A player may close, hoping to make schneider or schwartz. For instance: A knows his score is 13, while B has 32. A has royal marriage and Ace of trumps in his hand, and the Nine is turned up. If A closes, and so compels B to follow suit, he must catch the Jack or Ten of trumps by leading the Ace. If he catches the Jack, that will put him to 26, and showing the royal marriage will put him 66, and make B schneider. If B has no trump, one of the marriage cards can be led without any fear of losing it, and that will put A to 66, even if B plays a Nine to both leads. But if A leads the ace of trumps without closing, B is not compelled to follow suit, and might play the Nine of a plain suit to the Ace of trumps. If A then closed or played on without closing, B might win one of the marriage cards with the Ten, and not only get out of schneider, but reach 66 in plain suits before A could win another trick.
On the same principle, a player may think he can reach 66 before his adversary can win a trick, provided he can compel him to follow suit. With two plain-suit Aces and the royal marriage, the pone would close before playing to the first trick, trusting to catch at least 4 points with his two aces, and then to show the marriage, making his adversary schwartz.
Some judgment is necessary in deciding whether or not to draw before closing. If a player is allowed to draw, he may get a trump, or a guard to one that you suspect he has. Suppose he has exchanged the Nine for the Ten, and you have Ace and royal marriage; it is very likely that the Ten is unguarded, and if you close without drawing you may catch it, which will make your three trumps alone good for 68. This also shows that the player should not have taken up the Ten until he wanted to use it.
Nothing is gained by closing, except compelling the adversary to follow suit; because if you close to make him schwartz, and he gets a trick, you count two only; if you close to make him schneider, and he gets out, you count one only. If you fail in the first case, he counts three, and any failure will give him two points.
THREE-HANDED SIXTY-SIX.
This is exactly the same as the ordinary game, except that the dealer takes no cards, but scores whatever points are won on the hand he deals. If neither of the others score, either through each making 65, or one failing to claim 66, the dealer scores one point, and the others get nothing. The dealer cannot go out on his own deal. He must stop at six, and win out by his own play.
There are two ways to settle: Each may pay a certain amount to the pool, and the first man out take it all; or, after one is out, the two remaining finish the game, and the loser pays both or settles for the refreshments, as the case may be. If the first man goes out when it will be his turn to deal, he must deal the next hand.
FOUR-HANDED SIXTY-SIX
This game is sometimes called Kreutz-mariage, owing to the German fashion of dealing the cards in the form of a cross; but as the cards are not dealt that way, and marriages are not scored in America, the name is not appropriate in this country.