Be careful how you make the trump when your adversaries have scored three points, and, as a general rule, do not make or order up a trump unless you are elder hand or the dealer's partner.

THE BRIDGE.

If one side has scored four, and the other side only one, such position is known as the "bridge," and the following rule should be observed:

To make the theory perfectly plain, we will suppose A and B to be playing against C and D, the former having scored four, and the latter but one.

{77} C having dealt, B looks at his hand, and finds he has but one or two small trumps; in other words, a light hand. At this stage of the game, it would be his policy to order up the trump, and submit to being euchred, in order to remove the possibility of C or D playing alone; for if they should by good fortune happen to succeed, the score of four would give them the game. If B were to order up the trump, the most that could be done by the adversaries would be to get the euchre, and, that giving but a score of two, the new deal, with its percentage, would in all probability give A and B enough to make their remaining point and go out. If, however, B has enough to prevent a lone hand, he should pa.s.s, and await the result. The Right Bower, or the Left Bower guarded, is sufficient to block a lone hand.

The elder hand is the only one who should order up at the bridge, for if he pa.s.ses, his partner may rest a.s.sured that he holds cards sufficient to prevent the adversaries making a lone hand. If, however, the elder hand pa.s.ses, and his partner is tolerably strong in trumps, the latter may then order up the trump to make a point and go out; for, by the eldest hand pa.s.sing, his partner is informed that he holds one or more commanding trumps, and may therefore safely play for the point and game.

The elder hand should always order up at the bridge when not sure of a trick; the weaker his hand, the greater the necessity for doing so.

PLAYING ALONE.

If your partner announce that he will play alone, you cannot supersede him and play alone yourself, but must place your cards upon the table face {78} downwards, no matter how strong your hand may be.[25] In order to avail yourself of the privilege of playing alone, it is necessary to declare your intention of so doing distinctly, and in plain terms thus, "I play alone"; if you fail to do this, and the adverse side makes a lead, you forfeit all claim to the privilege. You must also make the announcement in good time; if you neglect to do so, and the adverse side make a lead, or if you yourself lead before declaring your intention of playing alone, you lose the right, and your opponents may compel you to play with your partner.

In playing a lone hand, it is a great advantage to have the lead. The next best thing is to have the last play on the first trick. The elder hand or the dealer may, therefore, venture to play alone on a weaker hand than either of the other players.

When your opponent is playing alone, and trumps a suit led by yourself or your partner, take every opportunity to throw away cards of that suit upon his subsequent leads.

When, opposing a lone hand, you find that your partner throws away high cards of any particular suit, you may be sure that he holds high cards in some other suit; you should, therefore, retain to the last your highest card of the suit he throws in preference to any other card, short of an ace.

{79}

DISCARDING.

When the dealer takes up the trumps before the play begins, it is his duty to discard or reject a card from his hand in lieu of the one taken up. We will suppose that the ten of hearts has been turned up, and the dealer holds the king and Right Bower, with the ace and nine of clubs, and king of diamonds. The proper card to reject would be the king of diamonds. There would be no absolute certainty of its taking a trick, for the ace might be held by the opponents; whereas, retaining the ace and nine of clubs, the whole suit of clubs might be exhausted by the ace, and then the nine might be good. If the trump were one of the red suits, and the dealer held three trumps, seven of spades and seven of hearts, it would be better for him to discard the spade than the heart; for, as the dealer's strength is in the red suit, the probabilities are that the other side will be correspondingly weak, and the heart would therefore be better than the spade.

Where you have two of one suit and one of another to discard from, always discard the suit in which you have one only, for then you may have an opportunity to trump.

LEADING.

Where the dealer has been a.s.sisted, it is a common practice to lead through the a.s.sisting hand, and frequently results favourably; for in the event of the dealer having but the one trump turned, a single lead of trumps exhausts his strength, and places him at the mercy of a strong plain suit.

It is not, however, {80} always advisable to lead a trump; for, if the elder hand hold a tenace, his duty is to manoeuvre so as to secure two tricks; but this is an exceptional case. The proper lead must be determined by the quality of the hand, and the purpose to be accomplished. The elder hand, holding two aces and a king, with two small trumps, would, of course, lead trump through the a.s.sisting hand; for the only hope of securing a euchre would be dependent upon the success of the non-trump suits, and they can only be made available after trumps have been exhausted.

Where the dealer takes up the trump voluntarily, the elder hand is, of course, upon the defensive, and to lead a trump under such circ.u.mstances would be disastrous.

Should your partner have turned up the Right Bower, lead a small trump as soon as you can; by so doing you will be sure to weaken your adversary's hand.

When your partner makes the trump, or orders it up, lead him the best trump you hold.

When you hold the commanding cards, they should be led to make the "march"; but if you are only strong enough to secure your point, cards of other suits should be used.

When opposed to a lone hand, always lead the best card you have of another suit, so that the possibility of your partner's retaining a card of the same suit with yourself may be averted. If the card you lead is of an opposite colour from the trump, so much the better; for if a red card should be trump, and an opponent plays alone, the chances are against his holding five red cards. Besides, if the lone player did hold five red cards, it would, in like {81} proportion, reduce the probability of your partner having one of the same suit, and give him an opportunity to weaken the opposing player by trumping.

The exception to the above rule is when you hold two or three cards of a suit, including ace and king, and two small cards in other suits; in this case your best play would be to lead one of the latter, and save your strong suit, for your partner may hold commanding cards in your weak suits, and you thus give him a chance to make a trick with them, and if this does not occur, you have your own strong suit as a reserve, and may secure a trick with it.

When playing to make a lone hand, always lead your commanding trump cards first, reserving your small trumps and other suit for the closing leads.

When you have exhausted your commanding trumps, having secured two tricks, and retaining in your hand a small trump and two cards of another suit, lead the highest of the non-trump suit to make the third trick, then your trump. For instance, suppose that hearts are trumps, and you hold the Right and Left Bowers and ten of trumps, and ace and nine of spades; lead your bowers, then the ace of spades, following with the ten of trumps and nine of spades. The reason for playing thus is obvious. You _may not_ exhaust your adversaries' trumps by the first two leads, and if either of them chanced to retain a trump-card superior to your ten, by leading the latter you would, in all probability, be euchred on a lone hand.

Holding three small trumps and good plain cards, and desiring to euchre your opponents, lead a trump, for when trumps are exhausted you may possibly make your commanding plain suit cards. {82}

When you make the trump next in suit, always lead a trump, unless you hold the tenace of Right Bower and ace, and even then it would be good policy to lead the bower, if you hold strong plain-suit cards.

When you hold two trumps, two plain cards of the same suit, and a single plain card of another suit, lead one of the two plain cards, for you may win a trick by trumping the suit of which you hold none, and then, by leading your second plain card, you may force your opponents to trump, and thus weaken them. With such a hand it would not be good play to lead the single plain card, for you might have the good fortune to throw it away on your partner's trick, and ruff the same suit when led by your opponents.

When your partner has made or adopted the trump, it is bad play to win the lead, unless you possess a hand sufficiently strong to play for a march. If your partner a.s.sist you, and has played a trump, and you have won a trick and the lead, do not lead him a trump unless you hold commanding cards, and are pretty certain of making the odd trick or a march, for your partner may have a.s.sisted on two trumps only, in which case such lead would draw his remaining trump, and, in all probability, prove fatal to his plans.

Having lost the first two tricks and secured the third, if you hold a trump and a plain card, play the former, for, in this position of the game, it is your only chance to make or save a euchre.

There are only two exceptions to this rule, viz. when you have a.s.sisted your partner, or when he has adopted the trump and still retains the trump {83} card in his hand. In the former instance you should lead the plain card, trusting to your partner to trump it; in the latter case you should also lead the plain card, unless your trump is superior to your partner's, and your plain card is an ace or a king, in which case you should play a trump, and trust to the plain card to win the fifth trick.

The reason for this play is manifest. If your opponents hold a better trump than you do, it is impossible to prevent their winning the odd trick, and, therefore, the euchre or point; but if they hold a smaller trump, your lead exhausts it, and you may win the last trick with your plain card.

This position frequently occurs in the game, and we recommend it to the attention of the novice.

CONCLUDING HINTS.

Never lose sight of the state of the game. When the score is four all, adopt or make a trump upon a weak hand.

When the game stands three to three, hesitate before you adopt or make a trump upon a weak hand, for a euchre will put your adversaries out.

When you are one and your opponents have scored four, you may risk trying to make it alone upon a weaker hand than if the score were more favourable to you.

When you are elder hand, and the score stands four for you, and one for your opponents, do not fail to order up the trump, to prevent either of them from going alone. Of course, you need not do this if you hold the Right Bower, or the Left Bower guarded. {84}

When playing second, do not ruff a small card the first time round, but leave it to your partner. Throw away any single card lower than an ace, so that you may afterwards ruff the suit you throw away.

When your partner a.s.sists, and you hold a card next higher than the turn-up card, ruff with it when an opportunity occurs.

When third player, ruff with high or medium trumps, so as to force the high trumps of the dealer.

When your partner leads the ace of a plain suit, and you have none, do not trump it; but if you have a single card, throw it away upon it.

When second hand, if compelled to follow suit, head the trick if possible.

When you cannot follow suit or trump, throw away your weakest card.

PROGRESSIVE EUCHRE.

This is a version of the game suitable for mixed gatherings. The party play in fours, each pair of partners consisting of a lady and a gentleman. The first table is known as the "head table," and the last as the "b.o.o.by"

table, those between being "second," "third," and so on. The head table is furnished with a bell, and the host provides a supply of cardboard or paper stars in three colours, say gold, red, and green.

Two packs of cards of different patterns are taken, and a sequence from ace upwards, equal to the number of tables, is selected from the club and spade suits of each. These are shuffled, face {85} downwards. The ladies draw from the one pack, the gentlemen from the other. The lady and gentleman whose cards correspond play together, and the number of pips gives the table at which they are to play.

The bell being struck, play begins, and continues till one pair of partners at the head table has made five points, when the bell is again sounded. All play then ceases, but the scores already made stand, and decide the result of the games.

The winners at the head table each receive a gold star, and keep their seats for the next game. The losers are transferred to the b.o.o.by table, and the winners at the second table take their places; being in turn replaced by the winners at the third table, and so on. The losers at all but the head table keep their places, but exchange partners with the newcomers at the table. The winners at the inferior tables receive each a red star, and the _losers_ at the b.o.o.by table a green star.