utely; and if your partner should refuse either of your suits, do not force him, as that may weaken bis game loo much. 4. It is seldom necessary for you to return your partner's lead immediately, if you have good suits of your own play; unless it be to endeavour to save or win a gaine. A gooti suit is when you have sequence of king, queen, and knave, or queen, knave, and ten. 5. When you are each five tricks, and you are certain of two tricks in your own hand, do not fail to win them in expectation of scoring two that deal; because if you lose the odd trick it makes a difference of two, and you play two to one against yourself. There is, however, one exception to this rule, and that is, when you`see a probability of saving your lurch, or of winning the game; in either of which cases you are to risk the odd trick. 6. If you have a probability of winning the game, always risk a trick or two: because the share of the stake which your adversary has by a new deal, will amount to more than the point or two which you risk by that deal. 7. When your adversary is six or seven love, and it is your turn to lead, in that case you ought to risk a trick or two, in hopes of putting your game upon an equality; therefore admitting you have the queen or knave, and one other trump, and no good cards in any other suit, play out your queen or knave of trumps: by which means you strengthen your partner's game if he is strong in trumps, and if he is weak, you do him no injury 8. When you are four of the game, you must play for an odd trick, because it saves one half of the stakes you are playing for; and, in order to win the odd trick, though you are pretty strong in trumps. be very careful how you trump out. What is meant by being strong in trumps, is in case you have one honour and three trumps. 9. When you are nine of the game, and though strong in trumps, observe that there is a chance of your part ner's trumping any of the adversary's suits, in that case do not trump out, but give him an opportunity of trumping those suits. If your game is scored, 1, 2, or 3, you must play the reverse; and also at 5. 6, or 7: because in these two last recited cases, you play for more than one point. 10. When you are last player, and observe that the third hand cannot put a good card on his partner's lead, provided you have no good game of your own to play, return your adversary's lead. This will give your partner the tenace in that suit, and very often forces the adversary to change suits, and consequently gains the tenace in that suit also. 11. When you have ace, king, and four small trumps, begin with a small one; because it is an equal chance that your partner has a better trump than the last player: if so, you have three rounds of trumps, if not, you cannot fetch out all the trumps. 12. When you have ace, king, knave, and three small trumps, begin with the king, and then play the ace, (except one of the adversaries refuses trumps) because the odds is in your favour that the queen falls. 13. When you have king. queen, and four small trumps, begin with a small one; because the chance is in your favour that your partner has an honour. 14. When you have king, queen, ten, and three small trumps, begin with the king: because you have a fair chance that the knave will fall in the second round, or you may wait to finesse your ten upon the return of trumps from your partner. 15. When you have queen, knave, and four small trumps, you must begin with a small one: because the chance is in your favour that your partner has an honour. 16. When you have queen, knave, nine, and three small trumps, you must begin with the queen: because you have a fair chance that the ten falls in the second round: or you may wait to finesse the nine. 17. When you have knave, ten, and four small trumps, you must begin with a small one: because the chance is in your favour that your partner has an honour. 18. When you have knave, ten, eight, and three smail trun ps, you must begin with the knave, in order to prevent the nine from making a trick; and the odds is in your favour that the three honours fall in two rounds. 19. When you have six trumps of a lower denomination, begin with the lowest, unless you should have ten, nine, and eight, and an honour turns up against you; in that case, if you are to play through the honour, begin with the ten, which obliges your adversary to play his honour to his advantage, or leaves it in your partner's option whether you will pass it or not. 20. When you have an ace, king, and three small trumps, begin with a small one, for the reason assigned in No. 15. 21. When you have ace, king, and knave, and two small trumps, begin with the king; which, next to a moral certainty, informs your partner that you have ace and knave remaining: then putting the lead into your partner's hand, he plays you a trump: upon which you are to finesse the knave, and no ill consequence can attend such play, unless the queen lies behind you single. 22. When you have king, queen, and three small trumps, begin with a small one, for the reason assigned in No. 15. 23. When you have king, queen, ten, and two small trumps, begin with the king, for the reason assigned in No 21. 24. When you have queen, knave, and three small trumps, begin with a small one, for the reason assigned in No. 15. 25. When you have queen, knave, and nine, and two small trumps, begin with the queen, for the reason assigned in No. 16. 26. When you have knave, ten, and three small trumps, begin with a small one, for the reason assigned in No. 15. 27. When you have knave, ten, eight, and three small trumps, begin with the knave, because in two rounds of trumps it is odds but the nine falls; or, upon the return of trumps from your partner, you may finesse the eight. 28. When you have five trumps of a lower denomination, begin with the lowest, unless you have a sequence of ten, nine, and eight; in that case begin with the highest 29. When you have ace, king, and two small trumps, begin with a small one, for the reason assigned in No. 15. 30. When you have ace, king, and knave, and one small trump, begin with the king, for the reason assigned in No. 21. 31. When you have king, queen, and two small trumps, begin with a small one, for the reason assigned in No. 15. 32. When you have king, queen, ten, and one small trump, begin with the king, and wait for the return of trumps from your partner, when you are to finesse your ten, in order to win the knave. 33. When you have queen, knave, nine, and one small trump, begin with the queen, in order to prevent the ten from making a trick. 34. When you have knave, ten, and two small trumps, begin with a small one, for the reason assigned in No. 15. 35. When you have knave, ten, eight, and one sinall trump, begin with the knave, in order to prevent the nine from making a trick 36. When you have ten, nine, eight, and one small trump, begin with the ten, which leaves it in your partner's discretion whether he will pass it or not. 37. When you have ten, and three small trumps, begin with a small one. EIGHT PARTICULAR RULES. 1. When you have ace, king, and four small trumps, with a good suit, play three rounds of trumps, otherwise you are in danger of having your strong suit trumped. 2. When you have king, queen, and four small trumps, with a good suit, trump out with the king: because, when you have the lead again, you will have three rounds of trumps. 3. When you have king, queen, ten, and three small trumps with a good suit, trump out with the king, in hopes of the knave's falling at the second round; and do not wait to finesse the ten, lest your strong suit should be trumped. 4. When you have queen, knave, and three small trumps, with a good suit, you must trump out with a small one. 5. When you have queen, knave, nine, and two small trumps, with a good suit, trump out with the queen, in hopes that the ten will fall at the second round; and so not wait to finesse the nine, but trump out a second time, for the reason assigned in No. 3. 6. When you have knave, ten, and three small trumps, with a good suit, trump out with a small one. 7. When you have knave, ten, eight, and two small trumps, with a good suit, trump out with the knave, in hopes that the nine will fall at the second round. 8. When you have ten, nine, eight, and one small trump, with a good suit, trump out with the ten. PARTICULAR GAMES. Games whereby you are assured that your partner has no more of the suit played either by yourself or him; with Observations. 1. Suppose you lead from queen, ten, nine, and two small cards of any suit, the second hand puts on the knave, your partner plays the eight; in this case, you having queen, ten, and nine, it is a demonstration, if he plays well, that he can have no more of that suit. By this discovery, therefore, you may play your gaine accordingly, either by forcing him to trump that suit. if you are strong in trumps, or by playing some other suit. 2. Suppose you have king, queen, and ten of a suit, and you lead your king, your partner plays the knave, this clearly demonstrates that he has no more of that suit. 3. Suppose you have king, queen, and several more of a suit, and you begin with the king: in some cases it is good play in your partner, when he has the ace, and only one sinall card in that suit, to win his partner's king with his ace; for suppose he is very strong in trumps, by taking his partner's king with his ace, he trumps out, and after he has cleared the board of trumps, he returns his partner's lead; and having parted with the ace of that suit, he has made room for his partner to make that whole suit; which possibly could not have been done, if he had kept the command in his hand. 4. And supposing his partner has no other good cara in his hand beside that suit, he loses nothing by the ace's taking his king; but if it should so happen that he has a good card to bring in that suit, he gains all the tricks which he makes in that suit, by this method of play. And as your partner has taken your king with the ace, and trumps out upon it: you have reason to suppose he has one of that suit to return you: therefore do not throw away any of that suit, even to keep a king or queen guarded Games both to endeavour to deceive and distress your adversaries, and to demonstrate your game to your partner. 1. Suppose I play the ace of a suit of which I have ace, king, and three small ones; the last player does not |