The Game Of Whist
There are two recoguized systems, tli9 English and the American. In English whist the game is flvo points and honors - ace, king, queen and knave of the trump suit - are countert. In American whist the game is still fivo points, but honors are uot counted. The old Eng lish gamo - long whist - consisted of 10 points, with honors counted Ameri;an whist is not .the same as American leads. These leads can be played by individual players, whatcver the game tnay ba Richard A. Proctor has written a good book on "How to Play Whist." He has also contribi.ted articles tovaridus magazines on tlie subject of chancos, in card games. He calculated that there are no less than 635,013,559,000 ways of making a whist hand, and that there is only one chance in 158,753,389,000 - and the, of oourse, the dealer's trumps must bc taken - of holding 13 trumps. üut of 1,587,533,899 hand dealt 842,132,219 hands will contau four cards of two suits, three cards of one and two irds of ono suit. Therb are 98,534,079,072 ways of making a hand that shall contain ono flve card Buit, two three cald suits and ono two card suit and 82,000,000,000 waya of making a hand containing five cards of one suit, four of another, three of o third and two of a fourth. Fourth in the order of frequency comes the hand con(aining one five card suit, one four card suit :md two two card suits. There are 67,182,330,640 ways of making this hand. "Ouly fifth in order of frequency," says Proctor, "comes tho hand whlcfa Diany suppose the most frequent, that of. greatest uniformity of distribution, ' ' one four card suit and three three card suits. There are 60,905,850, 100 ways of mtiking this hand. The sixth hand, in point of frequency, is that wliich contains six cards of one suit, three of another and two oarda from cach of two suits. Speaking of whist chances, Mr. Proctor disensses tho "Yarborough hand," which pontains no card over a niño. It was so Salled because Lord Yarborough used to wager L,000 to Ll that a hand of the sort wonld not be dealt Tiie chance that such a hand will be dealt is one in 1828 chances, so that his lordship'i bet waf) pretty safo. -
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Old News
Ann Arbor Register