Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1900-07-15
Wits
HAMLET's soLIL0QUY AS APPLIED
TO TRUMP LEAD-A COMMON
REASON WHY PLAYERS LOSE
TRICKS-AN ILLUSTRATION OF
CARRYING A CROssRUFF TOO
FAR.

FAR.
From Whist
{Enter Hamlet, holding five trumps and
no particular suit) QIamlet loq)
TO run or not to ruff-that is the question.
Whether 'twere better in your play to
wait for
Your signal answered by stupid part
aner-
or toplay boldly. as I want the lead
And, trtlmping in, secure it. To ruff-to
take;
That's plain: and by the trick to say
We end all danger, and the thousand
chances
The game depends on tits consumma-
ton
Devoutly to be wished. To ruff-to take;
To take; but thereby breaking up
My strong trump hand. Aye, there is the
rub:
For In that suit of trumps I cannot tell
How they may be divided. There's the
respect
That makes embarrassment OF long trump
hands;
For who would see the tricks each pass
ing by
Your own discard-your partners gloomy
frown-
TIL opponent making every cheap finesse,
With joy depicted on his eager face
When you yourself might put an end to 1t
And stop his suit by trumping? Who
would crossruff bear,
To chafe and fume under losing game,
But that the dread of some suit yet I'M
tried.
Whose strength may lie against US, puz-
zles the will,
And makes us rather keep our strength
in trumps
Than ruff and lead them, thereby risk
ing ALL
And thus the modern scientific game
Doth often fail by an excess of caution,
And brilliant trump hands lose their OBJ
ject quite,
And oft are rendered useless.
49,
One of the chief arguments IN favor
of attending whist congresses is the OPP
portunity it gives all interested in the
study of the game to investigate differ
emit methods of treating the same
hands. A common reason why play
ers lose tricks Is from holding up win
ming cards at the END OF the deal. One
of the brightest players at the Detroit
meeting made a score that surprised
herself as greatly as it did the rest of
the whist world, and a looker-on stated
that her invariable low score was
mainly the result of holding up when
1t should have been her policy to lead
out her winners and make them while
there was still time. This error is ex-
plicable from the fact that there is
whist axiom to the effect that the com
mand OF the adversaries' suit should be
held as long as possible. This rule
should, however, be held in allegiance
to counter principle that when the
development of the deal discloses the
fact that either the partner or the adj
versary holds several trumps after the
deal is well advanced there is always
the danger that unless winners are at
once played they will never make at
all.
Unless the master card of the enc
my's suit is needed for purposes of
re-entry 1t is nearly always better to
play 1t on the second round of the suit,
If you have no suit of your own to
make. The principal cases when the
master card can be retained may be
summarized in the following manner:
If you hold four or more trumps or
three to an honor with considerable
strength in plain suits where the first
+ trick of the suit showed that in all
probability your partner would trump
the second round, you may do SO. 1t
often pays when you are very strong
in trumps to hold up the master card
OF the enemy's suit. When you do
this shrewd partner will take the hint
and lead trumps If there is nothing
better in sight. If you are certain that
the suit opened originally on your
right was a bona fide long suit and
your left hand adversary showed such
weakness on the first round that you
are pretty certain that he can win the
second, you may hold up with safety
y you can read that the original third
hand did not finesse deeply, in which
case he might turn out to be stronger
than you think.-N. Y. Evening Post
A cross-ruff is an interesting and
profitable thing while it lasts, and will
sometimes produce more tricks from
pair of hands than any other method
OF treatment; but even such a good
thing may be, and often is. carried
too far, as is we'll illustrated by the
play of the following deal, one of re-
cent trophy match. At one table
South interrupted the cross ruff long
enough to get in two tricks in an un-
opened plain suit, and also bore in
mind the danger of trumping up with
trump SO high that the hand behind
him would be choked off and given a
discard. These were the hands:
North-Spades, @, 5, 3; hearts, A, @
J, s, z; clubs, 10, 8, 7. 4 diamonds. 6.
West-Spades, 8, s, 2: hearts, K, 10;
clubs, @, s. 6, 3, 2; diamonds, ], 4. g
East-Spades, A, 10. 6, 4 hearts, 6
a..