The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-10-24
NEW RULE DECISION
AT ROYAL AUCTION
Settled Code Of Laws In De-
mand to Cure Irregularities
in Duplicate Game.
SOME COMMON ERRORS

by h committee on laws which Ia in
teresting as showing the strictness with
which 1t Is necessary to stick to the text
Of those laws. and to decide according
to them and not to be led astray by ones
opinion OF an individual case. The point
In this:
A. X. X and Y have been playing auc-
ton together during the evening. II
being Understood by all Of them that A
mad to stop at a certain hour TO catch
n train. About forty minutes prior TO
the time A has to leave a rubber was
started. A and n being partners against
y and Y. When the time comes for A
to leave neither side has won a game,
but A and Il have an advantage over y
and Y OF some 1900 points In the honor
column.
The question Is t1) whether the rub
Der should be declared or. A and ID
losing. the benefit Of the 1900 points in
the honor column t2) whether tho
score should he added up IN provided In
rule II. oS (3) whether the rubber
should be finished at some future date.
The decision OF the committee. which
they have been good enough TO send to
THE SuN FOR publication. In as follows /:
IF the rubber started with the agree
ment that the play should terminate "a:
" Nv hObA INV - StIobIo NliDlN, u MN
reads When the play II started with
the agreement that the play shall terni-
nate n. e., no new deal shall COM
mence) at n specified time, and the rub
her is unfinished at that hour. the score
is made up as II stands. 125 being
added to the winners of a game. A deal
II started must be finished.
"lf this law does not apply. we do
not know of any other that governs the
question As to whether or not the rub
Der ould be finished at some other
time, but the committee has never heard
or n case N which. under such circum-
stances. players who were requested to
finish. declined 10 do go.
Yours very truly.
&C. A.. HgNRIouEs,
Secretary OF the committee
In other words there Is no authority
for declaring the rubber of, which an
swers question No. 1. There In no law
to compel 4 TO finish The rubber ut some
future time. that being n matter for
PERSONAL agreement. which answer
question No. 3. 10 the score Of the rub
Der must Ina made up as 1t stands. A
and 4 getting the full benefit Of the
! 900 points they are ahead.
Now that the duplicate auction season
- toVuN " 'lVb tltIt VIII We u uel1dru
for some settled code Of laws to At that
form OF game and 10 provide for the
many irregularities that continually
arise. in spite Of the best management.
one OF thc most common Is sending
trays 10 another table with the wrong
number Of cards in the pockets. There
should be "A penalty for those who sent
the tray and another for those who pick
" and sort n hand OF more or less than
thirteen. just az there Is for picking up
a foul hand at poker. What this PEN
atty should be, 10 make II at the crime,
l. not easy TO say.
The duplicate game IL supposed TO he
the great eliininator of luck. and its
results Ia show conclus.vel who are the
best players. This may lie true over a
long series OF games. in which aver
ages will tell; but there will always he
the factor OF fea The timid players.
when opposed "a those who have the
Of being wonders. never play
up TO form, and often give away oppor-
tunities In the bidding and tricks In the
play that they would never miss in n
game with their equals.
Any person who will take the trouble
to examine the scores after n duplicate
game Of nine or ten tables cannot fail
TO remark the swings as they used TO
'til lil'll W tH' w NIIlSl uhy8. M YER
tain hands. II one has PLAYED those
hands It is often impossible to conceive
how some bids were arrived at and
how some scores were made.
In conjunction with Il. V. Shepard.
the author Of Scientific Auction
IiIidgs." the writer took occasion TO
ana?yze the socres of one of the games
at the Knicksrbocker Whist Club OF
New York. which was played on May
3 OF this year. and 1t % considerable
investigation among the players for sew
eral weeks afierward TO discover Just
what happened at some tables.
Here are four Of these deals. In which
results Were arrived at hat seem i'm
possible. and scores were made that
largely affected the final result. The
first is i good example Of the manner
III which some pairs are presented with
points that are not in the cards.
This Is an element that nothing can
eliminate from the game. II IL impos-
slble To say whether y aud : outplaycd
T. and w in such a manner that the Il
and W pair could not do any better, or
whether T. and w played so badly that
y and 5 had a picnic. Whether the
points ar" gained by good play or
thrown away by bad IL Is not the
province Of duplicate to decide. All
that We get from that form of the game
IL the equalization OF the initial oppor-
tunlty. the thirteen cards. This was
tray No. 9.