The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-02-09
w win the odd trick

w win the odd trick
II the student will lay out these cards he
will see that no matter how A leads, or what
he leads, or when, the dealer must make the
odd trick, provided he forces A and does not
lead trumps himself. II does not matter
how often z Is forced so that he II careful
to force A in return, which must always
leave.H with the long trump 10 bring in the
diamonds.
As the story is told, the hand was dealt
In the ordinary way with the cards that
were In play for some time previously and
the winners of the rubber took their money
This may be all true, but as the Scotchman
said. ITS an awful lee-like story,
For the past thirty years gamblers have
been in the habit of setting up whist hand
as a trap for the unwary which consisted
Of the six highest hearts, trumps. in the
leaders hand, with the four highest clubs
and the three highest spades, but no dia-
monds. In the days CT straight whist, the
turned trump was a small heart and the
dealer got UP from the table TO look for a
match, while the leader looked over his
hand.
A proposition 10 bet on the odd trick usu-
ally caught the leader mapping. Sometimes
he said he could not bet. as he had looked
at his hand, w~horeupon the dealer also
looked at his and then said he was still open
10 bet. II always turned out that the dealer
had the seven small trumps and all the high
diamonds.
This little piece OF card sharping is de-
cribed In several books. The position IN
also given, with the same suit, hearts for
trumps. and the same long diamond suit in
the dealers hand, on page 70 Of whist d
Trois," which was the only text book on
dummy until books devoted exclusively
70 bridge appeared on the market.
In whist h Trois,' the hand IL gwen
as an example Of the importance Of forcing
instead Of leading trumps. II the exact
duplicate Of this hand, with the exception
OF two diamonds. minor ~tenace. which
could be led through and killed, was dealt
by accident In An ordinary game In Phila-
delphia, that town IL not so slow a. IL looks
and we must DO ready TO believ all the
Duke Of Cumberland hands hat come up
in the course Of an ordinary game.
II Is quite possible that the next time a
New Yorker goes TO Philadelphia he will
pick up a hand With the cards all arranged
Tor the Vienna coup, not even the suits
being changed. In the hand given the
fnesse In diamonds Is suficien, evidence
that the dealer knew who're the king lay.
Referring 10 the remarks on going over
hearts just to get a heart led, which were
made in last weeks article in THE SuS q
correspondent calls attention to the fact
that there are many hands in which points
may be saved by getting a heart led, II
the third hand he's several tricks In that
suit. even IL he has not enough 10 make
the odd trick.
1t is not at all uncommo for a player
TO throw away a whole suit when playing
against a ~no-trumper, just because that
suit Is mover led, the dealer and The other
player occupying the whole field OF battle
with the three other suits.
There are countless hands in which the
third hand would like to get a certain suit
led originally, but there is no way in which
he can signify that wish unless the suit
Is a heart and he Is playing In a club that
adopts the convention OF leading a heart
TO a go-over by third hand. In Europe,
where they lead the weakest suit TO a go
over. the third hand may take chances
that his partner will guess right and he
will go over just TO get in and make what
he can.
Here Is the example sent by THE SrS's
correspondent. The dealer passes at The
score Of love-all aud the dummy makes it
no trump. Here is the play: