add another which confirms the rule, that king single ought to be played first; which is, that if the adversary with two diamonds to the queen, and two clubs to the queen in hand, has any hesitation which suit to keep, he will prefer keeping the queen of clubs, which is his suit first attacked, to keeping the queen of diamonds second. Final Example.-Be particular in holding your cards well up, so that none can see them but yourself, for fear of any indiscreet exclamations on the part of the betters,- -as the following coup is not so easy that it can be learnt by every player. The object is to win the point with a hand which would infallibly lose if it were played naturally, that is to say, without finesse. Suppose a heart the trump. The player has the king, ace, and ten of trumps; the king of diamonds; and the king of spades. The dealer has the queen, knave, and seven of trumps; the eight and seven of clubs. The player would feel almost sure of making the vole, if to his king of trumps, with which he ought to open the game, he sees fall the queen; and yet this would cause him to lose the point, if the dealer is sufficiently adroit to throw her away, instead of the seven, on the king; because the player would then continue leading trumps, by playing his ace, and the dealer take it with his knave, and then play his eight of clubs, which the player would rough with his ten of trumps, and play one of his kings,-the dealer would rough this with his seven of trumps, and then pass his second club; the player having no more trumps to rough with, loses the point; whereas had the dealer thrown the seven, instead of the queen of trumps on the king, the player, fearful of meeting the queen and knave of trumps accompanied by clubs, would not have continued lead. ing trumps, but played one of his kings, and would necessarily have won the point. CONCLUSION. It would exceed the limits of this little work to give more examples of hands which are susceptible of finesse; it being essential only to cite a few of the most remarkable, in order to lay down the principles; to establish fixed and complete rules: to indicate the method of playing the cards to advantage; and to give the power, by means of a recognized code, of avoiding, smoothing down, or settling all the discussions which continually arise in society, where this game is undoubtedly very fashionable; disputes having hitherto been generally decided according to the usages of localities; which a traveller would find to vary very much. This is the object we have aimed at; whether successfully, the Reader must decide. RULES FOR CALCULATING BETS ON ANY EVENT. Add together the odds for and against; divide the given sum: or, (as a general example,) say-£1 into as many parts as there are odds, and give to each party as many shares as he has chances. Example.-Odds 5 to 1 against A.-7 to 3 against B.-11 to 4 against C. What are the odds between the field and the favorites?5+1 = 6. Divide £1 by 6; then A.'s value will be one-sixth, or 3s. 4d.-B.'s value three-tenths, or 6s.-and C.'s value four-fifteenths, or 5s. 4d.,-being altogether, 14s. 8d. for the favourites, leaving 5s. 4d. for the field; or, reduced to fractions, 11 to 4 against the field. The odds, A. against B., will be 3s. 4d. to 6s. 18 to 10, or 9 to 3 against A. The same rule can be applied in comparing the value of any of the other odds. The odds may be readily computed by the following rule:-reduce the odds, in each case, to a vulgar fraction; then multiply all the denominators for a common denominator, and each numerator by all the denominators, except its own, for a new numerator. In the last case, A.'s value = one-sixth, B.'s three-tenths, and C.'s four-fifteenths,-giving a new denominator of 900: and A.'s numerator = 150, B.'s = 270, and C.'s = 240; leaving the remainder, or 240, for the field; or, reduced to 30ths, A. 5, B. 9, C. = = 8, and field = 8.-Total 30. = The value which ought to be paid to cancel a bet, where either party has betted too high, is found as follows:-deduct the value which ought to be staked, from the amount actually staked; then divide the surplus stakes by the total odds between the parties, and the party in whose favor the bet stands, will be entitled to receive such a proportion of the surplus as is equal to his odds on the event. Example. I bet 9 to 6 against C., the odds being as above, In this case my opponent ought to stake four-fifteenths, or 5s. 4d., instead of six-fifteenths, or 8s., and, consequently, he stakes 2s. 8d. beyond the correct amount; and the odds in my favor being eleven-fifteenths, I am entitled to that proportion of the 2s. 8d., or surplus amount staked, to cancel the bet. VOCABULARY OF THE PRINCIPAL TERMS USED IN PLAYING ECARTE. [Note. Those marked with an * are words which are commonly used even amongst English at this game; the rest are useful to be acquainted with when playing with foreigners.] Abattre-To lower the cards and show them. *Atout-Trump. Avoir la main-The action of dealing. Battre To shuffle the cards before dealing. Carte doublée } Two cards of the same suit. Carte Gardée Défausser-To refuse a suit. * Donner-To deal. * Ecart-The cards which are thrown aside. Etre à la devine-To be embarrassed which suit to keep. Faire un main-To make a trick. *Forcer-To play a superior card on an inferior. La Belle-The highest card of any suit. *La Vole-To make all the tricks. Le Point One score of the five which compose the Levée-One trick made whilst playing. game. * Proposer-The asking fresh hands, or part of fresh hands. Refaire-To recommence distributing the cards. Renoncer-Not to answer the suit led. * Retourner-When the cards are dealt to turn up the first of the Talon. Sous-forcer-To play a card inferior to what remains of som suit in hand. Talon-What remains of the pack after there has been distributed to each player what he requires. CRIBBAGE. CRIBBAGE is a game played by two persons, with a complete pack of 52 cards. We shall commence by treating of the five-card game, which, besides being the parent stem, affords the greatest scope for the exercise of skill, and is the most generally played. Sixty-one points constitute the game. These points are scored on a Cribbage Board, of which the following is a representation. It has, as will be seen, sixty-one holes, and in these, the points aforesaid, are marked; the whole table being subdivided into compartments of five holes each. The board is placed either across or lengthways, between the players. It is a matter of indifference how the end of the board from which you commence is placed; but you must count from that end which contains the sixty-first, or game hole; beginning at the outside edge, (A or B) and passing along it to the top, then down the inside row to game. To mark the game, each player has two pegs; if the first score be two, stick a peg and leave it in the second hole, and when next it becomes your turn to mark, place the other pcg in the number that gives the points you have to mark, counting from your first peg. When you have to mark a third score, take out the back peg, and reckon from the foremost, which must never be disturbed during the progress of the game, the scores being invariably marked by the hindmost peg of the two. Thus, the foremost peg always keeping its hole, the players can detect the amount that is marked, and check each other's score. To avoid confusion it is usual for the pegs of each party to be of different colours; although the one player never in any way, touches his adversary's half of the board. Before Game Α hole. B stating out of what results the points so scored arise, it is fit to give the relative value of the cards. All the Kings, Queens, Knaves, and Tens, count as ten each; the rest of the cards according to their ordinary value, as sixes for six, eights for eight, and so forth; Aces reckon one only. This means merely their value as cards. The points which count for the game are made by Fifteens, Sequences, Flushes, Pairs, &c. The board being duly prepared, the players cut for the deal, the lowest cribbage card winning the cut. If you play games, you must cut at the termination of each; not so when playing rubbers. The winner of the crib then shuffles the pack, the dealer being entitled to do so the last. How this shall be done, together with all the minutes of proceeding, will be given in the Laws. The first move of account, is the marking of three holes, by the player who loses the deal, as a make-weight for the adversary's advantage. He is entitled, indeed, to mark them at any part of the game. Five cards, in alternate succession, are then dealt with the faces downwards, one at a time; the rest of the pack being then placed faces downwards also on the table. The players then gather up their cards, and each having taken out two, they are placed by themselves on the table, with the faces down. These four cards are what is called the "Crib," which becomes the property of the dealer, under certain conditions. Each player having put out his two crib cards, which of course have not been seen by his adversary, the non-dealer cuts the remainder of the pack, and the dealer turns up the top card of it. These preliminaries thus settled, the game commences by the non-dealer leading, and his adversary playing to him, and announcing the nature of his card. Suppose it a king, he calls "ten," and the dealer replying with an "eight," he, the latter, cries" eighteen," as the amount of the ten and eight. The dealer having thus made eighteen, his opponent plays again, and announces the increased aggregate, and thus the play proceeds till the whole amount reaches exactly thirty-one, or as near it, without exceeding, as can possibly be accomplished by the cards in either hand. He who makes up thirty-one, or, as before said, who comes the nearest to it that the cards permit, scores two, the remaining cards in hand, if any, are thrown up. |