Ace (playing card)

“ It, therefore, seems a pity that a uniform design is not agreed upon, as is the case with the court cards. Any deviation from the dress of the figures on the latter meets with instant opposition from players. It seems peculiar that the card is never represented by Mercury, or a fool, or a clown, or perhaps, a red devil, which would make it easy to distinguish from the Ace of Spades, which is often, and sometimes disastrously, mistaken for the more powerful Joker. ”

“ The following is the method adopted for playing the game:—
The ace is the highest card, and deuce is the lowest.
After having cut and shuffled a pack of fifty-two cards in the ordinary way, the dealer gives six to each player. If there be but two players, he turns up the thirteenth card; but if four players, he turns up the twenty-fifth card, the suit to which the turn-up belongs being trumps. Should the turn-up be a knave, the dealer scores one point. ”

“ When the hands are arranged the non-dealer plays a card, which is won or lost by the playing of a superior card of the suit led. The second must follow suit, or win the trick if he can; otherwise he may throw any card he chooses. The order in value of the cards is—king, queen, knave, ace, ten, nine, eight, seven. The winner of the trick leads for the next trick, and so on, till the five cards on each side are played. The winner of three tricks scores one point ”

“ In the old way of playing the ace counted 1, the deuce 2, and so on as at whist, excepting that all court cards counted 10. But in the popular variation called Royal Casino, now almost universally played, the ace counts either 1 or 14, the king 13, the queen 12 and the knave 11. In this manner the opportunities for simple and increased building are greatly multiplied, resulting in a much livelier game.
If a player has made a build he must take it in on his next play, unless he can take some other card. ”

“ A player who adopts this system may at times, as, for example, with such a holding as Ace, Queen, 10, 8, 2, be obliged to open the 8, but inasmuch as he would lead the same card from Ace, Queen, 8, 7, 2, the Declarer cannot bank upon the 8 of such a leader showing three higher cards of the suit in his hand, and, therefore, no harm is done. ”

“ When a player is anxious to place his partner in the lead, the signal may be of the greatest possible value. Suppose, for example, he has two suits from which to choose. In one of these suits he is without strength, but his partner may have the Ace. In the other, he has the Ace himself, and his partner may have the King. If he guess the wrong suit, the Declarer will get in and take the rest of the tricks. By leading his Ace and watching the size of the card his partner plays, he can generally tell what to do. If the lowest card be played, he should shift the suit. ”

“ Holding ace, ten, and a small one, your partner leading the nine of the suit, pass it; for if he holds an honour you make two tricks, counting your ace for a certain trick.
With king, queen, or queen and knave, and another play one of the high cards in all cases when you are second hand. With an average remainder of trumps and good cards, having one certain loser, throw it away at your first opportunity; it may enable your partner to make his second best of the suit. When your partner does not trump a winning card you may be quite sure that he means you to play trumps. ”

“ Aces have had soubriquets or nicknames like many other cards; but these have gained favour only in certain localities. In one part of England they are called Tib; but the origin and meaning of this name is unknown. The Ace of Diamonds is commonly called the Earl of Cork in Ireland, “because it is the worst Ace and the poorest card in the pack, and he is the poorest nobleman in the country.” In Spain the Ace of Oros is called La Borgne, or the “one-eyed.”
“There is luck under a black Deuce,” is a common saying among card-players. ”

“ The Ace means an early death. The cards that were drawn by Josephine were (so we are informed) :
It will be seen that every card denotes the height of fortune—a combination that is rarely met with. After reading the mystic nine, the remaining cards are again shuffled and the inquirer draws out thirteen cards at random from the pack. These are arranged in the form of a cross as shown in the diagram. [86]
Put the first card in the center and the remaining cards to left, right, top and bottom as indicated by the numbers. ”

“ Ace is lowest, and the court-cards and tens are reckoned of the same value,—namely, ten. The left-hand adversary shuffles or makes the pack, and the player to the right of the dealer cuts previous to the deal. The cards take their usual value, ace highest; then king, queen, knave, ten, and so on, down to deuce. The dealer then gives three cards, one at a time, face downwards, to each player; and also dealing an extra hand, or "miss," which may be thrown on the table either as the first or last card of each round. A card too many or too few is a misdeal. ”

“ Do not lead from ace queen, or ace knave. Do not—as a rule—lead an ace, unless you have a king. Do not lead a thirteenth card, unless trumps be out. Do not trump a thirteenth card, unless you be last player, or want the lead. Keep a small card to return your partner's lead. Be cautious in trumping a card when strong in trumps, particularly if you have a strong suit. Having only a few small trumps, make them when you can. If your partner refuse to trump a suit, of which he knows you have not the best, lead your best trump. ”

“ The cards are now dealt from the bottom, face upward, and the two aces come together.
The solution of the mystery is as follows. In taking out two aces—say the ace of clubs and the ace of hearts, glance secretly at the top card of the pack. For the purpose of explanation let us assume that this “key” card is the seven of spades. Now cut the pack into three heaps so that the top part of the pack will [134] form the middle heap. You must number the heaps in your mind from left to right, 1, 2, 3. The top card of the middle heap is the seven of spades. ”

“ Should a suit be guessed which the partner cannot win, one of his high cards is apt to be sacrificed, and not only nothing gained, but the advantage of the lead transferred to the adversary. If two high cards be missing from the tenace suit, as in the case when it is headed by Ace, Queen, Ten, or King, Knave, Ten, and the Declarer hold the missing honors and one small card, it will take two leads to establish the suit. ”

“ The very greatest care is necessary in arranging the cards for this trick, as in the event of one card being misplaced, the whole trick will be spoiled. To [165] arrange the pack sort the suits of spades, clubs, and diamonds in numerical sequence, and the suit of hearts in the order of seven, ace, queen, two, eight, three, jack, four, nine, five, king, six, ten; place the hearts face uppermost so that the seven is at the bottom and the ten at the top. ”

“ If, after several tricks have been played, you particularly want the lead, or you suspect the possibility of a lead from a single card, or one trick is of importance, you would often be right to play the ace. ”

“ The Spaniards omit the woman from their cards, while the French drop one of the men, the cavalier, a mounted figure that gives variety and value to the royal family in other countries, and makes the game more like one of war, and not merely a compliment to a distinguished lady. However, the King, Queen, and Knave are now the only ones with the French emblems, and these are followed by ten pip cards, in which number one, or the Ace, is sometimes the highest, and, at others, the lowest in the pack, according to the game to be played. ”

“ FOR SECOND HAND.
23.—With king, queen, and small cards, play a small one when not strong in trumps; but if weak, play the king. With ace, king, queen, or knave only, and a small card, play the small one.
FOR THIRD HAND.
24.—With ace and queen, play Her Majesty, and if she wins return the ace. In all other cases the third hand should play his best card when his partner has led a low one. It is a safe rule for third hand to play his highest.
FOR ALL THE PLAYERS.
25.—Fail not, when in your power, to make the odd trick. ”

“ Seven aces, eight kings, nine queens, and ten knaves, and that every card be of a different suit, following each other in this order; spades, clubs, hearts, and diamonds. Then the eight first cards will be the seven of spades, ace of clubs, eight of hearts, king of diamonds, nine of spades, queen of clubs, ten of hearts, and knave of diamonds; and so on.
You show that the cards are placed promiscuously, and then offer them with the backs upward, to any one, that he may draw what quantity he pleases ”

“ Any aces showing are picked out and placed by themselves above the layout for foundations. These aces are built on in sequence and suit up to kings. The moment any card in the layout is uncovered by playing away the bottom of the row, the next card in that vertical row is turned face up. Cards in the layout are built upon in descending sequence—K, Q, J, down to 4, 3, 2—and must alternate in color; red on black, black on red. If there be more than one card at the bottom of a row, all must be moved together or not at all. Spaces are filled with kings only. ”

“ Thus, by using a card which, unknown to the audience, has two faces—e.g., is an ace of hearts on the one side, and an ace of spades on the other—and placing such card in one side of the open box, you have only to close the box with that side uppermost, or to turn over the box as you place it on the table, to transform the card just shown into a different one. ”

“ It sometimes happens that one of the two cards given in the first instance to a player is an ace, and the other a ten, or a court card. This being the case, the owner of them has reason to congratulate himself on his good fortune, because the two cards combined make what is called a natural, and unless the dealer also has exactly twenty-one, he must pay double stakes to the possessor of the natural, who, by reason of its having fallen to him, becomes the next dealer. ”

“ The four aces form the foundation cards, and are to ascend in sequence to kings.
Having placed the tableau, take any aces that may appear on the surface of the packets and play them in their allotted spaces, and upon them any other suitable cards, subject to Rule I.
When all available cards have been played, you proceed to release others, by forming marriages in a descending line on the tableau; but great care is requisite, lest in releasing one card another still more necessary to success should be blocked. ”

“ It is advisable sometimes to keep an ace or other high card as an “outsider,” with a small pair, and draw but one card—thus taking the chance of matching the high cards and so getting a good 2 pairs, or something better possibly—while at the same time others may be deceived into believing that the player is drawing to 3’s. ”

“ Ace, knave, and ten of a suit is generally good for three tricks, as the only possibility against such a combination is that one of the other players holds king or queen of the same suit, with a smaller trump to throw away when the ace is led. Three tricks are, however, often called on much lower cards than ace, knave, ten, especially when the other cards in the hand are of one suit, or are sufficiently high to admit of the possibility of one of them securing a trick. ”

“ The values of cards when they are not trumps are not arranged in the same order for each colour.
For the two black suits, Spades and Clubs, the values, from highest to lowest, follow the natural order—King, Queen, Knave, seven, six, five, four, three, two. But the two black aces always rank as trumps, and are not reckoned as parts of the black suit. The Ace of Spades is named Spadille, the Ace of Clubs is Basto. ”

“ Three — seven — ace — these cards played one after the other, will win a fortune for you; but you must not play more than one card at a time in twenty-four hours, and for the rest of your life, you must never touch a card again. I will forgive you my death, on condition that you marry my companion, Lisabeta Ivanovna. ”

“ When the talon is exhausted, the combinations that have been made are taken into the owner's hand, and the last eight cards belonging to both players are disposed of the same way as in Whist, the second player following suit, and heading the trick, if he can possibly do so, either by trumping or playing a higher card. ”

“ Should a deuce be drawn before the ace of its suit it must be replaced with the others again, and another card be taken, the cards being previously shuffled. A player drawing the deuce of the same suit as an ace in his possession places it upon the ace, and keeps them separate from the others, as they score the most points. If a card drawn pairs with the player on either side, the person drawing the pairing card has immediately to pass all his cards to the one so paired, and pay a forfeit of one point to the pool. ”

“ Now my first eight cards are down in a horizontal row. There are two kings among them, which is auspicious, for kings must be placed sometime at the top. There is a red queen, also auspicious, to be placed on one of the black kings. There is an ace of diamonds and its deuce. Good, again! The ace is placed above the row, beginning a row of aces to be placed there as fast as they fall, and the deuce is placed atop of it, for in that row the suits will be built up, each in its kind. ”