The Arkansaw traveler. (Little Rock, Ark.) 1882-1???, 1885-03-07
REAL AND DOMESTIC WHIST.
[R. A. Proctor, in Longman's.l

secure as many tricks as possible. High
cards tell at whist as at bumblepuppy q
thank thee, Pembridge, for teaching me
that word y Nay, in quite number Of
hands luck tells as much at one game as
at the other, aud il the whist player Is Of
sordid mind, as many are, he rejoices at
dull hands in which he has only had to
play out winning cards as much as the
veriest dHffer Of domestic whist at the way
in which aces and kings take tricks. But
whist is game Of science, a game CALI
ing for the exercise of keen perception,
watchfulness, memory. patience, and
trust in the laws OF probability. II may
sound like exaggeration 10 say that whist
is far better calculated to develop the
mind than many things taught at school,
yet many a man can perceive real gain
to his mental qualities from whist prac.
tice who would find it hard to recognize
any good which he has obtained from
learning how to write Latin verses with
due attention to the niceties of the eesnya
A course Of whist play is capital way of
training the memory, the powers of at
tention, and the temper; but nine boys
out of ten gain nothing from a course Of
practice in determining the greatest COM
mon measures and the least common
multiples of algebraical quantities.
Indeed, many of our best whist players
are complaining that whist is becoming
too full of points requiring to be noticed
and kept ia the memory. A system has
come into existence within the last thirty
or forty years by which player can con-
vey information to his partner in various
ways; and it is urged that instead of
giving their minds to points of whist
strategy, players now have to be con.
stantly looking out for this signal OF that
indication. Many of the old players de-
termine to have nothing to do with all
this signalling, but, alas for them! they
have no choice. 1t is too strong for them.
Though they may never signal them
selves, though they may resolutely de-
cline to respond to any signal made by
their partner, they must notice the signals
alike of their partner and Of the adver-
saries, or all sorts of disasters will hap
pen, for which their partners will properly
hold them responsible. Thus, player
signals for trumps, and presently his
partner responds by leading him
trump. Suppose now one of the other
players has failed to notice the signal.
He falls naturally into the mistake of
surprising that the player who has led
trumps is strong in them, and that the
other adversary is presumably weak.
Under this mistake he presently forces
what he supposes to be the strong trump
hand, but in reality enables the weak
hand to make trumps which would other
wise have fallen idle. Or, on the other
hand, having a chance of forcing the
strong trump hand, the player who has
failed to notice the signal refrains re-
ligiously from doing so, imagining that
he would be helping the enemy instead
of cutting down his trump strength. Un.
der these circumstances, a partner, if of
the reproachful sort, can rebuke much
more effectively than where his own sig
nal has merely been overlooked. To the
reproach, why did you not lead me a
trump when signalled ?" there is always
the ready answer, al saw your signal,
and | declined to respond to it because |
object to the signalling system" But
what answer can be made when your
partner says. My good sir, you played
the enemy's game; there was Y signall-
ing for trumps and you deliberately
forced T. giving him just the trick which
made their game or YOU failed to force
Y, though that was the only way to save
our game? ?" You cannot answer that
you saw the signal, but preferred to sac
ri6ce the game rather than act upon it.
You are obliged to tell the truth land
what could be more painful p that you
had failed to netice the enemy's signal.
Whist---the real game of whist, mean
-'-derives its interest entirely from STRAIT.
egg, by which either tricks are made BY
cards which would not, but for such STRAIT.
egy, have power to take those tricks, or
by which the plans of the adversaries to
achieve such ends are detected and foiled.
Tricks may be made by high cards but
there is no interest in that. Any one
can take trick with the ace of trumps.
Tricks may be made by 6nesse---that is,
by playing instead OF the best card, a
lower card which may or may not take
the trick according as the intermediate
card or cards lie to the right or left. This
is better, but the inesse pure and simple
is matter Of mere chance, and so far as
the actual gain Of trick is concerned
there Is NO more scientific Joy in the sue
cess Of inesse than in the capture of a
trick by high card. There is science in
the 6nesse, but the scientific interest does
not depend on the direct success or fail.
ure of the 6nesse at the moment, but ON
its bearing upon the general play OF the
hand. Again, tricks may be made by
trumping winning cards of plain suits.
There is often good science in bringing
this about properly, not by the coarse
lead of single card or from two. card
suit, but by so arranging matters that
the ruff, when made, shall not impair,
but utilize the trump strength which lies
between you and your partner. Special
pleasure is there in the cross-ruff when
ingeniously secured and properly en-
ployed; still more pleasure in tempting
the enemy to cross-ruff, which, while
not lasting long enough to give them
more than three or four tricks, lust de-
stroys their superior trump strength. But
the great delight Of whist strategy lies in
the maneuvres by which small cards are
made to conquer large ones, as when a
long suit 10 successfully brought in. or