Etiquette. It should be quite unnecessary to legislate against acts which annoy or do injustice to individuals, but there should be some provision in the laws of every game which will secure to each individual equal rights with others in the enjoyment of the game. Some games are especially selfish; Boston, for instance, in which the four players originally forming the table may monopolise the game for the entire evening, without offering newcomers any chance to cut in. All such games should be limited to a certain number of tournées, at the conclusion of which fresh candidates should be allowed to cut into the table.
Technical Terms.
G. stands for German; F. for French.
- Abnehmen or Abheben, G., to cut.
- Abwerfen, G., to discard.
- À cheval, across the line; betting on both sides at once.
- Adversary, (G., Feind). In Mort or Bridge, those who play against the Dummy and his partner.
- Affranchir, F., to establish a suit.
- Age, the eldest hand; sometimes erroneously spelt Edge.
- Albany Lead, a lead in Whist, to show four trumps and three of each plain suit.
- American Leads, leads that show the number of cards in the suit led, at Whist.
- Ames Ace, double aces thrown with dice.
- Anchor Shot, getting the object balls against the cushion and astride the line at baulk-line billiards.
- Ante, a bet made before playing, but after seeing the hand.
- Antepenultimate, the lowest but two of a suit.
- Après, the announcement of a refait at Rouge et Noir.
- Arroser, F., to be compelled to play a trump which will not win the trick.
- Ask for Trumps, playing an unnecessarily high card, when no attempt is made to win the trick.
- Auf die Dörfer gehen, to run for home; to make all your aces and kings, instead of leading trumps.
- A. Y. B. Z., the letters used to distinguish the positions of the four players at Whist; A-B being partners against Y-Z., and Z. having the deal.
- Backgammon. If a player throws off all his men before his adversary has thrown off any, and while one or more of the adversary’s men are still on the side of the board next the winning player, it is a backgammon, or triple game.
- Bath Coup, holding up Ace Jack on a King led by an adversary.
- Battre, F., to shuffle.
- Bedienen, G., to follow suit.
- Bekommen, G., to win.
- Bekennen, G., to follow suit.
- Belle, F., the last game of the rubber.
- Bidding to the Board, means that the points bid for a certain privilege are not to be credited to any player, but are simply the announcement of the value of an undertaking.
- Biseautes (cartes) F., wedges or strippers.
- Blätter, G., playing cards.
- Blocking a Suit, keeping a high card of it, so that the player with a number of smaller cards cannot win tricks with them.
- Blue Peter, the ask for trumps.
- Blind, a bet made before seeing the cards.
- Blinden, G., a widow, an extra hand dealt at any game.
- Board’s the Play, a card once played cannot be taken back.
- Bobtail, a four-card flush or straight, which is accompanied by a worthless card.
- Bone-yard, the stock at dominoes.
- Book, the first six tricks taken by either side at Whist which do not count toward game.
- Both Ends against the Middle, a system of trimming cards for dealing a brace game of Faro.
- Brace Game, a conspiracy between the dealer and the case-keeper at Faro, so that cards improperly taken from the dealing box shall be properly marked by the case-keeper.
- Break. In Billiards, a succession of counting shots made by one player, usually called a “run” in America. In Ten Pins, a break is a failure to make either a strike or a spare.
- Break Even, a system of playing Faro, betting each card to win or lose an even number of times.
- Brelan, F., three cards of the same denomination.
- Brelan Carré, F., four cards of the same denomination.
- Bringing in a Suit, making tricks in a plain suit after the adverse trumps are exhausted.
- Brûler, F., to burn a card.
- Bûche, F., cards that count for nothing, such as the tens and court cards in Baccara; equivalent to the G. Ladons, or Fehlkarten.
- Bucking the Tiger, playing against the bank at Faro.
- Bumblepuppy, playing Whist in ignorance or defiance of conventionality.
- Bumper, a rubber of eight points at English Whist.
- Burnt Cards, cards which are turned face upward on the bottom of the pack, usually in banking games.
- Calling for Trumps, the ask for trumps.
- Cannon, (Am. carrom,) a count made at billiards by causing the cue ball to touch two object balls.
- Capot, F., winning all the tricks.
- Cards, the number of tricks over six at Whist, such as “two by cards.” The majority of cards at Cassino.
- Carrer, (se) to straddle the blind. Contre-carrer, to over-straddle.
- Carrom, see cannon.
- Cartes, F., playing cards.
- Carte Blanche, a hand which does not contain K, Q or J.
- Carte Roi, F., the best card remaining of a suit.
- Cases, when three cards of one denomination have been withdrawn from the box at Faro, the fourth is a case.
- Case-keeper, a board for recording the cards as they are withdrawn from the box at Faro. The word is sometimes applied to the person who keeps cases.
- Cat-hop, two cards of the same denomination left in for the last turn at Faro.
- Cave, F., the amount a player places in front of him at the beginning of play; table stakes.
- Checks, the counters at Poker are checks; at Faro they are chips.
- Chelem, F., a slam.
- Chip Along, to bet a single counter and wait for developments.
- Chouette, à la, taking all the bets.
- Close Cards, those which are not likely to form sequences with others, especially at Cribbage.
- Club Stakes, the usual amount bet on any game in the club.
- Cogging Dice, turning one over with the finger after they have been fairly thrown.
- Cold Deck, a pack of cards which has been pre-arranged, and is surreptitiously exchanged for the one in play.
- Colours, a system of playing Faro according to the colour of the first winner or loser in each deal.
- Command, the best card of a suit, usually applied to suits which the adversary is trying to establish.
- Couper, F., to cut the cards; also to ruff a suit.
- Couleur, F., a suit of cards, such as hearts or clubs.
- Coup, a master stroke or brilliant play; a single roll of the wheel at Roulette, or a deal at Rouge et Noir.
- Compass Whist, arranging players according to the points of the compass at Duplicate Whist, and always retaining them in their original positions.
- Conventional Play, any method of conveying information, such as the trump signal, which is not based on the principles of the game.
- Coppered Bets, bets that have a copper or checker placed upon them at Faro, to show that they play the card to lose.
- Court Cards, the K, Q and J; the ace is not a court card.
- Covering, playing a higher card second hand than the one led, but not necessarily the best of the suit.
- Créve, F., one who is temporarily out of the game, such as one who has overdrawn his hand at Vingt-et-un; as distinguished from one who has lost all his money. The latter would be spoken of as décavé.
- Crossing the Suit, changing the trump from the suit turned up to one of a different colour, especially in Euchre.
- Cross-ruff, two partners alternately trumping a different suit.
- Cul levé, (jouer à) playing one after another, by taking the place of the loser. A vulgar expression.
- Cutting, dividing the pack when presented by the dealer; or drawing lots for choice of seats and deal.
- Cutting In and Out, deciding by cutting which players shall give way to fresh candidates.
- Curse of Scotland, the nine of diamonds.
- Cut Shots, very fine winning hazards.
- Dealing Off, the same dealer dealing again.
- Deck-head, an Irish name for the turned trump at Spoil Five.
- Deadwood, the pins that fall on the alley, in bowling.
- Décavé, F., frozen out; the entire amount of the original stake being lost.
- Défausser, se, F., to discard.
- D’emblée, F., on the first deal; before the draw.
- Despatchers, dice which are not properly marked, having two faces alike, such as double fives.
- Devil’s bed posts, the four of clubs.
- Discarding, getting rid of a card in plain suits when unable to follow suit and unwilling to trump.
- Donne, (avoir la) to have the deal. Donne, the time occupied in playing the cards distributed during a deal, but “coup” is the term generally used.
- Double Pairs Royal, four cards of the same denomination.
- Doubleton, two cards only of a suit.
- Doubling Up, betting twice the amount of a lost wager.
- Doubtful Card, a card led by the player on your right, which your partner may be able to win.
- Draw Shot, any shot which makes the ball return toward the cue; in English, a “screw-back.”
- Duffer, one who is not well up in the principles of the game he is playing.
- Dummy, the exposed hand in Dummy Whist, Bridge, or Mort.
- Duplicate Whist, a form of Whist in which the same hands are played by both sides, and as nearly as possible under the same conditions.
- Dutch It, to cross the suit at Euchre.
- Ecarter, F., to discard.
- Echoing, showing the number of trumps held when partner leads or calls; in plain suits, showing the number held when a high card is led.
- Edge, a corruption of the word “age,” the eldest hand.
- Eldest Hand, the first player to the left of the dealer in all English games; to his right in France.
- Encaisser, F., to hand the stakes to the banker.
- Entamer, F., to lead.
- Established Suits, a suit is established when you or your partner can take every trick in it, no matter who leads it.
- Étaler, F., to expose a card.
- Exposed Cards, cards played in error, or dropped face upward on the table, or held so that the partner can see them.
- Face Cards, K, Q and J.
- Faire les Cartes, F., to shuffle; or to make the majority of cards or tricks in a game.
- Fall of the Cards, the order in which they are played.
- False Cards, cards played to deceive the adversary as to the true holding in the suit.
- Fattening, discarding counting cards on partner’s tricks.
- Feind, G., an adversary; Gegner is the more common word.
- Figure, F., K, Q or J.
- Fille, F., see Widow.
- Finesse, any attempt to take a trick with a card which is not the best of the suit.
- First, Second, or Third Hand, the positions of the players on any individual trick.
- Five Fingers, the five of trumps at Spoil Five.
- Flèches, the points upon a backgammon board.
- Fluke, making a count that was not played for.
- Flush, cards of the same suit.
- Flux, F., only one suit in the player’s hand; a flush.
- Force, to compel a player to trump a trick in order to win it.
- Forced Leads, leads which are not desirable, but which are forced upon the player to avoid those which are still less advantageous.
- Fordern, G., to lead trumps.
- Fourchette, the two cards immediately above and below the one led, such as K J in the second hand on a Q led.
- Four Signal, a method of showing four trumps, without asking for them; usually made by playing three small cards, such as 4 6 2, in that order.
- Fourth-best, the fourth card of a suit, counting from the top. The modern substitute for the terms penultimate, and antepenultimate.
- Front Stall, one who makes acquaintances for gamblers to fleece.
- Frozen, balls touching at billiards.
- Frozen Out, a player who has lost his original stake, and cannot continue in the game.
- Fuzzing, milking the cards instead of shuffling them.
- Gallery, the spectators who are betting on the game.
- Gambling, risking more than one can well afford to lose on any game of chance.
- Gambler’s Point, the count for “game” at Seven-up.
- Gammon. When a player throws off all his men before his adversary throws off any, it is a gammon, or double game.
- Gathering Shots, getting the balls together again after driving them round the table. See Nursing.
- Geben, G., to deal the cards. Sometimes “Vertheilung der Karten” is used.
- Gegner, G., the adversary.
- Grand Coup, trumping a trick already won by partner; or playing a small trump on a trick which he has already trumped.
- Greek, (grec) a card sharp.
- Guarded Cards, cards which cannot be caught by higher cards unless they are led through.
- Hand, the cards dealt to one player; the distribution of the cards in any one deal. A “remarkable hand” might be the play of an entire deal at Whist, for instance.
- Heading a Trick, playing a better card than any already played to the trick, but not necessarily the best in the hand.
- Heeled Bets, bets at Faro which play one card to win and another to lose, but do not win or lose double the amount if both events come on the same turn.
- Hinterhand, G., the last player on the first trick, (Skat).
- His Heels, the Jack turned up for a starter at Cribbage.
- His Nobs, Jack of the same suit as the starter at Cribbage.
- Hoc, or Hockelty, the last card in the box at Faro.
- Honours, usually the highest cards in the suit, such as A K Q J, and sometimes the 10. In Calabrasella the 3 and 2 are honours, and in Impérial the lowest card is an honour.
- Horse and Horse, each player having one game to his credit when they are playing best two out of three.
- Hustling, inveigling persons into skin games.
- Impair, the odd numbers at Roulette.
- Impasse, F., to finesse.
- Imperfect Fourchette, two cards, one immediately above the one led, and the other one remove below it; such as K 10 second hand on a Q led.
- Imperfect Pack, one in which there are duplicate cards, missing cards, or cards so marked that they can be identified by the backs.
- Indifferent Cards, cards of the same value, so far as trick taking is concerned, such as Q and J.
- Inside Straights, sequences which are broken in the middle.
- Intricate Shuffles, butting the two parts of the pack together at the ends, and forcing them into each other.
- Invite, F., leading a small card of the long suit.
- Irregular Leads, leads which are not made in accordance with the usual custom, as distinguished from forced leads.
- Jack Strippers, two bowers, trimmed to pull out of the pack.
- Jenny, a fine losing hazard, made off an object ball close to the cushion, between the side pocket and the baulk.
- Jetons, F., the counters which represent money at any game.
- Jeu, F., derived from jocus, a game. The word is variously applied to the game itself; to the player’s expectation of success; to his plan of campaign; or to the cards in his hand.
- Jeux de Régle, hands which should be played in a certain way on account of their mathematical expectations, (Écarté).
- Keeping Tab, keeping a record of the cards that win and lose as they are dealt at Faro.
- King Card, the best card remaining unplayed of the suit.
- King Row, the four squares on the checker board which are farthest from the player’s own side.
- Kitty, the percentage taken out of a pool to pay for refreshments, or for the expenses of the table.
- Knight Player, one who can give the odds of a Knight to weak players, at Chess.
- Last Trick, an expression used to distinguish the last trick when all the cards are played from the last when all the cards are not played, especially in Bézique and Sixty-six.
- Last Turn, the three cards left in the box at the end of the deal at Faro, the order of which may be bet upon.
- Lead, to play the first card in any trick.
- Levée, F., a trick. (Tric, is the odd trick.)
- Liées, F., to play rubbers.
- Limit, the amount by which one player may increase his bet over that of another.
- Long Cards, the dregs of a suit which has been led several times, and exhausted in the hands of the other players.
- Long Suits, those containing four or more cards, at Whist.
- Lose Out, a card that loses four times in one deal, at Faro.
- Losing Cards, those that would lose tricks if they were led.
- Losing Hazard, pocketing the cue ball.
- Losing Trump, one which is not the best, when only one or two remain.
- Love-all, nothing scored on either side.
- Lurched, not half way toward game.
- Main, F., with avoir this expression is indefinite, and may refer to the deal or the lead. With être, to be in the lead. Dans la main, applies to the possibilities of the hand. Placer la main, to place the lead.
- Make-up, to get the cards ready for the next deal.
- Make the Pass, to put the two parts of the pack back as they were before the cut.
- Maldonne, F., misdeal.
- Manche, F., one game of the rubber.
- Manque, the numbers from 1 to 18 at Roulette. See Passe.
- Marque, F., a score which is kept upon the table by means of counters.
- Martingale, any system which controls the amounts wagered on a series of events. (See chapter on Chance and Probability.)
- Massé, a shot made with the cue held nearly perpendicular.
- Master Card, the best card remaining of a suit which has been played.
- Matsch, G., to win all the tricks, a slam.
- Mechanic, a dealer who can make the cards come any way he pleases at Faro.
- Melden, G., to announce, claim, or show any counting combination of cards.
- Méler, F., to shuffle.
- Memory Duplicate, playing over the same hands at the same table; the players who held the N and S cards getting the E and W for the overplay.
- Menage, F., gathering and arranging the cards for the succeeding deal when two packs are used.
- Milking, taking a card from the bottom and the top of the pack at the same time with the forefinger and thumb.
- Mischen, G., to shuffle.
- Misdeal, any failure to distribute the cards properly.
- Mise, F., the layout, or the original pool.
- Misère Ouverte. There is no such expression as this in French; the proper term is Misère sur table. See Boston.
- Mittelhand, G., the second player on the first trick, in Skat.
- Mixed Pair, a lady and gentleman playing as partners.
- Mort, F., the dummy hand at Whist or Bridge.
- Mouth Bets, those made without putting up the money. One who fails to pay mouth bets is a welcher.
- Muggins, to take a score which has been overlooked by an adversary, especially in Cribbage and Dominoes.
- Natural, anything which wins the stake immediately; 7 or 11 at Craps; 21 at Vingt-et-un; 8 or 9 at Baccara.
- Natural Points, those which must be made every deal, such as big and little cassino, high, low, etc.
- Navette, F., a cross ruff.
- Neben Farbe, G., plain suits.
- Next, the suit of the same colour as the turned trump at Euchre. Diamonds are “next” to hearts.
- Nick, a natural at Craps; 7 or 11 on the first throw.
- Nicknames for Cards: The ♢9 is the curse of Scotland; the ♣4 is the devil’s bedposts; the ♣A is the Puppy-foot; the Jack of trumps at Spoil Five is the Playboy, and the Five of trumps is the Five Fingers.
- N. E. S. W., letters used to distinguish the players at Duplicate Whist. N always leads, unless otherwise specified.
- Nursing, keeping the balls together at Billiards, as distinguished from gathering, which brings them together.
- Odd Trick, the seventh won by the same partners at Whist.
- Open Bets, bets at Faro which play cards to win.
- Openers, cards which entitle a player to open a jack-pot.
- Original Lead, the opening lead of a hand at Whist.
- Pair, F., the even numbers at Roulette. See Impair.
- Pairs, in Duplicate Whist, the partners sitting N and S, or E and W. Any two cards of the same denomination.
- Pairs Royal, any three cards of the same denomination.
- Partie, F., a game which requires a number of deals to decide it.
- Pass, to decline any undertaking in a game.
- Passe, F., the numbers from 19 to 36 at Roulette.
- Pat Hands, those which are played without discarding or exchanging any of the cards originally dealt.
- Pausirenden, G., one who shares in the fortunes of the game, although not actually playing, as the dealer in four-handed Skat.
- Paying in Cards. When the banker and the player’s point is equal, the latter is said to “pay in cards.”
- Penultimate, the lowest but one of a suit at Whist.
- Phaser, F., to change the pack.
- Philosopher, a card sharp.
- Piano Hands, hands which run along smoothly at Whist, and yield no opportunities for loss or gain.
- Piking, making small bets all over the layout at Faro.
- Playboy, the Jack of trumps at Spoil Five.
- Plain Suits, those which are not trumps.
- Point, F., the suit containing the greatest number of pips.
- Pone, the player on the dealer’s right, who cuts the cards.
- Ponte, F., one who plays against the banker.
- Post Mortems, discussions as to what might have been at Whist, sometimes called, “If you hads.”
- Pot, strictly speaking, the amount to be played for when a pool has exceeded a certain limit, especially in Spoil Five and Boston.
- Premier en Cartes, F., the first to play.
- Private Conventions, any system of giving information by the play which could not be understood by a partner unless explained to him.
- Probabilities, the odds in favour of any event.
- Progression, a martingale which increases a bet a certain amount every time it is lost, and decreases it every time it is won.
- Proil, or Prial, Pairs Royal.
- Puits, F., only one to go, the whiskey hole.
- Punters, those who play against the banker.
- Puppy-foot, the ace of clubs.
- Quart, the English equivalent of the French word quatrième, a sequence of four cards.
- Quart Major, A K Q J of any suit.
- Quatorze, F., four cards of the same denomination.
- Quatrième, F., a sequence of four cards.
- Queue, F., the points added for winning the rubber.
- Quinte, F., a sequence of five cards.
- Quitted. A trick is quitted when the fingers are removed from it after it is turned down. In Duplicate, a trick is not quitted until all four players have removed their fingers from it. A score is quitted when the fingers are removed from the counters, the peg, or the pencil.
- Raffles, the same number appearing on all the dice thrown.
- Ranche, leaving the black pin standing alone at Pin Pool.
- Re-entry Cards, cards in other suits which bring in long suits at Whist.
- Reizen, G., to draw a person on; to irritate or provoke him to bidding more than he should.
- Rejoué, duplicate whist.
- Renege, failure to follow suit, having none. See Revoke.
- Renounce, same as renege.
- Rentrant, F., the player who takes the place of the loser in a previous game.
- Renvier, F., to raise the bet, to improve.
- Retourne, F., any card turned on the talon, or for a trump.
- Revoke, failure to follow suit when able to do so, as distinguished from a renounce or renege.
- Ring In, to exchange any unfair for fair gambling implements during the progress of the game. See Cold Deck.
- Robbing, exchanging a card in the hand for the turn-up trump, or discarding several for the trumps remaining in the pack. See Cinch and Spoil Five.
- Rooking, hustling, inveigling a person into a game for the purpose of cheating him.
- Round, a round is complete when each player has had equal advantages with regard to deal, dummy, etc.
- Round Games, those which do not admit of partnerships.
- Rubber, winning two out of three games. F., Robre.
- Rubiconed, lurched, defeated before getting half way.
- Ruffing, trumping a suit.
- Run, a succession of counting shots at Billiards.
- Schnitt, G., a finesse.
- Schneiden, G., to finesse. Schinden is sometimes used.
- Scratch, a fluke, a score which was not played for.
- Screw Shot, a force shot at Billiards.
- Second Dealing, dealing the second card from the top of the pack, keeping back the top card until it can be dealt to yourself or your partner.
- See Saw, a cross ruff.
- Sequence, three or more cards next in value to one another. The word is sometimes used for two cards only.
- Short-card Player, a poker player; usually a sharper also.
- Short Suits, those containing less than four cards.
- Short-stop Billiards. Short-stop players are those who are good enough to play in halls hired for the purpose, but who stop short of the championship class.
- Shuffling, any method of disarranging the cards so that no trace remains of their order during the previous deal or play.
- Sights, the diamonds on the rail of an American billiard table.
- Signalling for Trumps, playing a higher card before a lower in a plain suit, when no attempt is made to win the trick.
- Singleton, one card only of any suit.
- Skin Games, those in which a player cannot possibly win.
- Skunked, whitewashed, schwartz, beaten without having been able to score a single point.
- Slam, winning all the tricks. Little Slam, winning 12 out of 13 possible.
- Sleeper, a bet left or placed on a dead card at Faro.
- Sneak, a singleton which is led for the especial purpose of ruffing the second round of the suit.
- Snowing the Cards, milking or fuzzing them.
- Soda, the first card at Faro, exposed face upward in the box before any bets are made.
- Splits, two cards of the same denomination coming on the same turn at Faro.
- Spot Stroke, a series of winning hazards with the red ball at English billiards.
- Square Game, one in which the cards are perfectly square, and have not been trimmed for wedges, strippers, etc.
- Squeezers, cards with indicators on the edges.
- Stack of Chips, twenty. A “stack of whites” is $5.
- Starter, the cut card at Cribbage.
- Stechen, G., to trump.
- Still Pack, the one not in play when two are used.
- Stock, cards left after the deal is complete, but which are to be used in the following play.
- Stool Pigeon, a hustler.
- Straight Whist, playing a hand and immediately shuffling the cards for another deal, as distinguished from Duplicate.
- Strength in Trumps, enough to justify a player in passing a doubtful trick; usually four or five at least.
- Strengthening Cards, those which are of no practical trick-taking value to the leader, but which may be useful to the partner; usually restricted to Q J 10 9.
- String Bets, those that take all the odd or all the even cards to play one way, win or lose, at Faro.
- Strippers, cards trimmed so that certain ones may be pulled out of the pack at will.
- Strohman, G., the dummy at Whist or Bridge.
- Strong Suits, those in which a number of tricks can be made after the adverse trumps are out of the way.
- Sub Echo, a trump signal in a plain suit, made after partner has led trumps, and the player has not echoed on the trump lead.
- Sub-sneak, a two-card suit which is led for the sole purpose of getting a ruff on the third round.
- Sweating Out, winning a game without taking any risks, by waiting for the trifling points that fall to your share.
- Systems, any guide that keeps a player from guessing in the distribution of his bets; as distinguished from a martingale, which controls the amount of the wager itself.
- Table Games, Chess, Checkers, and Backgammon.
- Tables, the ancient name for Backgammon.
- Taille, F., a number of packs shuffled together, which are not to be reshuffled or cut until all have been used.
- Talon, the same as Stock.
- Team Playing, requiring every member of a team to play with every other an equal number of times, at Whist.
- Tenace. The major tenace is the best and third best cards remaining, or unplayed, in any suit, such as A Q. The minor tenace is the second and fourth best, such as K J.
- Têtes, Kings, Queens and Jacks.
- Three-card Monte. A game in which three cards are dexterously thrown on the table by a gambler, and the victim is induced to bet that he can pick out one which has been previously named and shown.
- Three-echo, an echo on a trump lead when holding three only.
- Three-on-a-side, a system of playing Faro, in which cards are bet to win or lose an odd number of times.
- Tournée, F., see Round.
- Trailing, playing a card which accomplishes nothing.
- Trash, to discard.
- Tric, F., the odd trick at Whist or Mort.
- Tricon, F., three cards of the same denomination.
- Tric-Trac, the European name for Backgammon.
- Trump-showing Leads, a system of private conventionalities in leading plain suits at Whist, to show the number of trumps held by the leader.
- Unblocking, getting out of your partner’s way when he has more cards of the suit than you have.
- Underplay, leading a card which is not the best of a suit, when the best would naturally be led; or holding up the best card to let another player win the trick.
- Vade, F., the pool to be played for.
- Vergeben, G., misdeal.
- Verleugnen, or Verläugnen, G., to revoke.
- Vivant, F., Dummy’s partner.
- Vole, F., winning all the tricks, a slam.
- Vorhand, G., the eldest hand, at Skat.
- Vorwerfen, G., to play out of turn.
- Weak Trumps, not enough to justify a player in passing a doubtful trick.
- Wedges, cards trimmed to taper toward one end, so that if certain ones are reversed they can be easily pulled out.
- Welcher, one who makes mouth bets, and afterward fails to pay.
- Whipsawed, losing two different bets on the same turn.
- Whiskey Hole, only one to go.
- Whitewashed, defeated without having scored a point.
- Wide Balls, those which are near the corner of the table, and are almost sure to be hit by a ball coming from either cushion.
- Wide Cards, those which are too far apart to be likely to form sequences. See Close Cards.
- Widow, any extra hand dealt in any game.
- Wimmeln, G., to bunch the points together; to fatten a trick for the partner.
- Wimmelfinte, G., leading a card which is calculated to induce the second hand to fatten the trick for his partner.
- Winning Hazards, pocketing the object ball.
- Winning Out, a card that wins four times in the same deal at Faro.
- Yarborough, a hand at Whist containing no card higher than a Nine; the odds against it are 1827 to 1.
- Younger Hand, the one not the leader in two-handed games.
- Zange, G., a fourchette or tenace.
- Zwickmuhle, G., a cross ruff.
DRIVE WHIST.
There are several methods of playing Drive Whist; the most popular being to fill as many tables as possible with the players that present themselves, regardless of any order further than that partners should sit opposite each other. The players may select their own partners, or they may be determined by lot, according to the decision of the hostess.
Straight whist is played; the cards being shuffled and cut afresh for every hand. Each deal is a game in itself.