COUNTERS. In some places 13 counters are placed on the table, the winner of each trick taking down one. This system often leads to disputes, as there can be no check upon it, and there is nothing to show in which trick the error occurred.
COUNTING TRICKS. At the end of each hand, the players sitting North and South score the total number of tricks they have taken; instead of the number in excess of a book. Their adversaries, sitting East and West, do the same. Each player then slightly shuffles his 13 cards; so as to conceal the order in which they were played, and the four separate hands of 13 cards each are then left on the table, face down; the trump being turned at the dealer’s place.
TRAYS. When any apparatus is used for holding the cards, such as trays, boxes, or envelopes, each player puts his 13 cards in the compartment provided for them. Each tray has a mark upon it, usually an arrow, showing which end of the tray should point toward a given direction, usually the North. The pocket into which the dealer’s cards go is marked “dealer,” and it is usual to provide a trump slip for each tray. When the hand is first dealt, the trump is recorded on this slip, which travels round the room with the tray. After the dealer has turned up the designated trump, he places the trump slip in the tray, face down. When the play of the hand is finished and the cards replaced in the tray, the dealer puts his trump slip on the top of his cards. The four hands can then be conveniently carried or handed to any other table to be overplayed.
Various Apparatus for Duplicate.
SCORING. There should be two score-cards at each table. The various methods of putting down and comparing the scores can best be described in connection with the variety of competition to which they belong. It is a common practice to note the trump card on the score sheets.
POSITION OF THE PLAYERS. The four players at each table are distinguished by the letters N S E W; North and South being partners against East and West. West should always be the dealer in the first hand, North having the original lead. In all published illustrative hands, North is the leader, unless otherwise specified.
The deal passes in rotation to the left, and the number of hands played should always be some multiple of four, so that each player may have the original lead an equal number of times. 24 hands at each table is the usual number, and is the rule at all League tournaments. The partners and adversaries should be changed after each eight hands. Three changes in 24 hands will bring each member of a set of four into partnership with every other member for an equal number of hands.
If two teams of four on a side, A B C D, and W X Y Z, play against each other, the arrangement in a League tournament would be as follows:—that A B C D should represent the players of the visiting club, or challengers, and W X Y Z the home club, or holders; and that the positions of the players should be changed after every four hands. It is usual to play 24 hands in the afternoon, and 24 more at night.