Читать книгу Foster's Complete Hoyle: An Encyclopedia of Games - R. F. Foster - Страница 41

Table of Contents

CARDS. Whist is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, ranking A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2; the Ace being the highest in play, but ranking below the deuce in cutting. Two packs are generally used, the one being shuffled while the other is dealt.

MARKERS are necessary to keep the score. The most common are red and white circular counters; the white being used for the points in each game, and the red for the games themselves, or for rubber points. It is better to have two sets, of different colours, each set consisting of four circular and three oblong counters, the latter being used for the rubber points, or for games.

PLAYERS. Whist is played by four persons. When there are more than four candidates for play, five or six may form a “table.” If more than six offer for play, the selection of the table is made by cutting.

The table being formed, the four persons who shall play the first rubber are determined by cutting, and they again cut for partners, and the choice of seats and cards.

CUTTING. The methods of cutting are the same as those described in connection with Bridge, and ties are decided in the same manner.

PLAYERS’ POSITIONS. The four players at a whist table are usually distinguished by the letters A, B, Y, Z; the first two letters of the alphabet being partners against the last two, and their positions at the table being indicated as follows:—

Z is always the dealer; A the original leader, or first hand; Y the second hand; B the third hand; and Z the fourth hand. After the first trick, some other player may become the leader; the one on his left being the second hand; his partner the third hand, and the player on his right the fourth hand. B is the pone.

DEALING. The cards having been properly shuffled, the dealer presents them to the pone to be cut. The American laws require that after separating the pack, the pone shall place the cut part, which he lifts off, nearer the dealer. Beginning at his left, the dealer distributes the cards one at a time in rotation, until the pack is exhausted. The last card is turned face up on the table, and the suit to which it belongs is the trump for that hand.

When two packs are used, one is shuffled by the dealer’s partner while the other is dealt, and the shuffled pack is placed on the left of the player whose turn it will be to deal next. Each player deals in turn until the conclusion of the game or rubber.

IRREGULARITIES IN THE DEAL. The following rules regarding the deal should be strictly observed:—

If any card is found faced in the pack, the dealer must deal again. Should the dealer turn over any card but the trump, while dealing, the adversaries may, if they please, demand a new deal. A player dealing out of turn may be stopped before the trump card is turned; but after that, the deal must stand, afterwards passing to the left in regular order. On the completion of the deal, each player should take up and count his cards to see that he has thirteen; if not, it is a misdeal, and unless the pack is found to be imperfect, the deal passes to the player on the misdealer’s left. The dealer loses the deal:—if he neglects to have the pack cut; if he deals a card incorrectly, and fails to remedy the error before dealing another; if he counts the cards on the table, or those remaining in the pack; if he looks at the trump card before the deal is complete; or if he places the trump card face down, on his own or on any other player’s cards.

STAKES. When stakes are played for, it should be distinctly understood at the beginning whether the unit is for a game, for a rubber, for rubber points, or for tricks. The English game is invariably played for so much a rubber point; sometimes with an extra stake upon the rubber itself. In America, it is usual to play for so much a game; but in some cases the tricks are the unit, deducting the loser’s score from seven, or playing the last hand out and then deducting the loser’s score. A very popular method is to play for a triple stake: so much a trick, playing each hand out; so much a game; and so much a rubber. These three stakes are usually in the proportion of 10, 25, and 50. In clubs it is customary to have a uniform stake for whist, and to fix a limit for all betting on the game beyond the “club stake.” Good usage demands that those at the table should have the refusal of any bet made by a player, before it is offered to an outsider.

METHOD OF PLAYING. The player on the dealer’s left begins by leading any card he chooses, and the others must all follow suit if they can. Failure to follow suit when able is called revoking; the penalty for which, under the American laws, is the loss of two tricks; under the English laws, three tricks or points. Any player having none of the suit led may either trump it or throw away a card of another suit, which is called discarding. When it is the dealer’s turn to play to the first trick, he should take the trump card into his hand. After it has been taken up it must not be named, and any player naming it is subject to a penalty, (see Laws;) but a player may ask what the trump suit is. If all follow suit, the highest card played wins the trick; trumps win against all other suits, and a higher trump wins a lower. The winner of the trick may lead any card he pleases for the next trick, and so on until all thirteen tricks have been played.

Cards Played in Error, or dropped face upward on the table, or two or more played at once, are called exposed cards, and must be left on the table. They can be called by the adversaries; but the fact of their being exposed does not prevent their being played when the opportunity offers. Some persons imagine that the adversaries can prevent an exposed card from being played; but such is not the case.

Leading out of Turn. Should a player lead out of turn, the adversaries may call a suit from the player in error, or from his partner, when it is next the turn of either of them to lead. American laws require the call to be made by the player on the right of the one from whom the suit is called. The English laws give the adversaries the option of calling the card played in error an exposed card. If all have played to the trick before discovering the error, it cannot be rectified; but if all have not played, those who have followed the false lead must take back their cards, which are not, however, liable to be called.

Revoking Players cannot win the game that hand, no matter what they score; but they may play the hand out, and score all points they make to within one point of game.

Any player may ask the others to draw cards in any trick, provided he does so before they are touched for the purpose of gathering them. In answer to this demand, each player should indicate which of the cards on the table he played.

In the English game, any player may look at the last trick turned and quitted; in the American he may not.

Taking Tricks. As the tricks are taken, they should be neatly laid one upon the other in such a manner that any player at the table can count them at a glance. There are several methods of stacking tricks; the first shown being probably the best.

When six have been taken by one side they are usually gathered together to form a book; any subsequently taken being laid apart, as they are the only ones that count. It is customary for the partner of the player winning the first trick on each side to gather the tricks for that deal. In some places it is the custom for the partner of the winner of each trick to gather it, so that at the end of the hand each player has tricks in front of him. Although this method saves time, the practice is not to be recommended, as it hinders the players in counting the tricks already gained by each side.

Immediately upon the completion of the play of a hand, the score should be claimed and marked. Any discussion of the play should be postponed until this has been attended to. The adversaries must detect and claim revokes before the cards are cut for the following deal.

The laws of whist should be carefully studied.

OBJECT OF THE GAME. The object of all whist play is to take tricks, of which there are thirteen in each hand or deal. The first six tricks taken by one side are called a book, and do not count; but each trick above that number counts one point towards game. The seventh trick is called the odd; and two or more over the book are called two, three, etc., by cards. At the conclusion of each hand, the side that has won any tricks in excess of the book, scores them; the opponents counting nothing. As soon as either side has scored the number of points previously agreed upon as a game, which must be 5, 7, or 10, the cards are again shuffled and spread for the choice of partners, etc., unless it has been agreed to play a rubber.

SCORING. There are several methods of scoring at whist. The English game is 5 points, rubbers being always played. Besides the points scored for tricks, honours are counted; the games have a different value, according to the score of the adversaries; and the side winning the rubber adds two points to its score.

In scoring, the revoke penalty counts first, tricks next, and honours last.

The Revoke. Should the adversaries detect and claim a revoke before the cards are cut for the following deal, they have the option of three penalties: 1st. To take three tricks from the revoking player, adding them to their own. 2nd. To deduct three points from his game score. 3rd. To add three points to their own game score. The penalty cannot be divided. A revoke may be corrected by the player making it before the trick in which it occurs has been turned and quitted. The card played in error must be left face up on the table, and must be played when demanded by the adversaries, unless it can be got rid of previously, in the course of play. In America, the revoke penalty is two tricks.

The Honours are the four highest trumps, A, K, Q, and J; and after tricks have been scored, partners who held three honours between them are entitled to count two points towards game; four honours counting four points. If each side has two honours, neither can count them. It is not enough to score them; after the last card has been played, they must be claimed by word of mouth. If they are not claimed before the trump is turned for the following deal, they cannot be scored. Partners who, at the beginning of a deal, are at the score of four, cannot count honours; they must get the odd trick to win the game. Should one side be out by tricks, and the other by honours, the tricks win the game, the honours counting nothing.

Rubber Points. At the conclusion of each game, the rubber points are scored, either with the oblong counters, or on the small keys of the whist-marker. If the winners of a game are five points to their adversaries’ nothing, they win a treble, and count three rubber points. If the adversaries have scored, but have one or two points only, the winners mark two points, for a double. If the adversaries have reached three or four, the winners mark one, for a single. The rubber points having been marked, all other scores are turned down. The side winning the rubber adds two points to its score for so doing. The value of the rubber is determined by deducting from the score of the winners any rubber points that may have been made by their adversaries. The smallest rubber possible to win is one point; the winners having scored two singles and the rubber, equal to four; from which they have to deduct a triple made by their adversaries. The largest rubber possible is eight points, called a bumper, the winners having scored two triples and the rubber, to their adversaries’ nothing.

It is sometimes important to observe the order of precedence in scoring. For instance: if, at the beginning of a hand, A-B have three points to Y-Z’s nothing, and A-B make two by honours, Y-Z winning three by cards, Y-Z mark first; so that A-B win only a single, instead of a treble. On the contrary, should A-B make two by cards, Y-Z claiming four by honours, A-B win a treble; as their tricks put them out before it is Y-Z’s turn to count.

In America, where rubbers are played without counting honours, it is not usual to reckon rubber points; but simply to add some agreed value to the score of those winning the odd game.

Where single games are played, whether 5, 7, or 10 points, some persons consider the game as finished when the agreed number of points is reached. Others play the last hand out, and count all the tricks made; so that if two partners were at the score of 6 in a 7-point game, and made five by cards, they would win a game of 11 points. When this is done, it is usual to deduct the score of the losers from the total, and to call the remainder the value of the game. In the American Whist League, the rule is to stop at seven points, and to determine the value of the game by deducting the loser’s score from seven.

When long sittings occur without change of partners or adversaries, it is a common practice to count the tricks continuously, and on the conclusion of the play, to deduct the lower score from the higher, the winners being credited with the difference.

CUTTING OUT. If rubbers are played, there is no change of partners, or of rotation in the deal, until one side has won two games, which ends the rubber. If the first two games are won by the same partners, the third is not played. If more than four players belong to the table, those who have just played cut to decide which shall give place to those waiting; those cutting the highest cards going out. If six belong to the table, there will be no further cutting out; as those who are out for one rubber re-enter for the next, taking the places of those who have played two consecutive rubbers. If five belong to the table, the three who remained in for the second rubber must cut to allow the fifth player to re-enter. At the end of the third rubber, the two cut that have not yet been out; and at the end of the fourth rubber, the one who has played every rubber goes out without cutting. After this, it is usual to spread the cards, and to form the table anew. In all the foregoing instances, partners and deal must be cut for, after the cut has decided which are to play.

MARKING. There are various methods of using the counters. At the beginning of the game they may be placed at the left hand, and transferred to the right as the points accrue. Another method is to stack the four circular counters one upon the other at the beginning of the game, and to count a point by placing one of them beside the others; two points by placing another upon the first; three points by placing a third beyond these two, and four points by placing them all in line.

Nothing. One. Two. Three. Four.

In the seven point game, the score is continued by placing one counter above, and to the right or left of the other three, to indicate five points; and above and between them to indicate six.

Five. Or this. Six.

When counters are not used, one of the standard forms of whist-marker is employed, the most legible and convenient being the “Foster Whist Marker,” in which the counting keys are always level with the surface and can be seen equally well from any position at the table.

The Foster Whist Marker.

The four large keys on one side are used to count single points, the single large key on the opposite side being reckoned as five. The three small keys are used for counting rubber points, or games.

In ten point games, the scoring to four points is the same; but beyond four, a single counter placed below two or more others, is reckoned as three; and above two or more others, as five.

Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine.

When proper markers are not obtainable, many persons cut eight slits in a visiting card, and turn up the points.

Visiting-Card Marker.

Whatever the apparatus employed, it should be such that every player at the table can distinctly see the state of the score without drawing attention to it.

METHODS OF CHEATING. Whist offers very few opportunities to the card-sharper. When honours are counted, he may be able to keep one on the bottom of the pack until the completion of the deal by making the pass after the cards have been cut. A greek who possessed sufficient skill to do this without detection would be very foolish to waste his talents at the whist table; for, however large the stakes, the percentage in his favour would be very small.

When whist is played with only one pack, a very skillful shuffler may gather the cards without disturbing the tricks, and, by giving them a single intricate shuffle, then drawing the middle of the pack from between the ends and giving another single intricate shuffle, he may occasionally succeed in dealing himself and his partner a very strong hand in trumps, no matter how the cards are cut, so that they are not shuffled again. A hand dealt in this manner is framed on the walls of the Columbus, Ohio, Whist Club; eleven trumps having been dealt to the partner, and the twelfth turned up. In this case the shuffling dexterity was the result of fifteen years’ practice, and was employed simply for amusement, the dealer never betting on any game, and making no concealment of his methods.

SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY. Although whist is a game of very simple construction, the immense variety of combinations which it affords renders it very complicated in actual practice; there being probably no game in which there is so much diversity of opinion as to the best play, even with the same cards, and under similar conditions. It has been repeatedly remarked that in all the published hands at whist which have been played in duplicate, or even four times over, with the same cards, no two have been alike.

It would be useless to formulate rules intended to cover every case that might arise, because the conditions are frequently too complicated to allow the average human intellect to select the exact rule which would apply. All that can be done to assist the beginner is to state certain general principles which are well recognised as fundamental, and to leave the rest to experience and practice at the whist table.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES. Nothing obstructs the progress of the beginner so much as his attempts to cover all the ground at once. The more ambitious he is, the greater his necessity for keeping in view the maxim; “One thing at a time: all things in succession.” One must master the scales before he can produce the perfect melody.

The novice should first thoroughly understand the object, and the fundamental principle of the game.

The Object is to win tricks. Not to give information, or to count the hands, or to remember every card played; but simply and only to win tricks.

The Principle is to secure for certain cards a trick-taking value which does not naturally belong to them; either by getting higher cards out of the way of lower, or by placing the holder of intermediate cards at a disadvantage with regard to the lead.

If any person will take the trouble to deal out four hands, and after turning them face up on the table, count how many tricks each side will probably take with its high cards and trumps, he will find that the total will hardly ever be exactly thirteen tricks. Let us suppose the following to be one of the hands so dealt; Z turning up the ♡6 for trumps:—

On looking over this hand it would appear that A could only make one trick in Clubs, of which the second round would be trumped. His partner can count on five tricks: the two best and the fourth trumps; the ♢A, and the ♠K; a total of six tricks. On counting the adversaries’ probable tricks, Y should make one of his three trumps, and the ♠A. Diamonds will not go round twice without being trumped, so we cannot count on his ♢K. We cannot see any sure tricks for Z. Where are the five other tricks necessary to bring our total up to thirteen? They must be there, for there are thirteen tricks taken in every hand played.

If we play over the hand, we shall find that A-B may make six, seven, nine, or ten tricks, according to their good management, and the good or bad play of their adversaries. In Foster’s Whist Tactics, Illustrative Hand No. 13, may be found the various ideas of sixteen of the best players in the American Whist League with regard to the proper management of this hand. They played it in four different ways, and with very different results in the score.

This must show that the accidental distribution of the Aces, Kings, and trumps is not everything in whist, and that there must be ways and means of securing tricks which do not appear on the surface.

There are four ways of taking tricks at whist:

1st. By playing high cards, the suit of which the others must follow. This A does, in the example, on the first round of the Club suit.

2nd. By playing low cards, after the higher ones have been exhausted, and the adverse trumps are out of the way. This Y will do with his Diamonds, or A with his Clubs, according to circumstances.

3rd. By trumping winning cards played by the adversaries. This Y will do if Clubs are led a second time, or A will do if Diamonds are led twice.

4th. By being able to take tricks with cards which are not the best of the suit, the player who holds better cards having already played smaller. This B will do with the ♡10 if A leads trumps, and Y does not play either Q or J. If B leads trumps he will lose this advantage.

These four methods of winning tricks suggest four systems of play, which are those in common use by experts at the present day:

1st. Playing high cards to the best advantage, so as to secure the best results from such combinations as may be held. This is the basis of all systems of leading.

2nd. Leading from the longest suit, in order that higher cards may be forced out of the way of smaller ones, leaving the smaller ones “established,” or good for tricks after the adverse trumps are exhausted. This is called the long-suit game.

3rd. Trumping good cards played by the adversaries. This is called ruffing. When two partners each trump a different suit, it is called a cross-ruff, or saw.

4th. Taking advantage of the tenace possibilities of the hand by placing the lead with a certain player; or by avoiding the necessity of leading away from tenace suits. For example: A player holds A Q 10 of a suit, his right hand adversary holding K J 9. These are known as the major and minor tenaces. Whichever leads makes only one trick; but if the holder of the major tenace can get the suit led twice, he makes all. This is called the short-suit game, or finesse and tenace. Its resources may be added to by finessing against certain cards. For example: Holding A Q 3 of a suit led by the partner, to play Q is a finesse against fourth hand having the King.

Each of these systems has its advantages, and almost every hand will offer opportunities for practice in all of them.

The most important thing to impress on the beginner is that whist cannot be played by machinery. Some authorities would have us believe that certain theories alone are sound; that certain systems of play alone are good; and that if one will persevere in following certain precepts, in such matters as leading, management of trumps, etc., that the result will be more than average success at the whist table.

Nothing can be further from the truth. As in all other matters largely controlled by chance, there is no system, as a system, which will win at whist. One cannot succeed by slavish adherence to either the long or the short-suit game; by the invariable giving of information, or the continual playing of false cards. The true elements of success in whist lie in the happy combination of all the resources of long and short suits, of finesse and tenace, of candour and deception, continually adjusted to varying circumstances, so as to result in the adversaries’ losing tricks.

HOW TO STUDY WHIST. Any person, anxious to become an expert whist player, may attain to considerable proficiency in a short time, if he will content himself with mastering the following general principles one at a time; putting each into practice at the whist table before proceeding to the next.

The science of modern whist may be divided into two parts: 1st. Tactics; or the purely conventional rules for leading, second and third hand play, returning partner’s suits, etc., all of which may be learnt from books, or gathered from more experienced players. 2nd. Strategy; or the advantageous use of the information given by the conventional plays. This is largely dependent on personal ability to judge the situation correctly, and to select the methods of play best adapted to it.

CONVENTIONAL PLAYS. These may be divided into two parts: those used by the partners who attack, either with their strong suits, or by leading out trumps; and those employed by their adversaries, who are defending themselves against such suits, or wishing to prevent their trumps being drawn. We shall first consider the conventionalities used in attack.

Leading. The player with the original lead should have a double object in view; to secure the best results for his own hand, and to indicate to his partner where he is in need of assistance.

The first matter for his consideration will be whether to begin with a trump or with a plain suit. There are two principal uses for trumps. The most attractive to the beginner is that of ruffing the adversaries’ winning cards; and the most important to the expert is leading trumps to prevent this. No matter how strong or well established a plain suit may be, it is of uncertain value as long as the adversaries have any trumps with which to stop it. A suit is established when you can probably take every trick in it. If a player with a good established suit is sufficiently strong to make it probable that he can, with his partner’s assistance, exhaust the adverse trumps, he should do so by leading trumps. If they are probably stronger than he, he must force them, by leading the established suit which they will be compelled to trump, weakening their hands and gradually reducing their trump strength until it is possible to exhaust what remains by leading. It being to the advantage of the player with a good suit to exhaust the trumps, it must be desirable to his adversaries to keep theirs, if possible, for the purpose of ruffing this good suit.

Trumps are also useful as cards of re-entry, when a player has an established suit, but has not the lead; their most important use, however, is in defending or stopping established suits.

Rules for Leading Trumps. With five or more trumps, the beginner should always begin by leading them, regardless of the rest of his hand. With three or less he should never lead them, unless he has very strong cards in all the plain suits. With four trumps exactly, he should lead them if he has an established suit and a card of re-entry in another suit. A card of re-entry in plain suits is one which is pretty sure to win a trick, such as an Ace, or a guarded King. The following are examples of hands from which trumps should be led originally by a beginner;—

Hearts are trumps in every case.

♡ J 8 6 4 2;	♣ K 3 2;	♢ 10 9 2;	♠ 7 5.
♡ Q 10 2;	♣ A K 5;	♢ K Q 10 9;	♠ A Q 3.
♡ K J 8 3;	♣ A K Q 10 7 3;	♢ 3;	♠ A 7.

The following are examples of hands from which trumps should not be led:—

♡ A K Q;	♣ J 8 7 5 3;	♢ Q 4;	♠ K 4 2.
♡ Q J 10 2;	♣ 5 2;	♢ A K Q 2;	♠ 6 4 3.
♡ A Q 5 4;	♣ K Q J 6 3;	♢ A 9 2;	♠ K.

If at any later stage of the hand, a player finds himself with an established suit and a card of re-entry, he should lead trumps if he has four. For instance: The player with the last example should lead trumps if the first round of Clubs either forced the Ace out of his way, or found it with his partner.

Rules for Leading Plain Suits. It is safest for the beginner to select his longest suit for the original lead; unless he has a four-card suit which is much stronger. Length and high cards, the two elements of strength, are often very nearly balanced. In the following examples the player should begin with the longest suit:—

♡ A 4 3;	♣ J 10 9 8 3;	♢ A K Q;	♠ K 2.
♡ K 10 8 3;	♣ 4 2;	♢ K Q 10 8 2;	♠ A Q.

In the following the four-card suit should be selected:—

♡ J 3;	♣ 6 5 4 3 2;	♢ J 10 5 3;	♠ Q 8.
♡ Q 4 2;	♣ 7;	♢ 10 6 4 3 2;	♠ A K Q 10.

The principle which should guide in the selection of a plain suit for the original lead is, that if there are a number of small cards in one suit, and a few high cards in another, by leading the long suit first, the higher cards in it are forced out of the way, and the high cards in the shorter suit will then bring the holder of the established small cards into the lead again. But if the high cards of the short suit are first led, the long suit of small cards is dead.

Having determined whether to lead the trump or the plain suit, the next point is to select the proper card of the suit to lead. At first the beginner need not trouble himself about making any distinction between trumps and plain suits; that will come later.

Rules for Leading High Cards. Having a strong suit, but without cards of re-entry or trump strength to support it, the best policy is to make tricks while you can. With such a suit as A K Q 2, no one need be told not to begin with the deuce. Whenever a player holds two or more of the best cards of a suit he should play one of them. If he holds both second and third best, playing one of them will force the best out of his way, leaving him with the commanding card.

The cards which are recognised by whist players as high, are the A K Q J 10, and if we separate the various combinations from which a player should lead each of them, a study of the groups so formed will greatly facilitate our recollection of them.

In the first group are those containing two or more of the best cards. In this and all following notation, the exact size of any card below a Ten is immaterial.

So far as trick-taking is concerned, it is of no importance which of the winning cards is first led; but for the past hundred years it has been the custom for good whist players to lead the King from all these combinations, in order that the partner may be informed, by its winning, that the leader holds the Ace also.

In the second group are those containing both the second and third best, but not the best.

The King is the proper lead from these combinations. If it wins, the partner should have the Ace; if it loses, partner should know the leader holds at least the Queen.

Both these groups, which contain all the King leads, may be easily remembered by observing that the King is always led if accompanied by the Ace or Queen, or both. Beginners should follow this rule for leading the King, regardless of the number of small cards in the suit, unless they hold the sequence of K Q J, and at least two other cards.

From this combination the Jack is the usual lead, in order to invite partner to put on the Ace, if he has it, and get out of the way, thus establishing the suit in the leader’s hand. This is the only high-card combination from which the Jack is led.

There is only one combination from which the Queen is led, regardless of the number of the small cards.

This may be remembered by observing that there is no higher card in the suit than the one led, and that it contains a sequence of three cards, Q J 10. This lead is an indication to the partner that the leader holds neither Ace nor King.

There is only one combination from which the Ten is led, regardless of the number of small cards.

The Ten led is an indication to partner that both Ace and Queen are against the leader.

Combinations from which the Ace is led contain at least five cards in suit, or both Queen and Jack.

This lead is an indication to partner that the leader has not the King, and that the suit is either long, or contains three honours.

Rules for Leading Low Cards. If the suit selected for the lead contains none of the combinations from which a high card should be led, it is customary with good players to begin with the 4th-best, counting from the top of the suit. This is called the card of uniformity; because it indicates to the partner that there are remaining in the leader’s hand exactly three cards higher than the one led. From any of the following combinations the proper lead would be the Four:—

Rules for Leading Short Suits. It will sometimes happen that the only four-card suit in the leader’s hand will be trumps, which it is not desirable to lead. In such cases, if there is no high-card combination in any of the short suits, it is usual to lead the highest card, unless it is an Ace or King. Many good players will not lead the Queen from a three card suit, unless it is accompanied by the Jack. All such leads are called forced, and are intended to assist the partner, by playing cards which may strengthen him, although of no use to the leader. The best card should be led from any such combinations as the following:—

All these rules for leading apply equally to any position at the table when a player opens his own suit for the first time.

Rules for Leading Second Round. On the second round of any suit, the player holding the best card should play it; or having several equally the best, one of them. If he is Fourth Hand, he may be able to win the trick more cheaply.

If the original leader has several cards, equally the best, such as A Q J remaining after having led the King, he should continue with the lowest card that will win the trick. This should be an indication to his partner that the card led is as good as the best, and that therefore the leader must have the intermediate cards.

Following King, which has been led from these combinations:—