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Other Forms of Bridge.?The following varieties of the game are also played:?
Three-handed Bridge.?The three players cut; the one that cuts the lowest card deals, and takes dummy for one deal: each takes dummy in turn. Dummy's cards are dealt face downwards, and the dealer declares without seeing them. If the dealer declares trumps, both adversaries may look at their hands; doubling and redoubling proceeds as at ordinary bridge, but dummy's hand is not exposed till the first card has been led. If the dealer passes the declaration to dummy, his right-hand adversary, who must not have looked at his own hand, examines dummy's, and declares trumps, not, however, exposing the hand. The declaration is forced: with three or four aces sans atout (no trumps) must be declared: in other cases the longest suit: if suits are equal in length, the strongest, i.e. the suit containing most pips, ace counting eleven, king, queen and knave counting ten each. If suits are equal in both length and strength, the one in which the trick has the higher value must be trumps. On the dummy's declaration the third player can only double before seeing his own cards. When the first card has been led, dummy's hand is exposed, never before the lead. The game is 30: the player wins the rubber who is the first to win two games. Fifty points are scored for each game won, and fifty more for the rubber. Sometimes three games are played without reference to a rubber, fifty points being scored for a game won. No tricks score towards game except those which a player wins in his own deal; the value of tricks won in other deals is scored above the line with honours, slam and chicane. At the end of the rubber the totals are added up, and the points won or lost are adjusted thus. Suppose A is credited with 212, B with 290, and C with 312, then A owes 78 to B and 100 to C; B owes 22 to C.
Dummy Bridge.?The player who cuts the lowest card takes dummy. Dummy deals the first hand of all. The player who takes dummy always looks at his own hand first, when he deals for himself or for dummy; he can either declare trumps or "leave it" to dummy. Dummy's declaration is compulsory, as in three-handed bridge. When the dealer deals for dummy, the player on the dealer's left must not look at his cards till either the dealer has declared trumps or, the declaration having been left to dummy, his own partner has led a card. The latter can double, but his partner can only double without seeing his hand. The dealer can only redouble on his own hand. When the player of dummy deals for himself, the player on his right hand looks at dummy's hand if the declaration is passed, the positions and restrictions of his partner and himself being reversed. If the player of dummy declares from his own hand, the game proceeds as in ordinary bridge, except that dummy's hand is not looked at till permission to play has been given. When the player on dummy's right deals, dummy's partner may look at dummy's hand to decide if he will double, but he may not look at his own till a card has been led by dummy. In another form of dummy bridge two hands are exposed whenever dummy's adversaries deal, but the game is unsuited for many players, as in every other hand the game is one of double-dummy.
Misery Bridge.?This is a form of bridge adapted for two players. The non-dealer has the dummy, whilst the dealer is allowed to strengthen his hand by discarding four or fewer cards and taking an equal number from the fourth packet dealt; the rest of the cards in that packet are unused and remain unseen. A novel and interesting addition to the game is that the three of clubs (called "Cato") does not rank as a club but can be played to any trick and win it. The dealer, in addition to his other calls, may declare "misery" when he has to make less than two tricks.
Draw- or Two-handed Bridge.?This is the best form of bridge for two players. Each player has a dummy, which is placed opposite to him; but the cards are so arranged that they cannot be seen by his opponent, a special stand being required for the purpose. The dealer makes the declaration or passes it to his dummy to make by the same rules as in three-handed or dummy bridge. The objection to this is that, since the opponent does not see the dealer's dummy, he has no chance of checking an erroneous declaration. This could be avoided by not allowing the dealer the option of passing.
Auction Bridge.?This variety of the game for four players, which adds an element characteristic of poker, appears to have been suggested about 1904, but was really introduced at the Bath Club, London, in 1907, and then was gradually taken up by a wider circle. The laws were settled in August 1908 by a joint
