17 REDOUBLES AT BRIDGE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXX, Issue 3533, 25 May 1912, Page 10

17 REDOUBLES AT BRIDGE.

HEARTS 2,097,152.

A. curious incident occurred in a bridge game on board the Olympic on her last voyage from New York to Plymouth. The players —two Americans, an Australian, and an Englishman—were friends. They were playing five-cent (2£d) points, or a Little more than a sovereign a hundred, and they were all fairly maxened.

They played freely—i.e., they were calling on light hands and doubling the declaration with the smallest justification- The Australian liad one of the Americans for his partner the Englishman the other. Idle lastnamed made a heart call (for which each trick counts eight). This was promtply doubled by his Australian opponent. A redouble was again doubled by the Australian, and then tho English partner of the American, who had made the original call, raised the game still higher. This redoubling did not- finish until, according to an onlooker keeping tally, the value had multiplied eighteen times. The game was played, and resulted in the loss of the odd trick my the man who had called hearts. t

"When, however, the players calculated wliat the points were, they found that they had multiplied to 2,097,152, ’ and that each trick was worth over £20,000. The losers said this was absurd, that no one realised what he was doing, and eventually it was agreed that the losers should each pay £IOO for the odd trick. The onlooker’dvho kept tally, now puts toward the plea that the odd trick could be worth only 100 times the original five cents (says, £1) to the winner, and asks : “Is net the Portland Club rule (that doubling must not carry the points above 100) decisive ill this matter?” He has no monetary interest in the affair, and does not remember how the cards were distributed.