more than three cards, of the suit originally, always return the highest you have left.

To strengthen his hand, and as a conventional signal. If you originally held four, return the lowest, unless you have the master-card, which play out at once, as before directed. Also, if you happen to have discarded one of the four, play as if you had held only three.

It is good to lead a suit in which your right hand adversary is weak, or your left hand strong.

T.e., lead up to the weak suit, or through the strong one. On this principle avoid, if possible, returning your partner's suit, if you have won his lead cheaply.

(Indication of strength is given by the lead-of weakness by the play of third and fourth hand, and by the discard.)

If obliged to lead from a suit of less than four cards, the general rule is to lead the highest.

To inform your partner. If you have any reason to know he is long in the suit, the rule admits of no exception; but if you are doubtful on this point, it may be taken with some reserve. For example, if you hold an honor and two small cards in a suit respecting which no indication has yet been given, to lead the honor might not only throw away a chance of making it, but strengthen one of your adversaries.

Avoid leading a suit which one adversary ruffs, and the other discards to.

Unless you are sure of forcing the strong trump hand.

Towards the end of the hand it.may often win you an extra trick to avoid leading from a tenace or a

'guarded second,' and to try and induce your left-hand

adversary to lead that suit for you.

This is one of the points in which fine play is best shown.

Second Hand.

The general rule for the second hand is to play your lowest.

For your partner has a good chance of winning the trick; and the strength being on your right, it is good to reserve your high cards (particularly tenaces, such as ace and queen) for the return of the lead, when you will become fourth player.

With one honor and one small card the best players adhere to this rule.

Also if you have two high cards in sequence (as queen and knave, or knave and ten), with only one other; or if you have three high cards in sequence with any number, it is generally considered right to play the lowest of the sequence second hand.

To help your partner in case of the third hand being weak. There is, however, some danger of this being mistaken for the signal for trumps, and your partner must be on his guard.

The second round of a suit, it is generally right to win the trick, second hand, if you hold the best card.

Great strength in trumps, however, which always warrants a backward game, may sometimes justify you in leaving it to your partner, particularly as you thereby keep the command of the adversary's suit.

If an honor is led, you should generally put a higher honor upon it.

But if you are strong in the suit, you may husband your strength and play a small one.

Do not trump a doubtful trick second hand if strong in trumps: if weak, trump fearlessly.

Third Hand.

The general rule for the third hand is to play the highest you have.

In order not only to do your best to win the trick, but to strengthen your partner's long suit, by getting the high cards out of his way.

If you have a head sequence, remember to play the lowest of it.

This rule is subject, however, to the peculiar attribute of the third hand as regards finessing.

To know how to finesse properly requires great judgment and experience, but there are a few useful rules of general application:

a. The first-time round of a suit, if you hold ace and queen, you always play the queen.

b. With this exception, it is wrong in principle to finesse in your partner's long suit, as he wants the high

cards out of his way. If you see that he leads from weakness, or if he leads you strengthening cards in your own long suit, you may finesse more freely.

c. It is dangerous to finesse the second-time round of a suit, as the chances are it will be trumped the third time.

d. If, however, you are strong in trumps, you may finesse much more freely, as your trumps may enable you to bring your high cards in.

e. With minor tenace it is generally proper to finesse the second round, as the best card must probably be to your left; and if the third best is there also, both your cards must be lost in any case.

f. It is of no use to finesse if the previous play has shown that the intermediate card, against which you finesse, does not lie to your right; for in that case it must be either with your partner or your left-hand adversary, in either of which cases finessing is obviously useless.

g. The advisableness or not of finessing in certain cases late in the hand is often determined by the fall of the cards or the state of the score; e.g. when you particularly want one trick to win or save the game, or if, from what you know of your partner's or opponents' cards, you see you can only get one, it would be wrong to finesse for the chance of gaining two.

Be careful to watch the fall of the cards from your left-hand neighbor, in order that, if he proves weak in a suit, you may avoid wasting high cards when small ones would suffice to win the trick over him. This is very necessary, as your partner is often likely to lead up to the weak hand.

Fourth Hand.

In this you have in most cases little to do but to win the trick as cheaply as you can.

And recollect, if you do win it cheaply, it may afford you a hint for a good lead when you are in want of one Cases sometimes arise, however, towards the close of the hand, where it is advisable not to win the trick.

As, for example, when by not doing so you can force your left-hand adversary to lead up to your tenace, or guarded second.

There are also cases in which it is advisable to win

a trick already your partner's.

As, for example, to get high obstructing cards out of his way, or to enable you to lead up to a weak hand, or otherwise to alter the position of the lead.

Management of Trumps.

If you have five or more trumps always lead them, or signal to your partner to do so.*

As explained in the foregoing theoretical remarks. A trump lead from four may be warranted by strength, either of your own hand or your partner's in other suits, but always requires judgment and

care.

But if you have a long suit to bring in, it is generally best, with four trumps, to lead the plain suit first,

* Good players are sometimes more cautious in asking for trumps than in leading them. The rule given by one of the best modern authorities is, not to ask for trumps unless you hold four with two honors, or five with one honor, together with good cards in one of the hands. It is simpler, however, for learners to adhere to the rule always to lead or ask for trumps when they hold five.