The sun., 1919-09-21
Cooling Of the Waters Makes Black Up Sooppy Fights Adirondack Deer
By r. F. FOSTER.

A CORRESPONDENT In Indian
~ apolis writes to ask THE SUN
what Is considered the most
common fault among beginners in play
ing the hands, not from the view of the
deeper strategy of planning out the at
tack, but from the point Of simple ig-
norance of correct principles.
An answer to this with which most
persons would probably agree would re-
quire the elimination Of all such general
plays as leading trumps at the right
time or from the right hand, playing for
the right suit, &C., and would require
us to get down to some specific play,
like the old question of putting on n
king second hand from king and one at
whist, which kept writer's busy for years
After looking over all the trick losers
to which beginners are prone, the palm
would probably be awarded to the habit
of leading queens to aces, under the
impression that this Is making a finesse,
instead of which 1t Is throwing queens
away for nothing at all.
At least 95 per cent. of the people
who play auction persist in this lead
day after day and week after week,
with the same disregard OF consequences
that golf players display as a class in
refusing to keep their heads down.
About the first thing that a beginner
learns about the strategy OF the play is
the advantage OF the flnesee, and the
| first finesse that he masters is leading
small card from one hand to the ace
queen in the other, and playing the
queen third hand. This is called the
ace queen finesse. AS he improves he
learns to add the theory of the ace Jack
| ten finesse, but he never seems to learn
| how 20 reverse them when the high
| cards are not in the same hand.
Holding ace queen in one hand. small
cards in the other, the hope is that
the king is on the right of the ace,
and that II 1t is not played second hand,
the queen will win the trick This 1t
will do about half the time, so the
combination is rated as worth trick
and half, on the average
The mistake made by the beginner
lies in supposing that It is equally an
| even chance to make trick with the
queen by leading 1t TO the ace, when
| the two cards are not in the same
hand. But this is not an ace queen
fnesse. 1t is simply throwing the queen
away.
The correct way to play this COM
bination is to reverse the hoped for
position of the king, because II the
king Is on the right of the ace the queen
! cannot be made to take trick by
! tNhg ~ VI pay II gOu nave 10
lead the suit Whereas II the king is
on the left of the ace. the queen is
good IL the lead Is made from the ace
to the queen, instead of frSm the queen
| to the ace.
This shows us that II the suit must
| be led and it is possible to lead it from
either hand, the best lead is the small
card from the ace hand to the queen
hand. II the suit is long between the
two hands. the ace might be led first
on the long chance OF dropping the
king or at least preventing its being
held up until the third round
A player who thoroughly understands
the possibilities of this position may
take advantage of it in a way to Sc
| cure several tricks besides the queen
itself. Here is n deal that went the
rounds of a compass game last winter
in which only two very good players
got the game, and they both got 1t by
their knowledge of how to play di-
vided ace and queen