Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1898-12-11

Guit, The Game d ~ oppouttion =
most effectively retarded. even when
the attempt at establishment Is futile.
This theory Is founded upon the arsu-
ment, that II you open suit in which
you are weak, the chances are two in
three that one of your adversaries Is
long in it. and your lead is apt to as
sist in adverse establishment That
any suit, unless headed by high cards
! in sequence, when it makes no differ
ence, is more favorably lead up to
than from, is obvious Tor II not may
at once be made apparent by dealing
a few hands and scrutinizing them),
| consequently, the best opening from a
defensive point of view is from hold
ing which contains the probable. or
certain preponderence Of strength in
| the suit.
Another strong point in favor OF the
long-suit system, is that it affords the
opportunity for opening the hand in
| uniform manner, thus promoting the
mutual understanding between part.
ners, a matter of the greatest import
ance in a game whose cardinal prin-
ciple is cooperation. When the lead
ers hand contains suit combining
both elements Of strength, as two or
| more honors, and four or more cards,
it affords an unQuestionable opening.
When, however, two long suits are
held, each lacking one of the factors
of strength, the matter is one of judy
ment. The preference should usually
be given to the suit of greater length,
but there are exceptions. For example,
holding one suit of six cards, headed
by a 8, and another of four cards with
two honors, the latter would be the
better one to lead from; but with only
one honor in the latter, the choice
should be reversed. The matchmaking
capacity of a suit in which the 3 Is
the highest card is entirely pros
pective, depending upon the promo
ton of the lower cards, and the ability
of your partnership to exhaust trump3,
and secure the lead at later stage or
the game, which might be effected
through the honor in your long suit.
AS to the chances of establishing your
low card suit, if you hold six cards,
it is highly improbable that any other
player will have as many as four, so
that if you can lead three times you
may reasonably expect to remain
with three qong cards in it, when the
balance are played. Whether you Will
make tricks with them or not must de-
pend as has been said, upon the eS-
istence of favorable conditions on the
other side of the table. and the chance
of regaining the lead by means OF
your re-entry card. CA card OF re-
entry is one which presents reason
able prospect OF taking a trick, and so
allowing the holder of 1t to secure
lead after the opening OF the deal, as
an ace, a king, with a guard against
its falling to an ace led; queen with
two others to guard 1t against ace and
king; jack, 10, or lower card Will
sometimes afford re-entry, but depend
ence at the opening of the hand is not
to be placed upon anything lower
than the queen for that purpose, De
cause a. suit seldom lives long enough
for the smaller cards to make).
From the foregoing, we may deduce
general rule. If possible, open from
strong long suit. Failing such
holding, lead a card Of the longest suit
in hand. In other words, having
suit containing two or more honors
and at least four cards, lead it. With
a single honor suit of four cards, and
another of five or more without an
honor, choose the latter. Otherwise,
lead from the longest suit the hand
contains.-Whist Opinion.
FOSTER ON PET CONVENTIONS.
The following from the pen of Mr..
Foster, extrac ed from the N. Y. Sun,
ON Common Sense" leads, gives an in
teresting picture of the way certain
teams guarded their pet system at Bos-
ton last July:
Captain Bouve's team, which won
the Hamilton trophy and the cham
pionship for 1898, and Captain Wards
team, which won the A. w. l.. trophy,
are widely separated In their views and
have adopted totally different systems
of play. Bouve's team do not bother
| themselves much with conventions,
and tepend largely for their success
| upon good, steady whist and accurate
reading of the cards. They use Amer
| lean leads to show number in suits
headed by high-card combinations, ex-
cept in the case OF the jack, which
always denies the ace. They lead the
jack from ]. 10, 8 and others, and the
10 from Q, J, 10, or 10, 8, and others.
| The is lead as a fourth best or as the
| TON IF @ & 7 The g is led az a fourth