Auction of To-day

Auction of To-day, by Milton C.
Work

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Title: Auction of To-day
Author: Milton C. Work

Release Date: October 18, 2007 [eBook #23086]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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AUCTION OF TO-DAY
by
MILTON C. WORK
Author of "Whist of To-day"

Boston and New York Houghton Mifflin Company The Riverside Press
Cambridge 1913
Copyright, 1913, by Milton C. Work All Rights Reserved
Published January 1913

THIS BOOK IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO THE AUCTION
PLAYERS OF THE RACQUET CLUB OF PHILADELPHIA, WHO,
WHILE OTHERS DOUBTED AND WAITED, WERE
SUFFICIENTLY BROADMINDED AND DISCERNING TO ADOPT
THE "NEW COUNT" AND WHO, THEREFORE, PLAYED
AUCTION OF TO-DAY MONTHS BEFORE IT WAS IN VOGUE
ELSEWHERE

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION xi
I. THE DECLARATION 1
II. ORIGINAL DECLARATIONS BY THE DEALER 15

The Bid of One No-trump. Table of Hands in which the No-trump
Declaration is Doubtful. When to bid Two No-trumps. Exception to the
No-trump Rule. Table of Doubtful Hands illustrating Exception. Suit
Declarations. Various Ideas of the Two Spade Bid. The Two Spade Bid.
The Three Spade Bid. When to bid Two in Either Royals or Hearts.
When to bid Three in Either Royals or Hearts. The Two Bid in
Diamonds or Clubs. How to declare Two-Suit Hands. Table of Hands
in which a Trump Declaration is Doubtful.
III. SECOND HAND DECLARATIONS 60
Bidding over One Spade. When to bid No-trump. When to make a
Trump Declaration. The Double of One Spade. The Bid of Two Spades.
Table of Spade Bids. The Bid of Three Spades. How Second Hand
should bid after an Offensive Declaration. The Shift. When to Bid Two
No-trumps over One No-trump. How to Bid against Two or Three
Spades. When to Bid No-trump over a Suit.
IV. THIRD HAND DECLARATIONS 82
When the Dealer has called One Spade, and the Second Hand passed.
When the Dealer has shown Strength, and the Second Hand passed.
When "Two Spades" has been declared. When "Three Spades" has
been declared. When "One Club" or "One Diamond" has been declared.
When "Two Diamonds" or "Two Clubs" has been declared. When "One
Heart" or "One Royal" has been declared. When "Two Hearts" or "Two
Royals" has been declared. When to overbid a Partner's No-trump.
When to overbid with Strong Clubs. A New Plan for Overbidding.
When to overbid One No-trump with Two No-trumps. What Third
Hand should bid when Second Hand has declared.
V. FOURTH HAND DECLARATIONS 114
When the Dealer's Defensive Declaration has been the Only Bid. When
the Only Offensive Declaration has been made by the Dealer. When the
Only Offensive Declaration has been made by the Second Hand. When
the Only Offensive Declaration has been made by the Third Hand.
When the Dealer has Made a Defensive, and both the Second and Third

Hands Offensive, Declarations. When the Dealer and Second Hand
have made Offensive Declarations, and the Third Hand passed. When
the Dealer and Third Hand have made Offensive Declarations, and the
Second Hand passed. When all Three Players have made Offensive
Declarations.
VI. CONTINUATION OF THE BIDDING 130
When to advance the Bid. When to overbid the Partner. Flag-Flying.
VII. DOUBLING 143
The Choice between a Game and a Double. When to redouble. What to
do when the Partner is doubled.
VIII. LEADING 158
How to lead against a No-trump. Number-showing Leads. The Lead
against a Suit Declaration. How to lead to a Double. Table of Opening
Leads against a Trump Declaration.
IX. THE PLAY 183
Difference between Play in Auction and Bridge. Playing for Game.
Play for an Even Break. General Play of the Declarer. Declarer's Play
of No-trump. Declarer's Play of a Suit Declaration. Play by Declarer's
Adversaries. The Signal. The Discard. Blocking the Dummy. Avoid
opening New Suits. How to return Partner's Bid. The Finesse. Table
showing when Third Hand should finesse.
X. SCORING AND SCORE-SHEETS 213
Samples of Score-Sheets.
XI. THE LAWS 225
1912 Code of The Whist Club of New York. Decisions by the Card
Committee of The Whist Club of New York.

SUMMARIZED PENALTIES 277
APPENDIX: QUERIES AND ANSWERS 279

INTRODUCTION
With so many excellent textbooks now in circulation, it seems almost
audacious to add another treatise to current card literature. It happens,
however, that the game of Auction, or Auction Bridge, as it is