LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. i UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. ! THE LAWS AND PRACTICE OF THE GAME OF EUCHRE. As adopted by the Washington, J), ft, Euchre Club. BY A PKOFESSOK. ONE OP THE OLDEST AND MOST NOTED EUCHRE PLAYERS IN THE UNITED STATES, AND A MEMBER OP THE WASHINGTON EUCHRE CLUB. TO WHICH IS ADDED THE RULES FOR PLAYING "DRAW POKER." f ; PHILADELPHIA T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS. 1877. &VI249 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1877, by T. B. PETERSON & BROTHERS, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. PREFACE. No sedentary game is more popular, or so generally played for amusement in do- mestic circles, throughout the wide spread "eminent demesne" 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. THE AUTHOR. Washington, D. C. CONTENTS. — *** GAME OF EUCHRE. CHAPTER I. Preliminary 23 CHAPTER II. Mode of Playing 35 CHAPTER III. On Playing Alone 44 CHAPTER IV. Lap, Slam, Jambone, and Jamboree.. — 59 CHAPTER V. Technicalities 78 CHAPTER VI. Laws of the Game 88 CHAPTER VII. Hints to Tyros 105 RULES FOR PLAYING DRAW POKER. The Deal and Dealing of the Cards.. .135 Every Player for Himself 138 Drawing of Cards 140 Relative Value of Hands in their Order, Beginning with the Best 142 (21) EUCHRE. CHAPTEE I. PRELIMINARY. 11 Four knaves in garbs succinct, a trusty band, Caps on their beads, and balberts in tbeir band ; And party-color'd troops, a shining 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 EUCHRE. 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 Encyclopedia 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 — a 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 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 u anti- altitudinous" articles, and whose noted reply to the agitated and expostulating gargon, was, JTapprends a etre vxf. He may have sue* eeeded 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 sicler his education sadly neglected, now-a 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, 7 ' with a corn-cob "cork" — the 11 democratic decanter," as they call it. The word Bauer, the German for Jack, 01 PRELIMINAEY. 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 Caesar 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- 30 EUCHRE. ter of a century's addiction to Euchre — viginti annorum lucuhmtiones — 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. 32 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 — ice most '' affectionate"' Euchre. But. repawns a .s. The game of Euchre is played with 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. Recently, however, packs are ex- pressly manufactured for this game, (as well as for Picquet and Ecar:£, also played with the same number of cards.) by M. De la Rue, 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 Right-Bower as it is termed, is the highest or be** 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 BUCHBS. 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. CHAPTER II. MODE OF PLAYING. "They know not when to play, where to play, noi what to play. — Middleton. a Who plays— who plays — who plays." — Old Play, "How absolute the Knave is !" — Shakspeare. 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, and the Knaves rank as at Whist. (35) 86 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 88 EUCHRE. is ordered up by his antagonists, or lie is as- sisted by his 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 entitles 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 EUCHBE. 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. K 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, w^ 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 ::::ir :r::ks. ::tt are Euch?.ii\ as i: :s tern:-::. which entitles their antagonists to add two points to the score of their game. And if one party win all five tricks when their op- ponents adopt or make a trump, which will rarely occur, except when the trump-car ordered up for the Bridge, — explained infra, — the winning party are only entitled to c for the Euchre, which is two points. MODE OF PLAYING. 41 The eldest-hand, in leading, should placo 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 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, upon 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 tor 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. CHAPTER III. ON PLAYING ALONE. " Solitary and alone I set this ball in motion." Benton* " There's a game much 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, *I think I may venture to go it alone. 1 M — 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, 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 dealer'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 C 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. But in this case, the partner D is compelled to Play Alone, and the player B, who first announced a lone hand, cannot play, lot withstanding that he would have a great advantage, 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 entirely incompatible with 3 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 loanding 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 Kino- would win on the first lead oi PLAYING ALONE. 53 the suit if he 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. n 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 54 EUCHRE, 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 certain 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 CI apters II. and III The Bridge, in Euchre, — not & 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 58 EUCHRE. 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. 44 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 ffixed 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 foi difference in taste ! So many men, so many minds — autani de tetes, aidant cV opinions, as we say at Paris, with a haussement oT epaules We heard it once alleged that people do exist who even object to play cards ! " Tel] 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"— 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. u 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 four — though not four score, for the zeal's sake — 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 score the superfluous point as one in the next game. Oi, 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 64 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?" Whatever 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. 4 66 EUCHRE. If the Jambone player is entitled to the lead, then his 1^-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 played, 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 w^as 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 bo 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 with the privilege of putting out one of them, more often holds a Jambone hand than either 68 EUCHRE. 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 r equire 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 everv trick, and secured 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 win 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 tlie 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 by 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. Eemember, there are only nine trumps — eight of the suit, with the Knave of the same color — in this fa- vorite game of burs. 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 EUCHRE. opponents, 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 oat 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 m^ke 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, eiglit 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. CHAPTEB V. TECHNICALITIES. " Verbnm verbo reddere Sdtts Interpres. ' ' — Horace. 11 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 l/ump 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 m to deal, distributes the cards. Deal. To distribute to each } lay )v five cards, face downwards, after the pa