The rules for discarding that are given in connection with Whist should be carefully observed; especially in the matter of showing command of suits.
SPREADS. These should not be called except with hands in which every suit contains the deuce, and all the cards are low enough to insure the player that nothing short of extraordinary circumstances will defeat him. Open sequences, or Dutch straights, as they are sometimes called, in which the cards are all odd or all even, such as 2 4 6 8 10, are quite as safe as ordinary sequences, provided the deuce is among the cards.
The player calling a spread must remember that it will be impossible for him to get any discards after the first trick without the consent of the adversaries; for they will not lead a suit of which they see he is void. In order to reduce the caller’s chances of a discard on the opening lead, before his cards are exposed, the adversaries should select their shortest suits, unless they have a bottom sequence to the deuce.
THE SLAM. This feature of Solo Whist is even rarer than the grand coup at Whist. It is not very marvellous for an abundance player to make twelve or thirteen tricks; but to announce thirteen tricks before a card is played is something phenomenal. All the adversaries can do against such a call is to show each other, by their discards, in which of the suits they have a possible trick. It is very annoying to have a player succeed in making a slam just because two of his adversaries keep the same suit.
SOLO WHIST FOR THREE PLAYERS.
The best arrangement is to play with a pack of forty cards, deleting the 2, 3, and 4 of each suit. The last card is turned up to determine the trump, but it is not used in play.
There is no proposal and acceptance, solo being the lowest call. If all three players pass, the trump card is turned down, and each player in turn has the option of calling a six-trick abundance, naming his own trump suit. In some places it is the custom to allow the players to over-call each other, after the trump is turned down, each increasing the number of tricks he proposes to take. A misère over-calls eight tricks.
Kimberly Solo is for four players, without any proposal and acceptance, solo being the lowest call. If all pass, a six-trick solo with a different trump is allowed.