Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1899-01-15

teams. The methods of the Bostonians
and the Jerseymen were quite similar
except that the former showed a some
what greater inclination toward short
suit leads, and that they also used the
Street attachment" a device for in
dicating number in suits opened by the
adyersaries. which the challengerS did
not believe in.
AS the attachment" partially in
vented and stoutly advocated by Char
les Stuart Street, OF Boston, and prac-
ticed by the national champions, is yet
a novelty, thoroughly understood by few
players, and as its value is a matter
of dispute, while even its legitimacy
as whist convention is questioned by
some extremists, SO that it is not I'M
likely to become bone of contention
among the experts and the authOri-
ties.
The attachment" is based on the
signal the play of an I'M
necessarily high card followed by a
lower one of the same suit, which in
its simplest form was originally de-
vised and is now universally familiar
as the call for trumps."
. 1hEEI AI1ACtiLNE EN- L la
planned.
Such was the signal in its original
shape, but in the course of years it has
been experimentally used for various
purposes other than the trump call
Most of these usages are purely con-
ventiOnal and arbitrary. The Street
attachment is one OF them. 1t is en-
ployed only in suits opened by the adj
versaries. In a suit led by partner the
suit has the time honored meaning of
the trump call. In an adyersary's suit
it means one of two things-either the
signalling player has no more of the
suit after the two cards used in sig
mailing, or else he holds the master card
of the suit after the second round Put
in another way, it says, Il can win the
third round of this suit either by ruff
fng or with the master card" For eX-
ample, suppose the adversaries STAT off
with the king and ace of a suit and
your partner drops the trey and then
the deuce You know he is cut or has
the queen.
With exactly three Indifferent cards
in a plain suit Street attaches" by
playing first the middle card, then the
highest and then the lowest, thus sig
mailing and showing OUT on the third
round, but this variation is not used if
the highest card of the three is a jack
or better-that is, an honor-and it is
not used in trumps at all. If the three
card suit is trumps or is headed by an
honor, it is played lowest first and
then straight up, except in the case of
showing command on the third round,
provided, of course, no attempt is
made to win the trick. When the
three card attachment" is used, it is
frequently possible after the second
round to locate the third card and
read the signal.
With four or more cards in plain
suit, no attempt being made TO win
the trick, the cards are played lowest
first and then up, except in the case
where command on the third round is
shown.
In trumps, however, the first card
played is the third best, no matter how
many more than two the player holds.
1t can easily be seen that these de-
vices are immensely informatOry to
the adversares as well as to the part
ner. To whom do they yield the
greater advantage? That is the ques
ton.
If player having only two small
cards OF a suit plays them up and re-
on the third round, he gives
indications Of trump strength or says,
Il don't want to be forced"-that is,
he is not bound to show out if he
doesn't care to. And in fact, the "at-
tachment' is often played irregularly
as a species of false carding Used in
this way it is dangerous, however, to
partner, like all deceptive play.
II n !IONrTTT n