WHIST RULES 
 FOR LEADS 
 DONE IN RHYME 
 BYA.C.C- - - 
 
WHIST RULES 
 
 FOR LEADS 
 
 IN RHYME 
 
 A. C. C 
 
 NEW-YORK 
 
 1888 
 

 Copyright, 1888, 
 By Anna C. Clapp. 
 
 LC Control Numb 
 
 tmp96 02633 
 
WHIST RULES FOR LEADS. 
 
 Holding king, with ace or queen, 
 First lead king, as you have seen. 
 
 Holding king, with queen and ace, 
 Still lead king, in the first place, 
 
 Then with queen pray follow next, 
 So your partner's not perplexed, 
 
 But rests assured the ace remains 
 Among the cards your hand retains. 
 
 With only king and queen, lead king, 
 Then fearlessly a low card swing. 
 
 Unless the ace should fall on king, 
 When, naturally, the queen 's the thing. 
 
 King, queen, knave and one small card, 
 First lead king — now study hard] 
 
King, queen, knave and two others, 
 First lead knave, like whist lovers, 
 
 To show you have not only strength 
 In this your suit, but also length. 
 
 Your second lead from these same three 
 Is governed by your ^fs^, — for see — 
 
 Lead king, then knave in a suit of four. 
 
 Or knave, then king, when it numbers more. 
 
 With ace, queen, knave, lead the ace. 
 Then comes the queen next in place, 
 
 Unless it is another time 
 
 When both strength and length combine, 
 
 When lead the ace and then the knave, 
 And at the last, command you '11 save. 
 
 Holding ace, queen, knave and ten, 
 After ace, lead ten out then. 
 
 To force the king where'er he be, 
 
 And then make queen and knave, you see. 
 
 Now we come to a favorite lead, 
 Adopting which you must succeed, — 
 
With king, knave, ten, lead ten always, 
 Since it 's been proved it really pays. 
 
 And if ten wins, then please play loWy 
 For adverse ace will fall, we know. 
 
 But should queen fall on lead of ten, 
 And by and by you lead again, 
 
 Continue now with king ox jack 
 Showing number you hold, or lack. 
 
 Now with the ten, knave, queen and king. 
 Always play ten, important thing 
 
 To win at once entire command, 
 Though ace lies in your partner's hand. 
 
 And by your second lead, we '11 know 
 All that you hold, for you can show, 
 
 By leading knave, queen lies with you 
 As well as king, and long suit too ; 
 
 Or, leading queen, that you 're not long, 
 But that you are unusually strong.* 
 
 But should ten win, then, in this case. 
 Follow with king, to force out ace 
 
 * See Cavendish, i6th Edition, page 67. 
 
And show you hold the queen as well, 
 Unless it is you wish to tell 
 
 Oifive in suit, when lead the queen, 
 And all will know just what you mean. 
 
 In other words, to be more plain 
 And to repeat this once again, 
 
 Lead king or queen should ace not fall ; 
 Length deciding whicli — that 's all — 
 
 And queen or knave when you succeed 
 \n forcing ace by your ten lead. 
 
 With queen, knave, ten, or knave, ten, nine, 
 Lead highest card, as sequence-sign. 
 
 And if the sequence numbers more, 
 Follow with lowest of the four. 
 
 Or, if your lead was one of three, 
 Take care to let the next card be 
 
 The one that tells if the suit is long, 
 For that is the burden of this song.* 
 
 * "With two high, indifferent cards, lead the higher it 
 you opened a suit of four ; the lower if you opened a 
 SUIT OF FIVE." (See '* American Leads in Whist Develop- 
 ments," by Cavendish.) 
 
 Cards are " indifferent" when by the lead of either it will 
 become evident that one holds both. (In such a case the 
 lead of the lower card implies length. ) 
 6 
 
With one honor, and cards all small, 
 
 Lead the '' fourth best" — make high cards fall T 
 
 But with four or more beside the ace, 
 Lead the ace at once, in such a case ; 
 
 For if you 're long in any suit. 
 
 Some one will trump next time, sans doute. 
 
 With two honors that do not touch. 
 Lead one of them out ? No ; not much ! 
 
 But lead '* fourth best" again, my friend, 
 Or you '' to the foot" I 'm forced to send. 
 
 Though, mark me, this does not refer 
 To lead oi ace, let naught deter 
 
 You from leading that, as you 've been taught. 
 Unless you are comparatively short. 
 
 The nine usually means '' fourth best," 
 Unless "weak lead"; so you can rest 
 
 Assured of three very good cards still 
 In leading hand, to be played at will. 
 
 y^htn forced to lead from suit of three. 
 The highest one pray let it be, 
 
 7 
 
Unless, by chance, you have a card 
 Higher than knave, when it 's not hard 
 
 To see that, by only leading low, 
 
 You can play to win — as you must know ! 
 
 When forced to lead from suit of two, 
 Lest you should ask me what to do, 
 
 I '11 tell you now, for once and all, 
 The higher card is forced to fall, 
 
 And even when it is a case 
 Of holding only king and ace. 
 
 TRUMP LEADS. 
 
 In managing trumps and how to lead, 
 People all puzzle more than they need, 
 
 For it 's as simple as simple can be, 
 And easily solved as the rule of three, 
 
 Merely requiring a little thought 
 
 Just how to vary rules you 've been taught. 
 
For instance — in trumps **play a backward 
 
 game," 
 Reserving all strength at first in the same, 
 
 And giving a partner one chance at least 
 Of winning a trick before he has ceased 
 
 To follow the lead, for you cannot count 
 
 On his holding many, when^ow 've an amount. 
 
 Moreover, you may by leading low 
 Embarrass left hand, who will not know 
 
 In which of the hands the high cards lie, 
 And so will allow a trick to go by, 
 
 Enabling third hand to win, perchance, 
 With a fourth-rate card, and thus entrance 
 
 A partner, who may be a bit avaricious — 
 For to such souls, such tricks are delicious ! 
 
 It 's only in trumps that you can afford 
 
 To lead in this way, and the high cards hoard ; 
 
 But then, as I 've said to you before, 
 
 Rely on your head, and " play to the score." 
 
 9 
 
And remember, please, you 're not to yearn 
 For conquests like these, when you discern 
 
 Three very good cards within your hand. 
 For in such cases you '11 soon command. 
 
 And your scheme is then to circumvent 
 A foe upon whom destruction 's sent ! 
 
 So, to keep him from undue gain, 
 Lead out the suit as if 't were " plain." 
 
 Or, if you hold as many as six, 
 
 Beside the ace, you '11 make more tricks 
 
 Not to lead low, as the chances are 
 None of the rest can follow you far ; 
 
 So, count your cards, and, finding you hold 
 Seven in suit, your game must be bold. 
 
 In leading trumps there 's one exception. 
 One that avoids any deception, — 
 
 The leader then rising superior 
 To strategy of hands inferior. 
 
 And showing partner from the first 
 No need to fear the enemy's worst, — 
 
Namely : when holding ace, king and queen, 
 Or all four honors, let them be seen 
 
 By leading lowest, since 't will secure 
 
 The trick quite as well — this^ow are sure — 
 
 And also proclaims that you have command, 
 As all the best trumps must be in your hand. 
 
 And on this plan, if first lead is knave 
 Then follow with ace, confusion to save. 
 
 Or leading queen first, then, as you know, 
 Follow with king, if wishing to show 
 
 At least ^w in suit ; or, holding but four. 
 Then follow with ace to prove you 've no more. 
 
 This I believe is my last injunction ; 
 
 You knowing where to seek more instruction. 
 
 C^ 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS ^ 
 
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