Part 18
_=SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY.=_ There is little to add to the rules already given for Whist. The principles that should guide in the making of the trump have been given in connection with the more important game of Bridge; and the suggestions for playing nullo will be fully discussed in the games in which it is a prominent characteristic: Solo Whist, and Boston. Grand is practically Whist after the trumps are exhausted.
For the Laws of Cayenne see Whist Family Laws.
SOLO WHIST, OR WHIST DE GAND.
_=CARDS.=_ Solo Whist is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, which rank as at Whist, both for cutting and playing. Two packs are generally used, the one being shuffled while the other is dealt.
_=MARKERS=_ are not used in Solo Whist, every hand being a complete game in itself, which is immediately settled for in counters representing money. At the beginning of the game each player should be provided with an equal number of these counters. They are usually white and red, the red being worth five times as much as the white. Twenty white and sixteen red is the usual allotment to each player when the game begins. Some one player should be the banker, to sell and redeem all counters.
_=PLAYERS.=_ Solo Whist is played by four persons. If there are five candidates for play, they all sit at the same table, each taking his turn to sit out for one hand while the four others play. The dealer is usually selected to sit out. If there are only three players, one suit must be deleted from the pack, or the 2, 3, and 4 of each suit must be thrown out.
_=CUTTING.=_ The table being formed, the players draw from an outspread for the deal, and choice of seats and cards. The player drawing the lowest card deals the first hand, and it is usual for him to dictate to the other players what seats they shall occupy with relation to himself. Ties are decided in the same manner as at Whist.
_=POSITION OF THE PLAYERS.=_ The four players at Solo Whist are usually distinguished by the letters A B Y Z.
Z is the dealer, and A is known as the _=eldest hand=_. The position of the players does not imply any partnership; for, as we shall see presently, any player may have any one of the others for a partner, without any change taking place in their positions at the table.
The players having once taken their seats are not allowed to change them without the consent of all the others at the table.
_=DEALING.=_ The cards having been properly shuffled, are presented to the pone to be cut. Beginning on his left, the dealer distributes the cards three at a time, until only four remain. These he deals one at a time, turning up the last for the trump. When two packs are used, the player sitting opposite the dealer shuffles the still pack while the other is dealt. The deal passes in regular rotation to the left.
When three play with a pack of forty cards, the last card is turned up for trumps, but it does not belong to the dealer, and is not used in play.
The general rules with regard to irregularities in the deal are the same as at Whist; except that a misdeal does not pass the deal. The misdealer must deal again, and with the same pack.
The cards dealt, each player sorts and counts his hand to see that he has the correct number of cards, thirteen. If not, he should immediately claim a misdeal; for a player having more or less than his right proportion of cards cannot win anything on that hand, but will have to stand his proportion of all losses incurred by him or his side.
_=OBJECTS OF THE GAME.=_ There are seven distinct objects in the Solo Whist, and before play begins each player has an opportunity of declaring to which of these objects he proposes to attain. They are:--
1st. To win 8 of the 13 tricks, with the assistance of a partner. This is called a _=Proposal=_; the partner’s share is an _=Acceptance=_.
2nd. To win 5 of the 13 tricks, against the three other players combined. This is called a _=Solo=_.
3rd. To take no tricks, there being no trump suit, and the three other players being opposed. This is called _=Misère=_, or Nullo.
4th. To win 9 of the 13 tricks against the three other players combined; the single player to name the trump suit. This is called _=Abundance=_.
5th. To win 9 of the 13 tricks against the three other players combined, with the trump suit that is turned up. This is called _=Abundance in Trumps=_.
6th. To take no tricks, there being no trump suit, and the three other players being opposed; the single player’s cards being exposed face up on the table after the first trick is complete. This is called Misère sur table, or _=A Spread=_.
7th. To win all 13 tricks against the three other players combined; the single player to name the trump suit, and to have the original lead whether eldest hand or not. This is called Abundance Déclarée, or _=A Slam=_.
While the object of the proposing player is to win or lose the declared number of tricks, that of his adversaries is to prevent him from doing so, if possible. There are no honours, and the only factor in the count is the number of tricks actually taken. The highest card played of the suit led wins the trick, and trumps, if any, win against all other suits.
_=METHOD OF DECLARING.=_ The eldest hand has the first say, and after examining his cards he may make any of the several propositions just enumerated. The smallest proposal he can make is to take 8 tricks with the assistance of a partner. To do this he should have four reasonably sure tricks in his own hand. Some players say he should be strong in trumps; while others claim that the eldest hand should propose only on general strength. The former is the better plan. No other player should propose on trumps alone. This announcement is made by saying “_=I propose=_.” If a player thinks he can take five tricks against the combined efforts of the three other players, he announces: “_=Solo=_.” If he feels equal to a misère, he calls: “_=Misère=_;” and so on, according to the strength of his hand. If he does not feel justified in making a call, he says “_=I pass=_;” and the next player on his left has the opportunity; and so on, until some player has proposed to do something, or all have passed.
If any player has proposed for a partner, any of the others, in their proper turn, may accept him by simply saying “_=I accept=_.” By so doing, a player intimates that he has four probable tricks also, but in the plain suits, and that he is willing to try for eight tricks with the proposer for a partner. All the other calls are made by a single player with the intention of playing against the three others. Any player except the eldest hand having once said, “I pass,” cannot afterwards make or accept any proposal. The eldest hand, after passing once, can accept a proposal, but he cannot make one.
It is the custom in some places, when no one will make a proposal of any sort, to turn down the trump, and play the hands without any trump suit, each man for himself, the winner of the last trick losing to each of the others the value of a solo. This is called a _=Grand=_.
_=RANK OF THE PROPOSALS.=_ The various calls outrank one another in the order in which we have given them. If one player says, “I propose,” and another calls “Solo,” the solo call shuts out the proposal, even though it has been accepted by a second player. The call of a misère would in turn shut out a solo; abundance would take precedence of misère; and abundance in trumps would be a better call than simple abundance. The slam of course outranks all other bids. This making of a better proposition than one already made is known as “_=Over-calling=_.”
A player who has made a call of any kind, or has accepted a proposal, may amend his proposition to a better one, only in case he is over-called; or a player who can not get a partner to accept him may amend his call to solo. For instance: A player may have a hand which he feels sure is good for 8 tricks, perhaps 9. To be safe, he calls solo, and hopes to make three or four over-tricks. If he is outbid by some player over-calling him with a misère, he may be tempted to amend his call to abundance.
No call is good until every player who has not already passed does so, by saying distinctly, “I pass.”
_=STAKES.=_ The losses and gains of the players are in proportion to the difficulties of the tasks they set themselves.
The most popular method of settling is to pay or take red counters for the various calls, and white counters for the tricks under or over the exact number proposed. If the callers succeed in their undertakings, their adversaries pay them; if they fail, they pay their adversaries. A red counter is worth five white ones.
Proposal and Acceptance wins or loses 1 red counter. Solo wins or loses 2 red counters. Misère, or Nullo, wins or loses 3 red counters. Abundance, of any kind, wins or loses 4 red counters. Open Misère, or Spread, wins or loses 6 red counters. Declared Abundance, or Slam, wins or loses 8 red counters. Each Over or Under-trick wins or loses 1 white counter.
In Proposal and Acceptance, each of the partners pays one of his adversaries. In all cases in which a single player is opposed to the three others, he wins or loses the amount shown in the foregoing table with each of them individually; so that a single player calling a solo would win or lose 6 red counters. If he lost it, making only four tricks, he would also have to pay to each of his three adversaries a white counter. If he won it, making seven tricks, each of them would have to pay him two red and two white counters.
Misères, Spreads, and Slams pay no odd tricks. The moment a Misère player takes a trick, or a Slam player loses one, the hands are abandoned, and the stakes paid.
The usual value attached to the counters in America is 25 cents for the red, and 5 cents for the white. In England the proportion is sixpence and a penny.
_=POOL SOLO.=_ When players wish to enhance the gambling attractions of the game, a pool is introduced. For this purpose a receptacle is placed upon the table, in which each player puts a red counter at the beginning of the game. Any person playing alone against the three others, wins this pool if he is successful; if he fails, he must double the amount it contains, besides paying each of his adversaries in the regular way. In some places it is the custom for each player to contribute a red counter when he deals. The proposals and acceptances do not touch the pool.
_=METHOD OF PLAYING.=_ If a proposal is accepted, and no one over-calls it, the proposer and acceptor are partners; but make no change in their positions at the table. The eldest hand, sitting to the left of the dealer, begins by leading any card he pleases, and the play proceeds exactly as at Whist, the tricks being so stacked that they may be readily counted at any time.
If a single player has called solo, misère, or abundance, the eldest hand still has the original lead, and there is no change in the positions of the players. The position of the lead is often a serious consideration with a player calling a solo or a misère.
In all calls except misères and slams, the hands must be played out, in order to give each side an opportunity to make all the over-tricks they can. The moment a misère player takes a trick, or a slam player loses one, the hands are thrown up, and the stakes paid.
When a spread is called, the trump is taken up, and the eldest hand leads. As soon as all have played to the first trick, the caller spreads his remaining twelve cards face upward on the table, so that each of his adversaries may see them; but they have no control of the order in which they shall be played. The adversaries play their hands in the usual manner, with no further guidance than that possible by inference from the play and the exposed hand. The caller plays according to his best judgment.
When a slam is called, the player proposing it has the original lead; but that does not alter the position of the deal for the next hand.
_=REVOKES.=_ A revoke is a serious matter in Solo Whist. The penalty for it is the loss of three tricks, and the revoking players must pay the _=red=_ counters involved in the call whether they win or lose; but they may play the hand out to save over-tricks. For instance: A proposer and acceptor make 11 tricks; their adversaries having claimed a revoke. After deducting the revoke penalty, 3 tricks, the callers still have 8 tricks left, enough to make good the call. They each lose a red counter; but no white ones, having saved their over-tricks. Had they taken only 8 tricks altogether, the penalty for the revoke would have left them only 5, and they would each have had to pay one red and three whites. If either adversary of the callers revokes, the individual player in fault must pay for all the consequences of the error. If the player in fault can show that the callers would have won in spite of the revoke, his partners must pay their share; but the revoking player must settle for the three tricks lost by the revoke. For instance: Z calls solo; A revokes; Z makes 6 tricks, which it can be shown he must have done in spite of the revoke. A, Y, and B each pay Z 1 red and 1 white counter, and then A pays Z 9 white counters in addition for the tricks taken as revoke penalty.
If the single player revokes, either on solo or abundance, he loses the red counters involved, and must pay whatever white counters are due after three of his tricks have been added to those of the adversaries as penalty for the revoke. For instance: A calls solo, and revokes, but wins 6 tricks in all. He pays two red counters to each adversary. They then take three of his tricks, leaving him three only, and demand two white counters each, for the two under-tricks. If a player revokes who has called a misère or a slam, he immediately loses the stakes. If a revoke is made by any adversary of a player who has called misère or slam, the player in fault must individually pay all the stakes.
_=CARDS PLAYED IN ERROR.=_ In the simple proposal and acceptance, the rules with regard to cards played in error, or led out of turn, are the same as at Whist. In the case of a single player against three adversaries, the caller is not liable to any penalty for cards played in error, or led out of turn; but his adversaries are subject to the usual whist penalties for all such irregularities, such as having the cards laid on the table as exposed, or a suit called, or the highest or lowest of a suit led demanded from an adversary who has followed suit out of turn.
For the better protection of the single player, who is much more liable to be injured by irregularities than partners would be, he is allowed to prevent the use of an exposed trump for ruffing, and to demand or _=to prevent=_ the play of any exposed card in plain suits. If a suit is led of which an adversary has an exposed card on the table the single player may call upon him to play his highest or lowest of that suit.
If any adversary of a misère player leads out of turn, or exposes a card, or plays before his proper turn in any trick, the caller may immediately claim the stakes, and the individual player in fault must pay for himself, and for his partners.
_=METHODS OF CHEATING.=_ While the practice of dealing three cards at a time gives a little more opportunity to the greek than would occur if they were dealt as at Whist, there is little to be feared if two packs are used, unless two greeks are in partnership. When such partners sit next each other, there is more or less danger, if only one pack is used, that one may shuffle so that the other may cut understandingly; or that a good shuffler may run up six cards for a dealer that is not embarrassed by the cards being cut. A shrewd greek can often help a silent partner who is playing under the disguise of a single caller, especially in misère. Persons who play in the many public cafés of Europe should be especially careful to avoid this style of partnership, where it is very common.
_=SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY.=_ Apart from the general principles common to all forms of Whist, such as the play of high or low cards, trumps or plain suits, etc., there are several points peculiar to Solo Whist which require attention.
_=Proposing.=_ It is better to propose on two or three sure tricks, with strong probabilities of several more, than on a certainty of four only. For instance: The two highest trumps and two suits containing Aces, with no other trick probable, is not such a good hand for a proposal as one containing four average trumps, with one plain suit of K Q J x x, and another of K Q x x. It is not improbable that the latter may be good for seven or eight tricks. Nothing but experience will teach a player what combinations of cards are “probably” good for tricks; but K x x, or Q J 10 x or K Q, may be counted on.
There should be some intelligible system of proposing, so that the players may understand each other. The eldest hand should not propose except on strong trumps, and this should be a warning to other players not to accept him on trump strength alone.
Four trumps with two or three honours may be called strong; or five trumps, even without an honour. Five trumps with two or more honours is great strength.
Any player other than the eldest hand should propose on general strength and the player accepting him should do so on trump strength. Some such distinction should be clearly understood, in order that there may be no such contretemps as two players proposing and accepting on trumps alone and finding themselves without a trick in the plain suits after the trumps are drawn.
If the eldest hand is strong in trumps, but has not four sure tricks, he should pass, which will give him an excellent opportunity to accept a player proposing on general strength in the plain suits. If the proposal should be accepted before it comes to his turn, the eldest hand should be in a good position to defeat it.
If any player, other than the eldest hand, has sufficient trump strength to justify a proposal, he will usually find that he can risk a solo; or by passing, defeat any proposal and acceptance that may be made.
_=Accepting.=_ A proposal by the eldest hand should not be accepted by a player with only one strong suit. The probability of tricks in several suits is better than a certainty in one suit; but if one strong suit is accompanied by a card of re-entry, or by four trumps, it should prove very strong, particularly in partnership with the eldest hand.
When the partners will sit next each other, proposals may be accepted on slightly weaker hands than would be considered safe otherwise.
_=Playing Proposals and Acceptances.=_ If the eldest hand has proposed, and his partner sits next him on the left, the commanding trumps should be first led, in order to secure as many rounds as possible. If the eldest hand has no high-card combination in trumps, it is sometimes better to lead a small card from a weak suit, hoping to put the partner in. If successful, the partner will first show his suit, and then lead trumps through the adversaries. If the acceptor sits on the right of the proposing eldest hand, trumps should be led immediately, and the highest of them first, no matter what they are. The Q or J at the head of five trumps may be of great use to a partner with an honour. When the eldest hand has proposed, and his partner sits opposite him, trumps should be led at once, and all combinations played as at Whist.
The foregoing principles equally apply when the eldest hand has accepted a proposal, if the player can be depended on to have proposed on general strength.
When partners sit opposite each other, the general principles of leading, establishing, defending, and bringing in suits, are the same as at Whist, and the usual trump signals and echoes are made use of. The game is practically Whist, with the additional knowledge that both proposer and acceptor have strong hands.
When partners sit next each other, there are many opportunities for leading strengthening cards through the adversaries, especially in the partner’s known or inferred strong suit.
_=Finesse.=_ If neither proposer nor acceptor is the eldest hand, they should make no finesses; but get into the lead as soon as possible, and exhaust the trumps. The greatest danger of defeat for a proposal and acceptance is that the adversaries, with the original lead, may establish a cross-ruff, or get six tricks with their winning cards before the calling players get a lead.
It is a common artifice for the proposer and acceptor, after they have exhausted the adversaries’ trumps, each to show a strong suit by leading it once, and then to lead the highest card of a weaker suit; thus offering each other chances for successful finesse.
If a partner sitting on the right leads a suit, there should be no finesse; and in general, finessing should be avoided until the declaration is assured. It may then be used to secure probable over-tricks.
_=Adversaries’ Play.=_ The players opposed to the call are always designated as the adversaries.
Players opposed to a proposer and acceptor should make no finesses that they are not certain will win more tricks if successful than they will lose if they fail. If the adversaries sit together, and are the last to play on any trick, the third hand should not trust anything to his partner that he can attend to himself, unless he is very anxious to be the last player on the next trick.
When the adversaries sit opposite each other, their play will differ very little from that in Whist, except that they will make no efforts to establish long suits, and will not lead small cards from combinations containing an Ace. Every trick possible should be made sure of at once, before the calling players get any chance to discard. Weak suits should be protected, as they are in Whist when opposed to strong hands.
If an adversary has the first lead, it is usually best for him to make what winning cards he has at once, unless he is pretty sure that the proposal will be defeated.
It is very seldom right for the adversaries to lead trumps. Some exceptions will naturally present themselves, such as an eldest hand leading to his partner’s turned-up King. In the middle or end game, it may be advantageous to bring down the caller’s trumps together, or to draw two for one.
If an adversary finds himself with a pretty strong hand, he should utterly disregard his partner, and play as false as he can; for if the callers have eight probable tricks between them, it is impossible for the fourth player to have anything, unless there has been some mistake in the call.
_=In General.=_ There are one or two exceptions to the methods of playing sequences at Whist, dependent on the position of the players holding them. For instance: If first or second hand holds any sequence of high cards, he should play the highest if his partner sits next him on the left, and the adversaries are to play after him; otherwise the partner might think the higher cards of the sequence were against the leader. If a caller should hold K Q x second hand, and play the Q as at Whist, his partner following him, and holding Ace, would have to play it, thinking the King might be beyond.
_=SOLO.=_ In speaking of the players in a solo, misère, or abundance, it is usual to distinguish those opposed to the single player by calling them respectively, Left, Right, and Opposite.
This arrangement does not affect the use of the letters A Y B Z, and the terms first, second, third, and fourth hand; indicating the position of the deal, and of the lead.