Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-09-14
OBSERVATIONS ON WHIST.
A Few Remarks About the Proper hia
agement Of Trumps.

agemeni ot Trumps.
No one can hope Ia become good whist
player who allows himself to be blindly Guid-
ed by the rules without reasoning out their
why and wherefore. No GOOD whist rule was
,Ser in force that there was not good reason
for, and when one rule is substituted for AN
other il is because there is better reason for
the former; but il is important t" know what
the reason is otherwise the result Is a sort ot
parrot whist. | will venture 10 say that
there are "a great many players who know
that it is the rule to play third hand high,
but couldn't give'the reason to save them. II
is perhaps in the management of trumps that
this kind of player is most often AT Il disad-
vantage There is more latitude III playing
trumps than in any other branch of the
game; but when their Use is once understood
it is no more difficult to play them than plain
cards.
The only difference between a trump and
plain card is this: That when yuu have nC
cards o. the suit lei you can trump the trick.
This is the one advantage that a trump has
ovcr plain card But let us consider what
an immense advantage this is. First then,
the aim Of every whist player is to get his
long suit established. or that of his partner,
for it must not be forgotten that the best
whist is always played as if the two hands
yONfS anu your partner - "elt tll'. ~ W
tablish suit is TO hold the command of it.
Sometimes your suit is already established for
you-for instance, where you originally hold
the a, and q. Now, If it were not for the
trump and its peculiar advantage over the
other suits whist playing would be as easy,
to use homely expression as rolling oil
log. But an established suit may be Of no
value whatever il trump is played against
itsin the hands of AN opponent For instance,
You have IA suit of seven originally, ana aiter
the first two rounds You have established IT.
You have five cards of the suit, the rest OF
which have been played.
Now il is obvious that if the trumps were
all out, these five cards (suppoSing that you
have the lead are good for five tricks. But
let Us carry the illustration little further.
Suppose that trumps have gone around thlee
times and that one of your opponents holds
the thirteenth. Suppose that he has the com
/ mand Of "A long plain suit-say the a, X,
q and two or three small ones. Now 1t
| is plain that the whole play hinges on that
| one little trump. You lead from your estab,
( lished suit, your opponent trumps and then
| leads out his suit and makes the game.
Upon rejection it will toe seen why the ruiz
/ for trumps is to lead them when you have five
/ or more There are only two ways in which
trumps can be used, II you have five OF
more and in some cases only four it Is better
to play them and thus exhaust the trumps in
the hands or your opponents. The chances
are reasonably certain that you can do rhi;
in four rounds, and you may do il in three
indeed, if your partner has four trump'
originally you may do IT in two, so that yor
viii hold, after your opponents trumis have
been exhausted, one or two with which You
can often turn the tide OF the game.
This is one way To play trumps. The othel
Is. where You have onay To two nr three N