Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-02-24
EITHER SHORT OR LONG.
The Method of Play Gaining Fave
Among Whistera.

B. Lowsley describes In whist" the sys-
| tenn of play that has gained great favor
with those who were formerly strong par
tisans of the short or the long suit game.
| He says:
Cannot the gulf hitherto existing be-
tween long suffers and short suffers be
| thus bridged over. the partisans Of each
system accepting and adopting the general
ship calculated in each instance to secure
| the best trick-winning results?"
The following is the method advocated:
Many short suffers cordially allow that
original long-suit leads are the best with
hands powerful enough to establish and
also to bring in: Also, many long suffers
| admit that hands often occur where the
short-suit lead is the most protective and
| trick winning, as giving the best chances
| to other suits, containing tenaces or with
but one honor therein.
The time has arrived when whist students
should be trained to form a correct judg-
ment of the best capabilities of hands of
both types, and of the most advantageous
and safest way to start operations under
all conditions.
BY the generalship system a player gives
his whole brains to make the most out of
each hand after review of its powers. He
will originally make either the long-suit
lead or the short-suit lead. according to the
forces at his command, and he should be
able confidently to rely any partner of
average ability to clearly understand which
lead he is making and to assist his tactics
accordingly.
Let me just dispel the illusion which ap-
pears to exist in some minds that there is
danger in making short-suit leads, because
partners might mistake them for long-suit
leads With Intelligent players there Is lit
tie chance Of this. The fall OF the cards to
the first trick and the cards held in the
partners hand give prompt proof as to the
nature of the lead.
The cards used most frequently for short
suit leads are the j., the 10 and the 8, these
being supporting cards, but yet Of no value
10 tho m uha ia 10
If, on looking at hand. you decide that
your general strength and re-entry power
afford prospect OF bringing in your long
plain suit, you start trump lead when
strong enough in trumps to warrant this;
but when not quite sure of your ground it
is discreet to effect establishment Of your
long plain suit in the first instance. You
must carefully balance the chances of be-
ing ruffed before you can draw trumps.
against the chances of drawing trumps
without being able to reserve sufficient
strength for subsequent establishment and
bringing in.
The iong-sult lead from but one honor
often gives most unsatisfactory results, be-
cause if your partner should happen to be
weak in support your honor is marked and
your suit is fully exposed to attack
Thus 1t is that where the lead-off is dan
gerous Instantaneous for a long-suit
game the short-suit lead is often protective
and comparatively safe; if, a Singleton
or once guarded, you lead out j.. or TO-
or s. your partner passes and suffers no
harm, and your own hand is not damaged
you have certainly declared that you are
not averse to making a ruff of this suit
but it does not, therefore. follow that you
are weak either in trumps or in other suits.
and an adversary who might rashly rush
to trump drawing because of your manifest
short-suit lead would soon find pitfalls in
his path.
l have not proposed any changes of cards
to be led from various combina tions as
noted In text books, but have strongly adj
vocated that there shall no longer remain
any barrier of system between a long-suit
and short-suit lead-off originally. but that
each and either shall be adopted in accord
ance with the conditions of the hand.
Having submitted the considerations
which should regulate the iead-off I will
now treat of the reciprocity which should
be afforded by the partner.
Should low card be led and third hand
having but one high card, not higher than
the queen, win the trick he should no
account return the lead unless he has but
that card remaining and wants prompt
ly to be put on rufting. The reason is OBJ
yious: having won with queen or lower
card his return of a small card would either
extract the ace from his partner and so
cause him to lose command, it would
kill his king should he have led from that
card.
This brings US to consideration of the
question of prosecuting establishment of
suit. The dictum Don't try to establish
two suits" has been extensively misinter-
preted.
When you open your own long suit. after.
as third-hand player winning on your part
HcF original lcdQ, you are Dut
to him the question of choice of suits for
proposed establishment The initial lead
from each of your two hands is but a re-
ciprocal tentative step for combined
game. The value of the card originally led
from each hand and of the cards played
will go far to indicate which suit shall
promptly be worked out to establishment.
1t may be noted that with the short-suit
lead the establishment of a long suit in the
hand is advanced by that suit being opened
by adversary, whereas hadAshe suit been
led from it would probably have been killed.
Whichever lead you adopt you must start
with the correct card; and when following
suit you must only act "possum" when the
aid you could receive from your partner
by playing straight is of less consideration
than the punishment that informatory play
| would enable Your adversaries to execute
upon your combined game.
/ venture to hope that what I have sub
mitted may tend equally to upset universal
usage for all hands alike of the long-suit
opening or of the short-suit opening. and
to promote acceptance of ID system OF fiex-
Utility begotten of perceptive consideration
of the best chances of each hand individual
ly.
DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS.