Bidding three on a nine high...
When I was a young person, my dad taught me how to play a card game he called "Hi-Low-Jack," but which other folks call Pitch. No matter what it's called, we played for hours and hours. It's a game of strategy, of some risk taking, and a little bluffing as well. Players are dealt three cards at a time, twice over, to hold six in their hands. Based on the strength of what is dealt, face cards and tens being of higher value and low cards only used to "take a trick," players then bid anywhere from two points to four, or they can bid "smudge" (controlling every trick and thus gaining five points). The bidder bases their offer on a master suit that will determine the path of the game, and the dealer can take (match or raise) a player's bid or let them play it. If the player who bids is successful, all is well. If they don't make the bid, they "ride" for the points they thought they'd make, usually casting them into the cellar hole. As I recall it, we played to 21 points, but that may be an imperfect recollection. I have not played in years, though I dearly love to play. (Note to self: find a deck of cards.) I probably forgot some small rules (is there a discard/re-pick option?), but you get the idea.
As a novice player, I usually bid conservatively, and often did not even make the bid I offered. My dad did not take it easy on me; no one learns how to play well if they aren't forced to figure out the strategy. I recall my dad, more than once, bidding 3 without even looking at his cards. Blind bid. And he'd make it work, time and again. He once bid 3 on a 9 high. And he made it.
What I've got to figure out is how to bid high on my own hand. And be bold enough to play it through. It's a common phrase, to "play the hand you are dealt," but that is usually associated with poker. And I suppose the underlying theory is the same, for all intents and purposes. But for me, I'm a High-Low-Jack player who is really out of practice, and that metaphor carries. I need to start believing in my ability to take every trick and maybe, just maybe, bid smudge. And make it.
The cards are in my hands.
C
God, I remember TOO many late nights (that often morphed into early mornings) playing that in the first floor Rogers suite lounge. We called it pitch there, but in high school we called it setback. When I moved to western New York, I was introduced to a similar game called euchre. Evidently the Kodak employees (seemed like everyone here was or is one) played during lunch.
ReplyDeleteYes, those years-long pitch games! And you are right; setback is another name for the same game. I really need to dig out some cards.
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