Four,” and was derived from four of the five points which counted
towards game; the fifth point, for “gift” having been apparently quite
overlooked. The game was originally ten points up, and the cards were
dealt one at a time. According to the descriptions in some of the older
Hoyles, the honours and Tens of the plain suits did not count towards
game; but this is evidently an error, for we find in the same editions
the advice to trump or win the adversary’s best cards in plain suits.
This would obviously be a mere waste of trumps if these plain-suit
cards did not count for anything.
All Fours seems to have been popular with all classes of society at
one time or another. Cotton’s “Compleat Gamester” gives it among the
principal games in his day, 1674. Daines Barrington, writing a hundred
years later, speaks of All Fours in connection with Whist. “Whist,”
he says, “seems never to have been played on principles until about
fifty years ago; before that time [1735] it was confined chiefly to
the servants’ hall, with All Fours and Put.” Another writer tells us
that Ombre was the favourite game of the ladies, and Piquet of the
gentlemen _par excellence_; clergymen and country squires preferring
Whist, “while the lower orders shuffled away at All Fours, Put,
Cribbage, and Lanterloo.” In 1754 a pamphlet was published containing:
“Serious Reflections on the dangerous tendency of the common practice
of Card-playing; especially the game of All Four.” For many years All
Fours was looked upon as the American gambler’s game _par excellence_,
and it is still the great standby of our coloured brother; who would
sooner swallow a Jack than have it caught.
ALL FOURS, SEVEN-UP, OR OLD SLEDGE.
_=CARDS.=_ Seven-up is played with the full pack of fifty-two cards,
which rank A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2; the ace being the highest, both
in cutting and in play.
_=COUNTERS.=_ Each player or side should be provided with seven
counters. As the points accrue, these counters are got rid of by
placing them in a pool in the centre of the table. By this method a
glance will show how many each side or player has “to go,” that is, how
many will put him out.
_=PLAYERS.=_ Two, three or four persons may play. When three play, the
game resembles Cut-throat Euchre, each for himself. When four play, two
are partners against the other two, and the partners sit opposite each
other. The player on the dealer’s left, or his adversary if only two
play, is always spoken of as the eldest or elder hand. The one on the
dealer’s right is the pone.
_=CUTTING.=_ If there are four players, they cut for partners, deal,
and choice of seats. The two lowest are partners against the two
highest; the highest cut has the choice of seats, and deals the first
hand. When two or three play, they cut for seats and deal. In cutting,
the ace is high. Ties cut again; but the new cut decides nothing but
the tie.
_=STAKES.=_ If there is any stake, it is for so much a game. Rubbers
are never played.
_=DEALING.=_ Each player has the right to shuffle the pack, the dealer
last, and the cards are then presented to the pone to be cut. At least
four cards must be left in each packet. Beginning on his left, the
dealer gives six cards to each player, three on the first round, and
three more on the second round, turning up the next card for the trump,
and leaving it on the remainder of the pack. If this card is a Jack,
the dealer counts one point for it immediately; but if any player is
found to have an incorrect number of cards, and announces it before he
plays to the first trick, the Jack cannot be counted, as it could not
have been the proper trump.
In _=Pitch, or Blind All Fours=_, no trump is turned. The first card
led or “pitched” by the eldest hand is the trump suit for that deal.
_=MISDEALING.=_ If any card is found faced in the pack, or the pack
is proved to be imperfect, the same dealer deals again. If he deals
without having the cards cut, or gives too many or too few cards to
any player, it is a misdeal, and the deal passes to the next player on
the misdealer’s left. If the dealer exposes a card, the adversaries may
elect to have the deal stand, or to have a new deal by the same dealer.
In _=Pitch=_, a misdeal does not lose the deal, because the deal is no
advantage.
_=BEGGING.=_ The deal completed, and the trump turned, the eldest hand
looks at his cards, the other players leaving theirs untouched. If
the eldest hand is not satisfied, he says: _=I beg=_; and the dealer,
after examining his own hand, has the option of giving him a point or
_=running the cards=_. If he decides to give the point, he says: _=Take
it=_, and the eldest hand immediately scores one for the _=gift=_. If
the dealer will not give, he lays the trump card aside, and deals three
more cards to each player, including himself; turning up another trump.
Should this be a Jack of another suit, the dealer scores a point for
it at once. Should it be of the same suit as that first turned up, the
Jack cannot be scored, as the dealer has declined to have that suit for
the trump. When the same suit is turned up a second time, the card is
laid aside; three more cards are given to each player, another trump
is turned, and so on until a different suit comes up for the trump. If
the pack is exhausted before another suit turns up, the cards must be
_=bunched=_, and the same dealer deals again.
The dealer’s partner and the pone are not permitted to look at their
cards until the eldest hand and the dealer have decided whether to
stand or run the cards. Among strict players, if a person looks at
his hand before the proper time, the adversaries score a point. The
object of this rule is to prevent the possibility of any expression of
satisfaction or disapproval of the turn-up trump.
No second beg is allowed, but when only two play, if either player is
dissatisfied with the new trump he may propose to _=bunch the cards=_.
If the proposition is agreed to, the cards are reshuffled and dealt
again by the same dealer. If three play, the dealer must give a point
to both adversaries if he refuses to run the cards, although only one
begs. The dealer cannot give a player enough to put him out.
_=DISCARDING.=_ When the cards have been run, the usual practice is to
discard all superfluous cards, each player reducing his hand to six,
with which he plays. In some clubs it is the rule to keep all the cards
if only nine are in each hand, but to discard down to six if two or
more rounds were dealt after turning the first trump.
_=OBJECTS OF THE GAME.=_ The object in Seven-up is to secure certain
points which count towards game. As its name implies, the game is
won when a player has put up seven of his counters, each of which
represents a point. There are six different ways of making these
points, and it is possible for one player to make five of them in one
deal; but he cannot by any possibility make seven. The following count
one point each:
1st. Turning up the _=Jack=_ of trumps.
2nd. Being _=given=_ a point by the dealer.
3rd. Holding the _=Highest=_ trump.
4th. Holding the _=Lowest=_ trump.
5th. Winning a trick with the _=Jack=_ of trumps in it.
6th. Making the majority of the pips that count for what is called
_=Game=_.
_=Turning the Jack=_ is entirely a matter of chance, and should not
occur more than once in thirteen deals. If a Jack is turned every few
deals, you may be sure that unfair methods are being used. Nothing is
more common among advantage players than turning up Jacks every few
deals.
_=Begging=_ is resorted to by a player who holds no trumps, or such
indifferent ones that it is very unlikely they will be either High or
Low. If he has anything better, such as very high or low cards in other
suits, such a hand is called, “a good hand to run to,” and the player
begs, hoping the new trump will better fit his hand. If he has nothing
better in other suits than in the turn-up, it will still be slightly in
his favour to beg, unless he has trumps enough to give him some hopes
of making the point for Game. It is a fatal error to beg on good cards,
and gamblers have a saying that he who begs a point to-day, will beg a
stake to-morrow.
_=High=_ and _=Low=_ count to the player to whom those cards are dealt,
and there is no chance to alter the fortunes of the deal except by
begging and running the cards. These two points may both be made by the
same card, if it is the only trump in play; because High is counted for
the best trump out during the deal, and Low for the lowest, no matter
what the cards are.
_=Catching the Jack=_, or saving it, is one of the principal objects
of the game, and as a rule a player holding the Jack should lose no
opportunity to save such a valuable counting card. On the other hand, a
player holding higher trumps will often have to use good judgment as to
whether to lead them to catch the Jack, if it happens to be out; or to
keep quiet until the last few tricks, when if the Jack is not out, such
trumps may be useful to win cards that count for Game.
_=The Game=_ is generally known as _=the gambler’s point=_, because
it is the only point that must be played for in every hand, and its
management requires more skill than all the others put together. The
cards that count for Game are the four honours and the Ten of each
suit. Every ace counts 4; every King 3; every Queen 2; every Jack 1;
and every Ten 10. After the last card has been played, each player
turns over the tricks he has won, and counts up the pip value of the
court cards and Tens that he has won. Whoever has the highest number
counts the point for Game. For instance: Two are playing. The elder
hand has taken in an ace, two Kings and a Jack, which are collectively
worth 11. The dealer has taken in a Queen and a Ten, which are worth
12; so the dealer marks the point for Game. If both players have the
same number, or if there is no Game out, which rarely happens, the
non-dealer scores Game. If three play, and Game is a tie between the
two non-dealers, neither scores. The non-dealer is given the benefit
of counting a tie for Game as an offset to the dealer’s advantage in
turning Jacks. When no trump is turned, as in Pitch, no one can count
Game if it is a tie.
_=METHOD OF PLAYING.=_ The eldest hand begins by leading any card he
pleases. If a trump is led, each player must follow suit if able. When
a plain suit is led he need not follow suit if he prefers to trump; but
if he does not trump, he must follow suit if he can. If he has none
of the suit led he may either trump or discard. This rule is commonly
expressed by saying that a player may _=follow suit or trump=_. The
highest card played of the suit led wins the trick, and trumps win all
other suits. The winner of the trick takes it in, and leads for the
next one, and so on until all the cards have been played. The tricks
themselves have no value except for the court cards and Tens they
contain.
As High, Jack, and Game are always counted by the player holding those
points at the end of the play, there can be no question about them: but
serious disputes sometimes arise as to who played Low. The best method
of avoiding this is for each player, as the game proceeds, to announce
and claim the lowest trump which has so far appeared, and instead of
giving it to the current trick, to leave it turned face up in front
of him if it is of no counting value. For instance: Four are playing,
and a round of trumps comes out, the six being the lowest. The player
holding it announces: “Six for Low,” and keeps the card face up in
front of him until some smaller trump appears. It often happens that a
player holds a 7 or 8, and having no idea that it will be Low, takes no
notice of it. At the end of the hand it is found that both the 7 and 8
are out, the 7 being Low, and the holders of those two cards get into
an argument as to which card each of them held.
_=SCORING.=_ The last card played, the various points for High, Low,
Jack, (if in play), and the Game are claimed, and the player or side
holding them puts a counter in the pool for each. The side first
getting rid of its seven counters wins the game. If both sides make
points enough to win the game on the same deal, High goes out first,
then Low, then Jack, and then Game. As already noticed, one card may
be both High and Low; the Jack may be High, Low, Jack; and it is even
possible, if there is no other trump or counting card in play, for the
Jack to be High, Low, Jack, and the Game.
In the variety known as _=All Fives=_, the score is kept on a cribbage
board, and part of it is pegged as the hand progresses. A player
winning a trick containing any of the following cards in the trump
suit pegs them immediately:--For the trump ace, 4 points; for the King
3; for the Queen 2; for the Jack 1; for the Ten 10, and for the Five
5. After the hand is over, all these cards are counted over again in
reckoning the point for Game, the Five of trumps counting 5. Sixty-one
points is game.
_=IRREGULARITIES IN PLAY.=_ The most serious error in Seven-up is the
_=revoke=_. If a player does not follow suit when able, it is a revoke
unless he trumps the trick. A player holding two small trumps and the
Ten of a plain suit, may trump both the ace and King of that suit
instead of giving up his Ten. But if on the third round the Queen is
led, and he cannot trump it, he must play his Ten if he has no other
card of the suit.
The only points affected by the revoke are Jack and Game. _=If the Jack
is not in play=_, there is only one point that can be affected by the
revoke, the score for Game; and the revoke penalty is one point, which
the adversary may add to his own score, or deduct from the score of the
revoking player. The adversary may also score the point for Game if he
makes it; but it cannot be scored by the revoking player; who may mark
only High or Low if he holds either or both of those points.
_=If the Jack is in play=_, two points may be affected by a revoke. The
player in fault cannot score either Jack or Game, and the penalty for
the revoke is two points; in addition to which the adversary of the
revoking player may score either or both Jack and Game if he makes them.
The revoking player cannot win the game that hand, no matter what he
scores, but must stop at six. A revoke is established as soon as the
trick in which it occurs has been turned and quitted, or a card has
been led or played to the next trick.
_=Exposed Cards.=_ When four play, all exposed cards must be left on
the table, and are liable to be called by the adversaries if they
cannot be previously got rid of in the course of play. All cards led or
played out of turn are exposed, and liable to be called. If two or more
cards are played to a trick, the adversaries may select which shall
remain; the other is exposed.
_=METHODS OF CHEATING.=_ Few games lend themselves more readily to
the operations of the greek than Seven-up. Turning Jacks from the
bottom of the pack; setting up the half-stock for the beg; dealing
oneself more than six cards, and dropping on the tricks already won
those counting for Game; getting the A J 10 and 2 of a suit together
during the play of a hand, and then shifting the cut to get them on
the next deal, turning up the Jack; marked cards; strippers; wedges;
reflectors; these and many other tricks are in common use. Those who
are not expert enough to deal seconds or shift cuts will sometimes
resort to such trifling advantages as abstracting one of the Tens from
the pack, so that they may know a suit from which a small card can
always be led without any danger of the adversary’s making the Ten. One
very common swindle in Seven-up is known as _=the high hand=_, which
consists in giving the intended victim the A K J 10 9 2 of trumps, and
then inducing him to bet that he will make four points. No matter how
skilful the player may be, he will find it impossible to save both Jack
and Game.
CALIFORNIA JACK.
This is a variety of Seven-up for two players, in which the number of
cards in the hand is constantly restored to six by drawing from the
remainder of the pack.
The trump suit is cut for before the cards are shuffled and dealt.
The usual method is to cut for seats and deal, and the highest cut
determines the trump suit at the same time. After each player has been
given six cards, three at a time, the remainder of the pack is turned
face up on the table, and the winner of each trick takes the top card,
his adversary taking the next one. When the stock is exhausted, the
last six cards are played as in the ordinary game of Seven-up.
Seven points is game, the points being the same as in Seven-up; but
everything, including Low, counts to the player winning it.
_=Shasta Sam=_ is California Jack with the remainder of the pack turned
face down, and is a much better game on that account.
AUCTION PITCH, SELL OUT, OR COMMERCIAL PITCH.
This very popular round game derives its name from the fact that the
first card led or “pitched” is the trump suit, and that the privilege
of pitching it belongs to the eldest hand, who may sell it out to the
highest bidder.
The number of _=cards=_ and their rank is the same as at Seven-up; A
K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2, the ace being the highest in cutting and in
play.
_=Players.=_ Any number from four to seven may play, each for himself;
five is considered the best game. The players cut for choice of seats,
the highest cut taking the first choice and the deal.
_=Counters.=_ Each player should be provided with seven white counters
to mark the game. If stakes are played for, red counters are used to
make up the pool, one player acting as the banker to sell and redeem
all red counters.
_=Dealing.=_ Six cards are dealt to each player, three at a time, but
no trump is turned. All the rules for irregularities in the deal are
the same as in Seven-up, but a misdeal does not lose the deal under any
circumstances.
_=Objects of the Game.=_ As in Seven-up, the object of each player is
to get rid of his seven counters, one of which he is entitled to put in
the pool for each of the following points: For holding the _=highest=_
trump in play; for holding (having dealt to him) the _=lowest=_ trump
in play; for winning a trick with the _=Jack=_ of trumps in it; for
making the greatest number of the pips that count for the _=game=_
point. The details of these points have already been explained in
connection with Seven-up. If the count for Game is a tie, no one scores
it.
_=Bidding.=_ The eldest hand sells. If he pitches without waiting for a
bid he must make four points, or he will be set back that number. Each
player in turn, beginning on the left of the eldest hand, bids for the
privilege of pitching the trump, naming the number of points he thinks
he can make. If he will not bid, he must say distinctly: “_=I pass=_.”
After a bid has been made, any following player must bid higher or
pass. There are no second bids. The highest number any player can bid
is four, which will require him to make High, Low, Jack, and the Game
against the combined efforts of all the other players. The eldest hand
must either accept the number bid, or pitch the trump himself, and make
as many points as the highest bidder offered him. If the eldest hand
accepts, he pushes into the pool as many counters as he is bid, and the
successful bidder pitches the trump. If no bid is made, the eldest hand
must pitch the trump himself.
A bidder is not allowed to give the seller enough points to put him
out, and should he do so by mistake, he forfeits his right to bid at
all for that deal. If the seller has only two to go, and a player is
able to bid three or four, he loses nothing by bidding one only, for
no one can overbid him, and he is entitled to count all he makes. The
only risk he runs is that the seller can afford to refuse one, and will
go out on his own pitch. To remedy this it is the custom in some clubs
to allow a player to bid the full value of his hand. If the seller
accepts, he scores to within one of game; but if he refuses, he must
make as many as bid, even if he does not actually want them. It is one
of the fine points of the game for the seller to refuse when the number
of points offered would put the bidder out if he was successful.
There is no penalty for bidding out of turn. If a player chooses to
expose to a preceding player what he is prepared to bid, that is
usually to his own disadvantage.
_=Bidding to the Board.=_ Modern players usually adopt the practice of
bidding to the board, eldest hand having the first bid. In this form
of the game the points bid count to no one, and anyone can bid up to
four, no matter what the scores are. No one can claim the privilege of
pitching the trump for as many as bid, as each in turn must bid higher
or pass.
_=Playing.=_ The successful bidder has the first lead, and whatever
card he plays, whether by mistake or not, is the trump suit for that
deal. After that, the winner of the trick may lead any suit he pleases.
A player must follow suit in trumps if he is able to do so; but in a
plain suit he may trump if he chooses, although holding a card of the
suit led. If he does not trump, he must follow suit if he can. If he
has none of the suit led, he may trump or discard as he pleases. The
highest card played of the suit led wins the trick, and trumps win all
other suits.
_=Scoring.=_ At the end of the hand the various players claim the
points made, and score them by placing white counters in the pool. If
the bidder makes any points in excess of the number bid, he scores
them. The first player to get rid of his seven white counters wins
the pool, and takes down all the red counters it contains. The white
counters are then redistributed, and the players cut for the first deal
of the new game.
If two players can count out on the same deal, and one of them is the
bidder, he wins the pool if he has made good his bid. If neither of
the ties is the bidder, the points count out in their regular order,
High first, then Low, then Jack, and finally Game. For instance: Seven
are playing. A sells to B, who bids two. B and C have each two to go.
B pitches a trump of which C has both High and Low; but if B makes
Jack and Game he wins the pool, because he bid only two points, and
made them. This is generally expressed by the rule: _=bidder goes out
first=_.
_=Setting Back.=_ If the player who pitches the trump fails to make the
number of points bid, he is set back, and scores nothing for any points
he may have made. A player who is set back, either for overbidding his
hand, or for refusing to sell and failing to make the number of points
offered him, must withdraw from the pool as many white counters as were
bid, and add them to his own. For instance: It is A’s sell. A and B
each have two to go. B bids three, which A refuses, pitching the trump
himself. A makes only two points, B scoring one, and a third player
D, another. B and D score one each, but A scores nothing for the two
points he made, and must take three white counters from the pool, which
will make him five to go. Had the bid which A refused been two only, he
would have won the game, as he made two points. In many clubs it is the
custom for a player who is set back to add a red counter to the pool.
_=Irregularities in Play.=_ If any adversary of the player who pitches
the trump leads or plays out of turn, he may be called upon by the
bidder to play his highest or lowest of the suit led; or to trump or
not to trump the trick. If any player but the pitcher has followed the
erroneous lead, the cards must be taken back; but if the pitcher has
followed, the error cannot be rectified.
In case of a _=revoke=_, the hand is played out as if the revoke
had not occurred, and each player except the person in error counts
whatever points he makes. If the pitcher of the trump fails to make
the number of points bid, he cannot be set back, but must be allowed
to score any points he makes. The revoking player is then set back the
number of points bid, and forfeits a red counter to the pool. If no bid
was made, he is set back two points.
SMUDGE.
In this variation of auction pitch, any player who is not in the hole
wins the game at once if he can bid four and make it.
PEDRO.
Pedro, Pedro Sancho, Dom Pedro, and Snoozer, are all varieties of
Auction Pitch, in which certain counting cards are added, and secondary
bids are allowed.
Everything counts to the player winning it, instead of to the one to
whom it is dealt. The game point is scored by the player who wins the
trick containing the Ten of trumps. If that card is not in play there
is no Game.