Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-12-11
A NEW GAME OF WHIST.
Contributions OF 4 Chicago PIayer-A Duplicate
System Explained.
Chicago Globe.

| SuiGdSO Ni4OCC.
To the Editor:
l have read, with great pleasure and
profit, the articles by DR.. n. i'll several
of your Sunday issues, and beg leave to
! submit to him, and to all readers of the
Globe interested i'll whist, the duplicate
system of playing the game, which was
suggested to me by the following article
| from London Field, the first of last
winter:
y match at whist was played at Glas-
cow between teams of the Carlton and
Wanderers clubs April lG, when new
system of duplicate play, the invention
of Mr.. James Allison, was tested.
The cards at the commencement of each
hand were dealt in the usual manner but
in the course of play they are not formed
into tricks. Each player keeps his thir-
teen cards before him till the finish of
the hand, and after playing to each trick
he places his card either lOngwise or
shortwise, to show by which side the
trick has been won. This arrange
ment prevails at two tables,
the hands being > simultaneously
played. The hands as soon as
finished are gathered by each player, and
placed, backs up, on the table, the
dealer leaving the trump card face up on
the top of his packet. The players then
change tables and replay the hand, the
players being reversed. A deal was only
necessary every two handsd and but lit
tie more time, after some practice, was
taken than in playing one hand in the
usual way.
The secretary of the Blythswood club
and the president of the St. Georges and
Carlton nppSDnt and SnH a
high opinion of the ''Alison' system as
a great saving of time, and also as tend
ing to eliminate luck, and had no doubt
it would be adopted as the system on
which the proposed interclub tournament
i'll Glasgow would be carried out next
season.
Having shown this article to seven of
my friends, we formed club and pro-
ceeded to carry out the plan as indicated,
but found that the reserying back of the
card by each player made Il very awk-
ward game, and there was more or less
dispute at the end of hand as to how
many tricks each side had taken. Be-
sides, the cards not falling in the center
of the table was found to seriously inter-
fere with the melnorising of cards that
had fallen. Another objection TO the
game was developed, which was more
serious, as it proved that 4 player
had to suffer for mistakes other
than his own or his partner 5.
For instance: A play D, and A
make the odd trick. This hand is played
of at the other table, and F. F by a mis-
take on the part of q Fl take nine tricks,
or two more than A made. j and G.
d lose and gain, respectively, whereas if
the hand had been played properly at the
other table the score would have been
even.
To obviate these defects, and after one
or two abOrtive attempts, it was decided
that the only true way to play the dupli-
cate game was that the hands should not
be played at the other table, but at the
same table and by the opposite
players, and that long enough time
should be allowed to elapse be-
tween the first playing and the
second to render it unlikely that anyone
could remember the hand he originally
played. To enable the redistribution of
the hands, and to allow of the forming
the cards into tricks as in the ordinary
game, we got up 4 score card, on which
each player could register his hand be-
fore playing it; and when the time came
for playing the duplicates, the score
cards were exchanged between the tables 4
~ ID anu - - tHC IOF
e F and G H, and vice versa. After the
duplicate hands have all been played,
the total score deducted from thirteen
times the number of hands, or thirteen
times the number of hands deducted from
the total score, gives the gain or loss to
the player, the score being reckoned by
tricks instead of points.
In playing the duplicate game player
can keep the same partner whole even
ing; or he can change partners with every
deal, making progressive or competitive
match game. In the latter event,
schedule of players and positions is neces-
sary, and l append copy of the one
which we found to be fairest to all
players, by which it will be seen that
for every time man plays with another
he plays twice against him, and by Civ
ing the first deal to No. l position, the |
second deal to No. 2 position. the third |
to No. 3, and the fourth to No. |
4, the fifth to No. again. |
and so on; and at the other |
table, the first deal to No 8, the second |
to No. 6, etc.. it will be found that the |
deals and leads are about equally dis |
tributed.
OF course, with the aid of the register
ing score card the Allison duplicate game |
can be PLAYED with greater freedom than