Rhyming Rules,

Mnemonic Maxims, and Pocket Precepts.

BEING SHORT MEMORANDA OF IMPORTANT POINTS TO BE KEPT IN MIND BY THOSE WHO WOULD PRACTISE THE MODERN SCIENTIFIC GAME OF WHIST.*

If you the modern game of Whist would know,
From this great principle its precepts flow:
Treat your own hand as to your partner's joined,
And play, not one alone, but both combined.

Your first lead makes your partner understand
What is the chief component of your hand;
And hence there is necessity the strongest
That your first lead be from your suit that's longest.
In this, with ace and king, lead king, then ace;
With king and queen, king also has first place;
With ace, queen, knave, lead ace and then the queen;
With ace, four small ones, ace should first be seen;
With queen, knave, ten, you let the queen precede;
In other cases, you the lowest lead.

* The rules embodied in these versicles were first published in prose (printed on a card, entitled 'Pocket Precepts') by the Author of this work, in March 1864. The idea of the rhyming form here adopted is taken from an old French composition of the same kind.

Ere you return your friend's, your own suit play;
But trumps you must return without delay.

When you return your partner's lead, take pains
To lead him back the best your hand contains,
If you
received not more than three at first;
If you had more, you may return the worst.
But if you hold the master card, you're bound
In most cases to play it second round.

Whene'er you want a lead, 'tis seldom wrong
To lead up to the weak, or through the strong.
If second hand, your lowest should be played,
Unless you mean 'trump signal' to be made;
Or if you've king and queen, or ace and king,
Then one of these will be the proper thing.

Mind well the rules for trumps, you'll often need them: WHEN YOU HOLD FIVE, 'TIS ALWAYS RIGHT TO LEAD

THEM;

Or if the lead won't come in time to you,

Then signal to your partner so to do.

Watch also for your partner's trump request,
To which, with less than four, play out your best.

To lead through honours turned up is bad play,
Unless you want the trump suit cleared away.

When, second hand, a doubtful trick you see,
Don't trump it if you hold more trumps than three;
But having three or less, trump fearlessly.

When weak in trumps yourself, don't force your friend;
But always force the adverse strong trump hand.

For sequences, stern custom has decreed

The lowest you must play, if you don't lead.

When you discard, weak suits you ought to choose,
For strong ones are too valuable to lose.

LONDON: PRINTED BY

SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE AND PARLIAMENT STREET

"The work of Dr. POLE expounds the fundamental theory on which the modern game is based. . These books furnish a complete epitome of the game, presenting it both theoretically and practically in the perfect state it has now arrived at, by continued study and practice during the two centuries that have elapsed since it first assumed a definite shape and took its present name. . . . . These are fully investigated by Dr. POLE, and the discussion forms one of the best parts of his essay. . . . . Dr. POLE'S table of inferences puts this very forcibly.'-QUARTERLY REVIEW, Jan. 1871.

"The mantle of Deschapelles has fallen on no unworthy successors..... This again is placed in the clearest light by Professor POLE. . . . . The argument is thus summed up by Professor POLE.'-FRASER'S MAGAZINE, April 1869.

'The theory and the deductions which issue from it have not previously been put so well or so clearly into language; and it is because the essay has great merit in this respect that we proceed to expound it somewhat in detail. The author proceeds to consider how the choice between these [previously mentioned systems of play] is to be determined. This, to our mind, is the most original and thoughtful part of his essay. We shall not attempt to condense it. It must be read as it stands. We endorse every word of it, and we specially commend it to "players in domestic circles," for whose "instruction, improvement, and encouragement" it was designed. The remainder of the observations on leading trumps, and on forcing and ruffing, are judicious and sound. The management of plain suits and the return of the lead, with the various qualifications which surround the abstract principles, are next ably discussed. These portions of the treatise are full of interest.'-FIELD, Feb. 4, 1865.

....

'Dr. POLE's exposition of the fundamental theory of whist is calculated not only to make clearer to accomplished players the principles on which they already act, but also to teach the game to beginners in domestic circles. To those who, already knowing a little, desire to know more of the game, we can strongly recommend a perusal of Dr. POLE's essay.'-FIELD, May 28, 1870.

'That an article on the Theory of Whist should, after the lapse of six years, bear re-publication, speaks so much in its favour that it will need little praise at our hands. It endeavours to make clear the principles of the game, so that the young player may more readily acquire knowledge from practice and by the study of the other writers. The theoretical should in all cases precede the practical. The combination system, on which the author so ably descants, has been never so well explained as in this book. His description of the game as an intellectual pursuit, and its moral and social relations, is pleasant reading. To any person desirous to understand the principles of Whist we cordially recommend this book.'-WESTMINSTER CHESS AND WHIST PAPERS, July 1, 1870.

'A very interesting and useful booklet for whist players. It attracted considerable notice as being the first practical attempt to bring into a connected and systematic form the two-hand principle of play, which every