The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-07-08

AROUND THE WHIST TABLE.
THE GUESS GAZE AND ITS BOON
COAPANION. THE RUsH TO TRUMPs.

CSo1o heODh0 VINO WootQ LA3o 70 hhuy Wuiuu
Without Conventions and the Cause Of
Their Failure Examples Of the Butcher
Game when Partner Has to Guess.
The article published In THE Sun on May 70
seems To have struck a responsive chord In the
hearts OF many who are or have been trying 10
get along without 30 many conventions. judy
Ing from the letters received on the subject,
there must be q good many whist players in this
country who have lost q large proportion OF
their temper and their tricks guessing attrump
situations. Some Of them think that in order
TO put all on the same footing there should be
q rule against any informatory signals. while
others insist that II Is useless to fight against
existing conditions, and that we must all adopt
anything that In q trick winner. not because II
Is fair or honest, but because the only way TO
eQualize matters Is TO assume that two wrongs
make a right, and that II the other fellows have
a system that wins tricks, We must adopt the
same system or get beaten.
The primary use Of all systems In games OF
chance Ia to prevent guessing. Their winning
Il q matter Of opinion. Whether the game Il
faro, rouge ct noir. roulette or whist, the system
Il introduced to keep a player from guessing.
In whist the necessity for avoiding guessing
IL not confined TO the trump situation. because
sometimes the trumps are the only things you
know anything about. and you must guess
among the plain suits
Any person who possesses the ability TO
guess correctly and to hit things about
right without the aid Of any signals or tips
from his partner 10 wasting both his time
and talents at the whist table. because there
are 80 many things in which good guessing can
be put to better use. The man who can guess
as well in Wall Street M some men do In whist
clubs peed not work more than half an hour a
week. and most Of that time would be taken up
In signing checks. When he was tired Of Wall
Street he could 20 to the race track or Monte
Carlo. Any man Who could guess as accurately
At any Of these places as he does Mt tn. whist
table when he pulls OF q top score could make
an INDEPENDENT fortune 10 about the same time
that ittakes to play twenty-four deals In q COM
pas game.
This talent being both rare and valuable.
why should 1t be wastcd7 Tie guess game
is a very hard one to play and there Is no me-
cessity to make your partner guess when you
can save him that trouble. He Is net always
In the vein. There are times when everything
one does Is wrong. no matter how good tho
reasons may be. There are other times when
ypu SVu ~ u JuSt kHN uiIu IL SSOTt iOOks
as II they had given YOU tricks by the dozen.
There are other times when you hit and miss
about alike and come out with the also rams
In the average. There are some gless-game
players In New York who have the reputation
OF being always either top or bottom. but you
will find that they make the average just as
often as other people. The great trouble with
these guess players Is that you cannot depend
- L. NIL Ill A.
nothing to do with the result, for everything
depends on the character Of the hands they
ore to play. II they are easy hands to guess.
they will make a great score; II they are not easy
they will be anywhere from the bottom to the
average. Sometimes IL Is only one player
who does the guessing; sometimes both part
ners take a hand at II, and II they are both In
bad form. the minus that they can make Ia
something wonderful.
While good guessing Is an art hat should
be cultivated on every opportunity, thereis
such a thing as OVERRIDING II and asking your
partner to guess at situations that you might
have made perfectly clear to him. This Is
the one great fault with those who try to play
whist without conventions and II IL the reason
they are 30 often defeated by less able players
who depend on conventions for their guidance.
instead Of on the ability Of the partner as a
suesssr. When You are not going to use any
signals to guide your partner. you must Try
make situations plain to him, or he will surely
look at things very differently from the way
you suppose, no will. Very few players stop
TO thinktof the way a certain line Of play will
look to the partner. Your reasons for the OPEN
ing or the continuation may be perfectly sound,
but will your partner. understand them and
suit his garne TO yours2
As a fair example OF the wav the guess
game goes sometimes. take the following hands,
which were played IN !ops evening AZ the Wis
tors game at the Kut3kerbocker Whist Club
OF hearts and B had 10 do the guessing: