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choose to trump it, having none of the suit; if I am not strong enough iu trumps, I must not play out the king, but keep the command of that suit in my hand by play. ing a small one; which I must do in order to weaken his game.

2. If a suit is led, of which I have none, and there is a great probability that my partner has not the best of that suit, in order to deceive the adversary, I throw away my strong suit; but to clear up doubts to my partner when he has the lead, I throw away my weak suit. This method of play will generally succeed, unless with very good players; and even with them you will more frequently gain than lose by this method of play Particular games to be played by which you run the risk of losing one trick only to gain three.

1. Suppose clubs to be trumps, a heart is played by your adversary; your partner having none of that suit, throws away a spade; you are then to judge that his hand is composed of trumps and diamonds; and suppose you win that trick, and being too weak in trumps, you dare not force him; and suppose you should have king, knave, and one small diamond, and further, suppose your partner to have queen, and five diamonds: in that case, by throwing out your king in your first lead, and your knave in your second, your partner and you may win five tricks in that suit: whereas if you had led a small diamond, and your partner's queen having been won with the ace, the king and knave remaining in your hand obstructs the suit; and though he may have the long trump, yet by playing the small diamond, and his long trump having been forced out of his hand, you lose by this method of play three tricks in that deal.

2. Suppose in the like case of the former, you should have queen, ten, and one small card in your partner's strong suit, (which is to be discovered by the former example,) and suppose your partner to have knave and five small cards in his strong suit; you have the lead, are to play your queen; and when you play again you are to play your ten: and suppose him to have the long trump, by this method he makes four tricks in that suit.

3. In the above examples you are supposed to have the lead, and by that means have had an opportunity of throwing out the best cards in your hand of your part ner's strong suit, in order to make room for the whole

suit; we will now suppose your partner is to lead, and in the course of play it appears to you that your partner nas one great suit; suppose ace, king, and four small ones, and that you 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 obstruct your partner's great suit; whereas, if you had kept your queen and ten, and the knave had fallen from the adversaries, you had lost two tricks.

4 If, as in the former case, you find your partner has one great suit, and that you have king, ten, and a small One of that suit; your partner leads the ace, in that case play your ten, and in the second your king: this method is to prevent a possibility of obstructing your partner's great suit.

5. If your partner has ace, king, and four small cards in his great suit, and you have queen, ten, and a small card in that suit: when he plays his ace, play your ten, and when he plays his king, play your queen; by which method of play, you only risk one trick to get four. Particular games to be played when either of your ad versaries turns up an honour.

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1. If the knave is turned up on your right hand, and have king queen, and ten: in order to win the knave, begin to play with your king: by this play, your partner will suppose you have queen and ten remaining: especially if you have a second lead, and do not proceed to vour queen.

2. If the knave is turned up as before, and you have ace, queen, and ten, play the queen, which answers the purpose of the above rule.

3. If the queen is turned up on your right hand, and you have ace. king, and knave, by playing the king, it also answers the purpose of the above rule.

4 If an honour is turned up on your left hand, and you should hold no honour, in that case, play trumps through that honour: but in case you should hold honour. (except the ace) be cautious how you play trumps, because in case your partner holds no honour, your adversary will play your own game upon you.

A case to demonstrate the danger of forcing your

partner.

Suppose you have a quint-major in trumps, with a quint-major and three small cards of another suit, and have the lead; if your adversaries have only five trumps in either hand, in this case you will win every trick.

On the contrary, suppose your left hand adversary has five small trumps, with a quint-major and three small cards of another suit, and that he has the lead, and forces you to trump first, you will win only five tricks.

A case to demonstrate the advantage to be gained by a Saw.

Suppose A and B partners, and that A has a quart major in clubs, they being trumps, another quart inajor in hearts, another quart-major in diamonds, and the ace of spades. And let us suppose that the adversaries C and D to have the following cards; viz. C has four trumps, eight hearts and one spade; D has five trumps and eight diamonds; C being to lead, plays a heart, D trumps it; D plays a diamond, C trumps it; and thus, pursuing the saw, each partner trumps a quart-major of A's, and C being to play at the ninth trick, plays a spade, which D trumps: thus C and D have won the nine first tricks, and leave A with his quart major in trumps only.

This case shows, that whenever you can establish a saw, it is your interest to embrace it.

Directions for putting up at second hand, King, Queen, Knave, or Ten, of any suit, &c.

1. Suppose you have the king, and one small card of any suit, and your right hand adversary plays that suit; if he is a good player, do not put up the king, unless you want the lead; because a good player seldom leads from a suit of which he has the ace, but keeps it in his hand (after the trumps are played out) in order to bring in his strong suit.

2. If you have a queen, and one small card of any suit, and your right hand adversary leads that suit, do not put on the queen: because, suppose the adversary has led from the ace and knave, in that case, upon the return of that suit, your adversary finesses the knave,

which is generally good play, especially if his partner has played the king, you then thereby make your queen ; but by putting on the queen, it shows your adversary that you have no strength in that suit, and, consequently, puts him upon finessing upon your partner throughout that suit.

3. In case you should have the knave, or ten of any suit, with a small card of the same suit, it is generally bad play to put up either of them at second hand; because it is five to two that the third hand has either ace, king, or queen of the suit led: it therefore follows that as the odds against you are five to two, and though you may sometimes succeed by this method of play, yet in the main you must be a loser; because it demonstrates to your adversaries, that you are weak in that suit, and, consequently, they finesse upon your partner throughout the whole of that suit.

4. Suppose you have ace, king, and three small cards of a suit; your right hand adversary leads that suit; upon which you play your ace, and your partner plays the knave. If you are strong in trumps, return a small one in that suit, in order to let your partner trump it: by this means you keep the command of that suit in your own hand, and at the same time it gives your partner an intimation that you are strong in trumps; and, therefore, he plays his game accordingly.

Directions how to play when an Ace, King, or Queen, is turned up your right hand.

1. If the ace is turned up on your right hand, and you have ten and nine of trumps only, with ace, king, and queen of another suit, and eight cards of ro value, begin with the ace of the suit of which you have the ace, king, and queen, which is an intimation to your partner that you have the command of that suit: then play your ten of trumps, because it is five to two that your partner has king, queen, or knave of trumps; and though it is about seven to two that your partner has not two honours, yet, should he chance to have them, and they prove to be the king and knave, in that case, as your partner will pass your ten of trumps, and as it is thirteen to twelve against the last player's holding the queen of trumps, if your partner has it not, in that case, when your partner has the lead, he plays to your strong suit, al upon your having the lead, you are to play the

nine of trumps, which puts it in your partner's power to be almost certain of winning the queen, if he lies behind it.

2. The like method of play may be used, if the king or queen is turned up on your right hand: hut you are always to distinguish the difference of your partner's capacity; because a good player will make a proper use of such play, but a bad one seldom, if ever.

3. If the adversary on your right hand leads a king of trumps, and you have the ace and four small trumps, with a good suit, in this case it is your interest to pass the king, and though he should have king, queen, and knave of trumps, with one more, if he is a moderate player, he will play the small one, supposing that his partner has the ace: when he plays the small one, you are also to pass it, because it is an equal chance that your partner has a better trump than the last player. If so, and he happens to be a tolerable player, he will judge you have a sufficient reason for this method of playing, and consequently, if he has a trump left, he will play it, if not, he will play his best suit.

Directions how to play when the Ten ar Nine is turned up on your right hand.

1. When the ten is turned up on your right hand, and you have king, kuave, nine, and two small trumps, with eight other cards of no value, and it is proper to lead trumps, in that case, begin with the knave, in order to prevent the ten from making a trick; and thougn it is but about five to four that your partner holds an honour, yet if that should fail, by finessing your nine on the return of trumps from your partner, you have the ten in your power.

2. If the nine is turned up on your right hand and you should have knave, ten, and eight, and two small trumps, by leading the knave, it answers the like purpose of the above case.

3. You must always make a distinction between a lead of choice, and a forced lead of your partner's: because, in the first case, he is supposed to lead from his best suit, and finding you deficient in that suit, and not being strong enough in trumps, nor daring to force you, he then plays his next best suit: by which alteration of play it is next to a certainty that he is weak in trumps: but should he persevere, by playing off his first lead