A lively offshoot from the preceding game, which has recently become very
popular in some of the London Clubs. So highly is it ranked in many
quarters, that a well-known player has given it as his opinion that "in a
year or two we shall only remember Bridge as the son of Whist and the
father of Auction." Having in view the strong element of gambling which the
latter game contains, and the expectedly heavy losses which may be incurred
by the unwary player, the writer opines that a good many impecunious folk
are likely to remember it only as being connected with their "uncle."
It is, in fact, a combination of Bridge and Poker. In all that takes place
after the declaration has been finally determined, it is pure Bridge, with
an extra infusion of "double dummy," due to inferences from the course of
the bidding. In the bidding itself, which leads up to the final
declaration, the qualities of the Poker-player are pre-eminent--cool but
rapid judgment, shrewd reading of character, a happy instinct when to "lie
low" and when to "bluff"; when to make a spurt forward for game, and when
to egg the opponents on beyond the limits of discretion, and to leave them
in the lurch!
By the adherents of the new game--who are head {248} over ears in love with
it, and are consequently blind to all its weak points--it is contended that
the "gambling" argument brought against it is as fallacious as it was when
urged against Bridge proper, and that, to redress the balance, it is only
necessary to readjust the value of the points. This is not true. Poker is
an excellent game, but no readjustment of values will ever place it on the
same plane as games of science, because the qualities of brain and
temperament upon which it is based are essentially distinct from the
qualities of analysis and combination such as go to the making of (say) a
first-class Chess-player. There is, undoubtedly, a greater difference in
kind between Auction Bridge and Bridge than there is between Bridge and
Whist; whether that difference renders Auction "inferior" or "superior,"
however, is a moot question which every card-player must decide for
himself. There are many who regard the additional spice of hazard, not as a
defect, but as a merit.
The Laws of the game, which for some time were in a state of flux, have now
been settled as authoritatively as those of Bridge or Whist. It will only
be necessary to set out _verbatim_ those Laws which differ from the Laws of
Bridge. As regards the remainder, the reader is referred to the preceding
Bridge Code.