point of your adversary, that being the first stage; the next stage is six points farther, viz. in the place where your adversary's five men are first placed out of his tables; the next stage is upon the sixth point in your tables. This method is to be pursued till your men are brought home, excepting two, when, by losing a point, you may save your gammon, by putting it in the power of two fives or two fours to save it.

7. When a hit is only played for, you frequently should deavour to gain either your own or your adversary's cinque point; and if that fails by your being hit by your adversary, and you find that he is forwarder than yourself, you must throw more men into his tables; which is done thus: put a man upon your cinque or bar point, and if your adversary neglects to hit it, you may then gain a forward game, instead of a back game; but if he hits you, you must play for a back game, and then the greater number of men which are taken up make your game the better, because you will, by that means, preserve your game at home; and then you should endeavour to gain both your adversary's ace and trois points, or his ace and deuce points, and take care to keep three men upon his ace point, that if you hit him from thence that point may remain still secure to you.

8. At the beginning of a set do not play for a back game, because it would be running the risk of a gammon to win a single hit.

RULES

For playing, at setting out, the 36 chances of the dice, when you are to play for a gammon, or for a single hit.

1. Two aces, to be played on your cinque point and bar point.

2. Two sixes, to be played on your adversary's ba point, and on your own bar point.

3. *Two trois, to be played on your cinque point, and on your trois point in your own table, for a gammon only.

4. +Two deuces, to be played on your quatre point in your own tables, and two from the five men placed in your adversary's tables, for a gammon only.

5. Two fours, from the five men placed in your ad versary's tables, to the cinque point in your own tables, for a gammon only.

6. Two fives, from the five men placed in your adversary's tables, to the trois point in your own tables. 7. Size-ace, you are to take your bar point.

8. Size-deuce, a man from the five men placed in your adversary's tables, to the cinque point in your own tables. 9. Six and three, a man from your adversary's ace point, as far as he will go.

10. Six and four, a man from your adversary's ace point, as far as he will go.

11. Six and five, a man from your adversary's ace point, as far as he can go.

12. Cinque and quatre, a man from your adversary's ace point, as far as he can go.

13. Cinque trois, make the trois point in your tables. 14. Cinque-deuce, two men from the five placed in your adversary's tables.

15. Cinque-ace, one man from the five placed in your adversary's tables for the cinque, and one man on the cingue point in your own tables, for a gammon only. 16. Quatre trois, two men from the five placed in your adversary's tables.

17. Quatre-deuce, make the quatre point in your own tables.

18. Quatre ace, a man from the five placed in your adversary's tables for the quatre, and a man upon the cinque point in your own tables, for a gammon only.

19. Trois-deuce, two meu from the five placed in your adversary's tables, for a gammon only.

20. Trois ace, make the cinque point in your owe tables.

21. *Deuce ace, play one man from the five men placed in your adversary's tables for the deuce; and for the ace, a man upon the cinque point in your ow. tables, for a gammon only.

RULES

How to play the chances that are marked thus * a hit only.

1. *Two trois, two of them on your cinque point in your own tables, and two on the quatre point in your adversary's tables.

2 †Two deuces, two on your quatre point in your

own tables, and two on the trois point in your adversary's tables.

The two preceding cases are to be played in this manner, for this reason, viz. that thereby you avoid being shut up in your adversary's tables, and have the chance of throwing high doublets, to win the hit.

3. *Two fours, two on your adversary's cinque point in his tables; and two men from the five placed in your adversary's tables.

4.1. Cinque ace, play the cinque from the five men placed in your adversary's tables, and the ace from ur adversary's ace point.

5.2. Quatre ace, play the quatre from the five men placed in your adversary's tables, and the ace from the men on your adversary's ace point.

6. 3. Deuce ace, play the deuce from the five men placed in your adversary's tables, and the ace from your adversary's ace point.

7. These three last chances are played in this manner, for the following reason: by laying an ace down in your adversary's tables, you have a probability of throwing deuce-ace, trois-deuce, quatre-trois, or size cinque, in two or three throws; in any of which cases you secure a point, which gives you vastly the best of the hit. You may observe by the directions given in this chapter, that you are to play nine chances out the of thirty-six in a different manner, for a single hit than for a gammon

Cautions, Observations, and Hints.

1. To play for a gammon you are to make some blots on purpose, the odds being in your favour, that they are not hit; but if any blot is hit, as you will have three men in your adversary's tables, you must then try to secure your adversary's cinque, quatre, or trois point, to prevent a gammon, and must be very cautious how suffer your adversary to take up a fourth man.

2. Do not crowd your game by putting many men either upon your trois or deuce point in your own tables; which is, in effect, losing those men by not having them in play. Besides, by crowding your game, to save a gammon, you are often gammoned: because when your adversary finds your game crowded in your own tables, he may then play his game as he thinks proper.

3. By the following calculations, you may know th

odds of entering a single man upon any given number of points, and the game should be played accordingly.

4. If you are obliged to leave a blot, by recourse to the calculations for hitting it, you will find the chances for and against you, and be enabled to judge how to play your game to the greatest advantage.

5. You will also find by the calculations the odds for and against you, upon being hit by double dice, and consequently you will have it in your power to choose such a method of play as is most to your advantage.

6. If it is necessary to make a run, in order to win a hit, and you would know to a point which is most for. ward, your adversary or you;

Reckon how many points you must have to bring home to your size point in your own tables the man that is at the greatest distance from it, and do, the like by every other man that is abroad; when the numbers are summed up, add to them the following numbers for those already on your own tables (supposing the men that were abroad as on your size point, for bearing) namely, six for every man to the size point, five for every man on the cinque point, four every man on the quatre point, three for every man on the trois point, two for every man on the deuce point. Do the like to your adversary's game, and then you will know which of you is forwardest, and likeliest to win the hit.

Directions for a Learner to bear his Men.

1. If your adversary is much before you, never play a man from your quatre, trois, or deuce points, in order to bear that man from the point where you put it, because nothing but high doublets can give you any chance for the hit always play them from your size or highest point; so that throwing two fives, or two fours, will, upon having eased your size and cinque points, be of advantage; whereas, had your size point remained loaded, you must, perhaps, be obliged to play at length those fives and fours.

2. Whenever you have taken up two of your adversary's men, and have two, three, or more points, made in your own tables, spread your men, in order either to take a new point in your tables, or be ready to hit the man which your adversary may enter. As soon as he enters one of his men, compare his game with yours;

and if you find that the game upon a par, or better, never fail taking his man up if you can, it being 25 to 11 against his hitting you; which chance being so much in your favour, you should always run that risk, when you have already two of his men up.

An exception may be made to this rule: if you play for a single hit only, and your playing that throw otherwise gives you a superior chance for the hit, you ought not to take up that man.

3. Never be deterred from taking up any one man of your adversary's by the fear of his hitting you with double dice, because the fairest probability he has of hitting you is 5 to 1 against him.

4. If you have five points in your tables, and have taken up one of your adversary's men, and are forced to leave a blot out of your tables, leave it upon doublets, in preference to any other chance; because doublets are 35 to 1 against his hitting you, and any other chance is but 17 to 1 against him.

5. Two of your adversary's men in your tables are better for a hit than if you had more, provided your game is more forward; because his having three or more men in your tables gives him more chances to hit you, than if he had but two men in them.

6. If you are to leave a blot upon entering a man upon your adversary's tables, or otherwise, leave it upon the point most disadvantageous to him. For example, if it is his interest to hit you or take you up as soon as you enter, leave the blot upon his lowest open point, because (as has been stated before) all the men your adversary plays upon his trois or his deuce points are deemed lost, being greatly out of play, and his game will be crowded there, and open elsewhere, whereby he must be greatly annoyed.

7. To prevent your adversary from bearing his men to the greatest advantage, at the time you are running to save your gammon, it is your advantage to leave a man upon your opponent's ace point, which will prevent his bearing his men to his greatest advantage, and will also give you the chance of his making a blot, which you may chance to hit. However, if, upon a calculation, you find that you have a throw, or a probability of saving your gammon, never wait for a blot, because the odds are greatly against hitting it.