Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-08-26
THE WHIST TABLE.
WHAT BRIDGE WHIST IS-INTER-
MEDIATE CARD LEADS-EziEIR
LIKELIHOOD To MYSTIFY FART
NER AS WELL AS OPPONENT.

A
swifter than poker. Indeed, it would
seem more to the point to compare
bridge whist to stud poker, which
has heretofore been ranked as the
swiftest gambling game at cards In
stud poker one of the cards of each
hand is exposed and bets are made as
each of the other four cards is dealt.
This gives just enough of the visible
to make all equations of chance and
human nature all the more uncertain,
In bridge whist one of the hands, per-
haps two, are exposed, and the effect
is to complicate straight whist in the
same manner that stud poker compli-
Gates poker.-EXchange
-
Whist players proud of their con-
servatism who turn away from the
lead of an intermediate ca.d little
realize what powerful weapon oil de-
Tense they are relinquishing. So far as
is known no system up to the present
time has been devised where the in
termediate opening may not act as a
sort of boomerang, destroying the
partner instead of the enemy and It
is not the intention of the present
writing to recommend any such dan
ner is told that the eight or nine is
generally led from weakness unless it
may also show one honor in the suit
it stands to reason that such widely
divergent meaning given 10 the same
card cannot fail to be provocative of
much bewilderment. 1t is therefore
not as an initial lead that the inter-
mediate card can be recommended as
strong play, although under GER
tain circumstances it may prove a
powerful trick winner.
All whist players agree that no more
fatal mistakes can be made than the
mystifcation of ones partner Sup
pose, however. that he is not in po-
sition where your showing him any
thing of the contents OF your hand can
suitably benefit either OF you. The en-
envy is at the gun with 4 big trump
hand Your partner has shown general
weakness to such an alarming extent
that you doubt if he will ever be able
to take single trick. Now, any infor-
nation given him under such circum-
stances is not only gossip Of the idlest
sort, but is also calculated to give
yourself into the hands of the enemy.
Therefore, under such conditions and
such conclusions only is it advisable
TO make an interior opening, if you
find yourself in possession OF a suit
adapted to the purpose
a very pretty instance of this sort
came up last winter in one of the
games of the Metropolitan Whist Asso-
citation. East with five trumps and a
good spade suit opened the trump
South, by iudcious false leading. wins
tvia n i- &c
cards, has evidently no suit to make
and can be of little or no help TO her
partner. South has king, jack, nine,
eight, Ave and three Of diamonds. and
on getting in leads the diamond nine.
East thinking all the diamonds are
held by himself and his partner. goes
in with the ace second trick and leads
back the queen, thinking that his part
ner must have the king and jack. This
puts the capture of the whole diamond
suit into the hands of South, who
takes every card in it down to the
trey, gaining four tricks on the deal.
Had South. by the lead of a low card,
declared his strength in diamonds,
East would never have put up the ace
second hand nor have been so foolish
as to go up again with the suit of
apt TO occur toward the end OF the deal.
and if used carefully are likely to yield
immense profits
Possibly no greater number of tricks
is lost than by the drawing of false in
ferences. Especially is his so with
those sitting at second and fourth
hand, for following the first trick of
the deal. situations are constantly
arising which give wide scope 10 a
players ability TO correctly read the
situation. The least embarrassing sit
uation in which the second hand ex-
pert player finds himself is when the
opening is made from suit in which
he holds great strength. the remainder
OF his hand being of little or no value
For instance, the original lead is the
jack of clubs; second hand was the
following holding; Hearts Ctrumps).
jack, eight, three; spades. seven. six.
four; diamonds. ace, five: clubs ace.
King queen seven six. He plays the
queen Of clubs and third and fourth
hand follow with low cards. An expert
PLAYER would not hesitate an instant
before leading the ace of clubs. He may
feel reasonably certain that his ace
will be trumped by the original leader.
but that does not deter him in the
least. If the opener held a singleton
club the chances are two to one tina;
is strong in trumps. and even if ne
be not, If he trumps, the leader is
placed advantageously. Suppose that
the opener trumps the ace of clubs
and leads the king of diamonds. Second
hand has noted the fact that his part
ner passed by the opportunity to
make trump call. and proceeds 10
give the original leader a second op-
portunity to ruff by leading the king
Of clubs. The original leader may ex-
hibit a perfect willingness to use his
trumps in this way. causing great dis
comfture 70 second hand, but toward
the close of the deal the boot may be
found on the other foot If il turns
out that the original fourth hand play
er, holding originally four puny trumps.
should outlast the opener, notwith-
standing the fact that the latter held
f1ve trumps TO the ace. queen. ana.
moreover, when fourth hand is seen
10 bring in several spades, il becomes
a matter OF wonderment as TO what
the opener hoped 10 accomplish by his
short lead, while the wisdom of the
policy adopted by the secondhand
player is at once apparent. Situations
OF this sort require what woud seem
TO De radical treatment, not only by