The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-11-15
AROUND THE WHIST TABLE.
THE HAMILrONS NV THE HAMTL-
TOY n n LIE a UE IROpHIES.

lHI NanmG WIN tHc NAFtnEhntet SIuu-
Importance OF Team Play-Ansiy.is OF
the Gnme-A Probiem - Club Notes.
The dream OF many q mans college life is to
win u double first; the goal of many an athletes
career Is to be champion OF two countries, and
the top OF many n whist players ambition Is to
be on II team that can win both tao Hamilton
and A.. w. l.. trophies.
Messrs. Work. Remak, Ballard, and Mogridge
are the FIRST to achieve that honor, and the Ham
iiton Whist Club of west Philadelphia may we'll
be proud OF its team. They went to Providence,
X. l., on the 7th and lined up against the regu-
lar Narragansett Whist Club team-Wight-
man, Feeiy, Newhali, and Falkenburgh-
holders Of the challenge trophy. The rivals
had n wholesome respect for each other,
and their mental condition was hopeful
rather than confident. Caution marked the play
NIL through the first half. the thought con-
tinually in the mind Of one team being, I'VE
are up against the champs" and In the mind
of the other, "These fellows beat New York
and Brooklyn" The play was very good on
both sides, and there was q good deal Of ner-
vous strain at the end OF each four hands until
the score was announced. hamilton had three
tricks the best Of II at the end of eight hands,
but In the next sixteen Narragansett won three
singles and a double, losing two singles only,
and playing nine consecutive hands without u
loss. This made the first half n tie, and made
hopefulness on both sides q still more prominent
feature than confidence. The strain began TO
tell In the second half. and the old-timers had n
little the best of the luck. Narregansett falling
back. and then making some wild shots to get
1evel. finally leaving the Hamiltons this winners
of the match by nineteen tricks, twenty-eight
to nine being the final score.
Although there may not seem to be much con-
nectiun between the two events, the victory of
the Hamiltons and the defeat of the New Works
two weeks before, both teach the same lesson
n lesson which should be taken to heart by every
individual player In the lea%gue-and that is the
value OF team work and Of submerGing ones
own opinions for the sake OF harmony and sue
cessfui cooperation. In 1923 Milton Work
was very much opposed to American leads, pre-
ferring the old style. which do not show
number. So confident was he that he was
right in claiming American leads TO be
trick losers that he arranged a match
against those members of mis- own team
that did not agree with him. and defeated
them by thirteen tricks. In spite of this, for
the sake of harmony and effective team work,
he afterwsrd agreed to adopt American leads
when playing on the team. Again. in 1894. he
had a theory of showing trump strength in the
leaders hand by VARYING the leads from high
card combinations, and thought it more i'm
portant than showing either number or COM
mand. That opinion he still holds and advo-
Gates. but for the sake of harmony he does not
ask the team to play it. and does not play 1t
himself when on the team. simply because
they do not feel the same confidence in
it. These are only two instances Of
several that might be given with regard to this
team, but they are sufficient to point the moral.
which Is that II n player and writer OF Milton
Works reputation can afford to sink his most
cherished opin ons and theories for the sake OF
securing good team work, those whose ideas ara
known to no one bnt themselves and their im.
mediate friends can surely much better afford
to drop any individual crotchets. and play the
game that is the lest for the team as q whole.
The whole strength OF the hamilton team
lies in the fact that they pull together. and that
they can be depended on to keep the same
stroke in rough water or smooth. Whether
thev win or lose. there is very little difference
in their game. An individual player may have
an off Gay or may drop a few tricks. but the
team as a team never goes to pieces, and the
players do not lose confidence in une another or
fail to judge rightly the meaning of one
another's plays, nor do they get to "yawping."
This is the great weak ness OF many otherwise
strong teams. Some good judges think the
New York players stronger than the Hamiltons
individually: stronger perhaps than a y team
in this country; but they don't pull together
equally well on all occasions. There are times
when they are simply invincibie, rs in the first
EnuIlu Tor the n. w. l.. trophy AZ the Skin con-
Gress, when they lost only two tricks among
twenty four OF the best teams in the world.
There are other times waen they play like
children. and seem utterly unable to get In
touch with one another. This is the result
of want OF practice. want of :eam work.
and failure to get together and agree
which of several conflicting ideas shall be
adopted. and which shall be dropped for the
benefit of the team in its team work. One
player will not trump a trick Just because he
holds four tru:nps, while another insists that IL
he does not want to lead trumps. he is going to
take tricks with them Whenever he gets a
chance. whether he has four trumps or one.
One player thinks the discard should always be
directive. while another attaches no Importance
TO it. One uses the sig ual in the discard sim ply
10 Indicate strength in the suit. so that his
partner may know what to lead when he gets
into u tight place; while another considers such
q signal as Il command to partner to drop his
game and lead tn. indicated suit.
many Of our best cams. Members OF "A team
should ir't hgre" upon II system, and then they
harmony. individual differences of opinion be.
ing sunk for the benefit OF the majority. The
result will be good team work. such n> is shown
BY the Hamiitons IN all their matches. 1t Is
foliy Tor any team to mink they can win and
unless they play together as a unit; for no mat
ter how strong they may be individ uaIly. their
s snd e much is " MrsKer us stsoke th sSa pu ca, , e :. ,Ts
water at once and pulls all the way through.
will win AGAINST them four times ont of five.
The New York players have given US SOM of
the most brilliant hands ever played at the
whist table, and they have also shown us some
@. the most extraordinary examples of mi-un-
derstandings. They may play through a match
without once striking q snag. and again they
may run foul Of one in almost every hand. That.
Of I'll the q ~@ich b" Between EN- New YORK SE"fRs U and de N !rS"a.
gnns"tt- want Of team work ard practice. The
hrst hand publ he'd to-day is a most instructive
example. and shows how differently two very
good players may regard the same situation. 1t
was deal ~. Alb are partners against w. u
deaf and turned tine heart \. The underlined
card win; he trick and the card under it is the
next one led.