THE 
 
 LAW AND PRACTICE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 GAME OF EUCHRE. 
 
 BY 
 
 A PROFESSOR. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, 
 
 306 CHESTNUT STEET. 
 
2. 4 e 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862, by 
 
 T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern 
 
 District of Pennsylvania. 
 
 KING & BAIRD, PRINTERS, 607 SANSOM STREET. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 No sedentary game is more popular, or 
 so generally played for amusement in do- 
 mestic circles, throughout the wide spread 
 " eminent demesne' 7 of the United States, 
 as Euchre — the Queen of all card-games; 
 and but few, we regret to say it, possess 
 less printed authoritative reference for con- 
 sultation. Hence difficulties, doubts, differ- 
 ences of opinion, and local customs of play, 
 exercise an irksome influence even among 
 skillful players, and solely for the want of 
 some proper compendium of the laws and 
 of the correct practice of the game. To 
 supply this deficiency, in an humble way, 
 the ensuing pages, sanctioned by " very 
 noble and approved good masters," are ten- 
 derly tendered. 
 
 City of Washington, March, 1862. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 «•» 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Preliminary, 23 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Mode of Playing, 35 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 On Playing Alone, - 44 
 
 CHAPTER IY. 
 
 Lap, Slam, Jambone, and Jamboree, 59 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Technicalities, 78 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Laws, 88 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Hints to Tyros, 105 
 
 (21) 
 
EUCHRE. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PRELIMINARY. 
 
 " Four knaves in garbs succinct, a trusty band, 
 Caps on their beads; and balberts in their band ; 
 And party-color'd troops, a sbining train, 
 Drawn forth to combat on the velvet plain." — Pope. 
 
 Those clever fellows, who, in social circles, 
 or at the club, resort to the exciting combi- 
 nations exhibited by 
 
 *" The painted tablets, dealt and dealt again" — 
 
 recreation and amusement being their only- 
 aim — accredit Euchre, par excellence, the 
 most entertaining and fascinating of all the 
 games of cards yet invented. 
 
 (23) 
 
24 EUCHKE. 
 
 The earliest knowledge which, we, person- 
 ally; have been able to gather of this our 
 favorite card-game, was its introduction in 
 the Metropolis of the Union, in the days — 
 "those days are passed, Floranthe" — of Gen- 
 eral Jackson's first presidential term, by an 
 ardent and slightly illiterate admirer of the 
 General's — an Honorable M. C., from the 
 Tennessee State — who was wont emphatically 
 to pronounce it the " hazardestest game on 
 the keards;" though the game had been 
 played, long prior to that period, in every 
 inhabited township plat of the northwestern 
 territory, and on every raft and steamboat 
 afloat upon the exulting waters of the Mis- 
 sissippi Eiver. 
 
 There exists a legend ascribing its inven- 
 tion to two Friars, "of orders gray," who 
 had been imprisoned for some improper prac- 
 tice, or other malversation, and who are said 
 to have invented the game to while away the 
 tedious hours of incarceration ; but the story 
 is rather apocryphal. 
 
 It is also narrated that the game sprang, 
 
PRELIMINARY. 25 
 
 like Venus, from the sea, — that it is the re- 
 sult of a sailorman's ingenuity, Jack revers- 
 ing the usual order of things on shipboard 
 by placing his namesakes in command, and 
 giving them the appropriate nautical appel- 
 lations of Eight-Bower, and Left-Bower, 
 in compliment to the main anchors of the 
 ship. 
 
 The origin of the game — generally ad- 
 mitted to be German — is not satisfactorily 
 explained, and no mention whatever is made 
 of it in the curious and elaborate treatise by 
 S. W. Singer, entitled Eesearches into the 
 History of Playing Cards, 4to., London, 1816 ; 
 nor in any of the English editions of Hoyle's 
 Games ; nor in Captain Crawley's Handy 
 Book of Games for Gentlemen, 12mo., London, 
 1860. The French are equally silent. No 
 notice of the game is to be found in the long 
 and learned array of articles on the various 
 games of cards — and their name is legion — 
 in the extended Dictionnaire des Jeux of the 
 Encyclopedic Methodique ; and M. Van-Tenac, 
 in his Album des Jeux, 12mo., Paris, 1847, 
 
26 EUCHRE. 
 
 a recent and careful collection of modern 
 games of cards, seems entirely ignorant of 
 its existence. 
 
 We have just learned under date of Paris, 
 December 8, 1861, from a distinguished 
 French savant, now engaged in collecting 
 materials for an elaborate and scientific trea- 
 tise on card-games, that Euchre is not of 
 French origin, and that the game is not no- 
 ticed by any French writer on games. 
 
 In this country the only teaching we have 
 of the game— except a few paragraphs in the 
 late American editions of Hoyle's Games, 
 and of Bohn's New Hand-Book of Games — 
 is contained in The Game of Euchre; with its 
 Laws, 32mo., Philadelphia, 1850, pp. 32, 
 attributed to a late learned jurist — u our illus- 
 trious predecessor" — and to which little vol- 
 ume we hereby acknowledge ourselves greatly 
 indebted. 
 
 The name itself even — Euchre — is a mys- 
 tery. Although the game is generally sup- 
 posed, in this country, to be of German in- 
 vention, yet we are informed by the most 
 
PRELIMINARY. 27 
 
 eminent linguist in Germany, Professor 
 Grimm, of the University of Berlin, that 
 Euchre is not a German word, and has no 
 sound of the language. 
 
 It has been facetiously suggested that it 
 
 •/ Do 
 
 might possibly be the German for Eureka ! 
 denoting that the Queen game of cards has 
 at last been found ! But, as we do not pro- 
 fess to especial erudition in the Teutonic lin- 
 guistics, we venture no opinion of its philo- 
 logical deduction. Nor can we trace the least 
 analogy or affinity, as regards the promotion 
 of the Knaves into the rank of commanding 
 cards, when of the suit, or color, of the 
 trump, to any other card-game. In some 
 few particulars, however, it bears quite a 
 resemblance to the game of Ecarte. How 
 so animated and bright a game ever sprang 
 from the brain of a phlegmatic German is 
 somewhat marvellous — unless, it may have 
 been invented by that identical Baron, portly 
 and solid like the rest of them, who was 
 making the most terrible racket in his soli- 
 tary apartment, in Paris, one morning, jump- 
 
28 EUCHRE. 
 
 ing over stools and slippers, and other " anti- 
 altitudinous" articles, and whose noted reply- 
 to the agitated and expostulating garcjon, 
 vas, J'apprends a etre vif. He may have suc- 
 ceeded in attaining the lively ! 
 
 Whatever its origin, Euchre appears to 
 have been introduced into the United States 
 by the German settlers of Pennsylvania, and 
 from that State gradually to have been disse- 
 minated throughout every State of the Union. 
 But the original game has been so much 
 improved by the variations and additions 
 bestowed upon it in consequence of its great 
 popularity with all classes in this country, 
 that it may now fairly be denominated one of 
 our peculiar American institutions. A squat- 
 ter, in the "Land of the West," would con- 
 sider his education sadly neglected, nowa- 
 days, if a knowledge of this game was not 
 one of his attainments ; — it is as necessary to 
 his enjoyment of life as a stone-jug of 
 "Bourbon," with a corn-cob "cork" — the 
 " democratic decanter," as they call it. 
 
 The word Bauer, the German for Jack, or 
 
PRELIMINARY. 29 
 
 Knave, Americanized to Bower, is said to 
 be the only term used in the game which 
 has been adopted from the German. 
 
 Whist — and here let us pause with reve- 
 rence — "not that I loved Caasar less, but 
 that I loved Eome more" — Whist, we re- 
 sume, since Hoyle perfected its invention, 
 and published his treatise on the game, about 
 one hundred and twenty years ago, has been 
 universally acknowledged to be the noblest 
 game played with cards. As twenty more 
 cards are involved in its play than at Euchre, 
 and every one of them delivered in each 
 deal, the game is undoubtedly more exact 
 and mathematical. We fancy, however, that 
 it is this very absence of mathematical accu- 
 racy which is one of the peculiar merits of 
 our game ; for nearly one-third of the Euchre 
 pack is not distributed in the deal, but 
 remains in the talon; thus adding to the 
 variety and the chances of the play, and 
 affording exciting combinations for the exer- 
 cise of the shrewd player's judgment. But 
 we are free to confess that, in nearly a quar- 
 2 
 
30 EUCHRE. 
 
 ter of a century's addiction to Euchre — viginti 
 annorum lucubrationes — we have never met a 
 fine player of both games who did not much 
 prefer our pet game. 
 
 We repeat ; then, that accomplished adepts 
 at both games — those social spirits who make 
 of play a delassement, and not a laborious 
 speculation — greatly prefer Euchre, because 
 of the more sprightly character of the game, 
 and its less mathematical exactness — giving 
 more scope to chance and judgment, and 
 affording a much keener enjoyment. And 
 then consider, that during the entire play of 
 all the thirteen tricks at Whist, the most 
 lugubrious silence, which is not our grand 
 talent, must prevail — for we can only " speak 
 by the card" — and, indeed, it has become an 
 axiom of that game, that whoever approxi- 
 mates nearest to being dumb may be deemed 
 the best player! At Euchre, on the con- 
 trary, every deal of five cards a-piece only — 
 
 " Oph. 'Tis brief, my Lord ; 
 Ham, As woman's love ;" — 
 
 is played out, dashingly, in a few minutes, 
 
PRELIMINARY. 31 
 
 affording opportunities to discuss the general 
 topics of the day, for lively repartee and 
 anecdotes — those gems of conversation — 
 while the contrasts of chagrin and joy pre- 
 sented by unlooked-for defeat or success, so 
 often recurring in the various vicissitudes of 
 play, " serve to set the table on a roar." 
 Such a seance will frequently glide away so 
 delectably as to inoculate pale melancholy 
 with the bud of mirth. 
 
 In a transit of the Atlantic, or a voyage 
 to the Indies, which " drags its slow length 
 along" — especially when not sea-sick — Whist 
 naturally presents peculiar advantages to 
 those whose " only labor is to kill the time, 
 and labor dire it is," says the poet. But, if 
 one desires to amuse and tickle oneself — 
 " when sailing o'er life's troubled main" — for 
 the limited period of eight or ten hours only, 
 in the pleasant occupation of disclosing the 
 mysterious combinations produced by thirty- 
 two cards — seasoned with cheerful conversa- 
 tion and innocent mirth the while, we com- 
 mend him to Euchre. 
 
d2 EUCHRE. 
 
 Euchre may be likened to that refined and 
 seductive beverage, Champagne wine — spark- 
 ling and bright — while Whist more resem- 
 bles the potent, heady tipple, the Brown-stout 
 of its native England. 
 
 Of all sedentary amusements — except a 
 fourth class clerkship in the Treasury De- 
 partment — we most " affectionate" Euchre. 
 
 But, revenons a nos moutons. The game of 
 Euchre is played w r ith thirty-two cards — the 
 six, five, four, tray, and deuce of each suit 
 having been withdrawn from a Whist or 
 whole pack. The tray and deuce of spades 
 and diamonds, of the refuse cards, are ordi- 
 narily used for the purpose of counting the 
 game. Becently, however, packs are ex- 
 pressly manufactured for this game, (as well 
 as for Picquet and Ecarte, also played with 
 the same number of cards,) by M. De la Eue, 
 the eminent publisher of playing cards in 
 London, and they may readily be obtained in 
 all of our larger cities. 
 
 The Knave of trumps, the Eight-Bower as 
 it is termed, is the highest or best trump ; 
 
PRELIMINARY. 33 
 
 and the other Knave of the same color, 
 termed the Left-Bower, is the next highest 
 card. The remaining cards, including the 
 Knaves of the black suits when a red suit is 
 trump, and vice versa , have the same relative 
 value as at Whist. 
 
 It is usual to play with two packs, distin- 
 guished by backs of different colors, and the 
 pack selected by each party at the commence- 
 ment of a game, should not be changed dur- 
 ing the play of that game. 
 
 Various customs of play prevail in differ- 
 ent coteries and clubs, but the compiler has 
 endeavored to follow those customs which are 
 most in vogue, and are most consistent with 
 the spirit of the game, and the chances on 
 the cards. 
 
 There are, also, many varieties of the 
 game, with the denominations of Ace-Euchre, 
 Booster, Set-Back, Cut-Throat, and the like, 
 and Euchre may be played by any number of 
 persons, from two to six. But, the only game 
 worthy of the scientific player is that which is 
 played by four persons, who cut for partners, 
 2* 
 
34 EUCHRE. 
 
 as at Whist, and it is to them that this Trea- 
 tise is most affectionately dedicated. 
 
 "Let not cards, therefore, be depreciated; 
 a happy invention, which, adapted equally to 
 every capacity, removes the invidious dis- 
 tinctions of nature, bestows on fools the pre- 
 eminence of genius, or reduces wit or wisdom 
 to the level of folly." Henry's History of 
 Great Britain, vol. 12, p. 385. 
 
 Axiom. — If you are invited from home to 
 assist at a Euchre party, and the tempestuous 
 inclemency of the weather should be terrific, 
 if your wife does not object too much, — go. 
 Your failure "to be thar" may seriously in- 
 convenience your friends. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 MODE OF PLAYING. 
 
 "They know not when to play, where to play, nor 
 what to play. — Middleton. 
 cl Who plays — who plays — who plays." — Old Play. 
 
 The game of Euchre, which consists of five 
 points only, is played by four persons, who 
 cut for partners. It is the practice in some 
 circles for the players to determine among 
 themselves who shall be associated together 
 as partners, and then to throw round, one 
 card at a time to each player, for the first 
 Knave, which gives the deal to the player to 
 whom it is thrown ; but the more approved 
 method is to cut for partners, the two highest 
 becoming partners against the two lowest. 
 He who cuts the lowest card wins the deal ; 
 and, in cutting, the Ace is accounted the 
 lowest, 
 
 (35) 
 
30 EUCHRE. 
 
 When the game is formed, and the players 
 seated at the table, partners opposite to each 
 other, so that each player is between his two 
 adversaries, the player who has won the deal 
 shuffles the pack and presents it to his right- 
 hand adversary to cut. The dealer then 
 places the cards lifted off by the cut at the 
 bottom of the pack and distributes twenty 
 cards, by giving five of them in two rounds, 
 of two and three, or by three and two, to 
 each player, beginning with his left-hand ad- 
 versary, and then turns up the twenty -first 
 card, which he places on the top of the talon, 
 for the trump. 
 
 The remaining cards of the pack, called the 
 talon, or stock, he places on the table to his 
 right. The deal passes in rotation as long as 
 the parties continue to play. 
 
 The dealer's left-hand adversary, who is 
 termed the eldest-hand, then examines the 
 cards dealt to him, and if he is of opinion 
 that he can win three of the five tricks at 
 the suit turned up for trumps, he says, "I 
 order it up," and the card turned up by the 
 
MODE OF PLAYING. 37 
 
 dealer then becomes the trump. But, if he 
 thinks he cannot win three of the tricks, he 
 simply says, " I pass." 
 
 If he passes, the dealer's partner then ex- 
 amines his cards, and if he believes that him 
 self and partner can win three tricks at the 
 suit turned up, he says, "I will assist," and 
 the turn-up card then also indicates the trump 
 suit. But if he believes that himself « and 
 partner cannot win three tricks, he also says, 
 "I pass." The third player, after looking 
 at his cards, for the same reason that influ- 
 enced his partner, either says, a I order it up," 
 or, "I pass." 
 
 If all the players have passed, the dealer 
 then examines his hand, and if he is confident 
 of winning three tricks by playing with his 
 partner, he says, " I take it up." He then dis- 
 cards the card of lowest value in his hand, 
 and places it, face downwards, under the talon, 
 and the turn-up card belongs to him in lieu 
 of the one discarded. The dealer is always 
 entitled to discard one card and take the turn- 
 up, or trump card, into his hand, whether it 
 
38 EUCHRE. 
 
 is ordered up by his antagonists, or lie is as- 
 sisted by bis partner, or takes it up himself. 
 Should the dealer be doubtful of winning 
 three tricks at the suit turned for trump, he 
 says, "I turn it down," and immediately 
 places the turn-up card, face down, on the 
 talon. 
 
 If all the players, including the dealer, de- 
 cline to play at the suit turned up, the eldest- 
 hand then has the privilege of making a 
 trump, and, should his hand be sufficiently 
 strong to win three tricks, he says, " I make 
 
 it ," naming the suit he prefers, which 
 
 then becomes the trump suit. If his cards 
 are not strong enough to win three tricks, he 
 says, " I pass the making." The second and 
 third player in rotation, have the same privi- 
 lege of naming a trump suit, and, after them, 
 the dealer. But, if all the players, including 
 the dealer, pass the making, the deal is for- 
 feited, and belongs to the last dealer's left- 
 hand adversary, who immediately gathers the 
 cards for dealing. 
 
 But, when the deal is completed, if the 
 
MODE OF PLAYING-. 39 
 
 eldest-hand, on first looking at his cards, be- 
 lieves that his hand is strong enough to win 
 three tricks if the suit turned up is trumps, he 
 orders it up, which makes that the trump suit, 
 and it must be played accordingly. The 
 dealer then discards, and the play commences. 
 The eldest-hand opens the game by leading in 
 any suit he chooses, and all the other players 
 follow to it, in regular order; and whoever 
 plays the highest card wins the trick, which 
 entities him to the next lead. A player must 
 always play a card of the suit led, if he holds 
 one, on penalty of giving his adversaries two 
 points for the revoke. But, if he has no card 
 of the suit led, he can trump or not at his 
 option. The player who has won the first 
 trick then leads, and the play continues, in 
 like manner, until the five cards in each hand 
 are all played out. The trump, as at all other 
 games, is the commanding suit, the lowest 
 trump winning the highest cards of either of 
 the other three suits. 
 
 If the eldest-hand passed and the dealer's 
 partner assisted, or if the dealer's partner 
 
40 EUCHRE. 
 
 passed and the partner of the eldest-hand 
 ordered it up, or if the latter having passed, 
 the dealer takes up the trump, the mode of 
 play is the same. 
 
 If the player, who orders it up, and his 
 partner, win three of the five tricks — the odd 
 trick, as it is termed — they score one point to 
 the game. If they win four of the five tricks 
 they are also entitled to count one point only. 
 But if they gain all five of the tricks, which 
 is termed making a march, they score two 
 points towards game. 
 
 But if a trump is ordered up, or is taken 
 up ; or, if a trump is made by either player, 
 and such player and his partner fail to win 
 three tricks, they are Euchred, as it is termed, 
 which entitles their antagonists to add two 
 points to the score of their game. And so, 
 if one party win all five tricks when their op- 
 ponents adopt or make a trump, which will 
 rarely occur, except when the trump-card is 
 ordered up for the Bridge, — explained infra, — 
 the winning party are only entitled to count 
 for the Euchre, which is two points. 
 
MODE OF PLAYING. 41 
 
 The eldest-hand, in leading, should place 
 his card on the table immediately before him, 
 and each player, in rotation, should observe 
 the same method — a practice which prevents 
 any misunderstanding about the ownership of 
 cards ; and, as no player has a right to ask 
 who played any particular card, this practice 
 also serves to designate each player's card by 
 its position on the board. 
 
 The tricks belonging to either party may 
 be turned and collected by the player who 
 wins the first trick, on either side ; but the 
 better mode is to agree, at the commencement 
 of the game, that one of the partners of op- 
 posite sides shall gather all the tricks won by 
 himself and partner, and shall also keep the 
 score of the game. 
 
 The five points constituting game are 
 counted with the tray and deuce of the refuse 
 cards, termed counters, which are placed at 
 two diagonal corners of the table, and in 
 such a manner as always to be in view, for 
 no player should ask how the score of the 
 3 
 
42 EUCHRE. 
 
 game stands, or call his partner's attention 
 to it. 
 
 The game is scored by placing the tray of 
 the two counters, crosswise, with the face 
 down, npon one half the face of the deuce, 
 leaving only one of its pips exposed, for one 
 point. To count two, the deuce is with- 
 drawn from beneath the tray, upon which it 
 is placed back to back. For three, both cards 
 are turned over, exposing the face of the 
 tray. Four is counted by removing the 
 deuce from below the tray, and replacing it, 
 lengthwise, half covered, with the face up. 
 This arrangement of the position of the 
 counters should always be adopted, for then 
 no mistake in the count can occur — except, 
 only, at the score of one — should the count- 
 ers by accident be displaced on the table. 
 
 The number of games won by each party 
 may be reckoned with an ordinary four- 
 bladed penknife, in this manner: a blade 
 one-quarter open for one game; half open 
 for two games ; three-quarters open for three 
 games; fully opened, for four games. The 
 
MODE OF PLAYING. 43 
 
 second blade can reckon four more games, 
 which will be eight — when you count them — 
 and the entire four blades open will reckon 
 as many "as sixteen games. "Cut and come 
 again." The knife may then be closed, if the 
 players are lucky or skillful enough to con- 
 tinue its use ; and sixteen more, or forty- 
 eight, or ad infinitum games may be reckoned 
 on it. If this simple practice will not suit 
 the fastidious, we will con-nive at any other 
 method. 
 
 The mode of playing is, at times, varied 
 by one of the players announcing that he 
 will Play Alone — a variation of such great 
 interest and amusement — and peculiar, in 
 many respects, to this game — that we respect- 
 fully beg leave to be permitted to treat the 
 modus operandi somewhat at length in the 
 ensuing Chapter. 
 
CHAPTEE III. 
 
 ON FLAYING ALONE. 
 
 " Solitary and alone I set this ball in motion.' ' 
 
 Benton. 
 
 " There's a game mncli in fashion — I think it's called 
 
 Euchre, 
 (Though I never have played it, for pleasure or 
 
 lucre,) 
 In which when the cards are in certain conditions, 
 The players appear to have changed their positions, 
 And one of them cries in a confident tone, 
 4 1 think I may venture to go it alone. 1 " — Saxe. 
 " Alone I did it." — Shakspeare. 
 
 It occurs quite often during an evening 
 passed in social intercourse at Euchre, that a 
 player has dealt to him five cards of such su- 
 perior value that he is quite confident of win- 
 ning all the five tricks without playing with 
 his partner, and in such case he announces 
 that he will Play Alone. The proper time to 
 (44) 
 
PLAYING ALONE. 45 
 
 declare this intention is when it is the turn of 
 the player who holds the lone hand, as it is 
 termed, either to order up the trump, or assist ; 
 or, if the dealer, when he takes up the trump 
 and before he discards ; or, when the player, 
 or his partner, makes the trump. In each 
 case the player makes known his intention by 
 saying, distinctly and unequivocally, "I Play 
 Alone." His partner then places the cards 
 dealt to him, faces down on the table imme- 
 diately before him, and is not permitted to 
 make any remark in relation to the value of 
 the cards which he had in his hand, during 
 the play of. the five tricks. 
 
 The eldest-hand leads. The eldest-hand is 
 always entitled to the lead, except when his 
 partner Plays Alone, and then the lead is trans- 
 ferred to the dealer's partner, for the partner 
 of the player playing alone is always hors 
 de combat during the play of that hand. 
 
 If the player who Plays Alone, wins all 
 
 five of the tricks from his antagonists, he is 
 
 entitled to score four points to his game. But 
 
 if he only makes four or three of the tricks, 
 
 3* 
 
46 EUCHRE. 
 
 he can count but one point. Should he*fail 
 to win three tricks, however, he is Euchred, 
 which, when playing alone, counts his antago- 
 nists the same number of points that he would 
 have gained if successful in winning all the 
 tricks, namely, four points. 
 
 In playing the game on the Mississppi 
 river, if the player who Plays Alone is 
 Euchred, the steamer is stopped at the first 
 landing and the unlucky player is put ashore. 
 In the State of Arkansas he is carried out to 
 be hung to the first adjacent tree, without 
 benefit of clergy. But in a more refined and 
 better established order of civilization, a 
 hearty laugh against him is the only penalty 
 he has to endure for the misplaced confidence 
 on the cards — except those four points to the 
 game of his opponents. 
 
 It is customary in some coteries to count 
 but two points when the adverse party Euchre 
 the player who Plays Alone, and as part and 
 parcel of the same usage either of his antago- 
 nists holding high cards in the trump suit, 
 may also Play Alone against him. In such 
 
PLAYING ALONE. 47 
 
 a case, each player plays without his partner, 
 and he who wins the odd trick, is entitled to 
 score the four points. But this practice, and 
 quite deservedly, receives but little favor, as 
 the approved mode of play achieves the same 
 result. 
 
 There is also another improper custom, ad- 
 hered to by a few players only, which trans- 
 fers to the player who announces a lone hand, 
 the right to lead, without any regard what- 
 ever to the position he holds to the dealer, or 
 indeed, if it should be the dealer himself who 
 Plays Alone. But this practice is too much at 
 variance with the spirit of the game to be 
 tolerated by experienced players. 
 /"If the aealer's partner assists, or makes a 
 trump, the dealer has the privilege of Playing 
 Alone, and if the eldest-hand orders up the 
 trump, or makes a trump, his partner may, in 
 like manner, Play Alone. 
 
 It occasionally happens that each one of 
 
 ' two partners may hold a lone hand, and in 
 
 that event the right of Playing Alone belongs 
 
 to the partner whose turn to play is last. For 
 
48 EUCHRE. 
 
 example : A and are partners opposed to B 
 and D. A deals and gives each of his oppo- 
 nents a lone hand. B, who is the eldest-hand, 
 orders up the trump card, and announces that 
 he will Play Alone. D, his partner, has the 
 right to take the privilege of Playing Alone 
 from him. Bat in this case, the partner D is 
 compelled to Play Alone, and the player B, 
 who first announced a lone hand, cannot play, 
 lotwithstanding that he would have a great 
 id vantage, being entitled to the lead. If this 
 rule did not prevail, an unfair player, wishing 
 to intimate the strength of his own hand to 
 his partner, might say that he would Play 
 Alone, after his partner had announced his 
 intention to do so, and then decline to Play 
 Alone, which would convey to his partner the 
 information that he, also, had a strong hand 
 at trumps, and, in that way, give him a great 
 and an improper advantage. Until this rule 
 was established, the compiler had often wit- 
 nessed partners, both holding lone hands, 
 bickering with each other before they could 
 agree as to which one should have the privi- 
 
PLAYING ALONE. 49 
 
 lege of Playing Alone, which, of course, as 
 developing their hands to each other, was en- 
 tirely unfair. 
 
 Should the eldest-hand, holding very strong 
 cards at the suit turned up for trumps, and 
 being also strong at next in suit, pass — which, 
 by the way, is always done in order to Euchre 
 the adverse party in case they take up the 
 trump — and his partner also holds a strong 
 hand of the trump suit, and, in his turn, 
 orders it up, the eldest-hand, having once 
 passed the trump, cannot then Play Alone, 
 but must take the chances with his partner to 
 win a march. A player, having once passed 
 the trump, or passed the making, cannot Play 
 Alone, when his partner orders up, or makes 
 a trump. We have known it asserted that when 
 the eldest-hand — being strong in trumps and 
 also at next in suit — passes, and his partner, 
 when in turn, orders up, that the eldest-hand 
 may then re-enter and be permitted to Play 
 Alone. But this practice is clearly too unfair 
 to be entertained, and we most unqualifiedly 
 denounce it as entire]y incompatible with 
 
50 EUCHRE. 
 
 the principles of play and the spirit of the 
 game. 
 
 Four high trumps and an Ace of a lay suit 
 constitute a good lone hand. Three high 
 trumps, with an Ace and the seven even of the 
 same suit, is often a winning lone hand. A 
 sequence of the Left-Bower, Ace, and King 
 of trumps, and commanding lay cards, is 
 always a good lone hand, because, if the 
 Eight-Bower is out against it, one point only 
 could be made if both partners played to- 
 gether ; and, if it is not out, the player, who 
 Plays Alone, has a fair chance to win all the 
 tricks. In Playing Alone, the eldest-hand, 
 being entitled to the lead, may. .Play Alone 
 with a less strong hand, than either of the 
 other players ; and, he may sometimes, when 
 cards are running favorably for him and 
 unfavorably to his opponents, win all the 
 five tricks when holding only the Eight- 
 Bower and a small trump, with commanding 
 cards in one or more suits. 
 
 But although the Eight-Bower and a small 
 trump — the seven even — supported with com- 
 
PLAYING ALONE. 51 
 
 manding cards in lay suits, frequently make a 
 winning lone hand, yet it would not be recom- 
 mended to the tyro to play so bold a game. 
 Players of experience are at times indulged 
 with a presentiment, as they call it, foretelling 
 that so small a lone hand will win, but such 
 prescience is more the result of observation 
 than luck. 
 
 In Playing Alone, whether the trump is 
 adopted or made, the lead is always a deci- 
 ded advantage. "Put that in your pipe, and 
 smoke it. " 
 
 The dealer, being the last player to the 
 first trick, may also venture to Play Alone 
 on a less strong hand than either of the other 
 players, except the eldest-hand. 
 
 " There is a tide in the affairs of men, " 
 which is often " taken at the flood " by ac- 
 complished players, who will then hazard a 
 lone hand with comparatively small cards. 
 Suppose the dealer " at the flood, " and he 
 Plays Alone with the Eight-Bower, King 
 and nine of trumps, with an Ace, and a Queen 
 — or inferior card even — of different lay 
 
52 EUCHRE. 
 
 suits. In this case, after he has won the first 
 two tricks with trumps, it is smart play to 
 lead the Ace of the lay suit, especially if the 
 adversaries' trumps are exhausted, for the 
 opponents supposing he would naturally hold 
 another card of the same suit as the Ace led 
 for the third trick, would retain a card of 
 that suit, if a medium one only, and throw 
 away a King, or an Ace even, of a different 
 suit, when the last trump was led for the 
 fourth trick, and the Queen, or lower card, 
 by such play, frequently wins. 
 
 When the dealer, having only three trumps, 
 is discarding to Play Alone, it is much safer 
 to put out even so high a card as the King 
 of a lay suit, being the only card he has of 
 the suit, and retain an inferior card, should it 
 be so low as the seven, of a suit of which he 
 holds the Ace ; for, after winning three tricks 
 in trumps, the chances that the Ace of the 
 lay suit, when led, will exhaust the cards in 
 that suit and enable the seven to win the last 
 trick, are decidedly more in his favor than 
 that the King would win on the first lead of 
 
PLAYING ALONE. 53 
 
 the suit, if lie had retained it. For the same 
 reason, three commanding trumps with an 
 Ace and seven of a lay suit, is considered a 
 better lone hand than four trumps with a 
 King of a lay suit. But, although a player 
 may frequently hazard to Play Alone on a 
 moderately strong hand, when a gentle course 
 of luck comes wooingly to him, yet he must 
 remember that like another too well known 
 course, it " never did run smooth. " Instance 
 a sad example : The dealer, having comple- 
 ted the distribution of the cards, turns up the 
 Ace of spades for the trump. The eldest- 
 hand, examining his cards, finds he holds the 
 Eight-Bower and seven of spades, and the 
 seven, eight, and nine of clubs, and passes — 
 as he should with that hand at any stage of 
 the game. The other two players also pass, 
 and the dealer having in hand the Left-Bower 
 and King of spades, with the Ace and ten of 
 hearts, and the Ace of diamonds — a captiva- 
 ting hand — announces that he will Play 
 Alone, and discards the ten of hearts — his 
 own heart brimful of hope. The eldest-hand 
 4 . \ 
 
54: EUCHEE. 
 
 leads either of the small clubs which his 
 partner, holding but one, follows, and the 
 dealer wins with the Ace of trumps. He 
 then leads the Left-Bower, which the eldest- 
 hand wins with the Right-Bower, and leads 
 another club, which forces the dealer to play 
 the King of trumps. The seven of trumps 
 will then win either Ace that is led, and the 
 third club winning the remaining Ace, the 
 very strong lone hand is absolutely Euchred. 
 
 In Playing Alone and winning, the card 
 of lowest value should always be the last 
 card led, because when the adversaries are 
 throwing away on the preceding leads the 
 chances of losing that inferior card are 
 diminished. 
 
 When playing against a lone hand a part- 
 ner throws away high cards of one suit, it is 
 to be presumed that he holds commanding 
 cards in some other suit, and his partner 
 should therefore retain his highest card in 
 the suit his partner throws away, when he 
 has one, in preference to any, not a command- 
 ing card, of a different suit. 
 
PLAYING ALONE. 55 
 
 When a suit is trumped by the player who 
 Plays Alone, of course his opponents will 
 throw away all the cards they hold of that 
 suit to the lone player's winning cards, when 
 their trumps are exhausted. 
 
 Should a player lose the first or the second 
 trick, Playing Alone, he must then play cau- 
 tiously, and only endeavor to win the majo- 
 rity of the tricks ; for, having lost the chance 
 of winning the five tricks, he must play to 
 prevent being Euchred. More especially 
 must he play with caution, if, after losing the 
 first or second trick, he holds the tenace, for 
 then, after he has taken one trick, he is cer- 
 tain, if he plays right, of making the point. 
 
 There is a peculiar practice of play, that 
 takes place at a certair state of the score, to 
 which we solicit especial attention. This 
 state of the game is termed a Bridge. It is 
 introduced at the close of this Chapter, for 
 want of a more suitable spot to locate it, and 
 We beg the gentle reader to give it a sort of 
 retrospective effect by placing it supra — a 
 little higher up the creek — and let it span 
 
56 EUCHRE. 
 
 the space intervening between Chapters II. 
 and III. 
 
 The Bridge, in Euchre, — not a pons asino- 
 rum, — occurs when one party are scoring 
 four points, and their opponents, having the 
 deal, are scoring one or two points only. It 
 is then always the duty of the eldest-hand to 
 order up the trump, to prevent the dealer, or 
 his partner, from Playing Alone — unless, the 
 eldest-hand is sure of winning one trick. 
 He is sure of a trick, of course, if he holds 
 the Eight-Bower, — or the Left-Bower with 
 another trump, the Left-Bower guarded, as 
 it is termed. At this state of the game he 
 orders up the trump — when not certain of one 
 trick — preferring to be Euchred, and lose two 
 points only, to giving the dealer, or his 
 partner, the chance of making with a lone 
 hand, and winning the game." This practice 
 must be rigidly observed by the eldest-hand, 
 for the advantages of the deal are so great, 
 that the deal is deemed equivalent to a 
 point; so, when the eldest-hand is Euchred 
 where he has ordered up at the Bridge, his 
 
PLAYING ALONE. 57 
 
 chances for winning the game are still deci- 
 dedly in his favor. The poorer his hand, 
 the stronger the reason for ordering up. 
 Four to one, or two, is always a Bridge — 
 four to nothing is not. 
 
 But, if the eldest hand is sure of winning 
 one trick he may pass, if he chooses, and this 
 is a fair signal to his partner — like the Blue 
 Peter, at Whist — who, if strong in trumps, 
 will know that the eldest-hand has also one 
 or two, if not more, commanding trumps, 
 and he will then order up for the purpose of 
 winning the point, and game. 
 
 Three to one, and two to nothing, are 
 sometimes considered a Bridge, especially if 
 the dealer turns up a Bower, or other high 
 card ; but the tyro would not be advised to 
 take such liberties. Older players, who have 
 acquired a tact in doing such things — by long 
 observation and play, and attention to the 
 run of the cards — may frequently succeed in 
 such experiments. 
 
 If either one of the dealer's opponents calls 
 the attention of his partner to the state of the 
 4* 
 
58 EUCHKE. 
 
 game, at a Bridge — or gives any intimation of 
 the fact — the dealer, or his partner, may then 
 Play Alone, or permit the opponents to order 
 up, at their option. Attention to the Bridge 
 is the office of the eldest-hand alone — and as 
 it is a free institution he cannot be tolled. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 LAP, SLAM, JAMB0NE, AND JAMBOREE. 
 
 "Ambiguitas Verborum latens Verificatione sup- 
 pletur." — Bacon's Maxims. 
 
 " Once more I will renew 
 His lapsed powers." — Milton. 
 
 The addition of the Lap, Slam, and Jam- 
 bone, to the game of Euchre is comparatively 
 a modern institution, and is esteemed by com- 
 petent judges — "the choice and master spirits 
 of this age" — as one of the grand inventions 
 of the present refined state of society — a re- 
 sult of the advanced condition of civilization. 
 We have indeed encountered some few play- 
 ers, but of indifferent skill, who decline to 
 sanction this pleasing variation of the game, 
 and persistently insist in their opposition to 
 the Lap — which is counting all the points won 
 over five to the next game — declaring that 
 
 (59) 
 
60 EUCHRE. 
 
 you might as well score all the points won 
 over the number constituting the game at 
 Whist, or at any other game of cards ; and 
 adhere most rigidly to the fixed fact that one 
 game is only one game, no matter how many 
 points are won above the number of which it 
 consists. This is very good logic when ap- 
 plied to most games, but it is inapplicable to 
 ours ; and this opposition to the Lap consti- 
 tutes the principal objection to the Jambone. 
 But this very practice thus objected to, we 
 affectionately cherish as one of the most inter- 
 esting features of our pet game. Alas for 
 difference in taste ! So many men, so many 
 minds — autant de tetes, autant d' opinions, as 
 we say at Paris, with a haussement d 1 epaules. 
 We heard it once alleged that people do 
 exist who even object to play cards! "Tell 
 it not in Gath." And then this variation of 
 the old mode of playing the game of Euchre 
 adds so immensely to the amusement of the 
 play— the purpose, we opine, for which the 
 game was invented — and has such a cheering 
 influence on a despondent player's downcast 
 
LAP, SLAM, AND JAMBONE. 61 
 
 heart, to whom ill-luck has been obstinately 
 running, by giving him the hope — " gay hope 
 by fancy fed"— that if fortune— " the hood- 
 wink'd goddess' 7 — will once again smile upon 
 him he may be enabled, by a few brilliant 
 coups, to retrieve his sad reverses. And our 
 game is, in truth, so essentially variant in 
 many points of play from all other games, 
 that this objection to the Lap, Slam, and Jam- 
 bone, cannot be fairly urged against it, and 
 this mode of play is as fair for one party as 
 the other. " So what's the Aodds, as long as 
 we're 'appy." We confess to never yet having 
 encountered a first-class player who did not, 
 pronounce the Lap an eminently pleasing ad- 
 dition to the game. 
 
 Permit us to instance a case, more clearly 
 to illustrate our meaning. Suppose a player, 
 ardent as ecclesiastical zeal, at the score of 
 f our — though not four score, for the zeal's 
 sa t e — perceives, on examination of the cards 
 dealt to him, that he holds a sure lone hand, 
 and all the other players pass to him. If he 
 is to be deprived of the privilege of playing 
 
62 EUCHRE. 
 
 that hand Alone, and of counting the four 
 points which he wins, as he most assuredly 
 would be were he not allowed to Lap the 
 superfluous three points to the next game, 
 such deprivation would cause him to be de- 
 pressed in spirits for a week — as wretched a 
 youth as if he had been entangled in the 
 meshes of the tender passion and suffered dis- 
 appointment. " These little things are great 
 to little men." 
 
 But, as an agreeable man is one who 
 agrees, and who delights to obviate difficul- 
 ties, it would be advisable before sitting down 
 to play with persons who have never pre- 
 viously "entered the lists" together, for one 
 player to make himself agreeable by inquir- 
 ing if this manner of playing the game is to 
 be adopted; and, if the proposition gives 
 rise to any difference of opinion affecting the 
 merits, we most sincerely hope that its ex- 
 pression may not prove to be so tedious to 
 either party as this preamble of ours. 
 
 The Lap then is simply counting upon the 
 score of the ensuing game all the points made 
 
LAP, SLAM ; AND JAMBONE. 63 
 
 over and above the five, of which, the game 
 consists. For example : if one party, having 
 scored four points towards game, should 
 Euchre their opponents, or should win all 
 five tricks, either of which events entitles 
 them to two points, they therefore not only 
 win that game, but are permitted to scpre the 
 superfluous point as one in the next game. 
 Or, if a player, at the score of four, Plays 
 Alone and wins the five tricks, he counts the 
 three points over to the next game. 
 
 Slam, or Love-game, is a term common to 
 many games of cards, and implies that, when 
 a party win the game, before their oppo- 
 nents have made one point, that game is 
 deemed to be a double-game, and must be 
 reckoned as two games. Suppose a player, 
 at the score of four, and his opponents are 
 counting nothing, and he Plays Alone and 
 wins the five tricks, which counts his side 
 four additional points — eight in all — he wins 
 that game, which reckons as two games, and 
 he is permitted to transfer the extra three— 
 by means of the Lap — to the next game, and 
 
61 EUCHRE. 
 
 feels that he has accomplished a good thing. 
 " Alone I did it." We can trace no analogy 
 between the terms Slam, and Love-game., 
 which have the identical signification, how- 
 ever, at cards, without indecorously alluding 
 to our own, and neighbors' street doors, and 
 agitated exits; and so, prudently refrain. 
 Verbum sat. 
 
 Jambone is a euphonic term, of difficult 
 etymology. But — "What's in a name?" 
 AVhatever its derivation may have been, how- 
 ever, it is now only used to express the inten- 
 tion of a player to Play Alone, with his 
 cards exposed on the table. Thus, if a player, 
 on examining the cards distributed to him by 
 the dealer, finds that he holds cards of such 
 estimable worth that he is confident of win- 
 ning the five tricks, he announces, when his 
 turn, that he will play Jambone, and spreads 
 his cards out in a line before him, on the 
 table, with their faces turned up to view. 
 When the cards are exposed by the Jam- 
 bone player in this manner, the player enti- 
 tled to the lead commences the round, and 
 
LAP, SLAM, AND JAMBONE. 65 
 
 has the right to call, one of the cards so ex- 
 posed, to be played to the first trick. But 
 this right to call a card belongs only to that 
 adversary who has the right to lead, or to 
 play first, for if the partner of that adversary 
 gives any intimation to his associate which 
 would enable the two together to win the 
 first trick, they thereby forfeit their right to 
 the call, and the Jambone player may then 
 play whichever card he chooses to the first 
 trick. If the Jambone player is successful in 
 gaining the whole five tricks,— under this 
 disadvantage of showing the opponents his 
 cards, and of giving the elder in hand the 
 right to name one of the cards so exposed to 
 be played on the first trick, — he is entitled to 
 count eight points. . 
 
 Jambone may be played by any player 
 under the same restrictions which regulate 
 Playing Alone. 
 
 If the adverse party order up, or make the 
 trump, a player holding a Jambone hand can- 
 not be permitted to play it as such, and he must 
 be content simply to win a Euchre with it. 
 5 
 
66 EUCHRE. 
 
 If the Jambone player is entitled to the 
 lead, then his left-hand adversary has the right 
 to call one of the exposed cards as the lead. 
 
 If the first trick under these circumstances 
 is won by the Jambone player, the play pro- 
 ceeds in the usual course ; and if the Jambone 
 player then wins only the majority of the five 
 tricks, he scores but one point towards game, 
 as in Playing Alone. 
 
 The opponent, entitled to call, has the 
 right to call but one card only, and that 
 card to the first trick p]ayed, and the Jam- 
 bone player is entitled to play his other four 
 cards according to his own judgment. 
 
 If the eldest-hand, opposed to the dealer 
 playing the Jambone, leads a suit which the 
 Jambone player can trump, and calls, on 
 leading, the smallest trump in the open hand, 
 if his partner can also trump the suit with a 
 higher trump they of course win that trick, 
 for the Jambone player is compelled to play 
 the card called, when not inconsistent with 
 the system of play. But let us illustrate this 
 point. Suppose the dealer plays a Jambone 
 
LAP, SLAM, AND JAMBONE. 67 
 
 hand, and clubs are trumps, and in the open 
 hand he shows the Bowers, Ace, and ten of 
 trumps, with the Ace of hearts. The eldest- 
 hand has three diamonds, with no trump, 
 and leads one of them, hoping, as he has so 
 many, his partner may be able to trump it 
 also, and calls the ten of trumps from the 
 Jambone hand. His partner having the 
 Queen of trumps, with no diamond, wins the 
 trick. The Jambone player would not have 
 the option, in this case, after the Queen was 
 played, to throw away his Ace of hearts, in 
 lieu of the ten of trumps, but must always 
 play the called card. 
 
 Should the Jambone player fail to win 
 three tricks, it is not yet known what mea- 
 sure of corporal punishment ought to be 
 inflicted upon him, but his adversaries, at all 
 events, would be entitled to count eight 
 points. 
 
 The dealer, possessing the right to dis- 
 card, or, in other words, having six cards 
 w r ith the privilege of putting out one of them, 
 more often holds a Jambone hand than either 
 
68 EUCHKE. 
 
 of the other players. He is never compelled 
 to use, or take in, the card turned up for 
 trump, if he should be so fortunate as not to 
 require it, for then the turn up card only- 
 serves to indicate the trump suit, and he may 
 decline to discard. The player calling the 
 card to the first trick should call it at the 
 moment he leads, or if the lead belongs to 
 the Jambone player, his opponent entitled to 
 the call must call before he plays, for if the 
 opponent's partner plays his card before the 
 player who has the right to call has called, 
 the right to the call becomes forfeited, and 
 the Jambone player may then play any card 
 he chooses to the first trick. 
 
 A few examples of the play, by way of 
 illustration, may define our positions more 
 clearly. Suppose, then, the dealer, conclu- 
 ding the deal, turns up the Ace of spades. 
 The other players pass, or his partner may 
 assist, and, examining his cards, he is delight- 
 ed to behold the two black Bowers, with the 
 Queen and ten of trumps, and a card of a lay 
 suit. He immediately announces the Jam- 
 
LAP, SLAM, AND JAMB0NE. 69 
 
 bone, discarding the lay card. He then turns 
 up his cards on the table, in a line before 
 him, and is confident of success — naturally, 
 as the chances in favor of the King of trumps 
 not being out against him are so mighty mul- 
 titudinous that it would be quite unnecessary 
 to enter into a calculation of them — even if 
 he could. But the fickle goddess, bless her 
 heart! does not invariably bestow all her 
 favors on one individual — we love to say it — 
 for the eldest-hand does, curiously enough, — 
 oh, the capriciousness of luck! — hold the 
 identical King of trumps. He leads that 
 King, of course, with a smile of gratitude, 
 announcing in a winning manner — bland as 
 the breath of spring — that he calls the Queen, 
 which the dealer is compelled to play to the 
 King after the eldest-hand's partner has fol- 
 lowed to the lead, and the Jambone player 
 loses that trick. Although he wins the other 
 four tricks, he is only entitled to count one 
 point, as previously stated. If the dealer had 
 played that hand alone ; simply, of course he 
 would have won every trick, and secured 
 5* 
 
70 EUCHKE. 
 
 four points ; but the chances of winning all 
 eight points were so seductive that it was 
 impossible not to make the hazard ; for, 
 nothing venture, nothing gain, is, pre-emi- 
 nently, a maxim of Euchre. Had the eldest- 
 hand not been the lucky holder of the King, 
 but had held, in lieu of his majesty, an indif- 
 ferent trump, or, in fact, any trump, it then 
 would have been his imperative duty to have 
 led it, calling the Queen or the ten, in the 
 faint hope that his partner might possibly 
 hold the King — which gave them the only 
 chance of preventing the Jambone hand from 
 making. Such chances must never be dis- 
 regarded. 
 
 If the dealer plays Jambone with a quart 
 or sequence of four trumps from the Left- 
 Bower, and an Ace of a lay suit, (which he 
 should invariably do, because, if the Eight- 
 Bower is out against him he could only wrn 
 one point if he Played Alone,) the eldest-hand 
 should lead a card if he holds one of the same 
 suit as the dealer's lay Ace, in the hope that 
 his partner might be able to trump it. The 
 
LAP, SLAM, AND JAMBONE. 71 
 
 eldest-hand could not play a lay card of a dif- 
 ferent suit and call the Ace of the lay suit to 
 be played to it, because that would be at va- 
 riance with the spirit of the game. No player 
 having the right to call a card from the Jam- 
 bone player's hand, can require him to throw 
 away a commanding card of a lay suit to a 
 lead of a different suit, but in that case can 
 only call his lowest trump. 
 
 If the cards should be cut in such a manner 
 that the dealer turns up a Bower, say the 
 Knave of spades — " the most unkindest cut of 
 all," — and he deals to himself the Left-Bower 
 and nine of trumps, with the Ace of each of 
 the three lay suits, he may discard his nine 
 of trumps and play Jambone. He discards 
 this small trump because the chances are much 
 more favorable that either one of the three 
 Aces will win the first trick, when called by 
 the eldest-hand, than that his nine of trumps 
 will make. It would not be prudent to play 
 this hand Jambone, if the player holding it was 
 the eldest-hand, because the player next in 
 play to him might be able to trump one of 
 
72 EUCHRE. 
 
 the three Aces, and he would therefore call 
 it, and in that way win the first trick. But 
 when the suit is led to the Jambone player, 
 the chances of the second player not being 
 able to trump are greatly in favor of the Jam- 
 bone player, who would then win the trick, 
 and would probably exhaust the trumps with 
 his two Bowers, and clear the way for the 
 other two Aces. 
 
 Although the foregoing hand would gene- 
 rally win, yet it might be quite easily Euchred. 
 Par example : Suppose the eldest-hand holds 
 the ten of trumps, three small hearts, and a 
 small diamond. His partner has the seven 
 and eight of trumps, and three small clubs. 
 The eldest-hand leads a small heart, — because, 
 having three of them, his partner would be 
 more likely not to have any — and calls the 
 Ace. His partner not holding a heart, trumps 
 with the seven, and wins the trick. He then 
 leads a club, on which the dealer puts his 
 Ace, and the eldest-hand wins with the ten of 
 trumps, making the second trick. The eldest- 
 hand then leads his small diamond, which his 
 
LAP, SLAM, AND JAMBONE. 73 
 
 partner wins with the other small trump, and 
 the dealer's two Bowers are left " blooming- 
 alone ;" while his antagonists proceed content- 
 edly to score eight points for their successful 
 play. "They laugh that win," if we remem- 
 ber rightly. 
 
 Once more. Suppose the dealer is assisted 
 Vy his partner, and, looking at his hand, finds 
 that he holds the two Bowers, with the seven 
 and eight of trumps, a lay Ace, with another 
 small card. He may discard and venture the 
 Jambone on this rather indifferent hand — if 
 the score of the game invites it, though it 
 would, ordinarily, be better to Play Alone, 
 simply, — for, if the eldest-hand has no trump 
 to lead and to call the seven or eight, the 
 dealer is almost sure of winning. Bemember, 
 there are only nine trumps — eight of the suit, 
 with the Knave of the same color — in this fa- 
 vorite game of ours. The dealer, in this case, 
 sees four of them in his own hand, and he is 
 certain that his partner has at least two more, 
 which accounts for six of the trumps. As 
 there are ten cards in the hands of the two 
 
74 EUCHKE. 
 
 opponeats ; and eleven more in the talon, the 
 chances are very much in favor of the eldest- 
 hand being without a trump. We could cipher 
 it out for you, but it is scarcely necessary. 
 
 Jamboree is another musical sound of 
 unknown etymological deduction, rarely an- 
 nounced, however — " breathe not his name" — 
 and signifies the combination of the five high- 
 est cards, namely, the two Bowers, Ace, King, 
 and Queen of trumps, in one hand, which be- 
 stows on the player— -fortuna juvante — who 
 holds this galaxy of cards, the pleasing priv- 
 ilege of counting sixteen points. It requires 
 but little to be said of this rare constellation 
 of the " painted tablets," for a player will not 
 have dealt to him the Jamboree more than 
 two or three times in the course of a quarter 
 of a century's addiction to the game. 
 
 The player holding Jamboree simply an- 
 nounces the fact, and displays the cards ; for 
 no play, of course, is necessary. But the 
 player must announce the Jamboree ; for if, by 
 mistake, he should announce the Jambone, and 
 commence to play the hand as such, when in 
 
LAP, SLAM, AND JAMBONE. 75 
 
 fact he holds the Jamboree, he is only entitled 
 to score what he announces, and to count 
 eight points. The mistake of one party is the 
 game of the other. 
 
 In counting the Lap, and the Slam, it is to 
 be remembered that all the points made above 
 five go to the score of the next ensuing game ; 
 and, if those points extend to so many as ten 
 — as in the case of a party scoring two points, 
 and winning with the Jambone, making eight 
 points more— the second five points, from six 
 to ten inclusive, must be a Slam, which counts 
 two games — making, in all, three games. If 
 a player is scoring four points and wins with 
 the Jambone, which, added to the four, makes 
 him twelve points, he counts three games, and 
 the supernumerary two lap into the fourth 
 game. If the adverse party were not scoring 
 one point, the first game would be a Slam, as 
 well as the second, which would then count 
 four games, with the two to the next game. 
 This, of course, is the highest number of 
 points that can be gained in one hand — ex- 
 cept with the Jamboree. 
 
76 EUCHRE. 
 
 The Jamboree hand wins sixteen points, 
 which must, at least, count five games with 
 one point to lap over. If a player is scoring 
 four to his opponent's nothing, and announces 
 the Jamboree, the sixteen points then won 
 added to his four, make twenty points, which 
 make four games, each of them a Slam, which 
 entitles him to count, in all, eight games — the 
 highest figure attainable. 
 
 Jamboree, like Jambone, and Play ing Alone, 
 cannot be played, as such, if the adverse 
 party order up the trump, or make it ; for in 
 that case it can only win the two points — as 
 when playing the Bridge — for the Euchre. 
 
 It will be perceived that our game is pe- 
 culiarly symmetrical in arrangement ; and to 
 prevent any misunderstanding in scoring the 
 games, let us reiterate that the counts, in the 
 different variations of play, increase in geo- 
 metrical progression ; — and, when one party, 
 adopting or making the trump, win the odd 
 trick, they count only one point; in winning 
 all five tricks they count two points ; Playing 
 Alone and winning, four points ; winning at 
 
LAP, SLAM, AND JAMBONE. 77 
 
 Jambone, eight points; with the Jamboree, 
 sixteen points. Should the party, adopting 
 or making the trump, fail to win the odd 
 trick in either of these variations of play, 
 they lose the same number of points which 
 they would have been entitled to count if they 
 had been successful in gaining the five tricks. 
 6 
 
CHAPTEE V. 
 
 TECHNICALITIES. 
 
 11 Verbum verbo reddere fidus 
 Interpres. ' ' — Horace, 
 " Words — words — words." — Wordsworth. 
 
 Adopt the Trump. To play at the suit 
 turned up. 
 
 Assist. Is where the dealer's partner, be- 
 lieving that he can win the odd trick, at 
 least, agrees to play at the trump turned up. 
 
 Bower. Either Knave of the color of the 
 trump suit. " Will you come to the bower I 
 have shaded for you?" 
 
 Bridge. Is where the opponents, having 
 the deal, are counting but one or two points 
 only towards game, and the other side are at 
 the score of four. It is then the duty of the 
 eldest-hand, if he has not one certain trick in 
 hand, to order up the trump card to prevent 
 (78) 
 
TECHNICALITIES. 79 
 
 the dealer, or his partner, from Playing 
 Alone. 
 
 Call. Is the right to require an adversary 
 to play a card that has been improperly shown 
 or exposed. 
 
 Cards Away. To Play Alone. 
 
 Count. To reckon the game. 
 
 Counters. The deuce and tray, usually 
 of diamonds and spades, probably because 
 the pips of those two suits being more sharp 
 and angular are easily discerned. 
 
 Court-Cards. The Aces, Kings, Queens, 
 and Knaves, of each suit, as distinguished 
 from the numerical ones. Formerly called 
 coat-cards. 
 
 Cross the Suit. To make a trump of 
 different color from the card turned up for 
 the trump. 
 
 Cut. To separate the pack into two parts 
 before the player, whose right it is to deal, 
 distributes the cards. 
 
 Deal. To distribute to each player five 
 cards, face downwards, after the pack has 
 been shuffled and cut. 
 
 
80 EUCHRE. 
 
 Dealer. He to whom belongs the privi- 
 lege of distributing the cards to the other 
 players. 
 
 Deck. Synonymous with Pack. 
 
 Discard. Putting out one card from the 
 dealer's hand, and replacing it with the card 
 turned up, when it has been adopted for the 
 trump. 
 
 Doubled. Two cards of the same suit. 
 
 Dutch It. The same as Next In Suit. 
 
 Eldest-Hand. The left-hand adversary 
 of the dealer. 
 
 Euchre. This term, which gives the game 
 its name, is used to denote the loss of a party, 
 adopting or making a trump, and who fail to 
 win a majority of the tricks. It also applies 
 to Lone and Jambone hands failing to win ; 
 the successful opponents counting four and 
 eight points respectively. 
 
 Faced Card. One with its face turned up, 
 so that it may be seen. 
 
 Finesse. Is where a third player holding 
 the best and the third best trump, plays the 
 latter, taking the risk that the last player does 
 
TECHNICALITIES. 81 
 
 not hold the second best trump. If the last 
 player does not hold it, the third player by 
 this play wins the two tricks. 
 
 Follow Suit. To play a card of the suit led. 
 
 Force. To lead a suit of which your oppo- 
 nents hold none, thus forcing them to trump 
 or lose the trick. 
 
 Fresh Deal. When an accident occurs in 
 dealing, the dealer is entitled to deal anew. 
 
 Game. When two players, associated to- 
 gether as partners, make five points before 
 their adversaries. 
 
 Go Alone. The same as to Play Alone. 
 
 Guarded. Any two cards of suit. 
 
 Hand. The five cards given to each player 
 by the dealer. 
 
 Jambone. Is when a player holds such 
 high cards that he announces to play them, 
 without his partner, turned, faces up to view 
 on the table, and gives to that adversary who 
 is entitled to lead, or to play first, the privi- 
 lege of calling one of the cards so exposed to 
 the first trick played ; or, if the Jambone player 
 has the lead, to call a card from his open hand 
 6* 
 
82 EUCHRE. 
 
 to be played to. If he can then win all five 
 tricks he is entitled to count eight points. 
 
 Jamboree. Holding the five highest cards 
 at trumps, being the two Bowers, Ace, King, 
 and Queen, which the player having them, 
 shows, as at Jambone, and is entitled to count 
 sixteen points. 
 
 Lap. To count all the points made over 
 five to the next game. 
 
 Lay Card. Any card not a trump. 
 
 Lay Suit. Either of the three suits when 
 not the trump. 
 
 Lead. The card first played by the eldest- 
 hand; afterwards the card led by him who 
 has won the preceding trick. 
 
 Left-Bower. The Knave of the same color 
 as the trump suit, which is the second best 
 trump. 
 
 Left-Bower Guarded. To hold the Left- 
 Bower, and any other trump, which will gene- 
 rally win one trick if properly played. 
 
 Lone Hand. A hand, so strong in trumps, 
 that it will probably win all five tricks if 
 Played Alone. 
 
TECHNICALITIES. 83 
 
 Lone Player. One who plays without his 
 partner. 
 
 Love Game. Is when one party count five 
 before their adversaries have made one point. 
 Also, an innocent sedentary amusement be- 
 tween two young persons, of opposite sexes, 
 u by moonlight alone." 
 
 Make the Point. Is when the players, 
 who adopt or make the trump, win the odd 
 trick. 
 
 Make the Trump. To name any suit for 
 the trump after all the players have passed, 
 and the dealer has turned down the trump card. 
 
 March. Is when two partners playing to- 
 gether win all of the five tricks. 
 
 Mark the Game. To count. 
 
 Misdeal. An error in the distribution of 
 the five cards belonging to each player — or 
 when the right-hand opponent has not cut the 
 cards previous to their distribution — which 
 forfeits the right to the deal. 
 
 Next in Suit. The trump the same color 
 of the suit turned down — as if a diamond is 
 • turned down and the trump is made a heart. 
 
84 EUCHRE. 
 
 Numerical Cards. The seven to the ten, 
 both inclusive, as distinguished from the court- 
 cards. 
 
 Odd Trick. The third won of the five 
 tricks. 
 
 Order it Up. To require the dealer and 
 partner to play at the suit turned up. 
 
 Pack. The Euchre pack is composed of 
 the thirty- two cards left in a Whist, or com- 
 plete pack, after all the sixes, fives, fours, trays, 
 and deuces have been thrown out. 
 
 Pass. To announce that the player de- 
 clines to play at the trump turned up. " He 
 passed as if he knew me not," — a beautiful 
 ballad by Bayly. 
 
 Pass the Making. To decline to name 
 any suit for trump. 
 
 Pip. The spots on the numerical cards, 
 from the seven to the ten. Also, a malady 
 prevalent among adolescent chickens — a cure 
 for which will be furnished, gratis, to our sub- 
 urban subscribers, by application at the office. 
 
 Play Alone. To play a hand without the 
 partner. 
 
TECHNICALITIES. 85 
 
 Point. One of the five numbers of which a 
 game consists. 
 
 Quart. Four trumps in sequence. 
 
 Eentree. The right to the lead which be- 
 longs to the player who has won the last trick. 
 
 Kevoke. A Eevoke is when a player, who 
 holds a card of the suit led, plays, by mistake 
 or design, a card of a different suit. 
 
 Eight-Bower. The Knave of the trump 
 suit, which is the commanding trump. 
 
 Eound. The five tricks played in each 
 deal — and each trick is also termed the first, 
 second, third, fourth, and fifth round. 
 
 Euff. To trump a lay suit. 
 
 Score. The count, showing the state of 
 the game. 
 
 Sequence. The regular succession of three 
 or more cards in hand. 
 
 Shuffle. To mix the cards together be- 
 fore they are cut to be distributed to the 
 players. 
 
 Side Cards. The same as Lay Cards. 
 
 Slam. To win a game before the adverse 
 party count one point in it. 
 
86 EUCHRE. 
 
 Spot. The same as Pip. 
 
 Stock. Synonymous with Talon. 
 
 Suit. The name given to each of the four 
 denominations; or orders, of the cards con- 
 tained in a pack — as the suit of diamonds, 
 hearts, spades, and clubs. 
 
 Take it Up. The dealer's announcement 
 that he intends to play at the suit turned up 
 for trumps. 
 
 Talon. The eleven cards remaining in the 
 pack after the dealer has distributed five to 
 each player, and turned up the twenty-first 
 card for the trump. 
 
 Tena.ce. Is when a player holds the high- 
 est and third best trumps and is the last player, 
 which insures to him those two tricks. 
 
 Throw Away. To play a card, not a trump, 
 of different suit to that led. 
 
 Tierce. A sequence of three trumps, as 
 the two Bowers and Ace, or the Ace, King, 
 Queen, et ccet. 
 
 Trick. The five cards played by each 
 player, and won by the highest card played — 
 also called a Eound. 
 
 
TECHNICALITIES. 87 
 
 Trump. The suit adopted; or made, the 
 commanding suit. 
 
 Trump Card. The card turned up by the 
 dealer for the trump. 
 
 Turn-Down. The card shown, or turned 
 up, for trump, which the dealer turns, face 
 down, when all four players decline to play 
 at that suit. 
 
 Turn-Up. The card, in dealing, next to 
 the twentieth, or last card dealt, which is 
 turned, face up, on the talon for trump. 
 
 Underplaying-. Is to follow suit with a 
 card of inferior value to the adversary's lead 
 when holding one that can win it. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 LAWS. 
 
 "We have strict statutes, and most biting laws." 
 
 Shakspeare. 
 "Laws wise as nature, and as fix'd as fate." — Pope. 
 
 
 The Laws of Euchre should be carefully 
 studied by every player who desires to be- 
 come an accomplished adept in this fascinating 
 game. The laws ; here compiled, are observed 
 and approved by the best players, and are 
 supposed to determine every case which may 
 occur in play. They should be enforced in 
 the strictest sense, on all occasions, never de- 
 viating from them in the slightest manner 
 yourself, and requiring your adversaries, with 
 proper courtesy, of course, also to respect 
 them ; for, if a player is to be permitted to act 
 as he chooses — to indicate by signs or remarks 
 to his partner the character of the cards he 
 (88) 
 
LAWS. 89 
 
 holds— or to play a card and take it back— or 
 other similar impropriety — you might as well 
 sit down to the table and play at Jack-Straws. 
 In some few instances the laws may appear 
 too rigid, but experience demonstrates to all 
 skillful players the absolute necessity of adhe- 
 ring undeviatingly to the provisions they are, 
 designed to enforce— the law in such case 
 made and provided— for the integrity of the 
 game must be strictly preserved. Dura lex, 
 sed lex. By a careful observance of the laws, 
 moreover, the unpleasant disputes and alter- 
 cations which so often interrupt and mar the 
 merriment of a card party, will be entirely 
 obviated. 
 
 Law I. 
 
 Each player must cut for the deal, the two 
 highest and the two lowest become partners, 
 and he who cuts the lowest card is entitled to 
 the deal. Should the lowest cards cut be of 
 similar value, it is a tie as respects them, and 
 those parties must cut again. If the person 
 7 
 
90 EUCHKE. 
 
 cutting should show two cards instead of one, 
 he must be deemed to have cut the highest, 
 or if he let fall a card from the pack, face up, 
 that card must be considered his cut. Each 
 party cuts, and shows the bottom card of 
 those he has lifted from the pack. In cutting, 
 the cards rank as at Whist, the Ace being the 
 lowest. 
 
 Law II. 
 
 The cards must be shuffled by the dealer 
 and cut by his right-hand opponent. The 
 latter has also the privilege of shuffling them, 
 and if he does, the dealer, who is always enti- 
 tled to the last shuffle, may shuffle them anew 
 if he chooses. After the cards have been 
 cut for the deal, however, no one, except the 
 dealer, can touch the pack previous to dealing. 
 
 Law III. 
 
 In cutting for the deal, three cards at least 
 must be lifted from the pack, and not fewer 
 than four must be left upon the table. The 
 dealer should never hold the pack in his hand, 
 
LAWS. 91 
 
 when presenting it for the cut, but should 
 place it on the table near his right-hand ad- 
 versary. 
 
 Law IV. 
 
 In dealing, five cards are distributed to 
 each player, either by three and two, or by 
 two and three, in two rounds ; but the dealer 
 must continue to follow whichever mode he 
 at first adopts, and should he depart from it, 
 either of the adverse parties may, before 
 looking at his cards, require a fresh deal. 
 
 Law Y. 
 
 If a card is faced, or is turned in dealing, 
 unless it is the twenty-first, or trump card, 
 the pack must be shuffled anew and a fresh 
 deal made ; but the dealer does not lose his 
 privilege. Should the dealer show more than 
 one card in turning up the trump card the 
 deal is likewise void, and he must deal anew 
 
 Law. VI. 
 
 Should either of the dealer's opponents, 
 
92 EUCHRE. 
 
 during the deal, expose a card to view, the 
 dealer may have a fresh deal, or not, at his 
 option, but he must decide before looking at 
 his own cards. If his partner exposes a card, 
 either of the adversaries, in like manner, may, 
 before the trump is turned up, require a new 
 deal. 
 
 Law VII. 
 
 No player is permitted to take up, or to 
 look at, his cards during the deal, and should 
 a misdeal ensue in consequence of such im- 
 propriety, the dealer does not lose his privi- 
 lege, and may deal anew. It must be consi- 
 dered a misdeal, however, if his partner com- 
 mits the fault. 
 
 Law VIII. 
 
 "When too few or too many cards are dealt, 
 if the mistake can be rectified, and the pro- 
 per order of the distribution of the cards as- 
 certained, before the trump card is turned up, 
 the deal is valid ; but if the error is not dis- 
 covered until after the trump card is turned 
 
LAWS. 93 
 
 up, the deal is forfeited, and passes to the next 
 player. 
 
 Law IX. 
 
 If the cards are dealt by a player who is 
 not entitled to the deal, and the error is dis- 
 covered before he looks at his cards, though 
 the trump card be turned, that deal is nul], 
 and the cards must be restored to the player 
 entitled to the deal, even if the eldest-hand, or 
 either of the other players, adopts the trump. 
 If the dealer has discarded and the eldest- 
 hand has led, however, the mistake cannot be 
 corrected. 
 
 Law X. 
 
 If, in any deal, the pack is ascertained to 
 
 be imperfect, by containing too many, or too 
 
 few cards of the proper value in either 
 
 suit, that particular deal is void, but all the 
 
 games, or points, made in the preceding deals 
 
 with the same pack are valid; and the 
 
 deal in which the error is discovered is not 
 
 forfeited. 
 7* 
 
94 EUCHKE. 
 
 Law XL 
 The trump card must be left in view on 
 the talon by the dealer, after discarding, until 
 it is his turn to play, when he may remove it 
 to his hand. After he has taken up the 
 trump card no player has a right to demand 
 what particular card was turned up, although 
 he may ask what is the trump suit. 
 
 Law XII. 
 
 Whenever a misdeal occurs the deal is for- 
 feited, and the opponent on the left of the 
 dealer becomes entitled to the deal. 
 
 Law XIII. 
 
 Each person, in playing, should place his 
 card on the table immediately before him, but 
 if this practice should not be pursued no 
 player has a right to ask who played a par- 
 ticular card, although he may require the 
 other players to draw their cards before them. 
 
 Law XIV. 
 
 If the eldest-hand leads before the dealer 
 
 ' 
 
LAWS. 95 
 
 has discarded, he cannot withdraw his card 
 and change his lead, nor can the dealer, at 
 any time before completing his discard, be 
 deprived of his right to Play Alone. The 
 discard is not completed until the dealer 
 places his card under the talon, or on the 
 table, and has quitted it; and when the 
 dealer has once quitted the discarded card he 
 cannot change it. 
 
 Law XY. 
 
 If a player leads, or plays, out of turn, he 
 may be compelled to withdraw his card, sub- 
 ject to the penalty of the call ; if it causes 
 an error in the play of any other party that 
 player may withdraw his card without pe- 
 nalty ; but, in the case of an improper lead, 
 if four cards have been played before the 
 error is discovered the lead is good, and the 
 player winning the trick is entitled to the 
 next lead. 
 
 Law XVI. 
 
 Any card which is separated from those in 
 
96 EUCHKE. 
 
 hand and lias touched the table, is deemed to 
 have been played — even if the face be down- 
 ward — though if a card is played to a lead 
 of a suit different from the one led, it may be 
 taken up, subject to the call, and another of the 
 proper suit played. But if the player should 
 have none of the suit led, and plays a card 
 which he did not intend, he is not permitted 
 to take it up again after he has once quitted it. 
 
 Law XVII. 
 
 If a player plays two or more cards to a 
 trick instead of one, the adverse parties have 
 the right to compel him to play either one of 
 the cards they please, without regard to the 
 order in which they were played, and the 
 other card, or cards, shown may be called in 
 the subsequent tricks, like other exposed 
 cards. 
 
 Law XYIII. 
 
 No player is allowed to look at any of the 
 tricks during the play of a hand, after they 
 have been turned, except the last trick only. 
 
LAWS. V7 
 
 Law XIX. 
 
 If any player plays with six or more cards, 
 or, if the dealer plays and omits to discard, 
 and fails to announce the fact before three 
 tricks have been turned, such player or dealer 
 cannot count the point, or points, made on 
 their side, in that hand, and they lose the 
 deal. But if the adverse party win under 
 such circumstances they are entitled to count 
 all they make. 
 
 Law XX. 
 
 If a player, designedly, or for any reason, 
 places his cards on the table, faces turned up, 
 he is not permitted to take them up again, and 
 his adversaries may call each card like other 
 exposed cards, — except at Jambone, when the 
 right to call is limited to the first trick. Thus 
 if a player, sure of winning, exhibits his 
 cards, his opponents can continue the play, 
 and have the right to call each card so ex- 
 posed. The penalty is the same if a player 
 believing he has lost shows his cards in a 
 similar way. 
 
93 EUCHRE. 
 
 Law XXL 
 
 Whenever a player, who is entitled to the 
 privilege of making the trump ; once names a 
 suit ; he cannot be permitted to change it, and 
 should he, by mistake, name the suit turned 
 down, it is equivalent to passing, and the right 
 to make the trump then belongs to his left- 
 hand opponent. 
 
 Law XXII. 
 
 A player intending to Play Alone must 
 announce his determination to play without 
 his partner in such an audible and distinct 
 expression that no doubt must exist of his in- 
 tention, for if his manner of announcing it is 
 ambiguous, and a legal lead is made, by him- 
 self or an adversary, he loses the privilege of 
 Playing Alone and must be compelled to play 
 with his partner. 
 
 Law XXIII. 
 
 Whenever a revoke occurs, whether from 
 inattention or design, the adverse parties are 
 entitled to add two points to their score 
 
 are 
 
LAWS. 99 
 
 Law XXIV. 
 
 The revoke is not completed until the trick 
 in which it has been made is turned and quit- 
 ted, and the player committing the revoke, or 
 his partner, has again played. 
 
 Law XXV. 
 
 If a player revoking perceives his error 
 previous to the turning or quitting of the 
 trick in which it has been made, he can with- 
 draw his card from the trick and follow the 
 suit led, but his left-hand antagonist may com- 
 pel him to play the highest or the lowest card 
 he holds of that suit ; or, if it seems more ad- 
 vantageous to his side, he may call the card 
 so exposed and taken back whenever it is the 
 offending player's turn to play, or lead, in a 
 subsequent trick. 
 
 Law XXVI. 
 
 If the partner of a player, who has made a 
 revoke, but has discovered it in time to cor- 
 rect it, has played to the trick, he is not 
 permitted to change the card he has played, 
 
100 EUCHRE. 
 
 but the adversary who has played after the 
 revoke occurred may withdraw his card from 
 the trick without penalty, and play another, 
 if he thinks it may give him an advantage. 
 
 Law XXVII. 
 
 Should either of the adversaries mix the 
 cards together when a revoke is alleged against 
 them they incur the penalty of the revoke, and 
 the players claiming it are entitled to score 
 the two points. 
 
 Law XXYIII. 
 
 When the cards have been cut for a new 
 deal, no party is entitled to claim the penalty 
 of a revoke ; and, in case of a reciprocal re- 
 voke in one hand, one error offsets the other, 
 and a fresh deal must be had. 
 
 Law XXIX. 
 
 If a player shows, or exposes, one or more 
 of his cards, intentionally or by accident, the 
 card or cards so shown may be called by an 
 opponent, either as a lead, when the offending 
 
 
LAWS. 101 
 
 player's turn to lead, or to the exposed card's 
 suit when led. A card is shown if it is pur- 
 posely, or accidentally exposed, and either of 
 the opposite players can distinguish its char- 
 acter, and name it. And a card may be called 
 if the holder names or indicates that it is in 
 his hand. 
 
 Law XXX. 
 
 A player called upon for an exposed card 
 must play the card or submit to the penalty 
 of a revoke. 
 
 Law XXXI. 
 
 The right to call one or more cards, im- 
 properly played or exposed, by an opponent, 
 belongs only to the left-hand adversary of the 
 offending player. And, in no case can such a 
 card be called if it causes a revoke ; nor, can 
 the player entitled to call, require his oppo- 
 nent to throw away a commanding card to a 
 lead of different suit, when holding no card of 
 the suit led, whether he can trump it or not. 
 If two or more players, in any one deal, ex- 
 pose a card, the law is the same. 
 
102 EUCHRE. 
 
 Law XXXII. 
 
 Neither adversary is permitted to call the 
 attention of his partner to the state of the 
 game at a Bridge, without forfeiting their right 
 to order up, and the dealer, or his partner, 
 may then Play Alone, or not, at the option of 
 either. 
 
 Law XXXIII. 
 
 If the counter marks more points than he 
 is entitled to score to the game, either adver- 
 sary — or a bystander even — may call attention 
 to the error, and the opponents are entitled 
 to count to their score, the point, or points, 
 which their adversaries erroneously added to 
 theirs. But the error cannot be rectified after 
 the trump card has been turned in the deal 
 next ensuing that in which the error occurred. 
 So if he fails to count, or counts fewer points 
 than he is entitled to, he loses the right to 
 score such point, or points, when the next deal 
 is completed. 
 
 Law XXXIV. 
 
 Should a player from loss of temper — or 
 
 
LAWS. 103 
 
 upon supposition that he has lost or won the 
 proper number of tricks — or from any other 
 cause — throw down his cards upon the table, 
 with their faces turned up, he cannot take 
 them in hand again, and his left-hand adver- 
 sary may call each card so exposed as he 
 deems most advantageous to his side. Who 
 leaves the game loses it, is a maxim of this as 
 of all other games. 
 
 Law XXXV. 
 
 Every species of unfairness is strictly pro- 
 hibited ; and if a player, at any time between 
 the turning up of the trump card and the play- 
 ing of the last card of the deal, indicates to his 
 partner the strength of his own hand, either 
 by words or gestures ; or advises him how to 
 lead or play ; or invites him to make a trump, 
 by such expressions as "follow the rule," 
 " make it something," or any similar phrase ; 
 or, asks any questions about the game except 
 such as are specifically allowed by the Laws 
 of Euchre, the adversaries shall immediately 
 add one point to their game. 
 
104 EUCHRE. 
 
 Law XXXYI. 
 
 In every case of a penalty which entitles 
 one party to add a point, or more, to the score 
 of their game — for the revoke, or any other 
 wrong practice in play, — the offending party 
 cannot count a point, or more, which they may 
 have won in that deal — or round — in which 
 the penalty was incurred; and the regular 
 routine of the deal continues. 
 
 Law XXXYIT. 
 
 Every penalty incurred by the misconduct 
 of a player must be shared and submitted to 
 by his partner — for partners are mutually 
 responsible for each other's faults. 
 
 Law XXXVIII. 
 
 If a player, who has incurred a penalty 
 imposed by a provision of any of the prece- 
 ding Laws, refuses submission to such penalty, 
 his opponents may immediately throw down 
 their cards, and that game, at any state of the 
 score, is declared to belong to them. 
 
 
CHAPTBE VII. 
 
 HINTS TO TYROS. 
 
 11 Upon this hint I spake." — Shakspeare. 
 
 11 What could I more ? 
 I warn'd thee, I admonish'd thee, foretold 
 The danger, and the lurking enemy 
 That lay in wait." — Milton. 
 
 " Euchre and Life 
 Own their losses and gains in ephemeral strife. 
 
 * Play alone,' when you hold the l good cards' in the 
 
 pack ; 
 c Assist,' with the Ace, or the King and a Jack. 
 
 * Pass,' holding ' both Bowers' — on refusal to take, 
 Yot can ' make' it ' the next' and can l play what you 
 
 make ;' 
 Look out for the i bridges,' and cross if you choose, 
 But with Euchre and Life, play to win not to lose." 
 
 Pettes. 
 
 The ensuing hints, confidingly and confi- 
 dently suggested to novices in our higlily 
 8* (105) 
 
106 EUCHKE. 
 
 scientific and gleesome game, result from an 
 experience gained in many a u glorious and 
 well-foughten field ; " and although not pre- 
 tending in these premises to be Sir Oracle yet 
 haud inexpertus loquor. We hope they will 
 be kindly taken, as meant. Should they 
 appear trite and simple to players of a cer- 
 tain degree of skill, we beg permission to 
 remind them that the hints are offered only 
 to novitiates, with a desire fully to explain 
 to them some of the most approved points 
 of play. 
 
 "We venture to invite attention to a few 
 words by way of prelude. 
 
 As the principle which guides us in social 
 intercourse (if we remember our early educa- 
 tion aright) is politeness — the observance of 
 those pleasing amenities which tend so much 
 to make life agreeable — so that which should 
 guide us at the card-table is good humor — that 
 card-inal virtue. 
 
 Adhere undeviatingly and persistently to 
 the law in each and every case made and pro- 
 vided, and remember " there is no power in 
 
 
 
HINTS TO TYROS. 107 
 
 Venice can alter a decree established." Play 
 the right game always — coute qui couie — and 
 insist on the strict play of the game by your 
 opponents, for no option in playing, at vari- 
 ance with prescribed precepts, can be tolera- 
 ted; and, if your partner commits an error, 
 require the other side to avail themselves of 
 the advantage attained by it — for the mistake 
 of one party is the game of the other, fairly. 
 Eschew especially every circumstance and 
 act that has a tendency to produce confusion 
 or misunderstanding in play. 
 
 Acquire the habit — it is easily accomplished 
 — of determining whether you pass, or order 
 up, without unnecessary suspense, and " hesi- 
 tate not to say." Promptness and a quick re- 
 sponse — " when 'tis done, then 'twere well it 
 were done quickly" — should be part and par- 
 cel of the play ; it is better to decide wrongly 
 a few times than mislead your partner by 
 hesitation. Nothing can be more irksome 
 than to see a player — especially if one's part- 
 ner — boggling over his cards, hesitating and 
 undecided what to do. Such indecision, be- 
 
108 EUCHRE. 
 
 sides, betrays your hand. Holding but five 
 cards, a glance at them, simply, enables a 
 quick judgment to declare whether he will 
 pass, or not. " Speak quick — it is the strength 
 of the game," is the favorite ejaculation of a 
 favorite friend of ours. 
 
 Never exhibit peevishness and ill-temper — 
 reserve it for home-consumption — when you 
 lose, nor too great elation of joy when you 
 win; nor permit the calm expression of your 
 face to be ruffled by the appearance of your 
 hand; and bear all reverses with Christian 
 fortitude and Jewish resignation. 
 
 So, if your hand — we mean the cards you 
 hold, gentle tyro — should happen to be as red 
 as the saints' days in a Eomish calendar, or 
 as black as the concentrated essence of mid- 
 night, when the opposite colors are trumps, 
 pursue the even tenor of your play, with 
 placid demeanor — with columbine innocence 
 and serpentine wisdom — and " publish it not" 
 with impatient demonstrations, or vituperative 
 expressions against ill-luck ; for cards, at 
 times, will obstinately run as chance directs. 
 
HINTS TO TYROS. 109 
 
 " "Pis not in mortals to command success," you 
 know — if you do not, it is time you did, you 
 understand. 
 
 " there be players, that I have seen play," 
 who grumble and fault-find as much over the 
 card-table, as they would chaffering and cavil- 
 ling in a market-house with a huckster ! — as 
 if cards were not invented for recreation and 
 amusement — M very reverend sport truly." 
 
 Should your partner make an occasional 
 misplay, take it kindly, and avoid, by all 
 means, that horrid practice of fault-finding 
 and censure — every one, you know, except 
 ourselves, commits blunders, and mistakes 
 are inevitable. 
 
 Should you be eminently successful in win- 
 ning from your adversaries, don't twit them 
 too often and persistently with their defeat, 
 but enjoy it secretly and quietly as we enjoy 
 love and poetry, for "modesty," says the re- 
 nowned Munchausen, "forbids individuals to 
 arrogate to themselves great successes or vic- 
 tories." 
 
 It may hap — once in a while — that you 
 
110 EUCHRE. 
 
 will find yourself associated with, a partner, 
 wlio is a novice in the philosophy and myste- 
 ries of our noble game, and when you "do 
 begin to perceive" that he is one of those un- 
 fortunate individuals of neglected erudition, 
 whose intense ignorance of the play is dis- 
 heartening — displaying the most marvellous 
 ingenuity in preventing you from winning, 
 and a cruelly tantalizing facility in helping 
 your opponents to defeat you — smile, if you 
 can ; — we always do. " llluc Ionicus" 
 
 In such a case, if no other kind of amuse- 
 ment can be resorted to, suggest refreshment, 
 you will find it a great relief; and, besides, 
 some one may then offer to take your place at 
 the card-table, or your partner "for worse" 
 may obtain some more suitable employment. 
 
 Never give in and grow faint-hearted — hard 
 as it sometimes is to lose when near winning 
 — but console yourself with the comfortable 
 reflection that while the combat continues 
 victory is uncertain. 
 
 Although, at this game, the advantage 
 rather depends on skillful combinations, and 
 
HINTS TO TYROS. Ill 
 
 a quick calculation of chances at .the various 
 periods of play, than on high cards, yet the 
 most unskillful novice at the game may fre- 
 quently hold such commanding cards during 
 an entire seance that he must necessarily win 
 all the tricks, even from experienced experts, 
 for Bowers will defeat Aces, and Aces will 
 capture Kings. Avoid too much elation at a 
 run of luck, for, "the hood-wink'd goddess" 
 must succumb to persistent skill : moreover, 
 you will soon find but little excitement in 
 like easy skirmishes. But, when cards do 
 range out equally and high on either side in 
 groups of threatening and overwhelming 
 strength, good scuffling hands, — u I love a hand 
 that meets mine own," — affording fine scope 
 for combinations of chance and skill, arousing 
 the accomplished adept's valor to the strife for 
 victory, "then comes the tug of war." We 
 have known players when holding such hands 
 to play a series of several hundred games, 
 without making a single error in play, or 
 failing to win every trick on the cards. 
 " Think of that Master Brooks," and be emu- 
 lous. 
 
112 EUCHRE. 
 
 
 Always consult the score of the game 
 playing accordingly, and remember that the 
 policy of your antagonists is at variance with 
 your own. Never let your face betray your 
 hand. An air of coldness, and impassibility 
 of feature, are indispensable qualities in play. 
 
 There are many other circumstances of 
 play which we might assume to hint at that 
 cannot well be demonstrated by rules; but 
 deference to the opinions of others — older, if 
 not better soldiers, — your knowledge of the 
 refined observances and established usages of 
 society, and a certain natural tact, will guide 
 and counsel you, we fancy, better than any 
 suggestions of ours. Skill, of course, is only 
 acquired by practice. 
 
 Once more we earnestly recommend, nay 
 beseech you, to give no indications by ges- 
 ture or expression of the strength or weak- 
 ness of your cards, but preserve a stoical 
 placidity of countenance, eschewing in every 
 manner all species of unfairness; and we 
 hope it may be our fortune, " oft in the stilly 
 night," to meet you in friendly conflict on the 
 " velvet plain." 
 
HINTS TO TYROS. 113 
 
 In the meantime let us return to our mut- 
 tons ; for, if we have a fault, it is digression. 
 
 After the ceremony of the deal has been 
 concluded, it is the duty of the eldest-hand to 
 order up the trump card or pass. He should 
 always order it up at a Bridge, — when not 
 sure of a trick, — as before explained; he 
 should also, of course, (when sure of one 
 trick and has passed accordingly,) make the 
 trump, if the dealer turns it down, and for 
 the same reason that he would order up at 
 the Bridge. At any other stage of the game 
 he must hold a very strong hand in trumps 
 to order up. The Left-Bower, Ace, and ten 
 of trumps, with an Ace of a lay suit, or two 
 commanding cards of a lay suit, as a general 
 rule, would be sufficiently strong ; or the Ace, 
 King, ten, and seven of trumps — especially 
 if the fifth card in his hand is a high one. 
 The eldest-hand, when strong at the suit turned 
 for trumps, and also strong at the next in 
 suit — in utrumque paratus — should always 
 pass to Euchre the other side if the trump is 
 adopted ; for, if it should be turned down he 
 
114 EUCHRE. 
 
 can then make the trump. As a general rule 
 he should always pass for a Euchre when as 
 strong at the next in suit. 
 
 Never order up with the two Bowers and 
 the Ace, or other high trump, if you have 
 two cards, even so low as the seven and eight 
 of the same color of the trump, because, if 
 the adversaries adopt the trump you are sure 
 to Euchre them, and if it is turned down you 
 have a lone hand at next in suit. 
 
 With the Eight-Bower, Ace, and seven of 
 trumps, with a secondary card at the next in 
 suit, it is safe to pass, for you will probably 
 Euchre the hostile side, if the trump is 
 adopted, and you are almost sure of the odd 
 trick at the next suit, if the trump is turned 
 down. 
 
 Next In Suit, or Dutching, is deemed by 
 many eminent professors of the game one of 
 the most important elements of play ; the 
 principles upon which this rule is founded 
 we will here essay to explain. The pack is 
 composed of just thirty -two cards, of which 
 number twenty- one are thrown round by the 
 
HINTS TO TYROS. 115 
 
 dealer for the play of each hand, leaving 
 eleven cards, say one-third of the entire pack, 
 in the talon. When the dealer and his part- 
 ner decline to play at the suit turned for 
 trumps, it is fair to presume that neither of 
 them holds a Bower — especially if the turn- 
 up is a court-card. The chances are greatly 
 in favor of the presumption that one of the 
 Bowers has been distributed in the deal, and 
 nearly equal that both of them are out. The 
 probability then is that one, if not both of 
 them, are in your partner's hand, yourself 
 having neither. And if the Bowers are not 
 out, it is raison de plus why you may win the 
 odd trick with fewer and weaker cards than 
 in an ordinary hand. Your partner, if a 
 skillful player, will never order up when 
 holding both Bowers only, but will pass for 
 the Euchre, if the trump is adopted, or for 
 next in suit, if turned down — for "so he 
 plays his part." "We have known instances 
 when the eldest-hand's partner has played and 
 made a lone hand at next in suit, when the 
 eldest-hand has made the trump, according to 
 
116 EUCUKE. 
 
 rule, without having a single trump in hand. 
 At all events the chances are much in favor 
 of making the trump next in suit, and favor- 
 able chances should always be embraced. 
 "Have a care o' th' main chance." When 
 you follow this rule, always lead a trump, 
 unless you have the tenace of Eight-Bower and 
 Aee, and you should lead the Bower then if 
 you hold commanding lay cards. It is some- 
 times asserted that if this rule is strictly ad- 
 hered to the dealer may often win a Euchre 
 by a ruse, in turning down when equally 
 strong at each suit of the color; but in the 
 event of his being strong at both suits, (the 
 exception to the rule, crossing the suit,) may 
 be in your hand. It is a bad rule, we are 
 told, that works only one way, and Exceptio 
 probat regulam, you know. 
 
 The eldest-hand opens the game, and as 
 success frequently depends upon the lead — 
 c'est le premier pas qui coute — he must bear that 
 fact in mind, and deploy his small force into 
 action skillfully, with decision. 
 
 It is a rule with many experienced players to 
 lead through the assisting hand, that is, when 
 
HINTS TO TYROS. 117 
 
 the dealer's partner assists ; the eldest-hand is 
 always expected to lead a trump, if he has one, 
 in every case, except when a Bower is turned 
 up, or you have the Left-Bower guarded. 
 The exceptions to this rule, we think, are so 
 multitudinous that the practice is almost as 
 much "honored in the breach as the obser- 
 vance." The rationale of the rule is founded 
 on the supposition that the player who assists 
 may hold but two trumps, and by leading a 
 trump, his trumps and his partner's are 
 brought together, and if you or your partner 
 have commanding cards in lay suits you may 
 make a Euchre. And, moreover, if your 
 partner holds two trumps, by leading through 
 the strong hand up to the weak — the dealer's 
 partner, assisting, is supposed to be in that 
 position — you give your partner an opportu- 
 nity to finesse. These are the only advan- 
 tages we now revive in memory. If the 
 eldest-hand holds one or two trumps, — espe- 
 cially if small, — with commanding cards in 
 other suits, the trump should then most as- 
 suredly be led. 
 9* 
 
118 ' EUCHRE. 
 
 Should he hold three trumps of various 
 value and two lay cards of suit, — the seven 
 and Queen for instance — and is playing to 
 Euchre the dealer, he should always lead the 
 lay seven, for when he wins the rentree with 
 one of his small trumps, the Queen will then 
 either win the trick or force a trump from 
 the opponents. If the eldest-hand's partner 
 should win the first or the second trick he 
 should never return such a lead, because the 
 eldest-hand, if he comprehends his vocation, 
 will never commence the round with an iso- 
 lated plebeian card, unless for some excep- 
 tional cause. 
 
 With two trumps, two lay cards of suit, 
 and one single lay card, commence with one 
 of the two lay cards, for one of your trumps 
 may bring you back to your suit, and your 
 second lay card will then probably force the 
 other side to trump. Never open with the 
 single lay card when holding such a hand, be- 
 cause you may have an opportunity of throw- 
 ing it away on a trick of your partner's, or, 
 when second player, on a lead of a numerical 
 
HINTS TO TYEOS. 119 
 
 card of the suit of which you have none, which 
 will enable you to ruff its suit, if led by either 
 of your adversaries, and win you a trick. 
 
 When playing to Euchre, if you have two 
 or more small trumps with commanding lay 
 cards, lead a small trump as it may enable 
 you to make the high cards when trumps are 
 expended. 
 
 When your partner orders up, or makes 
 the trump, always lead him one — the best you 
 have — without regard to tenace or Left-Bower 
 guarded. 
 
 When, being eldest-hand, you are scoring 
 three points to your game, and your adversa- 
 ries count one, or nothing, and you hold very 
 weak and sickly looking cards, although this 
 is not a Bridge, yet it is often well to order 
 up and take a Euchre — especially if a Bower 
 is turned up — rather than risk a lone hand to 
 the other side ; and if you are Euchred, you 
 are Euchred — que sara sara, as we used to say 
 at Florence. Santissima madonna, those days 
 are passed ! 
 
 If you hold a lay Ace, when opposed to a 
 
120 EUCHRE. 
 
 lone hand, always lead it, for if you liold a 
 King or Queen doubled, you have an addi- 
 tional chance to prevent the march of the lone 
 player. 
 
 That condition of the game in the flood tide 
 of luck, termed the Bridge, is fully explained 
 at the close of Chapter III, to which we re- 
 spectfully beg leave to refer. When it carries 
 you safely over, praise it. And thus much for 
 your duty as eldest-hand, and we, like Eng- 
 land, expect every man to do his duty. 
 
 Your performance, as second player, — when 
 " the game's afoot," and the eldest-hand has 
 given you "a taste of his quality," — is much 
 more circumscribed and simple, consisting 
 mainly in following the suit led, or in ruff- 
 ing it ; and this easy duty and irresponsible 
 continues through each of the five rounds in 
 which you have to play second-fiddle. 
 
 When confident of winning two tricks al- 
 ways assist and rely on your partner to win 
 one trick. 
 
 The second player (the dealer's partner as 
 they sit at the table) must remember, however, 
 
HINTS TO TYEOS. 121 
 
 that when the trump card has been turned 
 down by the dealer, and the eldest-hand has 
 passed the making, it is his duty — though not 
 quite so imperatively on him as it is on the 
 eldest-hand to make the next in suit— to cross 
 the suit, that is, to make the trump either of 
 the black suits, (the one in which he is the 
 stronger, of course,) when a red suit has been 
 turned down, and vice versa, and for nearly the 
 same reasons, just given to the eldest-hand for 
 making next in suit. 
 
 As second player rarely ruff a numerical 
 lay card the first time round, as the chances 
 are even that your partner may win the trick. 
 Throw away any single lay card of less value 
 than an Ace, if you have one or two small 
 trumps, on such a lead, which will enable you 
 to ruff its suit when led. Also underplay a 
 numerical trump, risking the chance of your 
 partner winning it. We have an acquired 
 antipathy to a single lay card and love to dis- 
 pose of its bachelor-like wretchedness by em- 
 embracing the first opportunity. 
 
 So often as the lead changes the relative po- 
 
122 EUCHRE. 
 
 sitions of the players — as the leader, second, 
 third, and fourth player — also vary, of course. 
 
 Second player following suit to lay cards, 
 as a general rule, should always head, that is 
 win the trick, if he can. The same, with few 
 exceptions, when playing trumps. 
 
 With one trump only, if the Eight-Bower 
 himself single, and your partner adopts or 
 makes the trump, ruff with it the first chance. 
 
 When you can neither follow suit nor trump, 
 throw away the weakest card you have, natu- 
 rally. 
 
 In the situation of third player your " offi- 
 cious duties" become more onerous. When 
 playing to win a Euchre, if you hold a small and 
 a medium card, at trumps, and have the oppor- 
 tunity to ruff, stick in the medium trump, if 
 third player, which may force the dealer to play 
 his best trump. Never send a boy, you know, 
 on a man's errand. And this, by-the-by, re- 
 minds us of a pretty problem in play. Sup- 
 pose yourself sitting on the right hand of the 
 dealer who has turned the Knave of spades, 
 and adopted the trump. Two rounds have 
 
HINTS TO TYKOS. 123 
 
 been played — the first trick having been won 
 by your opponents, and the second by your 
 partner. Your partner leads in a lay suit 
 and is followed by the second plaj^er, and you 
 hold the Left-Bower, Ace, and Queen of 
 trumps, you play either the Left-Bower, or 
 Ace, and the dealer holds the Eight-Bower, 
 King, and ten of trumps. If the dealer takes 
 the trick with the Eight-Bower, which he 
 would naturally be inclined to do, he is 
 Euchred, because you then have the tenace. 
 But, on the contrary, if he should play the 
 ten of trumps and let you win the trick, he 
 gains the odd-trick, as by this underplay he 
 secures the tenace to himself. If you had 
 played the Queen — which would have been a 
 horrid play — you would, of course, have lost 
 the odd-trick. This simple problem is deemed 
 worthy of especial commendation, as illustra- 
 tive of the peculiar advantage of the tenace. 
 ! You should be very strong in trumps to 
 order up, because your partner, passing, shows 
 that he is weak, or prefers to make the next 
 in suit. As a general rule let the responsi- 
 
124 EUCHRE. 
 
 bility of ordering up rest with, your partner, 
 when he is eldest-hand. 
 
 When your partner has adopted or made 
 the trump, be careful not to win the lead from 
 him, unless you are strong enough to play for 
 a march, or to win the odd trick. 
 
 Always divest your hand of losing cards, 
 when possible, to your partner's winning ones. 
 
 If your partner in the third or fourth round 
 leads a lay King (you having none of its suit) 
 which is not captured by your right-hand ad- 
 versary, and you have a lay King of different 
 suit, with trumps, throw it away on your part- 
 ner's lead, for his King having passed safely 
 through one hand is much more likely to win 
 than yours would be, having to pass through 
 both hands. Trust it through one hand rather 
 than two is the rule. Play in like manner in 
 like cases, you understand. 
 
 Opportunities to finesse occur but rarely, 
 and when they are offered should be exercised 
 with considerable caution. It is much better 
 for the third player to win the trick than risk 
 its loss by any delicate stratagem of play. 
 
 
HINTS TO TYROS. 125 
 
 The vocation of the dealer is replete with 
 interest. He should commence by distribu- 
 ting the cards with exactness, not allowing 
 any card to be exposed, except the one 
 turned for the trump, or his antagonists may 
 declare the deal null, and he will have to per- 
 form it afresh. He should always discard a 
 single card, though above medium value, and 
 retain two of suit, if one of them is not 
 higher than a nine. When he determines to 
 Play Alone with three trumps, he should 
 always discard even so high a card as a King 
 of a lay suit when the only card of the suit, 
 and retain the seven, or any other card, of a 
 suit of which he holds the Ace, for the 
 chances are much better that the Ace will 
 exhaust the suit and let the seven win, than 
 that the King would win the first time round. 
 
 If his partner, assisting, has played one 
 trump, the dealer winning a trick should 
 never lead him a trump, unless he is sure of 
 winning the march, or the odd trick, with his 
 own hand; for the probability is that his 
 partner has assisted with two trumps only, 
 
126 EUCHRE. 
 
 and by leading a trump to him he may draw 
 the last he holds, and in that way entirely 
 destroy his game. This is a fatal mistake 
 but often made by inexperienced players, and 
 is conspicuously improper, as you see. But 
 if your partner assists, and your side have 
 captured the first two or three rounds, leav- 
 ing you with commanding trumps and sure 
 lay cards, win the lead from him then and 
 secure the march, for he might be left to lead 
 a losing card not of your sure suit . 
 
 Always when assisted, Mr. Dealer, and 
 you hold the card next higher or lower 
 to the trump card, play it instead of the 
 trump card for your partner's benefit. — 
 Thus, if you turn up a King, and also have 
 the Ace in hand, and your partner assists, 
 when a trump is led, or you can ruff a suit, 
 you should play the Ace, which shows your 
 partner that you have the King left. 
 
 Having a sequence of three trumps of 
 which the turn-up card is the smallest, and 
 your partner assists, play the highest, which 
 informs him that you have two more trumps 
 
HINTS TO TYROS. 127 
 
 of equal value. As in case the Queen is 
 turned up ; and his partner assists, if the 
 dealer holds the King and Ace, making a 
 sequence of three trumps, when the trump 
 is led, or he can ruff, he should play the Ace, 
 which makes his partner understand that he 
 holds the King also. The same in all similar 
 cases. 
 
 So, also, if a sequence of three or four 
 cards in play shows all the cards above the 
 turn-up card, and your hand continues the 
 sequence, play the highest card for your part- 
 ner's benefit. Par example: The nine of 
 hearts is turned for trump, and the ten, Queen, 
 and Ace, of hearts, are played to a trick ; if 
 you hold the King of trumps play it, because 
 your nine is as good as your King, and by 
 playing the King your partner knows that 
 you have certainly one trump in hand, and 
 moreover, that it requires one of the Bowers 
 to win it. 
 
 But if your opponents have ordered up 
 the trump and you hold a similar hand, it is 
 obvious — on the principle of contrariwise, 
 
128 EUCHRE. 
 
 otherwise — that you should play "quite the 
 diverse ; " to balk them, as you clearly per- 
 ceive. 
 
 Eetain the trump card, when your side 
 have adopted it, as long as possible, to benefit 
 your partner; and, on the contrary, dispose 
 of it the first opportunity, to put your adver- 
 saries in doubt, when it has been ordered up. 
 
 A few more illustrative hints — to each and 
 every player, in a general way — we hope may 
 be taken, as we offer them, in the very spirit 
 of kindness. 
 
 Always play to benefit your partner — in 
 every possible way you can with fairness and 
 good order — and to balk your antagonists 
 by masking your hand, for in Euchre, as in 
 Love and in "War, all manoeuvres are admissi- 
 ble. 
 
 Three trumps, if medium ones only, are 
 sufficient to take up the trump, or to assist 
 your partner, or, ordinarily, to make the 
 trump suit. If you hold Knaves, and com- 
 manding cards of two or more suits, it often 
 proves successful to pass both the adoption 
 
HINTS TO TYEOS. 129 
 
 and the making, to Euchre your adversaries 
 if they adopt or make it. Especially if the 
 other side dealt, for if they pass also you 
 gain the deal. 
 
 Always lead a trump to your partner — 
 if eldest-hand, or you have won the rentree — 
 when he adopts or makes the trump — except 
 when he assists and has played one trump — 
 especially if you should hold either of the 
 Bowers only. 
 
 When last player and the trick, in a lay 
 suit, if the first or second round, is your part- 
 ner's, and you hold a single lay card, and one 
 or more trumps, throw away that single card, 
 if so high as a King even, on your partner's 
 trick, for if he holds a card in that suit he 
 will of course lead it, which may enable you 
 to win the trick with a trump. 
 
 When your side, having adopted, or made 
 the trump, have lost one trick, you must then 
 play cautiously to prevent being Euchred, for 
 the risk you might venture when playing to 
 make a march would be quite improper w r hen 
 you have lost one trick. 
 10* 
 
130 EUCHKE. 
 
 Having lost the first two tricks and won 
 the third ; if you have one trump left, lead it 
 — either to make or to save a Euchre — for 
 if your adversaries have a trump larger than 
 yours they must win the odd trick ; and, if it 
 is smaller, you may exhaust them and win 
 the fifth trick with your lay card. The only 
 exception to this rule is when you have as- 
 sisted — or your partner has taken it up — and 
 your partner still retains the trump card ; and, 
 if your trump is higher than your partner's, 
 and you have a winning card for the fifth 
 round, you should lead the trump then. 
 
 Holding a sequence of trumps, and playing 
 to Euchre the adversaries, always play the 
 highest to balk them ; for instance, if you hold 
 Ace, King, and Queen of trumps, and a Bower 
 is led, play the Ace. 
 
 When holding the Left-Bower and one other 
 trump, the Left-Bower guarded as it is termed, 
 be cautious how you separate them, for if the 
 Eight-Bower should be led, by playing your 
 smaller trump to it you are sure to win with 
 the Left-Bower. 
 
HINTS TO TYROS. 131 
 
 When you hold the Left-Bower alone, 
 whether you are playing to your partner's 
 adoption or make of the trump, or to Euchre 
 your opponents, ruff with it as soon as you 
 have the chance, at any stage or condition of 
 the play — otherwise it may fall to the Eight- 
 Bower, when the trump is led. Make the 
 Eight-Bower in the same manner, if your only 
 trump, when your partner assists or makes the 
 trump, for when he wins the rentree he would 
 almost certainly lead his highest trump, and 
 your Bower, winning it, might sadly injure 
 his game. 
 
 In adopting or jnaking the trump you may 
 always rely on your partner to win one of the 
 five tricks. 
 
 It is a rule in play that a lay Queen never 
 wins a trick. This is not strictly correct, but 
 near enough to the truth to be adopted as a 
 general rule. 
 
 Keep your mind on the cards, as we for- 
 tune-tellers say, and remember how the suits 
 fall in play, so as not to be trumping with a 
 seven or eight a commanding lay card of your 
 
132 EUCHRE. 
 
 partner's — a sottise, by the way, not unfre- 
 quently committed. 
 
 Be cautious how you adopt or make the 
 trump when the hostile side are scoring three 
 points ; for, if you are Euchred, you put them 
 out, and, in another sense of the expression, 
 you may put out your partner too, which 
 would be grievous. 
 
 Opponent to a Lone Player, and holding the 
 seven and nine of one suit, with single cards 
 in each of the other suits — if Queens even — 
 never separate the two of suit although there 
 is a single chance only that one of them may 
 win. You will be surprised, and delighted 
 too — we assure you, you will — to see how of- 
 ten the nine in such cases prevents the march 
 of the Lone Player, and ruffles his equanimity. 
 We always rely more confidently on a Knave 
 and seven of a lay suit, in such case, than on a 
 lay King single. 
 
 We believe we have annunciated this doc- 
 trine before ; but, excuse us, for truth cannot 
 be too oft asserted. 
 
 These leading principles in the practice of 
 
HINTS TO TYROS. 133 
 
 the game should always be retained in mind, 
 though combinations of cards in the various 
 distributions into hands — like the myrioramic 
 changes of the Kaleidoscope — may diversify 
 the manner of the play almost & V infini. When 
 such peculiar idiosyncrasies require your at- 
 tention they should be treated — according to 
 Gunter. 
 
 It is quite unnecessary to offer any obser- 
 vations on that branch of the doctrine of 
 chances which might apply to our game, — or 
 to point out that the dealer's chance of turning 
 up a Knave is seven to one against him ; or 
 why, when you adopt or make the trump the 
 chances are in favor of your partner's winning 
 one trick, — for it is obvious that games, con- 
 tingent upon chance and combination, cannot 
 be reduced to the exactness of the propositions 
 of Euclid and be made to conform to a u rigid 
 and infallible geometry." Besides, the " cer- 
 tainties of chances" we do not affect to com- 
 prehend, but only " have a care o' th' main 
 chance." 
 
134 EUCHRE. 
 
 "In this journey through life, should dame Fortune's 
 
 dark frown 
 Upon you be cast, let it ne'er weigh you down ; 
 Should friends fail to 'assist' and 'pass' heedlessly by, 
 And you should Euchred be — why still never say die." 
 
 And now, gentle Tyro, — " Oh you, for whom 
 I write 1" — if you will smile approvingly, with 
 grateful acknowledgment, on this our magnum 
 opus, sweetly, with Tyro-lean air, we will 
 claim no better compensation for our labors 
 than the pleasure of having rendered you a 
 service. Vale. 
 
Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. 
 Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide 
 Treatment Date: July 2006 
 
 PreservationTechnologies 
 
 A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 
 
 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive 
 Cranberry Township, PA 16066 
 (724)779-2111