If a player, second or fourth in hand, play, say a six, and on the second round of the same suit play a
two, three, four, or five, he has played an unnecessarily high card, and has called for trumps. If a player third in hand win with the ace, return the king, and then play a small card, he has intimated, by playing the ace, that he wishes his partner to lead a trump, the ace being an unnecessarily high card.
The play by the second hand of a high, then a low, card may not indicate that an unnecessarily high card had been first played. For example, second hand holds queen, knave, and two of a suit; the three is led, second hand plays knave, and, on the return of the suit, plays the two. Some unreasoning partners would at once jump at the conclusion that this was a call for trumps, because a high, then a low, card was played by their partner. If the second player wished to call for trumps, he would play his queen, not the knave, under the above conditions.
Some partners are so dense in these matters that it is dangerous to play a protecting card second hand for fear they may assume this to be a call for trumps. If one holds knave, ten, and a small card, and the ten, which is the correct card to play second hand, be put on, a bad partner will conclude, when he sees the small card played in the next round, that his partner must have asked for trumps, because a ten, then a small card had been played. This erroneous conclusion is usually arrived at when the partner is only superficially acquainted with the card that ought to be played second hand.
The player who calls for trumps intimates to his partner that he is so strong that if trumps are led to him he is prepared to undertake all responsibility for the consequences. To ignore such a signal is unjustifiable.
It is a serious step to call for trumps, even with five trumps and two honours, if the other suits are very weak. When, however, the player holds one or two queens, with such other cards in those suits as to render it probable that the queen may be trumped in the third round by one of the adversaries, then a "call" may be allowable.
When calling for trumps, the card selected with which to call should, if possible, be a middle card, so that, if necessary, the call may be temporarily concealed. For example, suppose one holds the six, five, and four of diamonds, and five or six trumps (clubs), and one is second player. Original leader starts with the diamond suit; second player, wishing to call, should play the five, not the six; third hand plays queen; partner drops ten. Ace of diamonds is returned; partner drops knave, and thus shows no more diamonds; original caller may now, with advantage, conceal his call by playing the six. When the original caller obtains the lead, he may play his four, thus allowing his partner to make a small trump, and, at the same time, showing that the five which he originally played was a call.
The Echo to the Call.
If partner has called for trumps, and you are able to lead trumps to him, lead the highest of three, the lowest of four, unless the ace be one of the four, when lead the ace, then the lowest. If your partner lead winning trumps, and you hold four, play to his leads, first, the lowest but one, then the lowest. This shows four trumps at least. Also if, before either you or your partner obtain the lead, you have