Читать книгу Foster's Complete Hoyle: An Encyclopedia of Games - R. F. Foster - Страница 13

THREE HAND AUCTION. This is a game for three active players only, but four may form a table. Each player is for himself, there being no partnerships except the temporary combination against the declarer for each deal. The player who cuts the lowest card chooses his seat and cards and the player with the next lower cut sits on his left, the other on his right.

The cards are dealt one at a time into four packets, of thirteen each, just as in the ordinary game of auction, the odd hand remaining untouched until the winning declaration is decided. The dealer makes the first bid and then each bids in turn until two pass. The penalty for bidding out of turn is 50 points added to the score of each opponent, for doubling out of turn it is 100. If both pass the irregularity there is no penalty, but if only one passes, the third may call attention to it.

The highest bidder takes up the dummy hand, sorts it and lays it on the table opposite him, face up, as soon as the eldest hand leads a card. If there is a player sitting opposite the highest bidder, he moves to the vacant seat.

The game is 30 points, and the winner of a game adds 125 points to his score at once. The first player to win two games not only adds the 125 for the second game, but 250 more for winning the rubber. Honours are scored by each player separately, every honour being worth as much as a trick in that suit. Four or five in one hand count double. At no trump, the aces count for 10 each to the holders, four in one hand 100. The declarer scores his dummy’s honours.

At the end of the rubber, each wins from or loses to each of the others. The score is usually made up in this way, the final amounts to the credit of each being shown in the top line:

A, 240	B, 980	C, 456
-740	+740	+215
-215	+524	-524
-955	+1264	-309

DUPLICATE AUCTION. This game may be played in any of the ways described for the movement of trays and players under the head of duplicate whist. Tricks and honours are scored as usual, but there are no games or rubbers. Should the declarer make 30 or more points on a single hand he gets 125 points bonus in the honour column. This game is now covered by the official laws for auction, which see.

BRIDGE FOR THREE. Sometimes called Dummy Bridge, or Cut-Throat. The lowest cut deals the first hand and plays the Dummy. If the dealer will not declare on his own cards, he passes, and Dummy must declare according to a fixed schedule. With three or four aces; no-trumps, no matter what the rest of the hand may be. With less than three aces, Dummy cannot make it no-trumps under any circumstances; but must name the longest suit. If two suits are equal, the pips on each are counted, reckoning aces as 11 each, other honours at 10 each, and the larger number of pips is the suit. If this is still equal, the more valuable suit must be declared.

No one but the eldest hand may double, and no one but the dealer may redouble. In order to make this fair for both sides, it is usual to let the pone sort and declare on Dummy’s cards, so that the dealer shall not see them until the first card is led.

No matter what points are made for tricks, the dealer only can score them below the line, to count toward game. If the adversaries make the odd trick, they score above the line, in the honour column, so that no one can go out except on his own deal.

After the deal is finished and scored, the players move, so as to bring about a change of partners. The one on the left of the vacant place moves into it, and the player on his right deals. Three of these movements bring about the original position.

Each player’s score is kept individually, and when one of the three has won two games, the scores are added up and balanced, after giving the winner 100 rubber points. Each then pays the difference to the others. Suppose the winner to be A, with 320; B having 80 and C 64. A wins 240 from B and 256 from C; while B wins 16 from C.

BRIDGE FOR TWO. Sometimes called “Chinese Bridge.” The dealer gives his adversary four cards face down, and then deals four to himself, also face down. He then distributes the remainder of the pack by dealing to his adversary and himself alternately, one card at a time, keeping them separate from the first four. Without lifting or looking at any of these twenty-two cards, each player places eleven of them in two rows, face down, and then the other eleven on the top of the first, but face up. This gives each player eleven cards face up on the table, covering eleven face down under them, and a separate hand of four cards.

The dealer looks at his four cards, without showing them to his adversary, and after due consideration of what he sees on the table, declares. His adversary can double if he likes, or he can simply play a card. Tricks and honours count as in the ordinary rubber.

The declaration made, the non-dealer leads any card he pleases, from the four in his hand or from the eleven face up on the table, and the dealer must follow suit if he can, either from his hand or from the table. The moment a card is played from the table, the card under it must be turned face up, and becomes playable; but no card which is on the top of another card can be shifted, so that the card under it cannot be turned up until its covering card is legitimately played away.

The second player having played to the trick, the original leader must play to it in his turn, and then his adversary plays the fourth card, completing the trick. The winner of the trick takes it in, turns it down, and leads for the next trick, and so on until all thirteen tricks have been played. The winner of the rubber scores 100 points extra.

MISERY BRIDGE. This is a game for two players, who sit opposite each other. Four hands of thirteen cards each are dealt, the dealer beginning on his left. Before declaring, the dealer may discard any number of cards from one to four, laying them on the table at his left, but face up, where they so remain during the play of the hand.

In place of this discard, the dealer takes an equal number of cards from the top of the hand on his left. These are not shown to the adversary. Having discarded and drawn, the dealer declares. There is no doubling; but the dealer himself may undertake to win at least eight of the thirteen tricks, and if he announces “eight tricks,” he can score them at double value if he succeeds. If he fails to get the full eight, his adversary scores ten points penalty, the dealer scoring nothing at all. No matter what the trump suit, the penalty of ten points remains the same.

After discarding, drawing and declaring, the stock hand is laid aside, still face down, and the non-dealer takes up and sorts the hand on his left, turning it face up on the table, like a Dummy. This hand belongs to the non-dealer, who leads first and plays both hands, so that the dealer is practically opposed to two hands of thirteen cards each.

If the dealer does not want to discard and draw, he can play misery, which is a no-trumper, but played to lose tricks, instead of to win them. If the dealer takes more than one trick, his adversary scores five points penalty for each so taken. But if the dealer succeeds in taking only one trick, or none at all, he scores five points for every trick his adversary has taken over the book of six.

PIVOT BRIDGE. This is simply a movement of the players, very popular in social games, which requires that the four originally seated at a table shall remain at that table until the game is ended, and shall not cut for partners after the first rubber, but change in regular order. The usual way is for the first dealer to sit still all the time, the three other players moving round her in a circle at the end of each rubber. This will compel the player on her left to pass behind her and take the seat on her right. At the end of three rubbers, each will have had each of the others for a partner. When there are a number of tables in play, it will be necessary to have a prize for each, giving the first choice to the player who has the highest score in the room.

When this method is adopted, it is not necessary to deduct the lower score from the higher at the end of each rubber, so that each player can keep what she gets, the comparative result being the same if the players remain at the same table. This method is open to the objection that if two strong players are opposed to weak ones all the time, it is a great advantage. It is also liable to abuse, if four players agree to double everything, so that some one at the table shall be high score.

PROGRESSIVE BRIDGE. This is simply a movement of the players from table to table, much as described under the heading of compass whist. The players may either agree that all the N & S pairs shall sit still, all the E & W pairs moving one table; or they may arrange for the winners to move in a certain direction. In all progressive games, sometimes called Drive Bridge, there are no rubbers or games, as one table would keep all the others waiting. An even number of deals, usually four, is the rule for each round before moving.

DUPLICATE BRIDGE. This is bridge with the hands kept separate and put into trays to be carried from table to table. The methods will be found fully described under the titles for duplicate whist. In order to prevent the players from giving too much attention to the honours in declaring, it is sometimes the rule to add a certain number of points to the trick scores, as a bonus. This is called Bridge to the Score. Four deals is a round, before changing adversaries, and fifty points are added to the score of the side having the greater trick score. Another method is to add fifty points to the side winning a game, if a game is won before moving, and then to add a definite number of points for every trick point that one side may be ahead of the other on unfinished games; or as many points as the higher score below the line.

None of these methods have proved attractive enough to be popular, however, although the first is the one commonly adopted for club tournaments, adding fifty points bonus for the higher trick score, regardless of any games or rubbers. All the additions of percentages require special score cards and the services of some alleged expert to run the game, and even then they are not attractive. The problem of duplicate bridge remains as yet unsolved, so far as a popular game is concerned.

SIX-HAND BRIDGE. This is played by six persons, sitting with two card tables pushed together so as to make one. Each dealer sits at the long end of the table, the two dealers being partners. On each side of one sits a pair of adversaries so that the initial arrangement, if pair A had the deal, would be this:—

Numbers are placed on the tables to indicate the positions to which the players shall move after each deal. The player at 6 goes to 5; 4 to 3; 3 to 2; 2 to 1, and 1 to 6. Each pair of partners, as they fall into the end seats, have the deal.

If the dealer at either end will not declare on his own cards, he passes it, and the Dummy hand opposite him must be handed to the dealer that sits at the other end of the long table, who must declare for his partner. The usual four hands are dealt and played at each table, and scored as usual.

Three scores must be kept, because there are three separate rubbers going on at once,—that between A and B; between A and C, and between B and C. If one pair wins its rubber against one of the others, three players will be idle at one end of the table for one deal, but then all will come into play again, for the next deal. Some persons think this is better than four playing a rubber while two look on.

DOUBLE DUMMY BRIDGE. In this form of the game, the dealer always deals for himself. His adversary sits next him on the left for the first deal, and leads for the first trick before the Dummies are exposed. There is no doubling. On the next deal, the adversary must sort his Dummy’s hand and must lead from it, before looking at his own. If the declaration is passed, Dummy must make it on the lines laid down for passed makes in Bridge for Three, which has already been described. There is no penalty for a revoke made by either Dummy; but otherwise the laws of bridge govern.

DRAW BRIDGE. This is double Dummy; but instead of laying Dummy’s cards face up on the table, each player is provided with a holder in which he places his partner’s cards in such a manner that his adversary cannot see them. As it comes to Dummy’s turn to play to each trick, a card is drawn from the holder. All four hands are responsible for revokes.

KING’S BRIDGE. This is sometimes called Four Hand Bridge, each player being for himself. The movements of the players are the same as those described in Pivot Bridge, one player sitting still all the time, while each of the others in turn becomes his partner for four deals.

The dealer declares. If he passes, the player sitting opposite him must make it according to the mechanical rules given in Bridge for Three. There is no doubling. The score of each player is kept in a separate column, and the trick and honour score is put down in one lump, plus or minus, the new score being added to or deduced from the previous one. It is simpler, however, to put down nothing but the plus scores, so that when the declaration is defeated, the points are credited to each of the three other players. Suppose the dealer wins 16 and 16. He is put down as 32 plus. If he should lose 12 and 30, his score would not be touched, but each of the others would be put down 42 plus.

There are no games or rubbers. At the end of four deals the players change partners by the pivot system. At the end of twelve deals, each has played four deals with each of the others. The scores are then added up and balanced by the method described in connection with the game of Skat.

REVERSI BRIDGE. This is playing bridge to lose, and the object of the declaration is to pick out the make which is likely to win the least tricks. At the end of the hand, each side scores what the other makes; so that if the dealer declares no-trumps, and loses two by cards, and finds thirty aces against him, he scores 24 and 30 to his own credit. The adversaries can double if they wish to, and all the rules of regular bridge apply, except that if a revoke is made the usual penalty is reversed, the player in error taking three tricks instead of losing them.

SHORT BRIDGE. This is bridge without any doubling or rubbers, and is played for so much a game instead of for so much a point, the winners being the side that has the higher score for tricks and honours combined when either side reaches thirty points below the line. It is a good game for occasions upon which the players may be interrupted at any time, or have not time to finish a full rubber.