Auction of To-day | Page 2

generally
called ("Auction Whist" is perhaps a more appropriate title), has been
so completely and so suddenly revolutionized that books written upon
the subject a few months ago do not treat of Auction of to-day, but of a
game abandoned in the march of progress. Only a small portion of the
change has been due to the development of the game, the alteration that
has taken place in the count having been the main factor in the
transformation. Just as a nation, in the course of a century, changes its
habits, customs, and ideas, so Auction in a few months has developed
surprising innovations, and evolved theories that only yesterday would
have seemed to belong to the heretic or the fanatic. The expert bidder
of last Christmas would find himself a veritable Rip Van Winkle,
should he awake in the midst of a game of to-day.
The present tourist along the newly macadamized Auction highway has
no modern signpost to guide him, no milestone to mark his progress.
The old ones, while most excellent when erected, now lead to
abandoned and impassable roads, and contain information that of
necessity confuses and misleads.
Beyond doubt, the present game, like other modern improvements, has
come to stay, and with that belief the following pages are offered as an
aid to the thorough understanding of the new order of things.
Until the latter part of 1911, practically all players used the same count
in Auction that had for years obtained in Bridge; namely, No-trump, 12;
Hearts, 8; Diamonds, 6; Clubs, 4; and Spades, 2. The change was first
suggested by the author, and it, therefore, seems only appropriate that

he, having had the good fortune to conceive a system which has been
endorsed by general adoption, should have the privilege of giving to the
Auction-loving public his views upon the most advantageous methods
of playing the game under the new conditions, and thus possibly help to
allay the confusion created by the introduction of an innovation so
drastic.
In this connection, it may be interesting to recall how this new count,
which is now so universally used that it should be called, not the "new"
count, but "the" count, came to be suggested, and why it met with
popular favor.
When Auction first took the place of Bridge as the paramount game in
the club and social life of the scientific card-player of the United States
(just as Bridge had previously superseded Whist), it was but natural
that the Bridge count should be continued in Auction.
Admitting that these values were the best possible for Bridge (and of
that there is considerable doubt in the mind of the player of to-day), it,
nevertheless, did not mean that for the new and very different game of
Auction they would of necessity be the most suitable. It was soon
found that the No-trump was so much more powerful than any other
bid that competition was almost eliminated. With even unusually strong
suits, only occasionally could a declaration valued at 12 be successfully
combated by one valued at 8 or less, and the vast majority of hands
were, consequently, played without a Trump.
The inherent theory of the game of Auction provides for a bidding in
which each one of the four suits competes with each other, and also
with the No-trump. Using the Bridge count, this does not take place.
The two black suits, by reason of their inconsequential valuation, are
practically eliminated from the sea of competitive bidding. The
Diamond creates only a slight ripple, and even the Heart has to be
unusually strong to resist the strenuous wave of the No-trump.
Players in different parts of the country realized that as long as the
Bridge count was used, five bids could not compete in the race, as, due
to unequal handicapping, the two blacks could barely pass the starter,

while the two reds could not last long in a keen contest.
The desire to make the Spade a potent declaration had appeared in
Bridge; Royal Spades, valued at 10, having been played by some
unfortunates who believed that, whenever they had the deal, the fickle
goddess favored them with an undue proportion of "black beauties." As
competitive bidding is not a part of the game of Bridge, that could not
be offered as a reason for increasing the value of the Spade, and to be
logical, Royal Clubs should also have been created. Naturally, Royal
Spades never received any very large or intelligent Bridge following,
but as making the Spade of value was in line with the obvious need of
Auction, as soon as that game became the popular pastime, Royal
Spades (or Lilies, as they were perhaps foolishly called in some places,
the pseudonym being suggested by the color of the Spade), valued at