Chapter VII: Part I: General Principles (1)

INTRODUCTORY.

Before entering on an analysis of the general principles of the Game of Whist, it is advisable to explain shortly on what foundation these principles rest; for it might be supposed that a demonstration of the propositions contained in these pages is about to be offered; that the chances for and against all possible systems of play have been calculated; and that the one here upheld can be proved to be certainly right, and all others certainly wrong. Such a view would be altogether erroneous. The problem is far too intricate to admit of being treated with mathematical precision. The conclusion that the chances are in favour of a certain line of play is not arrived at by abstract calculation, but by general reasoning, confirmed by the accumulated experience of practised players. The student must not, therefore, expect absolute proof. He must frequently be satisfied if the reasons given appear weighty in themselves, and none weightier can be suggested on the other side; and also with the assurance that the method of play recommended in this work is for the most part that which, having stood the test of time, is generally adopted.

THE FIRST HAND OR LEAD.

The considerations that determine the most advantageous card to lead at the commencement of a hand differ from those which regulate the lead at other periods; for, at starting, the Doctrine of Probabilities is the only guide; while, as the hand advances, each player is able, with more or less certainty, to draw inferences as to the position of some of the remaining cards. The number of the inferences, and the certainty with which they can be drawn from the previous play, constantly increase; hence it not unfrequently happens that, towards the termination of a hand, the position of every material card is known.

In treating of the lead, it will be most convenient to begin by examining the principles which govern the original lead. The application of these principles will require to be somewhat modified in the case of trumps, as will appear hereafter.

1. LEAD ORIGINALLY FROM YOUR STRONGEST SUIT.

The first question that arises is, Which is the strongest suit? A suit may be strong in two distinct ways. 1. It may contain more than its proportion of _high_ cards. For example, it may contain two or more honours--one honour in each suit being the average for each hand. 2. It may consist of more than the average _number_ of cards, in which case it is a numerically strong or long suit. Thus a suit of four cards has numerical strength; a suit of five cards great numerical strength. On the other hand a suit of three cards is numerically weak.

In selecting a suit for the lead, numerical strength is the principal point to look to; for it must be borne in mind that aces and kings are not the only cards which make tricks; twos and threes may become quite as valuable when the suit is _established_--_i.e._, when the higher cards of the suit are exhausted. To obtain for your own small cards a value that does not intrinsically belong to them, and to prevent the adversary from obtaining it for his, is evidently an advantage. Both these ends are advanced by choosing for your original lead the suit in which you have the greatest numerical strength; for you may establish a suit of this description, while, owing to your strength, it is precisely the suit which the adversary has the smallest chance of establishing against you. A suit that is numerically weak, though otherwise strong, is far less eligible.

Suppose, for example, you have five cards headed by (say) a ten in one suit, and ace, king, and one other (say the two) in another suit. If you lead from the ace, king, two suit, all your power is exhausted as soon as you have parted with the ace and king, and you have given the holder of numerical strength a capital chance of establishing the suit. It is true that this fortunate person _may_ be your partner; but it is twice as likely that he is your adversary, since you have two adversaries and only one partner. On the other hand, if you lead from the five suit, though your chance of establishing it is slight, you, at all events, avoid assisting your adversary to establish his; the ace and king of your three suit, still remaining in your hand, enable you to prevent the establishment of that suit, and may procure you the lead at an advanced period of the hand. This we shall find as we proceed is a great advantage, especially if, in the course of play, you are left with all the unplayed cards, or _long cards_, of your five suit.

The best suit of all to lead from is, of course, one which combines both elements of strength.

In opening a suit, there is always the danger of finding your partner very weak, or of leading up to a _tenace_ (_i.e._, the best and third best cards, or the second best guarded) in the hand of the fourth player. If you lead from a very strong suit, these dangers are more than compensated for by the advantages just explained; if your best suit is only moderately strong, the lead is not profitable, but rather the reverse. If all your suits are weak, the lead is very disadvantageous. The hand, however weak, must hold one suit of four at least, and this, if only headed by a ten or a nine, should generally be chosen. Being unable to strike the adversary, you take the best chance of not assisting him.

It follows that a suit consisting of a single card is a very disadvantageous one to lead from; yet no lead is more common, even among players of some experience. The reason assigned in favour of this lead is the possibility of making small trumps. But it is important to observe, that you stand very nearly as good a chance of making trumps by waiting for some one else to open the suit. If the suit is opened by the strong hand, your barrenness will not be suspected; you will be able, if necessary, to win the second round, while you will be free from the guilt of having sacrificed any high card your partner may have possessed in the suit, or of having assisted in establishing a suit for the adversary. Again, your partner, if strong in trumps, will very likely draw yours, and then return your lead, imagining you led from strength. If, indeed, he is a shrewd player, he will, after being taken in once or twice, accommodate his game to yours; but he can never be sure of the character of your lead, and may often miss a great game by not being able to depend upon you. If you have great numerical strength in trumps, the evils of a single-card lead are lessened; but in this case, as will hereafter be shown, it is generally right to lead trumps. In the opinion of the author, it may be laid down as an axiom, that in plain suits (_i.e._, in suits not trumps) the original lead of a single card is in no case defensible.

Many players will not lead from a strong suit if headed by a tenace; preferring, for instance, to lead from ten, nine, three, to ace, queen, four, two. They argue, that by holding up the ace, queen suit, they stand a better chance of catching the king. So far they are right; but they purchase this advantage too dearly; for the probable loss from leading the weak suit may be taken as greater than the probable gain from holding up the tenace.

_Which card of the strong suit should be led originally?_--The key to this problem is furnished by the remark, that it conduces to the ultimate establishment of a suit to keep the high or commanding cards of it in the hand that has numerical strength. In the suit of your own choosing, you are presumably stronger than your partner; it is therefore undesirable at once to part with your high cards. Hence it is best, in general, to lead the smallest. Your partner, actuated by a desire to assist in establishing your strong suit, will play his highest card to your lead (_see_ Play of Third Hand, p. 92), and, if he fails to win the trick, will, at all events, force a higher card from the fourth player, and so help to clear the suit for you. Another reason in favour of leading the lowest is, that it increases your chance of making tricks in the first two rounds. For in the first round of a suit the second hand generally puts on his smallest card, as will be seen hereafter. If, therefore, you originally lead the smallest, holding ace and others, the first trick will, in all probability, lie between your partner and the last player; and since there is no reason why the fourth player should hold a better card than the third, it is nearly an even chance that your partner wins the trick. It is certain (bar trumping) that you win the second round; therefore, if the suit is led this way, it is about an even chance that you make the first two tricks. But if you lead out the ace first, it is two to one against your making the second trick, for the adversaries have two hands against your partner's one, and either may hold the king. A third reason for leading the lowest of your suit is, that your partner may prove utterly weak in it; and in this case it is important that you keep a commanding card, to stop the adversary from establishing it.

It follows, when you lead a small card originally, that your partner should conclude you have led from numerical strength.

There are three exceptions to the rule of originally leading the lowest of a strong suit.--1. When you lead from ace with four or more small ones. In this case it is considered best to begin with the ace, lest it should be trumped on the second round. 2. When your suit contains a strong sequence, it is best to lead one of the sequence, in order to prevent the adversaries from winning the first trick with a very small card. 3. When you lead from a suit of more than four cards (not headed by ace and not containing a strong sequence), the fourth-best card is led, for reasons to be afterwards explained. (_See_ Appendix A, pp. 281-6.)

When you intend to lead from a sequence, the card to be selected depends on the nature of the sequence, namely, whether it is a _head_ sequence or an _under_ sequence. By a head sequence is meant a sequence of the highest cards of your suit, _i.e._, of the cards heading your suit; thus, such a suit as queen, knave ten, six, contains a head sequence of queen, knave, ten. Sequences that do not head your suit are under sequences; thus ace, queen, knave, ten, is an example of an under sequence of queen, knave, ten. You should--

2. LEAD THE HIGHEST OF A HEAD SEQUENCE

(_Except as specified in the Analysis of Leads, pp. 64-71_).

For, otherwise, your partner is uncertain where the highest lies, and you and he may play two winning cards where one would have sufficed. For instance, if, with queen, knave, ten, you lead the ten, your partner may put the king on it, but he certainly would not on the queen. In addition to this, if there is any _finessing_ to be done in the suit, it can only be by your partner. By finessing is meant playing an inferior card though holding a higher one of the suit, not in sequence with the card played. Thus, to continue the illustration of the sequence of queen, knave, ten. You lead the queen. Your partner has the ace and others. He will not put it on, but will finesse by playing his smallest card; and if the king lies to your left, that card is completely hemmed in. Had you led the ten, your partner would have put on the ace, and the king have been freed.

On the other hand, if you lead from an under sequence, you should lead the lowest, the reason being that, in this case, you wish your partner to put on his highest card. For example, with king, ten, nine, eight, you should lead the eight and not the ten, as if your partner's highest card is the knave, you wish him to put it on that he may not afterwards block your suit by retaining a commanding card of it. Or, suppose your partner's best card is the queen, the lead of the ten would probably induce him to finesse, and thus give the adversary a chance of making the knave the first round, and of retaining the ace in hand, although you and your partner hold two honours in the suit. If your partner puts on the queen, you are still able to finesse the nine when the suit is returned, and this is much more advantageous than your partner's passing the ten. In the first place, the finesse is postponed to the second round, when, more cards having been played, you have more data to guide you as to the policy of making the finesse; and, in the next place, if you have a choice as to whether you or your partner shall finesse in your strong suit, it is, as a rule, more advantageous for you to do it. For, as already explained, it conduces to the establishment of a suit for the strong hand to retain the command of it, and for the presumably weak hand to play his highest cards.

With sequences neither at the top nor at the bottom of a suit (_intermediate_ sequences), the card to lead is the lowest of the intermediate sequence.

Players who adopt American Leads will, however, select the fourth-best card when leading a low card from suits of more than four cards, whether or not the suit contains an under sequence, or an intermediate sequence (with the sole exception of ten, led from king, knave, ten, and small). Thus, from king, knave, ten, nine, whether accompanied by the eight or by smaller cards, they lead the nine; and so on for other combinations. (_See_ Appendix A, pp. 281-6).

ANALYSIS OF LEADS IN DETAIL.

(_See_ also Appendix A, pp. 281-6, and Appendix C, pp. 289-94.)

[The following analysis should be familiarly known by every player, not only that he himself may follow it, but also that he may form a correct idea of the cards the other players hold, by observing what they lead.]

_Ace, king, queen, knave (in trumps)._

Lead knave, then ace.

With more than four in suit, lead queen after ace.

With only four in suit, lead king after ace.

_Ace, king, queen, knave (in plain suits)._

Lead king, then knave.

With more than four in suit, lead queen after knave.

With only four in suit, lead ace after knave.

_Ace, king, queen, with or without small ones (in trumps)._

Lead queen.

With more than four in suit, lead king after queen.

With only four or three in suit, lead ace after queen.

_Ace, king, queen, with or without small ones (in plain suits)._

Lead king, then queen.

_Ace, king, knave, &c._

Lead king, then ace.

Sometimes it is right, more especially in trumps, to lead king, then to change the suit, and to finesse the knave on the return, particularly if queen is turned up to your right. With more than five trumps it is seldom advisable to wait for the finesse. No positive rule can be laid down, either for trumps or plain suits.

_Ace, king, and small (in trumps)._

Lead king, then ace, if you have at least five small ones. Otherwise, lead a small one (the fourth-best if an American Leader).

_Ace, king, and small (in plain suits)._

Lead king, then ace.

King is led before ace to inform your partner that you hold the winning card of your suit, in case you should think fit to change the suit, or in case the fourth player should have none of it. If your partner has none, he should not trump, for, even if you do not hold the ace, you want the adversary to play it, that he may not retain the winning card of your suit.

When opening a plain suit, headed by ace, king, _after having been forced_ to trump, lead the ace first. If you begin with the king, and your partner happens to have none of the suit, he might trump the king, in order to lead again the suit you have already trumped.

If intermediate cards fall and you remain with the command and the next best, you inform your partner of the fact by continuing with the next best. Thus:--You lead king from ace, king, knave, etc. To the king, your partner drops the queen. You should next lead the knave.

_Ace, queen, knave, ten, with or without others._

Lead ace, then ten, even though one of your others is the nine.

With more than four in suit, lead knave after ten.

With only four in suit, lead queen after ten.

_Ace, queen, knave, and small._

Lead ace.

With more than four in suit, lead knave after ace.

With only four in suit, lead queen after ace.

_Ace, queen, ten, &c. (in trumps)._

If knave is turned up to your right, lead queen.

_Ace and small ones (in trumps)._

Lead ace, if you have seven in suit, and then a small one (the original fourth-best if an American Leader).

Lead a small one (the fourth-best if an American Leader), with less than seven in suit.

Obvious variations, taking into account the trump card, are omitted. It is assumed, _e.g._, that, if your partner has turned up the king, you would lead a small one from ace, queen, knave, &c., or from ace and any number of small cards.

_Ace and small ones (in plain suits)._

Lead ace, with five or more in suit.

Lead a small one after ace (the original fourth-best if an American Leader).

Lead lowest, with only four in suit, the cards being of a lower denomination than in the leads already enumerated.

_King, queen, knave, ten, with or without others._

Lead ten, even though one of your others is the nine.

(_a._) If ten wins the trick:--

With more than five in suit, lead knave after ten.

With five in suit, lead queen after ten.

With only four in suit, lead king after ten.

(_b._) If ten forces ace:--

With more than four in suit, lead knave after ten.

With only four in suit, lead queen after ten.

The common practice is (or was) to lead queen after ten, in all cases, to inform your partner that the lead was from king, queen, knave, ten, and not from king, knave, ten. But, if the ten wins the trick, the mere fact of continuing with a high card informs your partner that the lead was from king, queen, knave, ten; for, with the only other combination from which ten is first led, (viz., king, knave, ten), if the ten wins, the next lead is a small card.

If the ten forces the ace, and your partner can give you credit for not leading a losing card when you hold a winning one, he is informed, by the second lead of any high card but the king, that you led from king, queen, knave, ten. Therefore, queen and knave are high indifferent cards, and you select the knave to show five or more originally; the queen to show four exactly (_see_ Appendix A).

_King, queen, knave, and more than one small._

Lead knave.

With more than five in suit, lead queen after knave.

With only five in suit, lead king after knave.

_King, queen, knave, and one small one._

Lead king, then knave.

If the king wins the first trick it is not safe to go on with a small one, ace being sometimes held up by the adversary, especially in trumps.

_King, queen, and small ones (in trumps.)_

Lead king, if you have seven in suit, or if one of your small ones is the ten.

Lead a small one (the fourth-best if an American Leader), with less than seven trumps, and not holding the ten.

If king is led, and it wins, after king lead a small one (the original fourth-best if an American Leader).

_King, queen, and small ones (in plain suits)._

Lead king.

If the king wins, after king lead a small one (the original fourth-best if an American Leader).

_King, knave, ten, nine, with or without small ones._

Lead nine, even though you also hold the eight.

(_a._) If nine wins the trick:--

With more than four in suit, lead ten after nine.

With only four in suit, lead knave after nine.

(_b._) If nine forces queen, or both queen and ace:--

With more than five in suit, lead ten after nine.

With five in suit, lead knave after nine.

With only four in suit, lead king after nine.

(_c._) If nine forces ace, but not queen, king must be led after nine. Then (third lead),

With more than four in suit originally, lead ten after king.

With only four in suit, lead knave after king.

_King, knave, ten, with one or more small ones._

Lead ten.

If the ten wins the trick, lead a small one after ten (the original fourth-best if an American Leader).

If the ten forces the queen, or both queen and ace:

With more than four in suit lead knave after ten.

With four in suit, lead king after ten.

If the ten forces the ace, and not the queen, king must be led after ten.

_King, knave, nine, &c. (in trumps)._

If ten is turned up to your right, lead knave.

_King and small ones._

From all strong suits headed by king, other than those already enumerated, lead a small one (the fourth-best if an American Leader).

_Queen, knave, ten, nine, with or without others._

Lead queen, then nine, even though one of your others is the eight.

With more than four in suit, lead ten after nine.

With only four in suit, lead knave after nine.

_Queen, knave, ten, and small._

Lead queen.

With more than four in suit, lead ten after queen.

With only four in suit, lead knave after queen.

_Queen, knave, nine, &c. (in trumps)._

If ten is turned up to your right, lead queen.

_Queen, knave, and small ones._

From all strong suits headed by queen, knave (or by queen), other than those already enumerated, lead a small one (the fourth-best, if an American Leader).

From queen, knave, nine (six or more in suit), if an American Leader, lead fourth-best. If not, lead queen.

_Knave, ten, nine, eight, with or without small, ones._

_In trumps_, if queen or king is turned up to your left, lead knave. Otherwise, _in trumps_ or _plain suits_,

(_a._) If the second hand is known to adopt the practice, even
though numerically weak in the suit, of not covering an
honour with an honour (other than the ace, _see_ p. 88),
lead eight.

With more than five in suit, lead nine after eight.

With five in suit, lead ten after eight.

With only four in suit, lead knave after eight.

(_b._) If the second hand adheres to the old practice of covering
an honour with an honour when numerically weak in the suit,
lead knave, then eight. And

With more than four in suit, lead nine after eight.

With only four in suit, lead ten after eight.

_Knave, ten, nine, and small._

_In trumps_, if king or queen is turned up to your left, lead knave. Otherwise, _in trumps_ or _plain suits_,

(_a._) If the second hand, when numerically weak, does not cover
an honour with an honour (other than ace), lead a small one
(the fourth-best if an American Leader).

(_b._) If the second hand, when numerically weak, covers an honour
with an honour, lead knave. And,

With more than four in suit, lead nine after knave.

With only four in suit, lead ten after knave.

_Knave, ten, eight, &c. (in trumps)._

If nine is turned up to your right, lead knave.

_Knave, ten, and small ones._

From all strong suits headed by knave, ten (or by knave), with the exceptions enumerated, lead a small one (the fourth-best if an American Leader).

_Suits of four or more cards without an honour._

Lead a small card (the fourth-best if an American Leader).

3. LEAD THE HIGHEST OF A NUMERICALLY WEAK SUIT.

When it is your fate to open a numerically weak suit, your object should be to do as little harm as possible. You cannot expect to win many tricks, so you must do all you can to assist or _strengthen_ your partner by leading high or strengthening cards; for, by leading the highest of a suit numerically weak, you take the best chance of keeping the strength in your partner's hand, should he happen to hold it.

You will not often be driven to open a weak suit originally, as one of your suits must contain as many as four cards. But it may so turn out that your four-card suit is composed of very small cards indeed, in which case you might prefer to open a suit containing better cards, though numerically weaker. Every one can see that ace, king, queen, is a better suit to open than five, four, three, two; but, as you descend in one scale and ascend in the other, there comes a point where the two descriptions of strength nearly or quite balance. With hands containing only a suit of four small cards--say none higher than the seven or eight, and suits of three cards of higher value--the choice is sometimes difficult. Also, with hands in which your only four-card suit is the trump suit, you might sometimes deem it advisable to open one of the other suits, as a smaller evil than leading a trump. As a rule, when you are in doubt, stick to the general principle, and lead from your four-card suit, even though it is the trump suit.

Whenever you decide on opening a suit of but three cards, choose, if possible, one in which you hold a sequence which may be of benefit to your partner, as queen, knave, ten; queen, knave, and one small one; knave, ten, and one other, and so on, and lead the highest. If you have no sequence, lead from your strongest weak suit. Thus, two honours not in sequence, and one small one, is a better lead than ace and two small ones, or king and two small ones. These, again, should be chosen in preference to queen and two small ones. When leading from a numerically weak suit that contains ace, king, or queen, but no sequence, if you have any indication from the previous play that your partner is strong in the suit (as will be explained in Section 4), lead the highest. But having no guide as to his strength lead the lowest. You run the risk of making your partner think you have led from numerical strength; but, on the other hand, by leading out the high card, you at once give up the command of the suit, and, unless your partner has strength in it (the chances being against this), you leave yourself at the mercy of the opponents.

The case is different with numerically weak suits headed by a knave or a lower card. Of these suits you should lead the highest; by retaining such a card as the knave you would scarcely ever be able to stop the adversaries from establishing the suit, should they be strong in it; and, by leading out the high card, you do all you can to aid your partner, should he have strength.

Ace and one other, king and one other, or queen and one other, are very bad suits to lead from. By holding them up you and your partner stand a better chance of making tricks in the suit; and if it should be the adversaries' suit (the chances being two to one that it is) you keep the power of obstructing it and of obtaining the lead at advanced periods of the hand. If you lead from ace, king only, lead ace, then king.

It follows that when you lead a high card in the first round of a suit, and in the next drop a lower one (subject to the rules respecting leads from sequences and the lead from suits of five or more cards), your partner should infer you have led from a weak suit. Thus, suppose you lead a nine, which is called an equivocal card, as it comes from both strong and weak suits. If in the second round your partner can infer that you hold a higher card, he knows you have led from strength. But if in the second round you lead (say) the eight, your partner may be equally certain that the former card was the highest of your weak suit.

4. AVOID CHANGING SUITS.

_When you obtain the lead after one or more tricks have been played, the question arises whether or not you should open a fresh suit._ If you have had the lead before, it is generally advisable to pursue your original lead, for you thus take the best chance of establishing the suit, and you open a fresh suit to a disadvantage.

The fall of the cards in the previous rounds may cause you to alter your game. Thus, the previous play may have already established your suit, or may have so nearly established it as to justify you in leading trumps, as hereafter explained; or your partner may have shown a very strong suit, or a strong trump hand, which may modify your game. Again, your partner may prove utterly weak in your suit; you would then often discontinue it, unless holding the winning cards or a strong sequence, because, with these exceptions, your continuing it gives the adversary the opportunity of finessing against you, and of cutting up your suit; or you may sometimes discontinue a suit if you expect it will be trumped (as will be further explained in Sections 13-16); but, failing such indications, it is best, as a rule, to pursue the original lead.

If you have not had the lead before, it is in most cases advisable to open your strong suit, when you possess _great_ strength in any suit, for you open such suit to advantage; but with weak or only moderately strong suits, which you open to a disadvantage, you would, as a rule, do better to return your partner's original lead, or to lead up to the weak suit of your right-hand adversary, or through the strong suit of your left-hand adversary. When in doubt as to opening your own suit or returning your partner's, you should, as a general rule, be guided by your strength in trumps. With a strong trump hand play your own game; with a weak trump hand play your partner's game.

If your partner has had a lead, and you are thoroughly conversant with the system of leading developed in Sections 2 and 3, and with the Analysis of Leads (pp. 64-71), you know by the value of the card he has led whether he is strong or weak in that suit, unless he has led an equivocal card, which is led from both strong and weak suits. In this case, if you have no evidence from your own hand, or from the fall of the cards, you presume, with a good partner, that he has led from strength. But you mostly have some evidence; for instance, if he leads a ten originally, he has led from king, queen, knave, ten; from king, knave, ten; or the highest of his suit. If you hold--or either adversary plays--king or knave, you know that your partner has led the highest of his suit. But, in the absence of these cards, and especially if the ten wins the first round, or falls to the ace or queen, you may conclude that your partner's lead was from strength, and you would do perfectly right to return it.

When you have won the first trick in your partner's lead cheaply, you must be cautious in returning it, as the strength must be between your partner and your right-hand adversary. For example, say A, Y, B, Z, are the four players, and that they sit in this order round the table, so that A leads and Z is last player. If A leads a small card of a plain suit, Y plays a small one, and B (third player) puts on his best card, the queen, which wins the trick, it is clear that Z can have neither ace nor king; A cannot have them both, or he would have led one, therefore Y must have one of them at least; and, if B returns the lead, he leads up to Y's strength, and may cut up his partner's suit.

By observing the card led by either adversary, you can similarly tell whether he has led from strength or weakness; so also you can judge from the card played third hand by the adversary whether he is weak, it being presumed that the third player puts on his best. It is advantageous to lead up to a weak suit, because you compel the second hand to put on a high card, or give your partner the opportunity of finessing. It is generally less advantageous to lead through a strong suit, unless you are sure that the second hand is not _very_ strong, and that the fourth hand is weak. Otherwise, by continuing the suit, you may be establishing it for the adversary, and getting rid of the command of it from your partner's hand.

In discussing leads from weak suits it was supposed, for the sake of convenience, that the leader had no indication from the play to guide him. But in practice, in by far the greater number of cases, weak suits are opened late in a hand when inference from previous play has given an insight into the strength or weakness of the several players. Thus, you commence with your strong suit; your partner fails to show any strength in it. After several other tricks are played you get the lead again, remaining with (say) king and two others of your first lead. You do not wish to take one of the guards from your king, and you do not deem it advisable to lead a card which your partner may be obliged to trump. You therefore try another suit. By this time you know, either by the adversaries' leads what their strong suits are, or by the players' discards (_i.e._, by the cards they throw away when not able to follow suit,) what their weak suits are, as will be explained under discarding. Guided by these indications, you make choice of a suit for your second lead in which your partner is probably strong, and under such circumstances you would, as a rule, lead the highest of the suit of your second choosing, if numerically weak in it.

When you have led a strengthening card, and it wins the trick, you can rarely do better than continue with your next highest. For example: from queen, knave, and three you lead the queen, which goes round. It hardly requires to be stated that you make the best use of your suit by continuing with the knave. When your strengthening card does not win, the course of the play is the only guide as to whether you should continue the suit. The application of the considerations advanced in this Section will generally inform you where the strong and weak suits lie, and you will act accordingly, giving your partner his strong suit, or, if he has not shown one, leading up to the weak suit of the right-hand adversary, or through the strong suit of the left-hand adversary.

It has several times been assumed that it is advantageous to have the lead at advanced periods of a hand; we now see one principal reason why it is so. The leader knows by observation where the strong and the weak suits lie, and he will generally be able to make use of this knowledge in assisting his partner, or in obstructing his opponents.

The principles explained in the preceding pages apply mainly to the original lead, or to leads early in a hand. They apply also to leads generally; but, at advanced periods of the hand, and towards its close, their application is frequently modified by inferences from the previous play, and by the state of the score. Examples of departure from the rules here laid down will be presented in the illustrative hands.

In the second round of a suit--

5. RETURN THE LOWEST OF A STRONG SUIT, THE HIGHEST OF A WEAK SUIT.

When you return your partner's lead, the card you should choose to lead the second round depends on the number of cards of the suit you have remaining. Thus, if you remain with three cards, you must have had four at first. You therefore had strength in the suit, and you should return the smallest of the three remaining cards, agreeably to the principle that with strength it is to your advantage to retain the command in your own hand. If you remain with two cards only, you should return the higher one, to strengthen your partner; and, similarly, if you have discarded one of a four-suit, and are left with two only _at the time you return it_, you have destroyed the numerical power of your suit, and should therefore treat it as a weak suit, and return the higher card of the two remaining in your hand.

The advantages of this principle are numerous. In the case that you and your partner are both numerically strong, the return of the lowest prevents him from finessing in a suit which must be trumped third round. Further, if your hand is weak, you naturally return a suit in which you infer that your partner is strong. You then return a strengthening card to get a high card of your partner's strong suit out of his way, and you enable him to finesse if he thinks proper, and so to keep the command of his suit in his own hand.

It is true that with two small cards only (say the five and the six) you do not strengthen your partner by returning the six. But there is a collateral advantage in keeping to the rule even with small cards--_you enable a good partner to calculate how many you have left of the suit_, and often where the remainder of it lies. Thus, your partner leads a small card of a suit of which you have king, three, and two. You, as third player, put on the king. If you return the suit, you return the three, and not the two, when it ought to be inferred, either that you have returned the smallest of a suit of four or more, or that you have no more of the suit left, or the two only. When your two comes down in the third round it ought to be certain that you have no more. If your partner has confidence in you, he can often calculate what you have left before the third round is played; thus, in the above instance, your partner, not having the two himself, and seeing that it does not drop from the adversaries, concludes, with tolerable certainty, that you remain, after the second round, with the two and no more.

There are two exceptions to the rule of play above stated: 1. When you hold the winning card you return it, whatever number of cards you hold, lest it should be trumped the third round, or, your partner, imagining it to be against him, should finesse; and 2. When you hold the second and third best, in plain suits, you return the highest. Thus, suppose you have queen, knave, ten, and one small one of a suit of which your partner leads a small one, you (third hand) put on the ten, which is won by (say) the ace. If you afterwards return the suit, you should return the queen, for you not only force out the king, if against you, but you also do not block your partner's suit, should he have led from great numerical strength, say five cards to the nine, an advantage which you lose by returning the small one.

It should also be observed that, occasionally, when you return your adversary's strong lead, you do not lead the higher of two remaining cards, especially if you hold the second best guarded. For example, you are A; Y is your left-hand adversary. Y has led a king, which was won by the ace, leaving Y with the queen and others. You remain with knave and one small one. If you are driven to return this suit, you should return the small one. The queen will probably be put on second hand, and you will remain with the best.

THE SECOND HAND.

In the first round of a suit, you should generally,

6. PLAY YOUR LOWEST CARD SECOND HAND.

You presume that the first hand has led from strength, and, if you have a high card in his suit, you lie over him when it is led again; whereas, if you play your high card second hand, you get rid of a commanding card of the adversary's suit, and, when it is returned, the original leader finesses against you. Besides this, the third player will put on his highest card, and, if it is better than yours, you have wasted power to no purpose.

If, however, you have a sequence of high cards, you should put on one of the sequence second hand, for, if you pass the trick altogether, the third hand may win with a very low card, or, with his low card, may force a high one from your partner. The chief objection to playing an unsupported high card does not apply, as the leader cannot successfully finesse against you in the next round.

With a moderate sequence, such as queen, knave--knave, ten--ten, nine--you play the lowest of the sequence if you are numerically weak; but, with more than three cards of the suit, you pass a small card led, agreeably to the principle already discussed--that in weak suits you play to strengthen your partner, but in strong ones you leave him to help you. For instance: the leader (A) has king, ten, nine, eight, seven of a suit; the second player (Y) has queen, knave, and one small one; the fourth player (Z) has ace and two small ones. A leads a small card; Y should play the knave; if he does not, the card led forces Z's ace. It is true that this happens also if Y passes with queen, knave, and two small ones; but Y, in this case, has a guard to his queen and knave, and is left with the two winning cards after the second round of the suit.

With a sequence lower than ten, nine, there is no advantage in putting on one of the sequence; so the lowest should then be played second hand, in conformity with the general principle.

7. PLAY THE LOWEST OF A SEQUENCE.

When you do not head a trick, you throw away your lowest card to economise your strength. Thus, with queen and two small ones, you would not throw the queen to king led. It is an error to suppose that it is of no consequence which card you play when you hold only small cards or cards in sequence. It is not of much consequence as regards merely the chance of making tricks; but it is of great importance in affording information to partner.

Thus, suppose the players to be as before, A, Y, B, Z. A leads the three of a suit, Y plays the five, B the four. It ought to be certain that B has no more of the suit, it being presumed that he, not being able to head the trick, throws away his smallest. If he afterwards plays the two, and it turns out that he previously played the four _through carelessness_, his partner loses confidence, and gives up all hopes of drawing correct inferences from his play.

The principle applies equally to cards in sequence. Thus, say queen is led, and you (second hand) hold ace and king; if you put on the king, your partner gains the very important information that you have the ace also. For queen is not led from ace, queen, &c., so the leader cannot have the ace; the third hand cannot have it, or he would win the king; and the fourth, not having it himself, infers that you have it. If you put on the ace, not only could he not tell that you hold the king, but would assume that it lay with the leader's partner. The principle, though stated for the sake of convenience in respect of the second hand, applies to the third and fourth hands also. (For a fuller examination of this point _see_ Section 12.)

ANALYSIS OF PLAY OF SECOND HAND IN DETAIL.

(_See_ Note on Analysis of Leads, p. 64.)

_Ace, king, queen, &c._

Play lowest of ace, king, queen sequence.

_Ace, king, knave, &c._

Play king (but _see_ p. 89).

On the second round of the suit, it becomes a matter of judgment whether you should play ace or finesse knave. No positive rule can be laid down.

_Ace, king, &c._

Play king.

In trumps it is sometimes right to pass, leaving the chance of the first trick to your partner.

Obvious alterations on account of the trump card are omitted. It is clear that, with ace, king, &c., if your partner has turned up the queen, you should play a small one; and that, with ace, king, knave, if your right hand adversary has turned up the queen, you should play the knave; and so on for other cases.

_Ace, queen, knave, &c._

Play lowest of queen, knave sequence.

_Ace, queen, ten, &c._

In trumps, play ten, or with cards in sequence, the lowest of the ten sequence.

In plain suits, if strong enough in trumps to lead them, play ten, or lowest of sequence; if weak in trumps, play queen (but _see_ p. 89).

With ace, queen, ten only, play ten, whether strong in trumps or not.

_Ace, queen, &c._

Small card led.

In trumps, play a small one.

In plain suits, with five in suit, play a small one if strong in trumps; the queen if weak in trumps.

Knave led.

Play ace. It is useless to cover with the queen, as the leader cannot hold the king (_see_ Analysis of Leads).

These instructions assume ordinary original leads from strength. If ace or queen is turned up, some players lead knave, from king, knave, ten. If you know this is the practice of your right hand adversary, you should exercise your judgment as to covering with ace or queen.

Also towards the close of a hand, knave might be led from king, knave for various reasons, perhaps as the best chance of saving or winning the game or a point, or as a false card. No rule can be laid down for such cases.

Ten or nine led.

Play queen.

_Ace, knave, ten, &c._

In trumps, play ten, or with cards in sequence with the ten, the lowest of the sequence.

In plain suits, play a small one.

The reason for the difference is that, in trumps a small card may be led from king, queen, &c.; but in plain suits, not. Hence as, in plain suits, the king or queen must be in the third or fourth hand, your strength would be wasted by covering.

_Ace and small ones._

Play a small one.

As before observed, the original lead of a small card from strength is assumed.

If, after several tricks have been played, you particularly want the lead, or you suspect the possibility of a lead from a single card, or one trick is of importance, you would often be right to play the ace. Again, no rule can be laid down.

_King, queen, knave, &c._

Play the lowest of the king, queen, knave sequence.

_King, queen, &c._

Small card led.

Play queen.

In trumps it is sometimes right to pass, unless you hold ten also, or only three in suit.

Knave led.

The usual practice is to cover with the queen. But, it can be shown by calculation that, if the lead is from knave, ten, nine, and small, more is gained than lost, in the long run, by passing.

The best lead from knave, ten, nine, &c., is disputed; and so also is the question of covering.

_King, knave, ten, &c._

Play the lowest of the knave, ten sequence.

_Queen, knave, ten, &c._

Play ten, or lowest of sequence.

_Knave, ten, nine, &c._

Play nine, or lowest of sequence.

_Queen, knave, and small; knave, ten, and small; ten, nine, and small._

Play as directed at pp. 82-3.

_Covering or passing second hand._

If an honour is led, and you have the ace, as a rule play the ace.

If an honour is led, and you hold an honour, not the ace, pass as a rule.

It was formerly the practice to cover an honour with an honour, if numerically weak. Calculation shows more is gained than lost, in the long run, by passing. But, if a strengthening card is led, late in a hand, it would often be right to cover. No positive rule can be laid down for the play of the second hand under such circumstances. When you have the _fourchette_ it is almost always right to cover. Thus, if knave is led, and you hold queen, ten, &c., put on the queen.

If a ten is led, and you hold queen and one small one, play queen. The lead is probably from king, knave, ten, &c., and the queen may save your partner's ace. With queen and two small ones, or with other combinations not enumerated as those with which a high card should be played second hand, pass.

If a nine is led, and you hold king and one small one, play king. The leader must have opened an ace suit (either ace, queen, ten, nine, or ace, knave, ten, nine), assuming him to have led from a suit of four cards. The same applies if you hold king, nine, and eight is led.

If a medium card is led from a suit of at least four cards, three being higher than the card led, and you hold cards that (together with the leader's cards) make up a sequence, cover with the lowest card you can. For example:--The original lead is an eight. You (second hand) hold ace, king, ten, with or without small ones. If the lead was from queen, knave, nine, eight, as is most probable, and the ten is put on, it will win the trick.

Again: the original lead is a seven. You hold ace, queen, knave, eight. If the seven is the lowest of a four card suit, the lead must have been from king, ten, nine, seven. Therefore, the eight put on will win the trick.

The same applies, if the leader of an ace follows with a medium card. For example:--Ace is led originally. The next lead of an American Leader is, say, the eight. You had originally king, queen, ten, four, and you played the four to the ace. The leader must hold knave, nine and small. You should, therefore play the ten. And, observe, the play would be the same, if the second lead of a player who does not follow the American system were the seven, as then he must hold knave, nine, eight.

If a small card is led, and you hold an honour and a small card, pass the trick as a rule; for by putting on the honour you expose your weakness, and enable the original leader to finesse against you on the second round. The principal general exception to playing a small card second hand, is when the circumstances of the hand cause you to seize any chance of getting the lead, as when you want to stop a lead of trumps, or to lead trumps yourself. Then it is often right to play a high card second hand, when unsupported by another high card.

Also, in trumps, if king or queen is turned up, and you hold it singly guarded (_i.e._, if you have only one other trump), it is generally advisable to put on the turn-up, second hand. And if you hold king or queen, singly guarded, and a superior honour is turned up to your right, you should play the king or queen.

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