Evening Star Newspaper, March 6, 1932, Page 89

THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C,. MARCH 6, 1932 HE BRIDGE FFORUM Bria’ge at Sea To see us bid and play a hand, You'd never think we're not on land, Unless because our fun is more Than anybody has on shore; We laugh and joke, and never think About the fact that boats can sink. For up above, beyond our sound, Another kind of bridge is found; The captain of the ship is there To keep us free from fear and care; With him at work above our deck, We know there will not be a wreek. I wonder why our faith takes wings When called upon in lesser things; Each player frets to beat the band Whene'er his partner plays a hand; Why can’'t we take our mimic strife The way we trust our very life? ANDS containing nothing but one suit should occur only once in sev- eral years in the entire Nation if pure mathematics could be trusted implicitly. They are reported much more frequently nowadays. Can it be that the reports are false in most cases? Or that the big hands are the result of pranks by praetical jokers, who set up a “cold deck” and then slip it into the hands of an unsuspect- ing dealer? Hardly. There must be another reason. For years skeptical of all tales of perfect hands, especially thirteen-spade hands, which seem by far to outnumber those in the lower suits, we have changed our opinion of them. The brief reign of goulashes gives a clue to the probable cause of these hands—imperfect shuffiing. When goulashes were the vogue in the early days of contract each passed-out deal brought a re-deal in which there was no shuffie. The four hands were piled on top of each other, with the cards sorted into suits, then dealt several at a time to each player. The result was a preponderance of freaks. Soon sane card players tired of them. But while they lasted perfect hands were so numerous that people in general quit paying much attention to them. Now that goulashes are dead, the perfect hand has become news again, and every week or so a report of one is found in the newspapers, sometimes several in a week. Just what could there be about ordinary shuffling that partakes of the nature of a goulash? It would appear that a thorough shuffling, followed by a deal of one card at a time to each player, would break up the sequence of cards of a single suit. The con- trary is the case, however, in some instances. Paradoxically, this is because the shuffie is what might be called “too perfect.” After a hand has been played and the cards are piled up in separate tricks, an immediate deal without any shuffling at all would make perfect hands impossible, since the four cards of a trick are generally of the same suit and would, therefore, be distributed to four different players. The kind of shuffling done by many players ends that situation at once. Some people “riffie” the cards so beautifully that the cards held in their two hands become virtually alternated when a “riffie” is over, with ome card from the right hand next to one from the left, and so on clear through the deck. When the cards receive a second ‘“riffle” the too great exactitude of it can cause a pattern in which the unit is four instead of two. Consequently, the four cards of one of the original tricks may all be dealt to the same player when they are distributed. It has been proved by test that players who do a particularly beautiful and symmetrical job of shuffling will furnish hands with a greater preponderance of long suits than will others. Those who shuffie in the old-fashioned way, with nothing approaching mathematical exact- ness in their method, deliver the smallest pro- portion of freak hands. They do not construct any uniform pattern in the cards about to be dealt. In other words, they are generally doing a really better job of shuffiing than their more graceful associates whose shuffle is a sight to behold. It would be interesting to know in just what way the cards were shuffied in the re- cent cases of perfect hands. If any reader of this happens to know of such a case at first hand we would be glad to get the in- formation. Bridge Builders RVIN CY HUSTON. Twenty-some years ago, while a student at the University of Michigan, he became probably the greatest of all statisticians on the track feats of Alvin C. Kraenzlein and the foot ball exploits of Willie Heston. He remains that very thing. But he also developed another interest while there—billiards. With his brothers he opened the best billiard establishment in Ann Arbor. Sixtecn yvears ago he realized a dream of his youth by launching in Detroit the world’s largest plant devoted to billiards and bowling, with something like 150 tables and 150 alleys. It occupied a great mew structure called the Recreation Building. As years moved on he became a bridge fan. Seeing the growth of interest in con- tract, he cleared some of the billiard and bowling space and turned it over to bridge, at so much an hour a player, figured by the same kind of calculating clock he had used for billiards. Now we find him opening a college of bridge in the big building, with a regular faculty including some of the very best instructors, among them Mrs. C. F. Biel- man, Frank S. Eaton, Arthur Baum, Ellis Samuel and Russell Roosen. There is a regu- Frequent Thirteen-Spade Hands Prove the Inefficiency of Shuffling— Explaining Freak Deals “ith a Word on the “Riffle.” BY SHEPARD BARCLAY lar curriculum, with diplomas and everything. Yes, quite a pioneer, this Cy Huston. Watch bis example get followed in other cities. Still Better HE sweet young thing’s partner had just doubled a three no trump bid. After the next player’s pass, she said: “H you hadn't doubled it, I would have tripled t.” A Law a Week N a pivot game of contract, two players an- nounced they would have to depart at a stated time whether a rubber was then completed or not, which was agreeadble to the others. When that time arrived, each side had won a game. One of the other two players, who were partrers at the time, claimed 200 points, saying it was the “rule” that, when a game was broken up and each side had a game, the remaining play- ers would receive such a bdonus. Is that correct? Emphatically no. There would be no equity in such a provision. The opinionated player probably had once read Law 49(b) and for- got what it said. It provides that when a rubber is started with the agreement that the play shall terminate—that is, no new hand shall be dealt—after a specified time, and the rubber is unfinished at that time, the score is made up as it stands, 200 points being added to the honor score of the winners of a game. In the case cited each side had won & game, so the 200-point premiums counter- balance each other. South having become declarer with @ con- tract of five clubs, East remarked: “If youw've got them all, spread them.” Nobody else said anything. West led a small trump, which South won with the ace. East repeated his earlier re- mark. South, after studying dummy, spread his own hand, face up, on the tadble, and said: “I'll concede you the king of clubs and claim the balance, five-odd and an overtrick.” East said: “I'll concede you your contract, but no over- trick.” West also said he would concede five- Bedside M. anner--By Karl . Detzer Continued from Eighth Page them. The snow came thicker. For a moment he lost sight of the other two, found them, lost them again. Then he ran, heavily, till he caught up with them. “No use of me going back to the dock,” he panted in Garrett’s ear. “This wind will blow me . . . straight home.” “Much quicker.” “All right,” Garrett agreed. He waved his am. “Good night!” the doctor shouted. He took 30 steps shoreward, slanting away from the di- rection of the others. Then he halted. HEY were out of sight. They would not miss him. No one would miss him. If he did not answer his telephone they would say he was asleep, or drunk. Deliberately he turned, and faced back into the storm. He felt the compass in his glove. He'd need it now, particularly after daybreak. Alone, a single small dark patch against the frogzen gray of the Mke, he moved painfully toward the island, many, many hours away. ' All alone, a single dark speck moving against the frozen gray of the lake, he continued on his way, clutching the compass in his glove. He found himself wandering in a circle, got out the compass and set his feet right again by its illuminated dial. He must be five or six miles out now. At daybreak he knew that he had passed the halfway mark. He did not feel the cold in his feet. They were past that. He was very tired. He could feel his heart, thumping unevenly. He knew all about his own heart. It could do just so much . , . then . . . He staggered on. Where was he? Had he missed the island? Gone around its north end? He'd like to sit down. But he'd freeze if he did. It wasn’t a bad-'death. Just unconscious- ness. They could send for Taussig tomorrow, Thought of Taussig spurred him on. Something loomed on the ice before him, His frozen eyes opened wider. Then he heard shouts. The wind had fallen off, he discovered. Peering through the snow, he made out dark patches of pine woods. That was the island, up there. And this thing on the snow something big as a wrecked mill . . . what was it? Thesé were men, and they were shouting at him. They stood in front of him, behind him, all about him. They touched his hand with theirs, yet he felt nothing. But he heard the voices, filling his ears, saw open mouths, beard- ed faces. “Taussig!” they shouted. “I'm not Taussig!” “No! He’s here already! Came by piane!” Old Doc Carston staggered, jerking up his head, and cleared his thoughts. “Why, Taussig’s in Detroit,” he heard his own frozen voice crying. “In Detroit . . . safe and warm.” The men were leading him toward the shore. One had him by each arm. He tried to break away. “Taussig’s wife telephoned him,” one was saying. “He grabbed a plane at Detroit airport “I'm not needed, then” Doc Carston said. He held back determinedly. “INl go back.” “No, no!” “Sure! It's Taussig’s case!” He tried to push away their hands. This ended his efforts, Let the young fool and his modern ideas have the practice. “But you don't understand, Doc! Taussig’s hurt. They turned over, landing. Look! That plane’s upside down! Pilot’s leg broken. Taus- sig’s sick. Says it's exposure. He needs you, Doc. Pilot needs you. Lumberjacks need you! Old Doc Carston chuckled. “Flew?” he asked. “Exposure?” “One lumberjack’'s died,” the slander said. “Rest need you . . . ” “Need me?” Doc Carston straightened up. If that were true . . . “Need you the worst way, Doc! So does Taussig!” “Well, well!” Carston undid his ice creepers. Maybe there was room for two doctors up here. He climbed toward the settlement. The man, tramping beside him, listened incredulously. “All right in Hs place,” the old doc was saying. “Bedside manner’s fine in its piace. But its place § in town. Up here, brother, it takes feet to be a doctor. Understand?” “Sure,” the man answered. But he did not. Did not begin to understand. odd but not sir, whereupon South offered West a wager that he would make the extra trick. West accepted and South began playing the hand. Near the end he led toward the diamond ace-queen in dummy. West played low and de- clarer played the queen for dummy. Both op- ponents protested that he had mo right to finesse after having made a claim of a specific number of tricks. South declared he had not relinquished his rights fo finesse, but had ex- posed his hand merely to accommodate his op- ponents. Under protest, he played the hand without finessing and lost a trick to West’s dia- mond king in addition to one to the cludb king. South contends that he won his wager, as he would have made the contract if he Rad finessed. Is he right? Experts’ Mistakes HIS hand was a veritable comedy of errors in a recent national event. East bid a dealer's one no trump, South passed, West two spades, North three diamonds, Bast passed and South three no trump—rather risky even when not wulnerable. 453 $K10 ®AJITE4 MAT10 0QIT43 NORTH & ™ -:?982 E E »8176 SOUTH 4A109 9743 *KQ2 M5432 West opened his fourth best spade, East won with the king and returned which South allowed West to win jack. A heart lead at this stage slaughtered the declarer, but West made “tricky” lead of the spade 7, to make des clerer think he had only four, whereas a 3 lead would show fivee. The ace won this trick, the club 10 being discarded from dummy. Now followed six diamond tricks, om which East did some sad discarding, leaving himself his highest two hearts and two clubs, dummy also having two each of these suits. The ace of clubs was cashed, and all that declarer now had to do, thanks to the aid of enemies, was to put East in with clubs. East would then have the heart king, producing After the club ace, however, played the 10 of hearts so more tricks and went down 3 that the two sides tossed the verdict other and then back again was more } sort of tennis than bridge. On the following deal East opened the bid- ding with a diamond, South passed, West bid one heart, North doubled, East called two dia- monds, South two no trump, West passed and North three no trump. After West led the heart 5, South managed to misplay the hand badly enough to go down three tricks. See if you can do a better job than the tournament star, whose sins of omission and commission will be detailed next week. AaAJI0 v8742 ¢J65 &AKJT ORTH 4Q754 » YK9653 & g - SOUTH @963 wAl0 ¢ Q843 $Q1064 “Fool’s Gold” Valuable RON pyrites, the fool's gold which has de- ceived many a prospector, is by no means as valueless as its name implies. It is ane of the most valuable sources of sulphuric acid em- ployed by industry. The other pyrites, copper pyrites and arsenical pyrites, the latter some- times called mispickel are also valuable to in- dustry. The copper pyrites yield by far the greater part of the copper refined in the world, while arsenical pyrites is the common form in which arsenic is found. It also yields, in some instances, valuable portions of cobalt. Other and lesser types of pyrites are also found, but they are not important emough to create much stir in the industrial life of the country. Ideal Temperature FIP'I‘Y-FIVE degrees Fahrenheit seems to be the magic temperature of food handling. It is the maximum temperature, for instance, at which milk may be accepted at most milk plants. It is the temperature sought in the home ice box and now the Department of Ag- riculture comes forward to choose it as the de- sirable temperature at which to store and transport green tomatoes destined for the mar- ket as ripe tomatoes. : At a temperature of 55 degrees, the toma- toes ripen slowly and may be kept for consid- esable period~ before they become overripe.