Evening star., 1909-02-28
WH|STERS STRIVE
FOR TOO MUCH
Points Lost by Players in At
tempting to Make Phe-
nomenaI Gains.

One of the most frequent sources of loss
at the whist table is the attempt to get
too much out OF the cards. Nor is such
striving to perform impossibilities by any
means confined to ignorant players. Those
who are we'll grounded IN the theory of
the game and are fairly expert i'll its prac
tce often fail to recognize the fact that
in the majority of hands the only thing to
do Is to take the tricks that come natur-
ally their way and let the other fellows
have those to which they are just as clear
~ entitled These players are forever striv-
ing to bring off some brilliant coup that is
not in the cards. They never seem to re-
member few plain facts. viz: that there
are only 13 cards in a suit and Il tricks to
be taken in DEAL that it is useless to
attempt to bring in suit against pro-
pOnderating adverse trump strength,
that a finesse which win but one
trick. while II may lose two or three.
should never he taken: that false-cardins
is a two-edged weapon; that Cross-ruf
may be carried beyond the point of safety
when one adversary is enabled to take dis
cards in an unopened suit: that winners
in opponents suits may be husbanded
too long; and host of other things,
among them the fact that the opportunity
for any kind of a coup does not occur
oftener than once in 800 deals. Apropos
or this subpject, the following remarks
by l.. NJ. Bouve are we'll worth quoting:
1T would prove highly encouraging to
conscientious students of sound whist
ff it were possible for them to witness
many of the plays made by experts. Not
content with demonstrating their abil-
fty TO read the cards and outgeneral
their opponents long chances are taken
and many tricks lost by an apparent
overmastering desire on the part of eX-
tremely skillful players to make phe-
nOmenal gains. Case after might
be cited from national trophy contests
down to the most informal games. where
the defeats sustained could be rightly at
tributed to plays of this nature. On the
other hand. players OF less experience,
who make no pretense to rivalry with
these experts enter club tournaments and
carry off the evenings honors by playing
careful. conservative whist.
''One great advantage of duplicate whist
is that il enables players to study cause
and effect and emphasizes the value of
careful play. Many of the complaints of
lack of success one hears expressed after
evenings game are due to plays
which the players frankly acknowledge
were unsound If mental memoranda were
made of these occurrences. and borne in
mind on future occasions, a repetition of
similar losses might be prevented.
An important principle of the game,
frequently lost sight Of is that which
recognizes the unwisdom of riskinS the
loss of several tricks when the chance is
slight of gaining more than trick.
One of the most common situations Illus
trating this point is that which presents
the choice of forcing opponent or contlnu-
ing trurnpS. Probably no one play is
Sponsible for greater number of varia-
tions of two, three four tricks to a
deal than is the hastily conceived idea
that it is advisable to attempt to take
every remaining trick. The one trick
which might be lost by conservative play
becomes a mountain In the minds eye.
II is not surprising that opponents fire.
quently take several tricks when the pos
sibility of SO doing seems indeed mole
hill to them"
The advisablity of playing for one
suit at a time is strongly insisted upon
by all modern writer's upon the game. If
your partner has opened a suit before
YOU have had chance to open yours,
II is generally best to develop the one
already started unless yours Is manifest
ly superior. Sometimes players are in
doubt which course to pursue. The stu
dent may find some helpful suggestions
in the following extract from article
by II. f. Otis. the well known New Jer-
Sey player and teacher:
Observe the following simple rule and
1t will greatly aid you in knowing when
to play your partners hand instead of
your own: When you win your partners
lead and are not strong enough in
trumps to lead them ret urn your part
ners suit unless YOU have won 1t with
card low the Jack and have none
higher of that suit in your hand, or when
you have established suit. or one
which can he esta blshed in the first round.
You can see that the first point you
want to weigh is whether your trumps
sufficient in number and quality to
permit You to reasonably suppose you
exhaust the adversaries' trumps-
The next consideration. after you have
decided that YOU cannot lead trumps. is
whether your own plain suit is estab-
lshed. and If not. is it stronger than
your partners. These points all decided
I'm the negative. you would play fool
ishly not TO return your partners suit.
YOU must row play his hand instead
of your own. You say To your partner,
by the return OF his suit: i have not
trump strength enough to lead them for
your suit and my plain suit is not as
easy To establish as yours This is con-
siderable informa ton relative To your
hand and is more general in describing
your hand than If you follow the rule to
always open from your longest and strong
est plain suit. The advice here given
relative to not showing your suit is ap
plicable only when you have not led and
your partner has opened suit. IT has
10 hearing upon the position OF original
leader II partner wins your return.
and has not trump strength. his play is
To continue the play of the suit, you
have no more and may have returned
for a ruff. The return. or play of the
third round. requires partner to read
that the five remaining cards not
held by YOU and him
The following deal is one o. the most
curious which ever came under the writer 8
observation. Perhaps the most singular
thing about II is the fact that the 0risi-
nal leader. with five trumps to the king
Jack never took trick in the trump
suit In this respect it is somewhat
analogous To the famous Duke OF Cum
berlandS' hand. wherein the trumpS are
similarly led away from the minor tenace
The play follows, having turned
the six of clubs:
Trick q n