DUPLICATE WHIST.

Ohinemuri Gazette, Volume VII, Issue 275, 26 September 1896, Page 2

DUPLICATE WHIST.

The persistent efforts made by Ameri» cans to minimise the superiority of pure luck over skill in the game of whist, first led them to abolish the counting of honours, and afterwards to introduce a mode of play known as duplicate whist, which almost entirely annihilates the effect of chance. Tue modus operandi is as follows :—A considerable number of packs are provided, and the first one is dealt as usual, but when the cards are played instead of their being thrown into the centre of the table, each player puts his card down in front of him, and after they all have played, turns it down, the winner taking a counter to mark the trick. This being done throughout the whole deal, the result is that at the end every player has his hand in front of him, and this is securely put away in an arrangement provided for the purpose until it is again required. Another pack is then taken and another hand played and similarly put away. Thus after, say, a dozen packs have been used the players are able to take up the dd hands and exchange them, N and S taking the hands played byE and W, and play them all over again, thus equalising any superiority in luck that either side may have obtained. '1 he obvious objection to this game is that it is possible to remember the position of some, at any rate, of the principal cards, and this may influence the play; at the same time, though t\is is possible, it will be found very difficult when a dozen packs are used, and there is no reason why the number should not be increased to twenty or more, in which case it will require a phenomenal memory to recall the details of a hand played so long before. The game we have described is very suitable to a regular party of four, who meet at stated intervals, and who would be able to play a certain number of hands, put them away for, perhaps, a wek, and then replay them the next time^they meet. The Jdifficulty of memory question, however, can be entirely removed in the case of club matches; for then let us suppose there.are four or some multiple of four on each side, which is usually selected as a convenient number; and as soon as a hand has been played at one table the cards are passed over to the next table to be replayed, the hands originally held by the representatives of A club being played on the second occasion by the representatives of B club, and by this simple arrangement neither luck nor memory can override skill. This duplicate whist is now played to a great extent in America, where club matches are very common, and the scientific students of the game invariably prefer it to the "straight game," as they call the English system of play. Jt is not, however, suitable for play at the ordinary social clubs, where the members usually - prefer to " cut in " for just as long as they may find convenient, rather than' to play for a definite period by previous arrangement; but any regular whist parties meeting at private houses may find it worth their while to give it a trial, as a game that has met with so much approval in America must have merits which are worth developing.