Y. With ace, knave, and more than one small card, B should play his lowest to the king, and, if Y follows suit, the knave to the small card next led. His hand can then be counted to contain ace and at least one other card of the suit. With ace and any number of small cards, B should play his lowest card to the king. If king is led, and B does not hold the ace, it is immaterial for unblocking purposes whether the lead is from ace, king, or from king, queen. Whatever the PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 83 number or value of his small cards, B must play his lowest to the king. It may be asked, If B has exactly four cards of the suit, including high cards that may become blocking cards (say knave, ten, nine, and a small card), why should he not keep his lowest card when king is led, as he is advised to do when ace is led ? B should not attempt to unblock on the first round, for the following reasons : — Firstly : — The lead of king gives less information to the third hand than the lead of any other high card. The information imparted is too small to warrant B in parting with high cards on the off-chance of not re- taining the command of A’s suit. Secondly : — There is no evidence of a lead from more than four cards, or, failing that, of a lead from three high cards. Hence the case differs from that of ace led. Thirdly : — If B holds the ace he can unblock on the second round. If he does not hold the ace and attempts to unblock to king led, he may give away a trick when the second-best of his four cards has any trick-making value ; when it has none he runs no risk of blocking. Fourthly : — If B plays any but his lowest card to king led, and the suit is changed, and B has to discard from it, or B (getting the lead) has to return it, his play becomes very puzzling. B, however, should be prepared for an attempt to unblock on the second round, if he can tell, from G 2 84 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. the fall of the cards, that such a course is advisable. For example : — Ace, 9 Knv, 10, 6, 5 B Y Z A Kg, Qn, 7, 3, 2 8,4 First Trick . — A leads king ; Y plays ace ; B plays 5 ; Z plays 4-. Y does not lead a trump, and during the subsequent play Z does not lead or call for trumps. Later in the hand, Second Trick in Suit (Z to lead). — Z leads 8 ; A plays queen ; Y plays 9. The three and two are marked in A’s hand. The seven may be in A’s hand or in Z’s. B should play the ten ; if Z ha§ the seven, no harm is done ; if A has the seven, B clears the suit. When king led originally is won by the ace, and B has to return the suit, he returns the lowest of four originally, the highest of three. There is one exception to this, which is pointed out in “ Caven- dish on Whist,” viz., if B remains with knave, ten, and one other card of the suit. B should then return the knave, that he may not block the suit in PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 5 case the lead was from more than four cards. It would hardly be necessary to refer to this, but that players, as a rule, return the small one, when holding second and third-best and a small one of partner’s original lead. 86 'WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. CHAPTER XIV. THE PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND (CONTINUED). Queen led originally. The leader is credited with knave, ten, and probably one or more small cards (see Table of Leads, No. II, Chap. VII). If B holds ace, king, and one small card, and Y follows suit, B should win the queen with the king, so as not to block his partner. The above and similar rules of play, assume the original leader can be trusted to choose his strongest suit for his opening lead. With partners who some- times open the hand with the ridiculously bad strengthening queen, from queen and another (it should be called weakening queen), B has no alter- native but to pass. - In some few bands, as with three of each plain suit and four small trumps, a player might possibly open a suit of queen, knave, and one small card. Even then B does no harm by winning the queen with the king, as three tricks are equally made in the suit, whether B puts on the king or passes. And if the lead was from four cards, four tricks are made in the suit. PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 87 With ace, king, and more than one small one, B should play his lowest card to the queen. With ace and any number of small cards, Y follow- ing suit, but not covering queen led, B should play his lowest card. Queen led, followed by knave. The lead is now declared to be from at most four cards, including the ten. B’s play to the knave, B holding an honour, is his lowest remaining card. This is so obvious that no further explanation is required. The only exception is, when B holds an honour and the nine only, the queen having forced the other honour. B should then play his honour on the knave if he desires the lead. Queen led, followed by ten or nine. The lead is either from more than four cards, or from quart to a queen, with or without small ones. B (holding ace, king and two small ones originally) has passed the queen. He must play the king on ten or nine, though he knows the card led will win the trick. If the lead is from five or more cards, B un- blocks the suit ; if from quart to a queen without small ones, no harm is done. B’s hand can now be counted to contain ace and one small card of the suit exactly. Should queen led originally be won adversely by king or ace, and A continues with the ten or nine, B, with an honour and only one small card remaining, should get rid of the command by playing the honour, 88 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. unless Y renounces to ten led after queen. Then B should pass, as the nine may he guarded in Z’s hand. If, however, B can tell to the contrary from the fall of the cards, or from holding the nine himself, he should play the honour. If A leads queen, then nine, B, holding an honour and one small card, may safely play the honour to the nine, even if Y renounces. When A follows queen with ten or nine, and B remains with an honour and more than one small card, he should pass the ten or nine. His hand can then l>e counted to contain the honour and at least one small card. Of course, if the suit is led a third time, or if B has to discard from it after the second round, and he can tell that the command is with A, he should then play the honour. Bor example : — Kg Qn, Knv, 10, 7, 6 First Trick . — A leads queen ; Y plays 4 ; B plays 2 ; Z plays king. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 10 ; Y plays 5 ; B plays 3 ; Z trumps. Ace, 9, 3, 2 B 8 , 6 , 4 Y Z A PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 89 Knave ami at least two others are marked in A’s hand. If A or Y leads the suit a third time, B should play ace, though his nine is a certain winning card. Or, if B lias to discard from the suit before it is led a third time, his proper discard is the ace. If queen led is covered by king, and B wins the trick, he must be prepared to get out of A’s way on the second round, when he holds cards that may be blocking cards. Eg . : — Ace, 9, 8, 2 7, 4,3 Qn, Knv, 10, G, 5 First Trick . — A leads queen; 1' plays king; B plays ace; Z plays 3. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 10 (showing that he led from five at least); Y renounces; B plays 8 (not 2) ; Z plays 4. To the third round, B of course plays the nine, and A’s suit is established. B should not play the eight to the second trick if A continues with the knave, as then A is declared with only ten and one small one remaining. 90 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. The previous example shows what is constantly happening— or rather not happening — at Whist. On the second round, B can count knave and at least two others in A’s hand. Yet, knowing this, nine players out of ten invariably play the wrong card (viz., the two,) to the ten, and so block the suit. Similarly, if B wins the first trick when queen is led, and remains with nine, eight and one small card, and returns the suit, he should return the nine. At first sight this appears to be a departure from esta- blished rule ; but it is not really so. The present rule is, with second and third-best, and a small one, to return the second-best. A having knave, ten, marked in his hand, B’s nine, eight are virtually second and third-best. Bor example : — Ace, 9, 8, 5 7, 6, 2 Qn, Knv, 10, 4, 3 First Trick . — A leads queen; Y plays king; B plays ace; Z plays 2. Second Trick (B to lead). — B leads 9 ; Z plays 6 ; A plays 3 ; and A remains with the command. PLAY OP THE THIRD HAND. 91 If B returns the five, A must play the ten; and if A leads the suit again B remains with the command. Of course, if B has five in suit, he returns the lowest, even if he holds nine, eight, that he may not block his own suit. With other small cards, three in number, B having won the first trick, returns the lowest, but should be ready to get out of his partner’s way on the third round, if the fall of the cards shows he may block the suit. F.ff. : — Ace, 9, 6, 3 K s B Y Z 8, 7, 4 A Qn, Knv, 10, 6, 2 First Trick. — A leads queen ; Y plays king ; B plays ace; Z plays 4. Second Trick (B to lead). — B leads 3 ; Z plays 7 ; A plays 10 ; Y trumps. Third Trick (A to lead). — A leads knave. The deuce and six are marked in A’s hand. Therefore, B should play 9. Queen led, followed by any card, when ike third hand holds four small cards of the suit exactly. By four small cards is meant four cards all lower than the ten. 92 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Careful examination will show that B’s four small cards are powerless except for blocking A’s suit. Hence B’s object should be not to block the suit. It is clear if B’s four cards are, say nine; eight, seven, and a small one, that he is perfectly helpless in the suit, except for injury to A, should A have led from more than four cards. Thus : — Ace, 6, 5 First Trick . — A leads queen ; Y plays king ; B plays 2 ; Z plays 5. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 10; Y re- nounces ; B plays 7 ; Z plays ace. Third Trick (A to lead). — A leads knave; Y tramps; B plays 8 ; Z plays 6. Suppose now that A’s knave forced the last trump, and that B has a card of re-entry in Y’s suit. B gets the lead and A’s suit is blocked. It is submitted to good Whist-players, that B should have played seven and eight to the first and second rounds. With four small cards B may gain and can- not lose by retaining his lowest card when queen is led. 9, 8, 7, 2 Qn, Knv, 10, 4, 8 PLAY OP THE THIRD HAND. 93 Having discovered, on the second lead, that A led from more than four cards, B should have played nine to the third round, when A’s suit is cleared. • If B discovers on the second round that A (by continuing with the knave), led from only four cards, B must play the eight that he may not complete a call for trumps. If B plays his smallest card on the third round, the case is then precisely similar to that of the abandon- ment of unblocking tactics on the third round, when ace is led originally. ( See Chaps. XI and XII.) B has not asked for trumps, and the nine single is marked in his hand. Again : — 8, 6, 5, 2 Ace, 9 Kg, 7 Qn, Knv, 10, 4, 3 First Trick . — A leads queen ; Y plays ace ; B plays 2 ; Z plays 7. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 10; 1 plays 9 ; B plays 5 Z plays king. Third Trick (A to lead).— A leads knave, and exactly the same position occurs as before. 94 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. On the other hand : — 9, 8, 7, 2 Ace, Kg, 5 Qn, Knv, 10, 6, 4 First Triclc . — A leads queen; Y plays king; B plays 7 ; Z plays 3. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 10; Y plays ace ; B plays 8 ; Z renounces. Third Trick (A to lead). — A leads knave ; Y plays 5 ; B plays 9. A’s suit is freed, and (unless Y has led trumps,) A can place the deuce in B’s hand, and knows B can put him in with the suit if he gets the lead after trumps are out. If, on the second round, A had led knave, B must still play the eight, that he may not complete a call for trumps. On the third round when B plays the two, the nine single is marked in his hand. As in the case of ace leads when B has four of the suit exactly {see Chap. XI), he should pursue a uni- form rule, and should retain his lowest with any four small cards. Even if B’s four cards cannot he blocking cards, or are cards of equal trick-making value, no harm is done; and if A can note the absence PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 95 of a small card after the second round, he will often be able to place the whole suit. E.g . : — 9, 7, 6, 2 Kg, 5, 4, 3 Ace Qn, Knv, 10, 8 First Trick . — A leads queen ; Y plays 3 ; B plays 6 ; Z plays ace. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads knave; Y plays king; B plays 7 (notwithstanding he knows that the lead was from four cards only, that his play may not be mistaken for a call for trumps) ; Z renounces. Now, unless Y is calling for trumps, A can place the whole suit, viz., deuce, and a higher card than the seven (i.e . , the nine), in B’s hand; five, four in Y’s hand. It is immaterial whether Y follows suit to the queen or not. B cannot lose by playing his lowest but one to the first trick ; but he must be prepared to play his lowest, if necessary, to the third trick ; and he has not asked for trumps, as he did not complete a call on the second round {see Chap. XII). Again, it may be asked, If the play of the penulti- mate of four cards to queen led is so advantageous 96 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. when B has four small cards, why not make the rule uniform for all combinations of four cards, including those -which contain ace, or king, or both of those cards ? If B has both ace and king, the number of his cards can be counted on the second round, as before ex- plained, whichever of his small cards he plays to the first round. If B has ace or king and three small cards, lie can gain nothing by attempting to unblock with his lowest but one. For, if A has five of the suit, he will continue with a small card after leading queen and ten, and to this B will play his honour. And, whatever the value of B’s fourth card, A can always win it with the knave. Moreover, with ace and three small ones, B may actually lose a trick by his ingenious effort not to unblock (for he cannot block), but to show that he holds four exactly. Thus : — Ace, 9. 6, 3 Kg, 8, 4, 2 Qn. Knv, 10, 5 First Trick . — A leads queen ; Y plays 2 ; B plays 6 ; Z plays 7. PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 97 Second Trick . — A leads knave ; Y plays 4 ; B plays 9 (or he lias called for trumps) ; Z trumps. Third Trick (A to lead). — A leads 5 ; Y plays 8 ; and B must play ace, leaving the winning card in Y’s hand. The foregoing considerations point to the rule of only retaining the lowest when the third hand has four small cards. Then B is only numerically strong for possible harm ; with one honour B is not powerful for harm ; and this makes all the difference. As regards the call for trumps, B, with four small cards, can always afford to play his second-best card to the queen, and his third-best to the next round. If B, having retained his lowest of four small cards to queen led, has afterwards to discard from the suit, he must discard his middle card, or he undoes all he has previously done, and completes a call for trumps. If he returns the suit after a discard, he returns the higher of his two remaining cards. If B, not having discarded, has to return his partner’s lead, after playing the lowest but one of four small cards to queen led, he must return the highest. This is con- trary to the accepted rule with regard to returned leads. The proposal will, no doubt, horrify the old school. But, since B is helpless in the suit, except for harm to A, the return of the highest is clearly right. A will be informed of the number of B’s cards by this return, as often as he will by the present system, i.e., whenever he can note the absence of a small card. There is just H 98 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. the possibility that A’s lead was from queen, knave, ten only. Then, if B returns the nine, he may lose a trick. But B’s play must be on the assumption that the lead is from at least four cards, exceptional leads being disregarded. PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 99 CHAPTER XV. THE PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND (CONTINUED). Knave led originally. When knave is led originally the lead is from king, queen, knave and at least two small cards ; or from knave, ten, nine and probably one or more small cards {see Table of Leads, No. II, Chap. VII.) It will be convenient first to suppose a lead from knave, ten, nine, as B’s play is on the same lines as when queen is led from queen, knave, ten, discussed in the previous chapter. Knave led, from knave, ten, nine. If B holds a tierce major and one small card, and can depend on A for leading from his strongest suit, he should win the knave. There is, of course, the off-chance that A’s hand is exceptional, and that he has led from knave, ten, nine only, or from knave, ten and one small one. In the few cases where the original lead was from but three cards, B by winning the first trick may force his partner on the fourth round; this risk should be h2 run. 100 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Some authorities maintain that if B, holding a tierce major, proposes to return the suit at once (whatever card Z plays, bar a trump), he should win with the ace and return the king, to inform A he holds the other honour. An ingenious argument has been pro- mulgated to show that, if ace is played third hand and Z trumps, B must hold both king and queen. The argument, however, is founded on the assumption that, if Y holds king and queen, he will play queen, second hand, on knave led. The right play is dis- puted ; many players do cover knave led, holding king and queen ; but in the opinion of some of the best judges it is more advantageous to pass ( see Chap. IX). Similar information is afforded with regard to the third honour if the third hand wins with the queen and returns the king. If B holds ace, king and any number of small cards, and Y follows suit to the knave, B should play his lowest when strong enough in trumps to lead them as soon as he gets in, unless he wants the lead immediately. If weak in trumps, B should secure the trick at once, by putting on the king. With ace, queen, and any number of small cards, if Y plays a small card, B plays his lowest to knave led. With king, queen and one small card, if Y follows suit, and B can depend on his partner for leading from strength, he should play queen on knave, that he may not block the suit ( see remarks on ace, king and one small when queen is led, Chap. XIY). With king, queen and more than one small card B should play his lowest to the knave. PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 101 With ace and one small card, B should play ace on knave, as if the lead is from king, queen, knave and small ones, B unblocks the suit ( see Chap. XVI). With ace and more than one small card, B should play his lowest. For all B can tell, the lead may be from king, queen, knave, when it is advantageous to pass {see Chap. XVI). Moreover, many players do not cover knave led, holding king, queen, &c., second hand ; so the knave, if passed, may win the trick. If B’s only honour is the king, he should play his lowest to knave led. The ride is for second hand to play ace on knave led originally. This rule is not always adhered to, but B should act on the assumption that Y plays according to book. Then the ace must be in Z’s hand, and the only use B can make of his king is to hold it over the queen, should that card lie in Y’s hand. B’s play when Y covers the knave is obvious. He must win the trick if able. If B has to return the suit, he returns the higher of two cards, the lowest of three, unless he holds eight, seven and one small one, when (ten, nine being marked in A’s hand), B should return the eight in order to leave A with the command ; a distinct gain if the lead was from five cards {compare return of nine, holding nine, eight, when queen is led, Chap. XIV). Knave led , followed by ten. Here the lead is from four cards only. B’s play is simple ; it proceeds on the same lines as when queen 102 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. is followed by knave ( see Chap. XIV). The excep- tion there stated, however, requires the following modification. If the knave forces two honours, and B remains with one honour and the eight, he should play the honour on the ten when he desires the lead. Knave led, followed by nine or eight. The lead is either from more than four cards or from quart to a knave, with or without small ones. The play is very similar to that advised when queen is followed by ten or nine. But as the unblocking policy is little understood, and less practised, it will be advisable to give some examples : — Kg, 8, 7. 2 Ace, 6, 5 Knv, 10, 9, 4, 3 First Trick . — A leads knave ; Y plays queen ; B plays king ; Z plays ace. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 9 ; Y trumps ; B plays 7 (to unblock the suit); Z plays 5. To the third round B of course leads or plays the PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 103 Unless Z is calling for trumps, A, missing the two, can place the whole suit after the second round. If (second trick) A had led the ten, B should have played the deuce. Again : — Ace, Qn, 3, 2 4, &c. Kg, &c. Knv, 10, 9, See. First Trick . — A leads knave ; B plays 2 ; Z plays king. Second Trick . — If A leads ten, B passes again ; if A leads nine, B plays queen, even should Y trump. Or, B holds king, queen and two small cards. He passes the knave. If A continues with the ten, B should pass again (unless he wants the lead) ; but, if A continues with nine or eight, B should play the queen, even if Y re- nounces. If B holds ace and small ones, and the knave led does not win the trick (the lead then being declared from tierce to a knave), B should be on the look out to unblock on the third round, if the fall of the cards 104 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. shows that he may remain with the command. For instance : — Ace, 8, 5, 3 Kg, Qn Kny, 10, 9, 6, 2 First Trick . — A leads knave ; Y plays queen ; B plays ace; Z plays 4. Second Trick (B to lead). — B leads 3 ; Z plays 7 ; A plays 9 ; Y plays king. Third Trick (A to lead).— A leads 10 ; Y trumps. B should play eight, as the six and deuce are marked in A’s hand. If Y is a player who adopts the modern rule of not covering second hand, A, on the return, should have played the two, as Y must hold king single. Bat so many players cover knave second hand, being numerically weak, or holding king, queen, &c., that unless A knows Y to be a player who follows modern rule, passing Z’s seven would be a dangerous experi- ment. If Y plays a small card to knave led, and B, with ace and others passes, and Z wins the trick with king PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 105 or queen, B’s play, on the second round, has yet to be determined Say Z wins knave with queen, and that A on getting the lead continues the suit with ten, nine or eight. Should B put ace on the second round, or should he pass again ? When B cannot place the unplayed honour he must be guided by the general rule, to finesse against one card on the second round of a suit, if strong enough , in trumps to lead them afterwards ; but to make tricks early, if weak in trumps. Bor example : — Ace, 8, 5 Kg, 7, 4, 3 Knv, 10, 9, 6, 2 First Trick . — A leads knave ; Y plays 3 ; B plays 5 ; Z plays queen. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 9 ; Y plays four ; B, if strong in trumps, should pass; if weak in trumps, should play ace. The same if A had continued with the ten. If B passes and A wins the trick, or Z trumps, B has either ace, or ace, king, and is strong in trumps. 106 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. This would often he a sufficient inducement to A, with a good hand, to lead a tramp. If Y wins knave with ace, the position of the queen is not determined, as Y with ace, queen, would put ace on knave. A on getting the lead continues with the ten ; Y follows suit with a small card, and B holds king and small. B, if weak in trumps, should put on the king; hut, if strong enough in trumps to lead a trump when he comes in, he should pass. If the ten wins, this would often be a sufficient inducement to A, with a good hand, to lead a trump. If Y puts ace on knave, and nine is presently led hy A, B with king and small should play the king. Bor the third round of the suit must he tramped or renounced to. B’s play is the same if knave is followed by eight. When B can place the unplayed honour in Z’s hand, of course he plays accordingly. But if Y follows suit, B cannot place the unplayed honour when Dr. Pole’s rule of not covering second hand is adhered to (see Chap. IX). This gives an additional reason for not covering second hand, neglected in Dr. Pole’s analysis. Knave led, followed by any card, when the third hand holds four small cards of the suit exactly. B’s play is to retain his lowest card, for the same reasons as those given with regard to similar play when queen is led from queen, knave, ten (see Chap. XI Y). PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 107 Whether the lead is from knave, ten, nine, or from king, queen, knave and more than one small one, makes no difference. This will be entered into more fully under leads from king, queen, knave {see Chap. XVI). 108 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. CHAPTER XYI. THE PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND (CONTINUED). Knave led, from Icing, queen, knave. If B has the ace, his play depends on the number of small cards he holds. With ace and one small card he should play the ace, talcing the only chance he has of unblocking. If Y does not follow suit to knave jed (but does not, trump it), and B holds ace and one small card, B should put on the ace, unless he holds ace, nine. The possession of the nine tells B that the lead was from tierce to a king, and it marks the ten in Z’s hand, possibly guarded. If Y trumps knave led, B, with ace and one small one, should play his small card, unless he holds ace, ten, when he should play the ace. If B holds ace and two small ones, and Y follows suit to the knave, B should pass. If the knave wins, and A proceeds with the king, and Y follows suit, B should now play his ace, that he may not block the suit of which his partner remains with queen and two small ones. If Z trumps the second round, B may lose a trick by this ; but the risk ought to be run. If Y does not follow suit to the king, B should pass, as ten guarded is declared in Z’s hand. Of course, if B holds ace, ten himself, he should play ace. PLAY OF THE THIKD HAND. 109 If tlie knave wins, and A proceeds with the queen, B should play ace, even if X tramps or renounces. For the continuation with queen marks six at least in A’s hand originally {see Table of Leads, No. II, Chap. VII) ; hence, A has the entire command of the suit if B gets rid of the ace. And as B did not put the ace on the knave, he re- mains with exactly one more card of the suit. A can place the whole suit, and knows that B remains with one card of it. If B holds ace and three small cards, and Y follows suit to the knave, B plays his smallest. If the knave wins, and A continues with king or queen, B passes again. If all follow suit to the knave, B knows when king is led that A has the command of the suit, and if, after the second round, he has to discard from the suit he should discard the ace. Thus : — 10, 4, 3 Kg, Qn, Knv, 9, 7 Ace, 8, G, 5 B Y Z A First Trick . — A leads knave : Y plays 3 : B plavs 5; Z plays 2. 110 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Second Trick . — A leads king; Y plays 4; B plays 6 ; Z trumps. B now knows that the ten is single in Y’s hand ; if he has to discard, he should throw the ace. As before observed, unblocking by a discard is often missed. If A follows knave with queen, B can similarly dis- card the ace after the second round, even if Z did not follow suit to the knave. Note the advantage to A if he can depend on B for correct play. So long as B passes, he always has ace and at least one small card remaining. When B puts on the ace, he has exactly one small card remaining, unless he puts ace on knave, when he may have held the ace single. A can often place the whole suit after the second round. Bor example : — Ace, 7, 3 10 , 6 , 2 Kg, Qn, Knv, 9, 5 First Trick . — A leads knave; Y plays 2 ; B plays 3 ; Z plays 4. Second Trick . — A leads king ; Y plays 6 ; B plays ace ; Z plays 8. A now knows that B has one other card of the suit, and no more. Consequently the seven or ten is single PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. Ill in one of the adverse hands. If ti-umps come out, and A gets the lead, he can lead the king with the certainty that the ten and seven will fall, and that he will. bring in the suit. Players must again be cautioned against drawing inferences too rigidly. B, with ace and more than one small one, may win knave led, because he desires the lead immediately. Thus B puts ace on knave, and leads a trump. No inference can be drawn as to the number of small cards he holds. Knave led, followed by any card, when the third hand holds four small cards of the suit exactly. By four small cards is meant four cards without an honour. B should play his lowest but one to knave, for reasons similar to those given under queen leads {see Chap. XIV). The following examples show how B may get rid of the command, or give information as to the contents of his hand, by playing as advised. The rule is ex- tended, for the sake of uniformity, to all cases where B has four small cards exactly, whether they may block the suit or not. Ace, Qn, 7 8, 6, 5, 2 B Y Z A Kg Knv, 10, 9, 4, 3 112 "WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. j First Trick. — A leads knave ; Y plays ace ; B plays 5 ; Z plays king. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 9 ; Y plays queen ; B plays 6 ; Z renounces. Third Trick (A to lead). — A leads 10 ; Y plays 7 ; B plays 8. A’s suit is cleared, and tlie deuce is marked in B’s hand. If at Trick 2 A had led ten, B must still play the six that he may not complete a call for trumps. On the third round he should play the two : he has not called for trumps, (see Chap. XII), and one more of the suit exactly is marked in his hand. E.g. : — 8, 6, 5, 2 Ace, Qn, 7, 3 Knv, 10, 9, 4 First Trick . — A leads knave ; Y plays ace ; B plays 5 ; Z plays king. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 10; Y plays queen; B plays 6. Third Trick (A to lead). — A leads 9 ; Y plays 3; B plays 2. And the seven or eight is marked in B’s hand. PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 113 Again : — 10 , 9 , 8 , 2 5 , 4 , 3 Kg, Qn, Knv, 7, 6 First Trick . — A leads knave ; Y plays ace ; B plays 8 ; Z plays 3. Second Trick (A to lead).— A leads king; Y trumps; B plays 9 ; Z plays 4 ; and, unless Z lias withdrawn a call for trumps, A can place the whole suit. If, to the third trick, A leads queen, of course B plays 10. It will he observed, whenever knave is led, and B holds ten or nine, that he can count king, queen, and at least two others in A’s hand. Again : — Ace, 10, 5 6, 4, 3, 2 Kg, Qn, Knv, 9, 7 114 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. First Trick . — A leads knave; Y plays 8; B plays 8 ; Z plays ace. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads king ; Y trumps ; B plays 4 ; Z plays 5. And AB can place the whole suit, or at least all they want to know about. A knows that B has the deuce, and therefore either the six or the ten; hence, liis queen will bring down the ten, either from B or Z. B knows that the ten is single in Z’s hand. B having played his lowest but one to the knave, his discards and returns follow the rules already laid down under queen led {see Chap. XIV). He discards the middle card ; he returns the highest whether he has discarded or not ; and if he wants to call for trumps,' he first plays his second-best card and then his middle card. PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 115 CHAPTER XVII. THE PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND (CONTINUED;. Ten led originally. The lead is from king, queen, knave, ten, with or without small ones, or from king, knave, ten, and probably one or more small ones ( see Table of Leads, No. II, Chap. Vll). With ace, queen, and small cards, B should play his lowest card to the ten, and, to the second round, the queen. With ace, queen, and one small card, B should play the small card to the ten, and the ace to the small card next led. With ace, queen only, B should put ace on the ten and return the queen. With ace and any number of small cards, B should put the ace on the ten, as, if A led from king, knave, ten, it is advisable to leave to the original leader the option of finessing on the second round. If A can depend on B, he will often be able to count the suit after the second round. Thus : — If B plays a small card to the ten, and winsithe second round with the queen, he remains with acc and at least one small card. On the contrary, if B plays a small card i 2 116 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. to the ten, and wins the second round with the ace, he can only have the queen single. If B holds queen and any number of small cards, he should pass the ten led. If the ten forces the ace, and A continues with the king, B, remaining with queen and one small one, should play the small one, unless his small card is the nine, when he should play the queen. If the ace wins the ten, and the suit is returned through B, and B remains with queen and one small card, he should play the queen. If B wins the first trick with the ace, and remains with three small cards, he returns the lowest, according to the present rule, unless he has nine, eight, and one small one, when he should return the nine. For ex- ample : — Ace, 9, 8, 3 Qn, 6 Kg, Knv, 10, 5, 2 First Triclc . — A leads 1 0 ; Y plays queen ; B plays ace ; Z plays 4. Second Trick (B to lead).— B leads 9. If B leads three, A wins with knave, and if A afterwards leads king, B’s nine blocks the suit. PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 117 The same of course applies if queen does not fall io the first trick. Ten led, when the third hand holds four small cards of the suit exactly. By four small cards is meant four cards all lower than the ten. B should retain his lowest card. E.g . : — 9, 8. 7, 3 Ace, Qn, 2 Kg, Knv, 10, 5, 4 First Triclc . — A leads 10 ; Y plays queen; B plays 7 ; Z plays 6. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads knave; Y plays ace ; B plays 8 ; Z renounces. Third Trick (A to lead). — A leads king; Y plays 2 ; B plays 9 ; and A has the command. If, at trick 2, A had led the king, B must still have played the eight, or he has called for trumps. But he should then have played the three to the third round, as the continuation with king marks a lead from only four cards {see Table of Leads, No. II, Chap. VII). So, for anything B knows, Y may still remain with the 118 A V HIST DEVELOPMENTS. five, which would he the best card if B throws the nine. The three, played by B on the third round, does not complete a call for trumps, as already explained (see Chap. XII). But it enables A to count the nine in B’s hand; for B would only attempt to unblock with four of the suit exactly. When B plays his lowest but one of four small cards to ten led, his subsequent play is as already pointed out. If he discards, he throws his middle card ; if he re- turns the suit (whether he has discarded or not) he returns his highest ; if he wants to call for trumps, he does so with his second and third-best cards (see Play of Third Hand, with four small cards, retaining lowest when queen or knave is led. Chaps. XIV, XVI). Nine led originally. B’s play is much the same as when ten is led origi- nally. The lead is probably from king, knave, ten, nine, with or without small ; or from ace, queen, ten, nine. It must not be forgotten, however, that nine is what is called a “ doubtful card,” and that, with exceptional hands, nine may be led from three cards. With ace, queen, and any number of small cards, B should play the queen. If the lead is from the usual king, knave, ten, nine, no harm is done ; and there is an off-chance that the lead was an exceptional one from king, knave, nine, or from king, ten, nine. With ace, queen only, B should put on the ace, so as not to block the suit. A must hold the king, and the great probability is that he has knave, ten also. PLAY OP THE THIKD HAND. 119 If B has the ace, the lead is presumably from a king suit. With any number of small ones, B puts on the ace. If B holds the king, the lead is presumably from an ace suit. With king and any number of small ones, B should put on the king ; the same if he holds king, knave, with or without small ones. If B holds the queen and one, two, or three small cards, he should play the queen, as there is an off- chance that the lead is from king, ten, nine, or from ace, ten, nine. But with queen and four small ones, B should pass the nine, so as not to have his own suit blocked, the great probability being that the lead .was from king, knave, ten, nine. If B has the knave and one, two, or three small ones, he should similarly put it on the nine, lest the lead was an exceptional one from ace, queen, nine. But with knave and four small cards, B should pass. If, after the first trick, B remains with eight, seven, and one small card, he gains no advantage by returning the eight. He should therefore follow the present rule and return the lowest. And, if B has four small cards without an honour, he gains no advantage by playing any card other than his lowest to nine or a lower card, led. Consequently, he should follow the present rule and play his lowest. 120 ■WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. CHAPTER XVIII. THE PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND (CONTINUED) The Plain-Suit Echo. When king, or nine, or a lower card is led originally, if B does not attempt to win the first trick, lie plays his lowest card, whatever number of cards he holds in the suit. The JPlain-Suii Echo. When ace is led originally, if Y follows suit, B, with any four cards of the suit exactly, retains his lowest card. When queen, knave, or ten is led originally, B, with four small cards of the suit exactly, retains his lowest card. (See Chaps. XI, XII, XIY, XV, XVI and XVII.) THE PLAIN-SUIT ECHO. 121 The following shows, in tabular form, the play required of the third hand by the Plain-Suit Echo. A’s Original Lead. Y. B retains Lowest. Ace follows suit with any four cards exactly. Queen follows suit or renounces with any four small cards exactly. Knave Ten P's subsequent Piny. Second Trick. — If A, Y, or Z, continues suit, B plays his middle card. Third Trick. — B plays his highest or lowest, ac- cording to the fall of the cards ; and, N.B. — If B plays lowest, he has not called for trumps. Returned Leads . — If B retains his lowest to the first trick, he returns his highest card, notwithstanding that he still holds three of the suit. Discarding. — If B retains his lowest to the first trick, and has to discard from the suit, he discards his middle card. 122 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Calling for Trumps. When B would otherwise play his lowest card hut ( one, hut wants to call for trumps, he plays his second best card to the first trick, and his middle card to the second trick (except ace led, B holding two honours and two small cards, when he must abandon the call in that suit). PLAY OF THE TIIIHD HAND. 123 CHAPTER XIX. THE PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND (CONTINUED). Low card led originally. When a low card is led originally, B’s play proceeds on the assumption that the lead is from at least four cards, three of them being- higher than the card led. When the third hand has at, most three of the suit, his play is obviously to head the trick if lie can ; otherwise to play his lowest card, unless he calls for trumps. Low card led, followed hy lower card, when the third hand holds four cards of the sail exactly. To the first round, the play of the third hand is the same as with any other number of cards in the suit. If either adversary does not follow suit to the first round, B’s play will be the same, on the second round, as with any other number of cards in the suit, unless he can tell from the fall of the cards that A commands 124 ■WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. the suit, when of course B, with blocking cards, will play to unblock If B lias to head the trick on the second round his play is the same with any number of cards. If all follow suit to the first round , and B cannot head the trick on the second round , his play should not necessarily he his lorcest remaining card. The above is most important. Unfortunately, no uniform rule can be laid down. Hence, B’s play now becomes somewhat complicated. The following is an attempt to simplify it. Any one who can count there are only thirteen cards in a suit, can see that eleven being accounted for after the first round (five at least in the leader’s hand originally ; four exactly in the third hand originally ; and two played by the adversaries), two at most can remain in the opponent’s hands. Hence, if B holds any high cards, they are powerful only for injury in blocking A’s suit. Consequently, if after the first round, a minimum of five cards originally is declared in A’s hand, and B holds two high cards and a low one (all having followed suit to the first round), B, on the second round should play the middle card of his remaining three, when he does not head the trick. If B plays as advised on the second round, he must throw the higher of his remaining cards on the third round (whether it happens to be a blocking- card or not), or he has completed a call late in the hand. Owing to this circumstance, B’s play, of the middle PLAY OF THE THIKD HAND. 125 card on the second round, must he subject to the following limitations : — (а) He must play his lowest remaining card on the second round, when his three low cards cannot be blocking cards; and (б) He must play his lowest remaining card on the second round, when his three high cards are sequence cards, or of equal trick-making value. . It may be asked, Why not make the rule uniform, as in other cases ? Why not cause B, with four cards originally (five being declared in A’s hand), always to play his middle card on the second round, and his highest card on the third round, since he cannot possibly lose a trick by so doing? The answer is, that this case differs from others, in that B cannot begin to unblock until more than four cards are declared on the second round. A, not being informed that B holds four cards exactly of his five card suit, may misplace all the cards. This contin- gency must be avoided as long as possible, i.e. when B holds cards with which he can unblock on the third round ; and it must be altogether avoided when B holds cards with which he cannot unblock at all. It is true that A may misplace the cards when the unblock- ing is begun on the second round. But, now, A is in a different position. He knows he has shown more than four cards, and that he has in fact asked B to unblock the suit. Otherwise he might almost have well have begun with his lowest card. A then will always regard B’s play of a medium card on the second round with caution. He will infer that it may 126 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. be B’s lowest remaining- card, or Unit B may hold one lower, and may be attempting to unblock, for example : — Ace, Kg, 3 Qn, Ivnv. 8, 2 B Y Z 6 A 10, 9, 7, 5, 4 First Trick . — A leads 5 ; Y plays king ; B plays 2 ; Z plays 6. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 4 ; Y plays ace ; B plays knave; Z renounces. Third Trick (Y to lead). — Y leads 3 ; B plays queen ; and A’s declared five-card suit is cleared. B -would play very badly to retain queen, knave, after lie knows A led from more than four cards ; and A would be very culpable if he concluded, because B has played knave and queen, that the eight is neces- sarily in Y’s hand. For A, by showing more than four, has asked B not to block the suit ; and he must give B credit for doing what he has been requested to do A’s proper inference is that the eight may be either in Y’s hand or in B’s. PLAY OF TIIE THIKD HAND. 127 Again : — Qn, Knv, 10, 2 Ace, 9, G 8, 7, 5, 4, 3 First Trick . — A leads 4; Y plays 6; B plays 10; Z plays king. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 3 ; Y plays ace; B plays knave. B has unblocked the suit ; and, in addition to this, A, missing the deuce, can place the whole suit, unless Y is calling for trumps. Third Trick . — Of course B plays the queen. And again : — Ace. Qn, 10, 3 Kg, Knv, 7 9, 6, 5, 4, 2 First Trick . — A leads 4; Y plays 8 ; B plays queen; Z plays king. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 2 : Y trumps; B plays 10 ; Z plays 7. 128 ■WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. If Y passes the second trick, B of course plays the ace, and on the third round he plays the ten. In the previous examples, B, holding two high cards and a low one, has been obliged to get rid of the command on the second round. In the following examples, he postpones his unblocking tactics until the third round. Knv, 8, 3, 2 Ace, Qn, 5 10, 9, 7, 6, 1 First Trick . — A leads 6 ; Y plays king ; B plays 2 ; Z plays 5. Seco?id Trick (Z to lead). — Z leads ace ; A plays 4 ; Y renounces ; B plays 3. Third Trick (Z to lead). — Z leads queen ; A plays 7 ; Y renounces ; B plays knave. Again : — Knv, 5, 4, 3 B Y Z A Ace, Qn, 2 7 PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 129 First Trick . — A leads 8 ; Y plays queen (as the lead must be from a king suit, viz., king, knave, nine, eight, or king, ten, nine, eight, see Chap. IX); B plays 3 ; Z plays 7. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads 6 ; Y plays ace ; B plaj 's 4; Z renounces. Third Trick (A to lead). — A leads king; Y plays 2 ; B plays knave. A’s suit is freed. A’s inference is, that the five may be either in Y’s hand or in B’s. In some cases, A may not lead a lower card on the second round. But, if B can infer a lower card in A’s hand than the one first led, his play is guided by the same considerations. F.y . : — Qn, 10, 3, 2 S, 7, 3 Ace Kg, Knv, 9, 6, 4 First Trick . — A leads G ; Y plays 5 ; B plays queen ; Z plays ace. Second Trick (A to lead). — A leads king; Y plays 7 ; B plays 2 ; Z trumps. The four is now marked in A’s hand. Hence, the five being out, A’s lead was from five cards exactly. K 130 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Third Trick (A to lead). — A leads knave ; Y plays 8 ; II plays 10. If, under the circumstances of B’s holding four cards exactly of A’s declared live suit, the best card remains singly guarded in B’s hand after the second round, and A is marked with the second-best, and B lias to discard from the suit, he should discard the winning card. For instance : — Ace, Qn. Knv, 3 B 8 Y Z A 10, 9, 7, G, 4 Kg, 5, 2 First Trick . — A leads 6; Y plays 8 ; B plays knave; Z plays king. Second Trick (A to lead). — -A leads 4. He therefore holds three cards all higher than the six, viz., ten, nine, seven. Y trumps; B plays queen; Z plays 2. If the suit is led again, B should play the ace ; if B has to discard from the suit, he should discard the ace. When a very small card is led originally, the first trick may show that A could not have led from more than four cards. Thus, if A leads a deuce, or if he PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 131 leads a trey and the deuce falls or is held by B, (and so on for other small cards), A has led from a suit of four cards exactly. B’s play is then the ordinary play as laid down in the books; and he need not trouble himself about getting rid of the command. A word as to A’s play, when he leads from a four- card suit. The whole duty of getting rid of the com- mand does not rest with B. A has not the same opportunities of ascertaining the number of cards ins partner holds in his suit, as B has. But t lie fall of the cards may show A that B has more of the suit than himself; or that B must hold four and may have more, lii this case the tables are turned, and A should be prepared to get rid of the command of his own suit. For example: — Knv, 10, 9, 3. 2 B Y Z A Kg, 8, 6, 4 Ace, Qn, 7, 5 First Trick . — A leads 5 ; Y renounces ; B plays 9 ; Z plays king. B must hold knave and ten. K 2 132 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Second Trick (Z to lead). — Z leads 4; A should play queen; Y trumps; 11 plays 2. When the suit is led again A should get rid of the ace. If 11 had played the ten to the second trick, A should, of course, play the five to the third trick; and in that case, A has not asked for trumps. PLAY OP THE THIRD HAND. 133 CHAPTER XX. THE PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND IN TRUMPS. It will be remembered tliat the previous play has been in plain suits. In the tramp suit, the play is often dictated by considerations quite different from those which regulate the choice of suit, and of card, in plain suits. B cannot block the trump suit ; so he may reserve his high cards ; unless, in special cases, it is necessary that the trump suit should be continued without let. Thus : — Knave of trumps is led, and Y plays a small one. B has ace and a small one. It is not in the least incumbent on B to play ace on knave, unless he wants three rounds of trumps immediately. The original trump leader may discontinue the trump suit for various reasons. If B gets the lead, he leads the ace, and A’s strength is unimpaired. Possibly, too, the second hand may be so strong, either in trumps or in plain suits, that he may pass knave led, holding king, queen, not at all objecting to trumps coming out. In that case, the knave wins the trick. Also, in the ordinary way, B with four tramps echoes, and A thus gains information as to number. 134 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Moreover, trumps may be lc_d from short suits, owing to the score, or to unusual strength in plain suits. It may be of importance to B when a doubtful card, such as a ten or nine, is led, to husband all the strength he has, instead of trying to get rid of the command. In short, the trump conditions are altogether dif- ferent from the plain suit conditions. The following example shows that B should not inconsiderately sacrifice high cards in trumps in order to unblock the suit. 10, 9, 8, 2 Ace. 7, 3 B Y 2 4 A Kg, Qn, Kuv, G, 5 First Trick. — A. leads knave; Y plays 2; B plays 3 ; Z plays 4. Second Trick . — A leads king ; Y plays 8 ; B plays 7 ; Z renounces. Y’s trumps can be drawn, which would not have been the case if B had played the ace on the second round. . Third Trick (B to lead). — B leads ace; A plays 5 ; Y plays 10. PLAY OF THE THIRD HAND. 135 Y’s false card does not deceive A; for, as B lias not echoed he can have no more trumps. In the above case, from actual play, B played ace ou the second round, and lost the odd trick in con- sequence. He then argued that he played correctly but unfortunately. The fact is his play, though per- fectly right in plain suits, was not right in trumps. The echo in trumps, renders the counting of that suit, in the hands of the leader and his partner, comparatively easy. No rule can be laid down for exceptional cases, in which high trumps should be played in order to continue the suit at all hazards, or in order to place the lead at critical periods. These must be determined as they arise by the whist per- ception of the individual. I ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 139 HAND I. Original lead of fourth-best (.see Chap. II); and getting rid of the command. B’s Hand. THE PLAY. Trick 2. T«oo{gJ Trtcks ] Remark (Trick 1).— A has three diamonds, all higher than the six. 140 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Tricks fAB. 1 UZ, 2 Trick 1. Remark (Trick 3). — A holds ten, nine, seven of diamonds (see Remark, Trick 1). Therefore B gets rid of the command. Trick 5. * ‘ ♦ V V * ♦ tit ♦ 4 Tricks f y®’ j V * V V Tricks y®' ® Trick 7. Trick 8. » T V T y ▼ V y T y » ¥ y y y y y y y Tricks £ y®’ 3 Tricks £y Z ’ 4 ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 141 Remark (Trick 8). — The trumps will fall, as if Z held king, knave, ten originally, he would have played ten at Trick 6. Even if the fall of the hearts were uncertain 15 should still lead the trump. Trick 9. ♦ * A 4 ♦ JU Jtm V JU 9 9 Tricks £y®' 4 Trick 10. 4 0- ❖ ♦ ♦ ♦ * ♦ ♦ w *5* 4. + Tricks {yg’ 4 Tricks 11 to 13.— A brings in the diamonds, and AB win three by cards. THE HANDS. (B’s hand is given above.) A’s Hand. Y’s Hand. Z’s Hand. Ace, G, 3, 2 .4 Knv, 9, 4 . .4 Kg, Qn, 10,7 . 4 . Qn,0 ... V Knv, 7, G . . y Kg, 10, 2 . . y 9 A Qn, 8, 7, 4, 3 . 4* Ace, Knv, G, 2 4* 10,9,7,0,3,2 4 Ace, 8 ... 4 Kg. 5 ... 4 If, at Trick 1, A had led a smaller diamond than his fourth-best, B could not have placed the command with A, and, at Trick 3, would have retained the queen of diamonds. He must then (Trick 11), have led a club, and would have lost the odd trick, as will be apparent if the hand is so played. At Trick 8, A discards the club, as he can mark the four of diamonds in B’s hand ( see Tricks 1 and 3). A does not infer, because B played the queen to the ace, that B has no more diamonds. 143 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. HAND II. High card led, followed by original fourth-best ( see Chap. IY) ; and getting rid of the command. B's Hand. Thick 1. THE PLAY. Thick 2. , Thicks J Rehakk.— B begins a call for trumps. ▼ r * ■ ¥ ¥ V ¥ * * B Thicks (AB'l Remake.— T he deuce of hearts is marked in A’s hand. As he continues with the eight, the queen and ten are also marked ; for, if A had led from king, queen, knave, five in suit, he would have begun with the knave. ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. X 4-3 B gets rid of the ace, that he may not block the suit. Had A followed with deuce after king, instead of with his original fourth-best, B must have retained the ace, as then he could not have told where the ten lay. The fall of the cards shows A that B holds the four of hearts. Thick 3. Thicks [ *.£' J Thick 4. * » * ♦ A * ♦ A A V + 4. 4. " r Tricks fAB. 2 |YZ, 2 Thick 6 . V * ♦ * ♦ 4 * 4 * 4 * . 4 * *** •r B Tricks ■ ( ' AB - 2 i ricks | 3 T“,c« {g'S Remark (Trick 6). — Y’s best lead is doubtful (see his hand below), but Y’s play is not under consideration. Z has no more spades. 144 ■WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Thick 7. A Thick 8. A 4* v tmcks { y^; 3 Thicks £ 4 EemAek (Trick 8). — B leads the losing trump, that the heart suit may not be stopped. B runs no risk of loss, as Z must next lead hearts or diamonds. Thicks 9 to 13 . — Z (Trick 9 ) leads king of diamonds ( see his hand below). B wins with ace and (Trick 10 ) leads four of hearts. A brings in the hearts and makes the ten of spades (see his hand below), and AB win the game. THE HANDS, (B’s hand is given above.) A’s Hand. Y’s Hand. Z’s Hand. 10,7,5,4 . . A Ace, Kg, Q, 8, G A Knv, 9, 2 . . * Kg,Qn, 10,8,2 ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Thicks Thick 10. Thicks ( yz,’ 6 Thick 12. Thick 11. And AB lose the game. L 146 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. HAND I1L Placing the suit, in consequence .of the information afforded by American Leads. B’s Hand. Trick 1. B Tricks { J Tricks fAB, 1 IIZ, 1 Remark (Trick 2). — A, on quitting the head of his suit, leads his original fourth-best ( see Chap. IV). The fall of the spades shows that A has all the others. ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 147 Trick 3. 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 Tricki f AB, 1 1 YZ, 2 Trick 4. B Tricks £ y®’ ^ Remark (Trick 4). — The three of hearts is marked single in Y’s hand. The remaining hearts are in Z’s hand. Remark (Trick 5). — B does not lead king of spades, because he knows one adversary will trump and the other will discard {see Remarks, Tricks 2 and 4). His object is to secure the required four tricks in clubs and diamonds ( see Score), and to prevent the adverse trumps from making separately. Nothing is to be gained by leading the fourth- best club, and exposing the hand with all the trumps against, so B loads smallest. L 2 14S WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Thick V 4 ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦♦ Teick 0. A Tricks I AE, -i i YZ, 3 Tricks AB, 5 YZ, 3 z 4* , 4* 4- ‘ 4* 4- .4* a+j B 4- , 4-1 4" * + Y 4» 4-1 REMARK (Trick 9). — 15 plAyed well to win A's queen of clubs, {sec Trick 8), his only chance being for Y and Z each to hold another club. YZ make the re- maining tricks, and Tricks^’ S AB save the game. A’s Hand. Ace, 10, 9, 7, 0,0, 2 4^ 0,8 ... V Qn, Iuit. . . Ace, Kg. . . ^ THE HANDS. (B’s hand is given above.) Y’s Hand. 8,4 . . . . Ace, Knv, 0 . y Ace, 7, 0 . . «J» Knv, 9, 7, 0, 2 . ^ Z’s Hand. Knv . . . . Qn, 10, 0,5, 4, 2 9,4,2 . . . Qn, 10, 8 . . At Trick 7, A leads , ace of diamonds, as if he keeps a card with which he can get' the lead when he has only spades left, he must lose the game. ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 140 If, at Trick 2, A leads deuce of spades, as was the practice before the introduction of American Leads, AB lose the game, for the reason that B cannot place the spado suit. Then, at Trick 5, B will lead king of spades to force the strong trump hand. In this he will succeed ; hut he will also give Y a discard. Let A, Trick 2, lead the two of spades, instead of the seven. The other tricks, up to Trick 4, are as before. Then :• — • Bemark (Trick 8). — Y’s lead is immaterial. AB can only make one trick in clubs and one in diamonds, as will be obvious on putting out the cards. YZ win the game. 150 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. HAND IV. High card followed by high card ( see Chop. A r I) ; and placing the remainder of the suit. Y’s Hand. Thick 1. THE PLAY. Thick 2. * * * * A A V Tei C K3 1 r ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ A. ' yz, 2 ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 151 Trick. 3. Tricks £ Y Z,’ 3 Remark. — Z shows more than four trumps (see Ch. VI). Trick 4. ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ T\ A Tricks [ y®’ 4 Remark. — Y cannot un- guard king of diamonds. , Trick 6. ♦ ♦ V Trick 6. 4 ¥ ♦ 4 4 4 4 4 A A 4 A B 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Tricks CAB, 1 ITZ, TRICKS {y®; | Trick 7. Trick 8. 4* , *r 4 4 4 * 4 4* 4 4 * 4 > Tricks | y^’ jj Remark (Trick 7). — Y can count two trumps in Z’s 152 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. hand (see Remark, Trick Si), and three diamonds, all higher than the six ( see Trick 5). Therefore, if Y puts on ace of clubs, the game is a certainty, as Z must make two trumps and a diamond. If Y were uncertain as to the number of trumps remaining in Z’s hand, he would pass the club, and B’s king of clubs and queen, knave of diamonds (see B’s hand below'), would save the game. Tricks 9 to 13. — Y (Trick 9) leads eight of diamonds. B wins it ; and, whatever B leads, YZ win the game. THE HANDS. (Y’s hand is given above.) A’s Hand. B’s Hand. Z’s Hand. Kg, 10, 7, G . 4> Qn, 8 . . . Ace, 4 . . . Knv, 10, 4 . V s, 3, 2 . . . y Ace, Ksr, Q.9,6 * 10, G, 5, 4 . . 4 * Kg, Knv, 9, 2 jj» 7 + 3, 2 ... . ♦ Ace, Q, Knv, 5 ^ 10, 9, 7, G, 4 . + If Z had held only four trumps, with one long weak suit, he would probably have been more cautious in leading trumps, or at all events would have stopped after the second round, when his parther did not echo. This, how- ever, does not affect the principle illustrated hy the hand. It only shows that it is generally more advantageous to hold five trumps, than to hold four. ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. ] 53 HAND V. Tlie play of the Second Hand (see Chap. IX) ; and disadvantage of American Lead. Y’s Hand. THE PLAY. Remark (Trick 2). — A loading eight must hold two higher ones, viz., knave and ten. Y therefore plays nine (not queen). 154 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS Remark (Trick G). — Y leads heart to find out his partner’s discard. Holding both king and queen, Y can afford to part with one of them. Thick 7. ♦ * A * * ^ — 7 Thicks £ y Z ’ Alt, 1 Thick 8., Z ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 155 Tricks 9 to 13. — As tlic cards happen to lie, A’s lead (so long as he does not lead a spade), is now immaterial {see the hands below). A makes the trump, and B two tricks in clubs, and YZ win the game. THE HANDS- (Y’s hand is given above.) B’s Hand. A’s Hand. Kg, 5, 2 . . ^ Ace, Knv, 10,8,7 If S «*• Knv, 10,9,4 . + 9,8. G . . . f 6 , 2 . . . . V A, Kg, 10,9,3,2 4* 5,2 .... ^ Z’s Hand. Qn,Knv.lO,4,3 5,4 . . . y 7, 6, 5 . «!• Ace, Qn, G . . + At Trick G, B discards his weak suit, as the command of trumps is declared in A’s hand. If at Trick 2, A leads the seven of hearts, Y cannot place knave, ten, so he must play qrreen, second hand. Let A (Trick 2) lead seven of hearts, instead of eight, and let Y play queen. The rest of the hand will proceed as before, up to Trick G, when Y must open one of his weak suits at random. Accordingly, Thick G. 2 Trick 7- Z 156 •WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Thicks £ AB, 4 l'Z, 1 Thick 9. T V %* Y Thicks IlElIAEK (Trick 8). — B can count that there arc only two spades in A’s hand, so he continues the club, in hopes A may- be led up to. A can refuse the force if lie pleases. Tricks 10 to 13. — Y (Trick 10) leads aec of spades; but whatever he leads, AB make two more tricks, and AB save the game. ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 157 HAND VI. The play of the Third Hand (see Chap. XI); and the Plain-suit Echo (see Chap. XVI II). P.’s Hand. THE PLAY. Thicks £ yjj?’ J Remark . — See Chap. XI. Thicks £ y^’ J 158 "WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Thick 3 . 4. 4. z * * 4. 4. Thick &. 9 Z 9 9 Thick 7. •I* * 4. 4. 4. 4. 4. 4* + B Tricks £ y®' o Thick 4 . Thicks ( yjl’ 3 Thicks £ y®’ 3 Thicks j" ^ 3 A Thick 9 9 9 9 9*9 9 9 9^9 9*9 9*9 Thicks { y®’ 3 ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 159 Trick 9. ^ Tricks £ yz,’ 5 AB win Tricks 10 to 13. — What- ever Z leads, A makes the last trump and brings in the spades (see his hand below), and the game. A’s Hand. Ace, 10, 9, 8,7,4 ^ Ace, Kv. 8. 2 . 5, 3 . . . . Kg .... f THE HANDS. (B’s hand is given above.) Y’s Hand. 6 . . . 10, 6, 5 . . . y A,K, Kv, 10,7,2 Ace, 10, 5 . . ^ Z’s Hand. 5, 2 . . . . 4 Qn, Kv, 4,3 . W 8, G . . . .4. Q 11 , Kv, 9, 8, 7 ^ At Trick 3, A being able to place all the spades (.we Chap. XI). begins to ask for tramps. At Trick 5, if Y leads ace of diamonds he wins the game easily ; but this is a mere accident of the position. Now play the hand again, and let B, at Trick 1, play three of spades ; at Trick 2, knave, and at Trick 8, queen. A will not ask for trumps, as now he cannot place the winning spade ; but this does not affect the result, as he still leads trumps at Tricks G and 7. The rest of the play is as before up to Trick 11. At Trick 11, B gets the lead with the king of spades, and (Trick 12) must lead a dia- mond. YZ win two tricks in diamonds, and AB lose the game. 160 WIIIST DEVELOPMENTS. HAND VII. The play of the Third Hand. Game made certain, owing to negative inference concerning the Plain-suit Echo ( see Chap. XI). A’s Hand. THE PLAY. Remark (Trick 1). — The four is I3’s lowest spade. Therefore he cannot hold three more spades (see Chap. XI). ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 161 Thick 3, T r icks{yZ,’i Thicks {$£' \ Thick 6. Thick 6. Tricks £ y^’ j Tricks £ yz’ 1 Remark (Trick 7).— A wins the spade, as the ten is marked in Y’s hand {see Remark, Trick 1). But for the absence of plain-suit echo, A would have been in doubt whether to win the knave or not. Tricks j y^> j Tricks 8 to 13. — A (Trick 8), leads spades and AB win the game {see the hands). M 162 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. THE HANDS. (A’s liand is given above.) Y’s Hand. B’s Hand. Z’s Hand. 10, G, 5 . . . 4 Kg, Knv, 4 . 9 . . . . • . ^ Kg, Knv, 7 . 8, 5, 4, 2 . . y Ace, Qn, 3 . . ^ 10, 9, G . . . Ace, Kg, 5, 3 . •)■ Knv, 7, 4, 2 . Jj, 9, 8, 7, 2 . « Ace, Qn . . ^ Kg, Ivv, 10,5,4 + At Trick 3, Y plays seven of diamonds ( see Chap. XVII). In this hand Y’s play is of no consequence. At Trick 5, Z plays a false card, in hopes of stopping the trump lead. At Trick G, 13 continues the trump, as he has the ace of Z’s suit and a spade to return his partner. If at Trick 7, A had been in doubt as to the position of the ten of spades, he would very likely have passed the knave. YZ then save the game. By referring to the hands it will be seen that, if the lead remains with B, he can only make two more tricks, viz., the last trump and acc of diamonds. ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 1G3 HAND VIII. The play of the Third Hand {see Chap. XIV); calling for trumps and the Plain-suit Echo {see Chap. XVIII). B’s Hand. Trick 1. THE PLAY. Trick 2. Tricks £ J Sidg 57/1 v ♦ * A ‘ A * * * A ^ *** * A V B Tricks £ yz,’ 1 M 2 164 WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Thick 3. Ar-x V A T% X V * T B Tkicks fAB, 1 1 yz, 2 Thick 4. Thicks (AB>1 Thick 0. Thick C. Thicks £ y^' 3 Thick 7. Thick 8. 4* 4* *1* *1* 4 * * 4 4 4 4 4 .4 4 1 4 4.4 4*4 Tricks £ y®’ 4 Tricks £ y * Remark (Trick 7). — All marked in Y’s hand. the remaining spades are ILLUSTRATIVE IIANDS. 165 Trick 9. Thick 10. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 4 1 » ♦ Tricks £ v-’ 6 ! YZ, 4 Remark (Trick 9). — If the trumps fall, A brings in the hearts ; if not, B must be led up to in diamonds. Tricks 11 to 13.— A makes a heart; B makes ace, queen of diamonds (see the hands below), and AB win three by cards (game). THE HANDS. (B’s hand is given above.) A’s Hand. Ace, 10, 2 . . Qn, Knv, 10, 4, 3 ^ 9,5,4 . . S, 7 . . . . # Y’s Hard. Qn,Kv.9,7,4,3 A Kg ... Ace, Knv . . Kg, 5, 4, 3 . . $ Z’s Hard. Kg, 6, 5 . . . Ace, 9, 8 . . y 8 , 6,2 . . . 4 * Knv, 10, 9, 6 . ^ At Trick 4, Z though weak in trumps, forces his partner, the adversary having called. Z’s best lead is doubtful. He gains.a trick by forcing, but that proves nothing. If the hand is played again, B playing five of hearts at Trick 1, and two of hearts at Trick 3, it will be seen that, at Trick 10, B blocks his partner’s suit, and consequently that YZ save the game. If, at Trick 9, B forces with the heart, AB make a trick more than if l) leads queen of clubs ; but, even then, YZ save the game. 16G WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. HAND IX. The play of the Third Hand (sec Chaps. XV, XVI) ; and the Plain-suit Echo (see Chap. XVIII). Y’s Hand. ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS 167 Thick 3. 2 ❖ + ♦ ♦ A A 4» |f| A 3 fi 4. 4. ♦ ♦ * A* 4 » + Thicks f ~ 1R,CKS ( yz, 1 Remark . — See Chap. XV. Thick 1. A A A A A A * * Thicks ,{$£’ { Thick 5. Thick 0. ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ A • A ♦ ♦ V ¥ ¥ Tricks [ y?' | Thicks < AB, 4 l I Z. 2 Thick 7. Thick 8. ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ~ ¥ V Thicks £ y®’ 2 Thicks £ y®’ 3 168 AVHIST DEVELOPMENTS. ace of diamonds, and YZ win the game. THE HANDS. {Y’s band is given above.) A’s Hand. B’s Hand. Z’s Hand. Qn, Knv, 5, 3 . Ace, 10 . . . 4 Kg, 7, 6 . . * Kg, 10, G, 4. . Knv, 9, 8, 7, 5 . ¥ Ace, Qn ■ • ^ Ace, Kg . . Qn, 3 . . . * Knv, 10, 9, b, 4 •{. Kg, Knv, 2. . ♦ Qn, 8, C, 4 . . 7, G, 3 . . . $ If the band is played again, Y playing two of clubs at Trick 3, it will be seen that be gets tbe lead at Trick 10, and that YZ lose the game. At Trick 5, Z discards a diamond. This is not a case for discarding from the strong suit. All the trumps are out, and there is a reasonable chance of bringing in the suit, especially as A’s next lead is likely to be a heart, B’s original discard having been a diamond. ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 169 HAND X. The play of the Third Hand, and getting rid of the command (see Chap. XIX). B’s Hand. THE B PLAY. Thick 2 ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ z ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ 4 4 ♦ ♦ B Thicks y^’ J Thicks [ 2 170 "WHIST DEVELOPMENTS. Thick 3. Tricks £ yz’ 2 Trick 4. * * 4 * 4. 4. £T\ 4. 4. 4. ‘ 4. * , * 4.^4. ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ B Tricks f AB. 1 (. YZ, Remark (Trick 4). — A having shown that he led from live clubs, 13 unblocks the suit by playing the ten ( see Chap. XIX). Trick 5. ♦ ♦ * ‘ ♦ ♦ ± ♦ * A 41 ♦ ♦ * ♦ ♦ ♦ Tricks CAB, 1 YZ, AB, 1 4 ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ¥~ ¥ ¥ ¥ T B Tricks ( AB, 1 i YZ, Trick 7. Trick b, ffi %♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ ¥ B Tricks (AB, 1 ( YZ, C Tricks £ yz,' C ILLUSTRATIVE HANDS. 171 Trick 9. fa M .J. Tetcics g Teicic 10 £ ~Sf\ ► A * Tricks 1 yz.‘ 6 Tricks 11 to 13. — A (Trick 11) leads nine of clubs, to which B discards ten of hearts. A (Trick 12) noting that the best heart is against (see Trick 8), leads a spade, B finesses, and AB win the game. THE HANDS. (B’s hand is given above.) A’s Hand. Y’s Hand. Z’s Hand. 10, 9 . . . ♦ Kg, 8, 7, 4, 2 A Qn, 5, 3 . . -4 s 9, 7 . . . . V Kg, 4, 3,2. . ? Qn, Knv, 8 . Y 9, 7, G, 4, 2 . + 8 4, Kg, Knv, 5 . 4* Kg, 7, 3,2. . ♦ Ace, 9, 4 . . t Qn, Knv, 8, 5 Y At Trick 7, Z loses the game, by drawing the last trump with all the clubs declared against, and only requiring one more trick. It is a very natural mistake for Z to make, so it has been left for comment, though the hand could easily be altered. As it stands, it illustrates a point which is not enough considered by Whist-players, viz., how dangerous it is to draw the last trump when a whole suit is declared against (see “Laws and Principles of Whist,” by “Caven- dish,” “Declining to Draw the Losing Trump”). If, at Trick 7, Z leads queen of hearts, and, at Trick 9, trumps the three of clubs, he must win the game. 172 WIIIST DEVELOPMENTS. If, at Trick 4, B had played three of clubs, he must, at Trick 10, lead ten of clubs. The lead then remains in his hand, and he cannot avoid losing a trick cither in hearts or spades, when AB lose the game. 'I'lIOS. 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