Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1899-02-05
WHIST
Quilted Up. and "Blow Up Which-A Per.
ncious Habit The Lead of Fourth Best
Howelrs ExpIanation-A Slaughtered Hand.
inforoeyina NofoS

nicous Habit The Lead of Fourth Best.
Howelrs Explanation Slaughtered Hand.
interesting Notes.
"PUFFED UP" AND BLOW UPp-
WHICH?
Mrs. Majortennis-I had a most de-
lightful game of duplicate whist last
evening My partner said so many
nice things about my play-in fact, he
puffed me up awfully.
Mrs. Fourchette-I wish l could say
as much for my partner. He was con-
stantly blowing me up because OF my
mistakes. Indeed, l got so Hurried l
forgot what was trumps several
times.
Moral-It is better to puff up" than
to blow up your partner.
A PERNICIOUS HABIT.
Why do many players, the instant
the original leader places his card up
on the table, seize the card they intend
to play before the hand next on the
right has played his card? 1t is a
great mistake, for it is often the cause
of a loss of a trick. For instance,
North leads, East follows with a low
card, South (third hand) holds the jack
and king of the suit. Ordinarily he
would play his king, but seeing that
West Fourth hand) has already select
ed the card he intends to play, resolves
to finesse the jack, as fourth had has
but the one card to play, and in all
probability it is of lower denomination
than the jack, or if higher it is prob
ably the ace; at all events he has made
up his mind to play a certain card ir-
respective of what third hand may
play. How much better it would be if
the player kept his fingers away from
the cards and with his eyes on the
table, patiently awaited his turn to
play. Then his right hand opponent
could draw no positive inference as to
what cards were on his left. This per-
nicious habit results from impulsive-
ness, mostly, and sometimes from
thoughtlessness, and is more frequent
among lady minister's than among the
gentlemen. The writer has a lady in
his minds eye who does it regularly,
and when he happens to sit on her
right he invariably makes finesse, if
he holds the necessary cards, and the
finesse four times out of five is success
full. If the aforesaid player had not
clutched her card Immediately first
hand played the writer would not have
thought of risking the fnesse. A lit
tie effort will break one of. the habit,
and to that extent will strengthen the
confidence of first hand in the skill of
his partner.
THE LEAD OF FOURTH BEST.
An inquirer, signing himself GA
Whist Tyro," wants to know of what
particular value it is to play the
fourth best of a suit and when it ought
to be played. The play of the fourth
best is made nearly always on the first
lead from a hand, that is, when the
player does not hold any of the high
card combinations, a list of which
was published in the Register on Jan
uary Sth last. 1t is most frequently
practiced in small card openings, and
is considered generally the best method
of play in the opening of a hand,
The following explanations from the
pen of E. c. Howell, upon the advan-
tage of opening a hand from fourth
best is apropos to the inquiry of "A
Whist Tyro:"
At first it was only the small cards
of the suit opened to which players
paid attention-thati is, by missing and
accounting for smaller cards than the
one led they laboriously calculated the
number of cards in the suit. 1t dawned
upon the experts soon, however, that
the lead of the fourth best frequently
gave speedy clew to the higher cards
in the leaders hand, and that this was
consideration more important than
the mere number Of suit For exam
pie, suppose you have the ace, queen
jack and 10 of a suit of which your
partner leads the Z; then, knowing thai
the Z is the fourth best, and consider
ing your own hand you can tell at a
glance that the three cards higher than
the which your partner holds must be
the s, 9 and king. You draw the same
inference if you hold ace, queen and
jack, partner leads the Z, and one OF
the adversaries drops the 10. 1t is
seldom that you can thus tell exactly
from the first round of the suit what
the leaders holding is, but you can
always find out something about it.
Suppose you hold ace, queen and small
ones, partner leads the Z, one adver-
sary drops the jack and the other plays
low.l Now, partner may hold above the
Z. king, 10, 8: king. 10. 8; king. 8. s.