Hoyle's Games Modernized

NAPOLEON.

There are two or three versions of Napoleon, or "Nap." We will begin with

The Orthodox Game.

The old game of Napoleon consists simply of five cards being dealt out singly and in order to each of the party, and then the players declaring in their turn how many tricks they think they can make. The eldest hand—that is, the player to the dealer's left—has the first call, and every one after him can declare by increasing his call, up to the limit, "Nap," which is a declaration to take all the five tricks. Whoever makes the highest call has all the other players pitted against him, and leads out—that is to say, he puts a card face upwards on the table in front of him, the playing of that card determining the trump suit, as whatever suit is first led by the caller is trumps by virtue of the lead. The players then follow in order, it being imperative to follow suit if possible, but, except for this, any card may be played. There is no rule as to heading a trick or playing a trump after a trick, or indeed any restriction whatever beyond following the led suit if you can, under penalty of a revoke for trumping or discarding when holding a card of the suit called for. The highest card of the led suit takes the first trick, and the winner leads a card to the second trick, the cards played not being packed or gathered together, but being left face upwards in front of their owners. The winning card is alone turned down. The winner of the second trick leads to the third, and so on, the declaration succeeding or failing according as the caller makes or fails to make the number of tricks that he declared. It matters nothing whether he makes two or even three tricks more than he declared to make; he is only paid for the number that he originally announced, and even if he does not take a trick, he simply pays for the number he called.

It is a level-money transaction all round; that is to say, if a man calls three at "penny Nap," he receives 3d. from every other player if he makes the three tricks, and pays 3d. to every other player if he does not make three tricks. But if he calls Napoleon (five tricks) he receives 10d. if he wins, and only pays 5d. if he loses. We may say here that in most places where penny Nap is played, the 10d. and 5d. are raised to 1s. to win and 6d. to lose, on the plea of making it even money. The round being over and the stakes paid, the deal passes in the usual way to the person to the left of the last dealer, and so on.

This is the old simple form of Napoleon, and it is what most people understand by the game. It is without complication of any kind, and the skill it requires is of two sorts—first, to judge the value of a hand with due regard to the number of players and any calls that may have been made previously, and, next, how to play the hand—whether as caller or as one of the combination against the call—to the best advantage.

The Variations.

Here we may first note the call of "Wellington," which is a superior call to Napoleon, inasmuch as it supersedes the latter. As in the Nap call, the player undertakes to make the whole five tricks, but at double the Nap stakes. Thus, if the caller of Nap receives 1s. or pays 6d., on a Wellington he would receive 2s., or pay 1s. Wellington can only be called over Napoleon, that is, it cannot be declared unless "Nap" is declared before it.

Another innovation is an adaptation from Solo Whist, and is called "Misery." It is on the principle of the Misère, when, there being no trumps, the caller has to lose the whole five tricks, while his opponents, of course, endeavour to force him to take a trick. At some tables trumps, determined in the usual way by the initial lead, are recognised; but this feature is quite foreign to the original Misère. If trumps are recognised the caller should invariably lead a single suit—i.e. a suit consisting of one card only. This declaration ranks between the calls of three and four, and is paid for in the same way as a call of three is paid for; that is, at our stakes, to win would be to receive 3d. from each of the other players, and to lose would be to pay 3d. to each.

"Sir Garnet" consists of an excess hand of five cards, dealt in the usual way and left on the table. Until this extra hand is appropriated, each player, when it is his turn to call, has the privilege of taking it up and combining it with his own hand. From the ten cards thus in his possession he must reject five, which he throws away face downwards, and on the remaining five he is bound to declare "Nap." The stakes are the same as on an ordinary Nap call.

In "Peep Nap" one extra card only is dealt, face downwards on the table, and each player, on his turn to call, may at his option have a private peep at the card by paying one penny—or higher, according to the stakes—into the pool. When all the players have called, the superior declaring hand has the privilege, if he has "peeped," of exchanging the table card for one of his own. Nobody but the superior caller can exchange; nor, even if a player calls Nap, can he appropriate the peep card until the following hands have had the option of seeing it as above. In the event of a Nap call, it is as a rule to the advantage of the following players to peep also, as, if the caller uses the peep card, they have thereby a guide as to what suit to save.

"Purchase" or "Écarté" Nap, however, is unquestionably the most interesting form of Napoleon. After the dealer has dealt, and before anybody starts calling, the dealer goes round again in turn, and serves out fresh cards from the pack in exchange for as many cards as the players may wish to throw away from their original hands. For every fresh card so exchanged the player has to pay one penny (or more, according to the stakes) into the pool. He must not exchange cards more than once in each round, but he can then purchase any quantity up to five. The cards thrown away are not shown, nor used again till the next deal. The dealer must sell to each player in turn, and to himself last, after which the calls start from his left in the usual way. In view of the extra number of cards brought into the game, Purchase Nap should be confined to a table of not more than four players, and for the same reason the calls should be made on much stronger hands than at ordinary Nap.

The Pool.

Napoleon is better played without a pool, because then players call the strength of their hands and no more, and are not tempted into extravagance. There is, however, not much practical harm in playing with a small pool or "kitty." The simplest way to make up a pool is for every dealer to put in a penny. If this will not satisfy the players, there are two ways of making a pool mount up more rapidly. They are, that every dealer shall put in 3d. and every player 1d. every time, or that every player of a knave or a five of any other suit than trumps shall contribute 1d. to the pool. The pool remains and accumulates until somebody succeeds in the call of Napoleon—or Wellington, where that higher call is allowed. The player who calls Nap and fails, does not usually have to double or even increase the pool. At some tables, however, the caller of Nap who fails to make it has to pay into the pool the same amount as is already there. This point should be agreed upon before beginning the game. In Peep or Purchase Nap the pools are made by the payments for "peeping" and "purchasing" respectively, and other methods of contributing to the kitty are dispensed with. The successful caller of Napoleon always takes the pool.

The Game Explained for Novices.

Nap is played by any number of persons, from two to six, with a full pack of fifty-two cards, ranking as at Whist, ace highest and deuce lowest. The original deal is determined by turning up a card in front of each of the players, when the lowest turned up indicates the first dealer. The ace is in this case regarded as the lowest card.

When it is ascertained who is to deal, the player on his left shuffles the cards, and the dealer may shuffle them after him if he chooses. They are then cut by the player on the dealer's right, and the dealer distributes them face downwards, one by one, beginning of course to the left.

There is no turn-up, and the undealt cards must be placed in a heap face downwards in the middle of the table, and not touched until the round is over, except at Purchase Nap, when the dealer retains possession of the pack until the purchases have been effected.

Then follows the process of calling, which has been already described.

We have gone upon the principle of calling the stake a penny per trick, but of course it can be sixpence, or any other amount. It may, however, be observed that "Penny Purchase" is really as expensive as threepenny ordinary Nap.

There are some few points to be remembered.

A declaration once made stands, and cannot be recalled.

A player at Purchase Nap, having once bought fresh cards or refused to buy, cannot subsequently amend his decision.

Unless there is an agreement to the contrary, the dealer must, in default of any higher call, make one trick, or pay 1d. each to the other players.

Any one who has trumped a suit, or renounced upon a suit before all the five tricks have been played out, and so made or defeated a declaration, must immediately show his remaining cards to prove that he has not revoked. So stringent is this rule, that if he should refuse to show them, he is held to have revoked, and a revoke entails the following penalties:—

On the revoke being discovered, the cards must be taken up and replayed properly—that is to say, players must follow suit, if they can; and always remember that a revoke is just as much a revoke if you throw away a card of another suit, holding a card of the suit led, as if you trumped under the same circumstances.

The hand having been replayed, the offender pays the stakes for himself and every one of the other players to the caller, if the call succeeds. If the call fails, he pays the stakes to every other player, except the caller.

A revoke proved against the caller himself entails the immediate penalty of the loss of the stakes; that is to say, if a man calls three and revokes, it matters not how many tricks he makes, he must pay (at penny Nap) 3d. to every one of his opponents.

If a card is exposed in the pack or in dealing, or if there is a mis-deal, or if the pack is shown to be faulty, or if the cards are dealt without being cut, there should be a fresh deal by the same player.

Any player can demand a fresh deal if any one of these faults is committed, but the demand must be made before the hands are looked at; otherwise the deal must stand.

After all the calls have been declared, should a player discover that he has too few or too many cards the game must be played out, and if the number in the superior caller's hand be correct he takes the stakes, if he succeeds in making his call good, but neither receives nor pays if he fails. Should the caller, however, hold a wrong number in his hand, he neither receives nor pays if he wins, but pays if he fails. When a Nap is declared, the game must be played out subject to the above rules, whether the other players have their correct number or not; but, failing a Nap call, the cards must be redealt should any irregularity be discovered before all the players have declared.

There is one rule at Napoleon that has fallen into disuse, and that relates to playing out of turn. It is so common for persons to play valueless or losing cards out of turn without remark, that many people forget that the fortunes of a hand may often be influenced by the premature exposure of the winning card or a trump. A person who, out of his turn, plays a card that obviously influences the game should be subjected to the same penalty as if he had revoked.

The Number of Players.

By far the best Nap table is made up of four players, because then dash and prudence must be pretty well equalised to play well. With three players great risks are commonly run, and with six, failures are so frequent that the game often gets tedious through a monotonous series of "two" calls.

There are so many better games for two players that we need say little about what is called Single Nap. It consists of a series of bluffing calls, experience soon teaching that it is safer to call three or four on a weak hand than to allow your adversary to take the lead.

"Three" Nap is very nearly a game of chance. Only fifteen cards, or practically one quarter of the pack, are in play, so that the chances are nearly three to one against any given card being out. Consequently great risks are run, and these risks are for the most part justified. A player should call Nap on any hand of one suit headed by an honour, however small the remaining cards; while he has a tolerable chance of making the same call upon any hand consisting of two suits, if he has four cards of the first suit headed by an honour, and an ace, king, or queen to fill up his hand. Where the hand consists of three or four suits, the cards that are not trumps should be aces or kings to make the call a prudent one.

Reverting to the game as played by four or five players, the novice may be advised to lead trumps against the caller when he only requires one more trick, and, as a general rule, to let trumps alone when the caller has more than one trick to make to establish his declaration.

In conclusion, remember that on an ordinary call your first discard should be from your shortest and weakest suit, and bear the fact in mind as you note the discards of other players. In a Misery, your original discard should be your highest card of your shortest suit—a single card for preference, unless it be a deuce or tray.^[31]

PIQUET.

Piquet is generally regarded as the best of card games for two players.

It is played with a pack of thirty-two cards, which is called a "piquet pack," all below the seven being excluded. The cards rank in Whist order—ace, king, queen, knave, ten, nine, eight, seven.

The score is made partly by combinations of cards held in the hand, and partly by points marked in the course of play.

The Deal.

The two players cut for deal, and in this cutting the ace ranks the highest. The player who cuts the higher card has the choice of first deal. After this the players deal alternately.

It is customary to use two packs of cards, and the first dealer has the choice which pack he will use. Each player has a right to shuffle both his own and the adversary's pack, the dealer shuffling last. After this the pack is "cut to the dealer" by the adversary, as at Whist.

It is customary to call the non-dealer the "elder hand."

The dealer must deal the cards by two at a time or by three at a time, giving the top cards to his adversary, the next to himself, and so on, until each has twelve cards.

The eight cards that remain (called the "stock") are placed face downwards between the players.

There are no trumps in this game.

Discarding and Taking in.

Before anything else is done, each player has a right to reject some of his cards, and take others in their place.

The elder hand begins. He has the privilege of discarding from his hand any number of cards not exceeding five (he must discard at least one), and taking a corresponding number from the top of the stock. If he does not take all his five, he may look at those he leaves, concealing them, however, from the other player.

The dealer may then discard and replace in like manner, taking the cards from the stock in the order in which he finds them. He is bound to discard one, and he may, if he pleases, take all that remain, or any number of them. He may look at any cards of his own portion of the stock he leaves behind; but if he does, the elder hand may demand to see them too, after playing his first card, or naming the suit he intends to play.

Calling.

The hands being thus made up, the elder hand proceeds to declare or "call" the scoring combinations he may hold, in the following manner. There are three things in the hand that may be scored, namely (1) the point; (2) the sequence; (3) the quatorze or trio.

(1) The point is scored by the party who has the most cards of one suit. The elder hand states how many he has. If the dealer has not so many, he says "Good," and the elder hand scores one for each card; if the dealer has more, he says "Not good," and the elder hand, scoring nothing, passes on to the next item. If the dealer happens to have the same number, he says "Equal," and then the elder hand must count and declare the number of the pips—the ace counting eleven, the court cards ten each, and the others what they are. The highest number of pips makes the cards "good," and invalidates those of the other party. If the number of pips are equal, neither scores.

(2) The second item is scored by the party who has the best sequence, that is, the greatest number of consecutive cards, not less than three, of the same suit, or, if an equal number, those of the highest rank. Thus, ten, nine, eight, seven are better than ace, king, queen; but ace, king, queen are better than king, queen, knave; and so on. A sequence of three cards, no matter what, counts three; of four cards, four; beyond this ten are added, so that a sequence of five cards counts fifteen; of six cards, sixteen; and so on. The elder hand declares his best sequence. If the dealer has a better, he says "Not good"; if only inferior ones, he says "Good." In the latter case the holder scores not only for the best sequence, but for every other he holds in his hand; all the opposite party may hold being invalidated. If the best sequences are equal, neither scores.

(3) The third item is called the quatorze, from the fact that four aces, four kings, four queens, four knaves, or four tens in one hand, if "good," score fourteen. Three of either kind (called a trio) score three. In deciding which party is to score, the higher cards are better than the lower, but any four like cards take precedence of the best three. Thus four tens are better than three aces; but three aces are better than three kings, and so on. The elder hand names his best quatorze or trio, to which the dealer says "Good" or "Not good," as the case may be; and, as with the sequence, the one who has the best scores all others he may hold, while those of the opponent are all destroyed.

The point and sequence, when scored by either party, must be shown to the other, if asked for.

The Play.

The items in the elder hand thus being counted, the holder lays down one card, thus beginning the "play." The dealer plays to this; but, immediately before doing so, he calls and counts all he has to score in his hand.

The play, the object of which is to gain tricks, follows the ordinary Whist rule; the second player being obliged to follow suit, if he can, and the best card winning. If he cannot follow suit, he loses the trick, throwing away any card he pleases.

The scoring of the play is peculiar. The first player to every trick counts one for the card he so plays; but if the second player wins the trick, he also counts one. The player who takes the last trick counts an extra one for it.

If either player wins more than six tricks, he scores ten "for the cards," as it is called. If the two players win six tricks each, there is no score "for the cards" on either side.

Example.

What has been above described constitutes the simple or ordinary game. There are some additional scores for extraordinary cases; but before we mention them it will be well to illustrate the foregoing directions by an example of an imaginary hand, which will show that although the description may appear complicated, the practice is very easy.

A and B play at Piquet, B being the dealer, and A the elder hand. B deals out the following cards:

After the deal the stock contains cards in the following order:

A has a poor hand, and must take all his five cards, in the hope of improving it. He must keep his diamond suit entire; so he discards the nine and seven of spades, the nine and eight of hearts, and the seven of clubs, taking in the five upper cards from the stock.

B's is already a good hand with the quatorze of queens—which he knows must be "good"—a fair chance for the point, and other favourable cards for trick-making. But he discards the ten and eight of spades and the seven of hearts with the hope of improvement, taking in the three remaining cards of the stock.

The two hands are then as follows: A (elder hand) has ace of spades, ace and king of hearts, knave, ten, nine of clubs, and ace, knave, ten, nine, eight, seven of diamonds. B (dealer) has king, queen, knave of spades; queen, knave, ten of hearts; ace, king, queen, eight of clubs, and king and queen of diamonds.

The following conversation may be supposed to take place:

A: My point is 6.

B: Good.

A (shows his diamonds, or says,—in diamonds; and then adds): My best sequence in the quint to the knave of diamonds.

B: Good.

A: I have also a tierce to another knave (shows knave, ten, nine of clubs, or says,—in clubs).

A: And I have three aces.

B: Not good.

A: Then I score 6 for the point, 15 for the quint sequence, and 3 for the tierce, making 24.

He then plays ace of diamonds, and says: 25.

B: I score 14 for four queens, and 3 for three kings—total 17.

B (plays queen of diamonds, and repeats): 17.

A (plays seven of diamonds): 26.

B (taking it with king): 18.

B (leads ace of clubs): 19.

A (follows with knave): 26.

B (plays king of clubs): 20.

A (ten of clubs): 26.

B (queen of clubs): 21.

A (nine of clubs): 26.

B (eight of clubs): 22.

A (throws away king of hearts): 26.

B (leads king of spades): 23.

A (takes it with ace): 27.

A (now leads knave of diamonds): 28.

B (anything): 23.

A (ten of diamonds): 29.

B (anything): 23.

A (nine of diamonds): 30.

B (anything): 23.

A (eight of diamonds): 31.

B (anything): 23.

A (ace of hearts): 32.

B (his last card): 23.

A: Then I score 1 for the last trick—33, and 10 for the cards;^[32] that makes me in all 43.

B: And I score 23.

A note is made of these numbers, and the next deal is proceeded with. We shall hereafter explain how the final score is made up from the results obtained in the successive hands; but before doing this it will be well to complete the description of the scoring elements.

Piquet is remarkable for containing certain extraordinary chances, some of them of great scoring value. These are four in number, namely, the Carte Blanche, the Repique, the Pique, and the Capot.

Carte Blanche.

If the hand originally dealt to either player contains neither a king, a queen, nor a knave (no picture card, in fact, whence the name), it entitles the holder to score ten.

As soon as the player is aware that he has this, he is bound to inform his adversary; and after the adversary has discarded, he is bound to show his carte blanche by counting the cards, one by one, on the table.

The score for a carte blanche takes precedence of all other scores.

Repique.

When either player can score thirty or more by the contents of his hand alone, before his adversary can score anything, he gets what is called a repique, which enables him to add sixty to his score.

Thus, if the elder hand finds himself with, say—

such a combination will enable him (if the dealer does not hold carte blanche) to score ninety-four.

Pique.

When the elder hand counts something less than thirty in hand, but can make it up to thirty by play before his adversary counts one, he adds thirty on this account to his score. This is a pique. It is obvious that a pique can never be gained by the dealer, as his adversary always counts one for the first card he plays.

Capot.

If either of the players gain all the tricks, he scores forty for them, instead of ten for the majority. This is called a capot.

Pique, repique, and capot are not unfrequent; but the occurrence of carte blanche is exceedingly rare, occurring only about once in nine hundred deals.

As an example of how these extraordinary chances tell, suppose that the elder hand, after discarding, should find himself with four major tierces in his hand, the dealer having only three cards of each suit, including at least one knave, so as to prevent a carte blanche; the elder hand would then score as follows:

When it is considered that in some hands the score may be nothing, and that it may vary in all degrees between these, the variety obtainable will be strikingly evident.

The Final Score.

It is necessary now to explain what is done with the scores made in the successive hands, and how the final adjustment is effected.

According to the original mode of playing, the game consisted of 100 points; indeed, in early times the name Cent (corrupted into Sant or Saunt) appears to have been applied to it. Hoyle adhered to this, but at some later period the 100 was altered to 101. This was also the ordinary way of playing the game in France, and has been generally adhered to in England until the last few years. According to this, the score of each hand is registered, either by writing it down, or by some kind of marking contrivance, and the whole added up until the 100 limit is reached by one of the parties. The game may extend over several hands, or it may, by the aid of the extraordinary scores, be completed in one.

It will, however, often happen that both parties may arrive simultaneously near the 100 score, and it then becomes necessary to register carefully and in proper order the scores made at the different stages of the hand by the two parties respectively. The laws prescribe that the scores, whether obtained by the elder hand or by the dealer, shall be reckoned in the following order of precedence—viz.:

Applying, therefore, the scores made by either player under each of these heads, in the order named, the one who first reaches 100 will have won the game.

This simple game of 100 may suffice for domestic amusement; but a few years ago an alteration was made in the practice of the clubs, by the introduction of what is called the Rubicon Game, which is as follows:

There is no definite number of points constituting a game, but the players play six deals, forming what is called a "partie." The scores made by each player in each deal are registered on a card, and at the end of the partie they are added together. The partie is won by the player who has made the highest aggregate score. The winner then deducts his adversary's score from his own, and 100 is added to the difference, which makes the number of points won.

Thus, suppose A has scored in the six deals 120 points, and B 102, A wins 120 - 102 + 100 = 118 points, for which he has to be paid.

But there is another condition, namely, the establishment of 100 as a "Rubicon." The law says that, if the loser fail to reach this amount, the winner reverses the rule, and instead of deducting the loser's score adds it to his own.

Thus, if A has scored 120, and B only 98, A wins 120 + 98 + 100 = 318, although the loser is only four short of his former score.

This mode of scoring has now superseded, at the clubs, the original 100 game. It certainly adds a new feature to the play; for if a player finds, towards the end of the partie, that he is not likely to reach the Rubicon, it is his interest to score as few points as possible, instead of trying to win.

Application of Skill.

The skill required in Piquet applies to the rejection of cards from the original hand, and to the subsequent play, both of which offer excellent scope for intelligence and judgment. It would be impossible, in the short space at our disposal, to enter into all the complicated considerations which influence this matter. These, therefore, must be studied in larger works on the game.^[33] The essay by Hoyle, printed in the modern editions of his "Games," contains much useful instruction, though not very clearly conveyed. The following are some hints taken from it:

In discarding, it is a great object to retain such cards as will be likely to favour your winning "the cards," i.e. making the majority of tricks, which will generally make a difference of twenty-two or twenty-three points to the score. Do not, therefore, throw out good trick-making cards for the hope of getting high counting sequences or quatorzes, the odds for which are considerably against you.

The next attention should be to your "point," which will induce you to keep in that suit of which you have the most cards, or that which is your strongest. Gaining the point generally makes ten difference in the score. Good authorities attach even more importance to the point than to the cards, because it scores earlier, and may save a pique or a repique.

Of course, you would retain a good sequence—good, that is, either in respect to length or to rank of cards. A sequence of four is especially valuable, because, if you happen to take in one card in addition to it, it may add ten to your score. And even a sequence of three is not to be despised, as that also invites useful increase from the take-in.

Of course, also, you would keep any quatorze if you have it, even if low, as it would destroy three aces in the adversary's hand.

A trio should also be kept, if it can be done without detriment to the cards or the point, as there is always a possibility of converting it into a quatorze. (If you take in five cards, it is only three to one against your doing so, i.e. you would probably succeed once in four times.)

But Hoyle gives a case to show caution in this respect. Suppose you have ace, king, queen, and seven of hearts, and two other queens, and that it was a question whether you should discard one of your queens or the seven of hearts. If you discard the latter, it is three to one against your getting the queen quatorze; but if you discard the queen, it is five to two that you will take in another heart, which would probably give you not only the point, but also five certain tricks towards the "cards."

Suppose you, being elder hand, receive queen, ten, nine, eight, and seven of clubs, knave, ten of diamonds; king, queen and knave of hearts; ace and nine of spades, the natural impulse would be to retain the clubs intact for the point and sequence, and discard from the other suits. But Hoyle recommends you to discard all the clubs. It is true that if you took in the knave of clubs it would be a good thing, but it is three to one against it, whereas, if you keep the other suits intact, you will take in something that will give you a better chance of scoring than you could have made by the other course.

It may assist your discard to consider, by inference from your own hand, what the adversary can or cannot possibly hold. For example, if you are very short of a suit, he may have a long point or sequence in it. If you have any honour or ten, he cannot hold a quatorze of that rank, but if you are short of one, he may do so; also your holding a knave or ten, or some other combinations, will prevent him from holding a quint in that suit, and so on.

Beware how you unguard kings and queens. If, being elder hand, you reject a guard to a king, it is probable that in taking five cards you may replace it; but when you are younger hand, it is highly desirable to retain the guard, and for this purpose it is considered further advisable to keep a small card of a bad suit, that it may serve as a guard for a king if you should take one in.

In some positions you must regulate your discard according to the score. Thus, if you only want a few points, it would be foolish to lay out with a view to any large object; you would devote all your attention to what counts first, namely, the point and sequences; success in which might carry you out before your opponent could get in. On the other hand, if your adversary is much in advance of you, you can probably only retrieve your fortune by a large score, and you would discard with this view. To consider the "cards," unless with a view to a capot, would be useless.

It is considered desirable for you, if elder hand, to take all five of your cards, unless you have a chance of a great score, and there can be no repique against you. The consideration is not only whether the cards will benefit you, but also whether, if you leave them, they may not much more benefit your adversary.

If the younger hand should have dealt to him a hand which will enable him to make six tricks, Hoyle advises that he should not make such a discard as will incur the risk of losing the "cards," unless he should be very backward, and have a scheme for a great game.

In regard to the play of the hand, it is difficult to lay down rules, but an acquaintance with Whist play will be a very useful general guide to the student, showing him how to establish and bring in his suits, how to get tenaces led up to, how to preserve guard to second-best cards, and so on.

The most essential thing is to secure the seventh trick, which scores the "cards"; though, of course, every trick made is of importance to your score, the last counting two.

But the most important point in play is to discover and to take due advantage of the contents of the adversary's hand. The compulsory calling and showing of the various scoring elements give certain positive indications; but many others may be obtained by a skilful player, by inference from his own hand, and from the cards he may see of the stock, and these indications may often be used to considerable advantage.

For this reason, there is an antagonistic exercise of skill in concealing the contents of your hand from your adversary, in order to prevent his drawing correct inferences. For example, a clever player will sometimes refrain from claiming scoring-elements which he may hold, when he thinks that by concealing them he may gain greater advantage in the play. This is called "sinking."

With a bad hand great care is often necessary, by guarding second-best cards, or otherwise, to gain a single trick and so save the capot, which makes such a large score.

A more powerful aid to skill, both in discarding and playing, is to be found in the study of the laws of probabilities, which are peculiarly applicable at Piquet. Lengthy and elaborate statements of the chances will be found in "Cavendish" and in the earlier editions of "Hoyle"; and are well worth the attention of those who care to study the game fully.^[34]

POKER.

There are several varieties of Poker, distinguished by the names of "Straight," "Draw," "Stud," and "Whiskey" Poker respectively. These, again, are played in different ways, varying with the locality, scarcely any two States of America, the home of the game, being fully agreed as to its correct form. So fully is this divergence recognised, that even in America a company, sitting down to play Poker together for the first time, usually begin by discussing how the game shall be played in respect of the various points of difference. We shall endeavour to give a clear idea of what (if any) may be called the standard games, with a few of the more important variations.

The most popular variety is Draw Poker, though the full name is rarely used, the single word "Poker" being usually understood to indicate the "Draw" game.

Draw Poker is played with the full pack of fifty-two cards. There is no set limit to the number of players, but five make the best game and six should be the maximum. As each player holds five cards at the outset, and has the right, if he so pleases, to "draw" five more, it is obvious that if even six players exercised their right to the full extent, the pack would not suffice to supply their demands. As they never do fully exercise it, with six players there is a sufficient margin; but with seven the margin is inconveniently small.

The stakes are represented by counters, known in America as "chips." We will suppose that these are equivalent to pence. A certain amount, say twelve counters, is fixed upon as the limit of the stake. As will be seen hereafter, such limit is rather imaginary than real, applying merely to the successive stages by which the ultimate total is reached, the latter being (unless, by agreement, a limit is placed on this also) an unknown quantity.

The dealer having been selected, and the pack shuffled and cut, he proceeds to deal round, one at a time, five cards to each player. First, however, the elder hand, at this game known as the "Age," before seeing his cards, starts the pool with a preliminary stake known as the "ante."^[35] This must not exceed one-half the limit. Thus, in the case supposed of the limit being twelve counters, the Age has the option of putting up any number from one to six, as he pleases. This stake, from the fact that it is made without seeing the cards, is known as a "blind."