The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-12-05
%AROUNDTHE UNSTABLE.
TEE sHORT-sUIr GAME, AND THE
COMMON sENsR SYSTEM.

nav the sh.rt-s,it Game Began, ana uovv II
Is P~isyea-Anniysis er Two a~ystsu,s, ne
Shown ~ Fsnr G~anes-Notcs.
This IL about the time of year that whist
PLAYERS settle down 20 business and begin seri-
GUS training for tho big tournaments. The
OPENING weeks Of The season aro usually spent
IN exporimentine with different partners, try
ING various team combinations, and discussing
"systemA" It Is also the timo that brings to
THE SUN a number Of inquiries "a to tho latest
deyelopments In the short.suit game, and TO
quests for a brief description of the common
sense system which has been found tho best up
to date.
This IN n hard question TO answer. because
thcsrame n stil In an experimental stage, and
few Of the leading players are agreed upon Its
details, although they are rapidly approaching
ono another in essentials. In spite OF all
claims to the contrary, 1t must be admitted.
rs one writer says, that while radical short
suitism is adopted by very few Of the experts.
conservative short-suitism IL no longer an cS-
pertinent, since 1t is accepted and practiced by
q largo proportion Of our strongest players"
This agrees pretty closely with the statement
made ut Albany by one Of tho most prominent
officers In the league, who said that the result OF
his observations had been to convince him that
thoro were to-day only two great classes Of
whist players. those who mixed in a little short
suits and admitted 1t, and those who dallied
with them and denied II.
" the many short-suit ideas which have been
brought forward during the past two years
there seem to DO at least three or four which
have come to stay. These may DO briefly out
lined as follows: Leading tho top Of a suit
In which there Is no honor. Leading q low
card in u plain suit TO show general strength
and IN pncourapa mariner tn Dlav N forward
game, especially In leading trumps. Leading
weak trumps from hands which are above the
average In plain suits, especially II one suit Ia
practically established, and is accompanied by
q card Of re-entry in another suit. Tho return
to the old idea Of playing weak two-card suits
down, to show no more instead Of to call for
trumps. This was tho common practice up to
1885. and is mentioned In the older textbooks,
see C@lebs, page 20. 1t was Bentinck who pro-
posed to change the meaning Of this play to
calling for q trump lead instead of asking for q
force. but modern players are awaking to the
fact that, while the trump signal Is now rarely
used, playing suits up or down may DO prac-
ticed in every suit on every deal.
The idea OF showing general strength by the
lead Of q low card in a plain suit originated
with the old Manhattan team, and it was UNI
doubleday the great factor in their pheno nenal
success. So evident were the advantages Of
the system that HAWKING used to laugh at the
blindness Of the experts. and wondered how
long it would be before they would wake up
and sec 1t. Well, they are fully alive to it now.
When this idea is adopted the minor details
Of the system must be a matter Of agreement
between tho partners. Some players use any
card below the eight as an indication of gen.
eral strength. while others stop at the four or
Ave. Howell seems to think he invented this
system of encouragement, but the only thing
new in his system was using the @. z, and 8 as
an invitation to be forced in that suit. THE
SUN has in its possession letters written q year
before Howell's book was published, asking just
how far down 1t was safe to go for q card which
would be recognized as not led from o strong
suit. The general idea in those days was to
stop ct the eight for the top Of nothing. any.
thing above q seven being rotten" This was
the Manhattan idea, although Hawkins thought
even then that it would be safe to go lower
down. Recent experiments have led some
teams to 60 down to the Ave.
The Pyramid Club Of Boston, which Is gen.
orally conceded to be the strongest coterie of
players in New England. lead tho q. 9. or 4 OF a
plain suit to encourage the partner to play a
forward game. and the 5, @. 2, and 9 as the top
Of nothing or Intermediates. They lead the
Q, ]. 10. and 8 as supporting cards, and run
with kings and aces only when they have no
re.entry cards or trump strength. Tho Boston
Herald describes the Pyramid Club as com.
posed of q few experts who were drawn to.
getner by q common desire to get away from the
dreary routine Of the long-suit opening and to
make the small cards mean something more than
"the dealer gave me Ave Of these ~spotlets. -
Such things as fourth-bests and American
leads are memories with such players.
The New Jersey players. who seem strong
enough to beat the best men from both New
strength Of Philadelphia, Baltimore and Wash.
ington to q tie, go as high as the six in leading
from q plain suit 10 show general strength.
They use the Q. j, 10 as supporting cards and
long, but not accompanied by re-entry cards OF
trump strength.
THIS system of leading interior cards from
unsupported long suits is the distinguishing
and that outlined by Street. Howell's idea was
to use the 9, z, and 6 as leads from short suits.
preferably singletons, to invite a force. Street
uses the same cards as interior leads from long
suits, inviting partner TO play for the suit IL he
is strong enough, but warning him that the
original leader has neither trump strength nor
re-entry- cards. The different meanings to be
attached to the same cards in two different
systems sometimes lead to curious develop.
ments. Here Is q hand, sent to The Sun from
Boston. in which an eight is led at one table OF
the Howell system, and an eight at the Other
table ON the Street system. each from q diff
ferent suit. Of course.
A-B are partners against ". z dealt
and turned the heart ace. The underlined card
wins the trick and the card under it is tho next
one led. The frat play given Is the Howell
opening, 1t being understood that the adyer
saries are aware of the meaning Of the lead, o.
course.