Wichita eagle., 1889-10-05
OBSERVATIONS ON WHIST.
a Few Remarks About the Proper Nan
agement of Trumps.

agement of TrumPs.
No one can hope to become good whist
player who allows himself to be blndly guild
ed by the rules without reasoning out their
why and wherefore. No good whist rule was
ever in force that there was not good reason
for. and when one rule is substituted for an
other it is because there is better reason for
the former: but it is important to know what
the reason is, otherwise the result is a sort OF
parrot whist | will venture to say that
there are great many players who know
that it is the rule to play third hand high,
but couldn't give the reason to save them 1t
is perhaps in the management of trumps that
this kind of player is most often at disad-
vantage. There is more latitude in playing
trurnps 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 trump and
plain card is this: That when you have no
cards OF the suit led you can trump the trick.
This is the one advantage that trump has
over 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
yours and your partners were one. 10 es-
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 off
| D,,@ cha1 al
value whatever if trump is played against
ittin the hands of an opponent. For instance,
| YOU have suit OF seven originally, and after
the first two rounds you have established it
YOU have five cards of the suit, the rest Of
which have been played.
| Now it 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 trunps have gone around three
| 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, k,
| 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 tnen
| leads out bis suit and makes the game.
Upon reflection it viii be seen why the rule
! for trumps is TO lead them when you have i've
| or more. There are only two ways in which
! trumps can be used. If you have five or
! more (aud in some cases only FOUR it is better
/ to plav them and thus exhaust the trumps IN
the hands or your opponents. The chances
/ are reasonably certain that you can do this
! in four rounds, and you may do 1t IN three;
/ indeed. IL Your partner has four trumps
originally YOU may do it in two, so that you
win hold, after your opponents trumps have
| been exhausted, one or two with which you
CAP often turn the tide of the game.
This is-one way TO play trunps The other
| is, where you have only TO two or three OF
! them. In this case you play a defensive
game. and it remains for you to use them as
best you can by trumping. This Of course,
! can only be done when suit Is led of when
You have no cards. But this is where the
| higher skill of the whist player is shown. For
instance. a has i've trumpS and good plain
suits besides, and his play is TO getthe trumps
out. But there is possibility that his part
per. B. can make his trumps If A leads the
| truups out he OF course exhausts them from
! BIS hand as we'll rs from his opponents, but
! if he can first succeed in playing a suit which
s hasn't got, 5 can thus be enabled 10 make
good hisi few truulps, or one of them, and
| save trick or two Then A can proceed and
/ lead his trumpS This is, however. very deli
cate work, and is only mentioned here TO u
lustrate some of the possibilities Of the game.
1t is frequently done by the best players,
with good effect ToI LANSING.