VOL. XIII, No. 6. '
SATURDAY MORNING, JANUARY 8, 1910.
FIVE CENTS
THE HEW AUCTION BRIDGE
Mr. Becker Predicts That it Will Prac
tically Supplant Present Game.
Flrt Plajed in London in lOOS it
U If ow Invading- America and
Catching on Everywhere.
fUCTION bridge will, I
believe, practically sup
plant the bridge we are
now familiar with," says
Mr. C. L. Becker, one of
the country's best
known whist experts, who is at The Inn
for the winter after his annual custom,
'mainly because of its fascinating variety
and novelty. First played at the
Bath Club in London in 1905 and having
its origin in India, it has rapidly in
creased in popularity until it is now
invading America. Boston was first to
take it up, something like a year ago,
and it is most played almost exclusively
in the Tennis and Racquet and Somerset
clubs and claiming attention among de
votees of the game everywhere.
u The game is clearly set forth in an
article by Arthur Loring Bruce in a re
cent issue of Ainslee-s which I feel sure
will prove of interest to The Outlook's
readers in view of the great popularity
of the game here."
OBJECTIONS TO BRIDGE.
Before at all proceeding to analyze
the game of auction bridge, or "auc
tion," as it is certain some day to be
called, we must pause for a moment and
consider why bridge has been displaced
at all. What was its weakest point?
Where was it vulnerable? How could
it be improved upon? The answer is
obvious. The dealer and his partner had
too great an advantage over the non
dealers. Not only could they declare,
irrevocably, the trump that would help
them the most, but they could, in the
event of their both having poor hands,
practically shut out their adversaries by
declaring a spade.
All this sort of thing wos naturally
very annoying to the nondealer. The
dealer's advantage was altogether too
great. At all other well-regulated card
games, the dealer is not so favored. In
poker, the dealer has virtually no ad
vantage at all. In old-fashioned whist,
the turned card is only an infinitesimal
help to him. In piquet, the nondealer
has considerbly the best of the bargain,
but in bridge everything and everybody
must stand aside and favor the dealer
wherever they may.
There is another vital objection to
bridge. It is often a trifle too certain.
The element of the unknown is hardly
strong enough, particularly in trump
declarations. A hand with seven clubs
to the three top honors is almost certain
to score two or more by cards in clubs.
A heart make with six fairly high hearts
and an outside ace and king is, even be
fore a card has been led, almost sure to
score the odd or better.
Still a third disadvantage in bridge is
the fact that the dealer's partner is pre
vented from declaring a better suit just
because the dealer has already declared.
How often, at bridge, have we seen the
dealer declare diamonds, when dummy
could have infinitely improved the
the game of bridge have been rectified
in auction. Auction is nothing more
than bridge, without these radical de
fects.
First of all, let me say that the game
is except for a few details, exactly like
bridge. I shall assume, in the follow
ing pages, that my readers are all famil
iar with the game of bridge its laws,
etiquette, leads, declarations, honor
values, and svstem of scoring:. The
rules of bridge must be applied by my
readers to all auction situations not spe
cifically dealt with in this article.
shall allude to the player who plays the
hand as the player, his partner as the
dummy, the leader as the leader he is
always to the left of the player and to
2 J
T.TS
THE DEADLY SEVENTEENTH.
The superb trapping of the new eighteen-hole golf course has attracted international attention.
This detail plan of the seTenteenth Is typical of the general scheme.
dealer's situation by declaring hearts.
It seems to me that a third of all original
heart makes could have been improved
by dummy's jumping in after the declara
tion and declaring no trumps. In such
cases, the dealer very often has the
hearts and dummy has strength in the
other suits; but, just because the dealer
has murmured the word "hearts"
hearts it must remain, for all time, and
to the brink of eternity.
The last objection to bridge is that one
cannot bid for the trump. The bidding
element, which is so fascinating in such
card games as skat, solo whist, five hun
dred, nap, auction pinochle, etc, etc., is
entirely missing in bridge.
Now, all four of these weaknesses in
the leader's partner as third hand.
HOW AUCTION BRIDGE DIFFERS.
Auction differs from bridge chiefly in
the matter of bidding for the right to
play the hand. The dealer, having
looked at his cards, must make a declara
tion he is the only one of the four
players who must declare that is to say,
he must agree, or contract, to make at
least the odd trick in no trumps, or in
any one of the four suits. He cannot at
once pass the make to dummy, as in
bridge. The leader may now pass the
dealer's bid, i. e. : declare himself as
being satisfied, or he may double, i. e. :
make the dealer's bid of, let us say, one
spade trick, worth four below the line,
Continued on Page 2)
FOUR-BALL FOURSOME TIE
Dr. M. W. Hair and W. R. Tuckerman
Win Gold Medals in Play-off.
Excellent Handicapping Hunch
Field in Second Tournament of
Tin WhUtle Schedule.
EDAL play handicap four
ball foursomes, combined
scores, rounded out an
interesting afternoon in
the second of the Tin
Whistles tournament
program, excellent handicapping" bunch
ing the field closely and a tie resulting
for first between Dr. Myron W. Marr of
Dorchester, and W. R. Tuckerman of
Washington, whose allowance was
twenty-three, and S. H. Martel, Jr., of
Montreal, and C. B. Hudson of New
Suffolk (19,) at one hundred and sixty-
six each ; Dr. Marr and Mr. Tuckerman
winning the gold medals offered in the
play-off.
Next in order came W. C. Johnson
of New York and D. G. Mackay of Pas
saic, N. JM (24), one hundred seventy-
one, H. W. Ormsbee of Fitchburg and
J. D. C. Rumsev. New York. f22V
" 1 v S 1
one hundred seventy-two ; J. R. Towle
of Chicago, and J. S. Linsley of Lenox,
Mass, (20), one hundred seventy-four;
J. B. Moore of New York, and J. E.
Kellogg of Fitchburg, (37) one hundred
seventy-five; R. J. Clapp of Glaston
bury, Ct., and T. J. Check of New York,
(21), one hundred seventy-six; E. A.
Guthrie, St. Augustine, and C. II. Mat-
thiessen of New York, (18), one hun
dred and seventy-six ; II. W. Priest of
New Castle, N.H., and P. L. Lightbourn
of Bermuda, (24) one hundred seventy-
seven; A. l. Creamer, North Conwav.
N. II., and Spencer Waters, of New
York, (20), one hundred and eighty; Le-
land Ingersoll of Cleveland, Ohio, and
F. E. Beldon of Hartford, (21), one hun
dred and eighty-one.
THE SCORES BY ROUNDS :
Dr. M. W. Marr
W. R. Tuckermann
S. H. Martel, Jr.
C. B. Hudson
W. C. Johnson
D. G. Mackay
H. W. OrmfthoA
J. D. C. Ramsey
J. R. Towle
J. S. Liosley
J. B. Moore
J. E. Kellogg
R. J. CAann
T. J. Check
20
3
10
9
6
18
11
11
12
8
25
12
10
11
(Concluded
61 52 113 20
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73166
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on Page 11)
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