The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-29
WHIST TABLE.
TEE 10000 ExPERIME NTAL DEALS
AND m OBJEOr OF THEM.

LonE Snitism, short surtaus. Conunen sesse.
snd the Pitfalls for slaves or rs steun riHS"
inE-ESasnpie- from Hand, That Have Been
PiHJed sun probierus ANA AnsWers-
Tho interea' n rnE SrH's novel experiment
OF securing 10000 deals at Whit for purposes OF
classification and analysis seems to increase a.
the project becomes more widely known ana ius
Objects moro clearly understood.
Some very interesting letters on the subject
have Icen received suggesting tho questions
that may be settled. Quite a number OF persons
nave been at the palms to send elaborate maine
fua:icaI demonstrations OF the probable distri-
buttons OF tho cards, especially Of tho trump
snit, hnc they seem to think that actual expert
n'enb ID quito supurhuous, as moro reliaoie re-
suits can be arrived at By calculation. IL may
surprise such pei sons to learn that among tnoeo
most iu'crustoG In the experiment being carried
out ~ TIP Sun ate several eminent professors
Of mathematics. some Of whom are assoc,ated
with colleges IN Canada and England. II these
gentlemen could. by calculation. nnu the re-
cults sought for, they would hardly attach 80
much importance to the experiment., and offer
to deal hands for IL.
It. is a comparatively easy matter 10 calculate
tho probable distribution of the trump suit
among four layers, or tho number Of times any
given player will hold q certain number Of
trumps. 1t ia not difficult to figure out the dis
tribution Of tho plain suits. or tho number OF
timos In a thousand that a given player will
hold a certain number OF each. All these things
have been figured out. and tho results are given
In DR.. Poles PHILOSOPHY OF whist" Fosters
"Itoyle," emory Boardman's winning Whist"
and works Of that kind. II there are any anna
tour mathematician who are anxious to amuso
themselves with questions Of this kind. let them
try the following little problem. which 10 about
a hundredth part Of the ono THE Sun is trying
to solve:
How many times In . thousand doals will
tho original leader hold each Of tho following
handsi
-Four trumps; a long suit within one OF being
established; a card OF resntry In ono suit, with
possible reSntry In another.
-Four trumps; a suit within two Of being es.
tablished. a card Of reentry in one suit, but no
possibility IN another"
A long suit Is one of four cards or more. and a
suit within one or two of being established Is
ons that may take one or two loads to clear II,
but that must be established In that time. bar
trumping. A. O.. ]. 10, Q is a suit that is with.
in ono Of being established; while Q, J, 10, O.. s
IL within two of 1t.
Among the remarks made by wellknownp play
es who have sent in their offers to record fifty
hands are tho following:
G. e. R., Springfield, says: what q vas:
amount Of breath and ink has been wasted while
whist lovers hav waited for the really practical
suggestion of THE sun. 1t is the first plan I
have heard Of which promise any results OF
real value w. NJ. B.. Philadelphia, says:
TIL SUNS idea is a splendid one. Success to
you" C. s. j.. North Attleboro. says: ~ think
great COOL should come OF the experiment." w.
b.. New Haven, says: Although the common
sense game has proved with me q constant win
ner, one frequently meets with heavy losses.
Which the analysis you propose may In future
help to avert" c. II. r., Toronto. says:
81 think TIL SUNS s'heme for experimental
Investigation an excellent one, and TO be prop
erly carried out it could not be in better hands.
] shall look for the results with great interest"
w. A. p, Providence. says: II hope you will
have a liberal response TO aid you in carrying
out the experiment proposed. Something Of that
kind Is most emp. atically needed" W. Fl. E.,
Boston. says: What { terrible club THE Sun
will hold over the heads OF future theorists
when 1t gets its test machine Of 10000 deals In
working order! suppose publishers will refuse
any MSS. OF whist books until the authors
views have been officially teated. Imagine
writer's like Pole and Cavendish having Ms. re-
turned to them marked. Your theory OF whist
falls in IS per cent. Of 10. deals. and in our
judgment would not be acceptable to American
readers"
COMMON SENSE.
Howell's definition. Amy old thing for q
at rter." seems to find favor with a good many
Of THE SUNS correspondents. They suggest.
and very properly. that IL a ncrson is prejudiced
in favor OF any particular system OF opening his
hand, such as American leads. trump-showing
leads. Howell openings. or what not, it may be
better TO let him ride the VIII cl he is accustomed
o. simply pointing ont the 500 In the road
where he will save himself from r,k OF damage
by disinounting. In time. they seem TO think,
he Will disniount oftencr. or make longer and
more freq Lent detours, instead Of riding straight
ahead over everything. Just because he thinks
he rides the best wheel eyCT made.
IT," result of such q pros ramme would be that
onc would soon md tn" exceptions TO exceed tine
rules. Harry Low still m irtains that in u-dcr
tn make the most OF your long suits it will bu
found that in the majority OF hands the suit
should not be opened. This is contrary TO the
generally received opinion that 1t is the excep.
tional case that calls for n refusal to open the
6 me mus, nave remarked that the hands are
decidedly In the minority in which the longest
suit Is originally opened, trumps or supporting
cards ,oeinR much more common leads. Tho
that nothing can be made of it unless
tho hand develops more tavorably than the
Lender has any right to expect. Take tho fol.
sivc fours at Put ir.Bay on July 8. The original
leader cannot make anything Of the diamond
suit unless her partner has a hand much bttter
with tho top OF her weakest suit. warning her
Campbell Of New York. and L. T. Baker OF
F f1Ei e 3 d PiaiYtin and ST inrnta the tho h lsdis' . trG@
The underlined card wins the trick, and the card