A player who has made a call of any kind, or has accepted a proposal, may amend his proposition to a better one, only in case he is over-called; or a player who can not get a partner to accept him may amend his call to solo. For instance: A player may have a hand which he feels sure is good for 8 tricks, perhaps 9. To be safe, he calls solo, and hopes to make three or four over-tricks. If he is outbid by some player over-calling him with a misère, he may be tempted to amend his call to abundance.
No call is good until every player who has not already passed does so, by saying distinctly, “I pass.”
STAKES. The losses and gains of the players are in proportion to the difficulties of the tasks they set themselves.
The most popular method of settling is to pay or take red counters for the various calls, and white counters for the tricks under or over the exact number proposed. If the callers succeed in their undertakings, their adversaries pay them; if they fail, they pay their adversaries. A red counter is worth five white ones.
| Proposal and Acceptance wins or loses | 1 red counter. |
| Solo wins or loses | 2 red counters. |
| Misère, or Nullo, wins or loses | 3 red counters. |
| Abundance, of any kind, wins or loses | 4 red counters. |
| Open Misère, or Spread, wins or loses | 6 red counters. |
| Declared Abundance, or Slam, wins or loses | 8 red counters. |
| Each Over or Under-trick wins or loses | 1 white counter. |
In Proposal and Acceptance, each of the partners pays one of his adversaries. In all cases in which a single player is opposed to the three others, he wins or loses the amount shown in the foregoing table with each of them individually; so that a single player calling a solo would win or lose 6 red counters. If he lost it, making only four tricks, he would also have to pay to each of his three adversaries a white counter. If he won it, making seven tricks, each of them would have to pay him two red and two white counters.
Misères, Spreads, and Slams pay no odd tricks. The moment a Misère player takes a trick, or a Slam player loses one, the hands are abandoned, and the stakes paid.
The usual value attached to the counters in America is 25 cents for the red, and 5 cents for the white. In England the proportion is sixpence and a penny.
POOL SOLO. When players wish to enhance the gambling attractions of the game, a pool is introduced. For this purpose a receptacle is placed upon the table, in which each player puts a red counter at the beginning of the game. Any person playing alone against the three others, wins this pool if he is successful; if he fails, he must double the amount it contains, besides paying each of his adversaries in the regular way. In some places it is the custom for each player to contribute a red counter when he deals. The proposals and acceptances do not touch the pool.