Card party

“ The cards are first shuffled ad libitum, then cut three different times, and laid on a table, face upwards, one by one, in the form of a circle, or more frequently nine in a row. If the conjurer is a man he chooses one of the kings as his representative; if a woman, she selects one of the queens. This is on the supposition that persons are consulting for themselves; otherwise it is the fortune-teller who selects the representative card. Then the queen of the chosen king, or the king of the chosen queen, stands for a husband or wife, mistress or lover, of the party whose fortune is to be told. ”

“ We hope the Ladies in London, who stand upon a nice point of honour, will follow the example of the Bath Ladies, and exclude the odious, and pitiful, custom of taking card money at their houses. It is a meanness, which no persons who pretend to the honour of keeping good company, ought to allow. We are afraid that many a party is formed, rather to derive benefit from the card tables, than for the sake of hospitality. ”

“ Next two cards, 5 and 4, the queen of clubs—a dark woman—nine of diamonds—will be annoyed at not receiving, 3—ten of clubs—a sum of money—next two cards, 2 and 1, the king of clubs—which was to have been sent her by a generous dark man, who is fond of obliging his friends—ace of hearts—it will at last arrive, accompanied by a love-letter—13th card, placed across the queen of spades, nine of clubs—and be the cause of unexpected gain to the person consulting the cards. ”

“ The pack of thirty-two selected cards, as in the foregoing method, is taken, shuffled and cut; then the four aces are taken out, the significator, or the person for whom the dealer is acting, and anything he wants to know about—such as money, then the ten of diamonds would be selected; if about a man, any king; if about a woman, any queen; if about business, the ten of clubs. These are shuffled after having been withdrawn, without cutting, and the nine of spades, which is the disappointment card, is also added to the aces, etc., in all seven cards, laying them face downwards on the table. ”

“ Secretly exchange the prepared pack for that which you have been using. Invite a young lady to draw, taking care to offer that part of the pack which consists of sevens of clubs only, so that the card she draws will, of necessity, be a seven of clubs. You then say, when she has looked at the card, “Will you now be kind enough to return that card to the pack, when I will paint your portrait on it.” You open the cards bookwise, about the middle of the pack, for her to return the card, and when she has done so, request her to breathe on it. ”

“ Conceive a long oblong table; in the centre sits the banker, whilst before him are two or three packs of new cards from which he tears the wrappers, shuffles them, and, placing them on the table, invites a player to cut. What fairer than this? What possibility of sharp practice when every eye is riveted on him, who, dealing one card to the right and one to the left, finally deals to himself? ”

“ It is a rule with me to receive every offer with the same civility as it is made; and therefore, though Lady Racket may have had some reason to guess, that I seldom frequent card-tables on Sundays, I shall not insist upon an exception, which may to her appear of so little force. My business has been to view, as opportunity was offered, every place in which mankind was to be seen; but at card-tables, however brilliant, I have always thought my visit lost, for I could know nothing of the company, but their clothes and their faces. ”

“ There are fifty cards in the pack, composed of five different suits; namely, Faces, Flags, Eagles, Stars, and Shields, “the honour cards being called the upper ten.”
The directions for dealing, cutting, etc. are given, and are exactly the same as those in common use among all card-players, be they bent on gambling or only on innocent amusement.
The publisher goes on to state that “many things will serve for counters, as kernels of corn, or coffee, or old cards cut up. For those who prefer something better the publisher of these cards has provided an ample supply at a small expense.” ”

“ They kindly proposed to teach me their favorite game of tresillo. They took a lively interest in my ignorance. They told me the rules and the names of the extraordinary cards; for instance, hearts were represented by coins, for clubs there were clubs, while trees and swords served for diamonds and spades. Every card is something else than what you have called it before. The value of each is changed according to the trump. What you have considered always as a low card, such as the two of spades, suddenly becomes the best card in the pack. ”

“ When the original Third Hand returns a suit opened by his partner, he should lead the winning card, if he hold it. If without the best card, when the lead is against a No-trump declaration, it is far more important that a high card should be led through strength, and also that the holder of the length should be accurately advised as to his partner's high cards, than that he should be told the exact number of small ones. ”

“ Now gather up the cards, shuffle, cut, and deal them out in five packs—one for the lady herself, one for the house, one for “those who do not expect it,” one for “those who do expect it,” and one for “the surprise,” in the first deal, laying one card aside for “consolation.” The rest are then equally distributed among the other five packs, which will four of them contain three cards, whilst the last only consists of two.
We will suppose the first packet for the lady herself to be composed of the Ace of Diamonds, the Seven of Clubs, and the Ten of Hearts. ”

“ On the other hand the most cheerful complacency illumined the visages of the punters who were seated around the table as they deposited their stakes on the cloth and marked the run of the cards on bits of paper with their lead pencils, that evidence of belief in the efficacy of "combinations" that the least superstitious cannot help putting their trust in as soon as they touch a card. ”

“ If able to do so, he throws the pair out into the middle of the table; but if he cannot do so, he places it among his own, and, following the example of the dealer, offers his own cards in the same way to his left-hand neighbour, that he also may take any card he likes. Thus the game goes on until all the cards are paired, excepting, of course, one card, which is the companion to the banished queen. The unfortunate individual in whose hand the solitary card is left is surely destined to be either an old maid or a bachelor. ”

“ The object of leaving cards is to signify that a call has been made, due civility shown, and a like civility expected in return.
Leaving cards, or card-leaving, is one of the most important of social observances, as it is the ground-work or nucleus in general society of all acquaintanceships. Leaving cards, according to etiquette, is the first step towards forming, or towards enlarging, a circle of acquaintances, and the non-fulfilment of the prescribed rules is a sure step in the opposite direction. ”

“ Then he deals two to a chappie on his right, and all the punters on the right, back that sportsman. And he deals two cards to himself. The game is to get as near nine as possible, ten, and court cards, not counting at all. If the Banker has eight or nine, he does not offer cards; if he has less, he gives the two players, if they ask for them, one card each, and takes one himself if he chooses. ”

“ Put your hands carelessly behind you, and with the right hand remove the card. All will crowd round to see the trick. Pretend to be very particular that the person who places his hand on the card shall do so in precisely the right position. This will not only give you time, but draw all eyes to his hands. Meanwhile, watch your opportunity and slip the card into the tail pocket of one or other of the spectators. Now announce that you are about to order the top card, which all have seen, and which Mr. A. is holding down so exceedingly tight, to fly away from the pack and into the pocket of Mr. ”

“ Hence the rule not to discard two cards, unless holding the king of trumps, applies to the dealer.
The hands with which to refuse are the same as those with which to play without proposing, except as follows:—
1. Two trumps and three cards of one plain suit should not be played unless the plain suit is headed by a court card.
2. One trump and a tierce major is too weak, unless the fifth card is a court card. With similar hands weaker in the tierce major suit, accept unless the fifth card is a queen.
3. One trump and four cards of a plain suit is too weak to play. ”

“ Prizes are offered for the best player. As a Catholic priest told me after he had won a small sum with cards. Said he: "We just put up a few dollars, you know, to lend devotions to the game." So prizes are offered in the social gambling "to lend devotions to the game." It is under such circumstances as these that young men and young women receive their first lessons in card-playing. A passion for card-playing is called forth, developed, and must be satisfied, even though it takes one in low places among vile associates. "A Christian gentleman came from England to this country. ”

“ Seat yourself at table or elsewhere, so as to have the whole of the company as much as possible in front of you. Take the pack of cards as it usually lies, and, in passing it under the table or behind you, steal a glance at the card which happens to be exposed; then, pretending to shuffle the cards, place the one you have seen back to back on the other side of the pack, and holding the cards firmly by the edges, raise your hand between you and the company, and show the card you have seen, telling at the same time, what it is. ”

“ Performer lifts flower-pot, with fingers inside pressing against pocket, and shows it apparently empty. “And here, in the other flower-pot” (lifts it and shows the four cards lying together on table) “are all four Kings. One more score to black. You didn’t see the cards go? Of course you didn’t; because they fly horizontally, like the aeroplanes, and they go so fast that they get there almost before they have started.”
SYMPATHETIC CARDS
Preparation. Card mat loaded with two cards of different denomination, say the queen of clubs and the knave of diamonds, taken from the pack. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The turned-over trump card belongs to the dealer, who is always the last; he has the right to exchange it for any card in his own hand. One powerful card is of more importance than all the rest; it is called Mistigris. ”

“ She is not asking you for a pack of cards—she doesn't, as a rule, play cards in a train—but for a visiting-card."
"Oh! I see. Exchange pasteboards and that sort of thing. Daresay I've got one somewhere."
From a pocket-book which seemed to contain a very miscellaneous collection he produced, after long searching, a visiting-card. It was a good deal soiled and the comers were dog's-eared. He commented on its defects as he handed it to Mrs. Paynter.
"There's a few figures on the back, but perhaps you'll excuse 'em. Fact is, I never seem to want a card. I've never got one, anyway." ”

“ Nor can we be original to the extent that we do not follow the rules of etiquette regarding correct forms for social cards. But we can make our cards so distinctive, so representative of ourselves, that the recipient will find as much pleasure in receiving them as we in offering them. And by distinctive we do not mean the fancy or embellished card, but the one that is strictly in accord with the rules of good usage as outlined in the following paragraphs. ”

“ TO MAKE SOME OTHER PERSON DRAW THE CARDS THE PERFORMER CALLS FOR.
We have given several tricks in which the performer finds out the card or cards selected by the audience, but in this trick we explain how the performer makes one of the audience select the cards he calls for. After shuffling the cards, let the performer spread them out with their faces downwards, without entirely separating them; before, however, letting them leave his hand, sight and note the designation of the bottom or some other card—say, for example, the ace of spades. ”

“ The cards in the other parcel are then sold by the dealer for a certain fixed price, perhaps a counter for each card, all payments being placed in different proportions on the prizes. Any cards that are left after all have been supplied are sold to any one wishing to purchase them. The players who have been fortunate enough to purchase cards corresponding with the prizes win the prizes, and also all the stakes that have been placed upon them.
Another way of playing after the counters have been distributed is for one pack of cards to be used as tickets and the other as lots or prizes. ”

“ Should the trump card prove to be the nine of diamonds—­Pope Joan,—­the dealer takes the amount staked for that card, and, in addition, receives from each player a stake for every card dealt. If there are but few players engaged in the game, it is best to agree that the payment for Pope Joan shall be limited to either four or six counters or coins, and it may be best to do so, no matter what number of players are engaged. ”