By this it appears, that it is twenty-five to eleven against hitting an ace upon a certain or flat die.

The like method may be taken with any other flat die, as with the ace.

What are the odds of entering a man upon one, two, three, four, or five points?

For. Against.

To enter it upon 1 point is about 4 to 9

2

5 to 4

3

3 to 1

99

The odds against hitting with double dice are:

For. Against.
To hit upon 7 is about 5 to 1

5 to 1

9

6 to 1

To further explain how to make use of the table of 36 chances, when at a loss to find the odds of being hit upon a certain or flat die, another example is added. By the following we find the odds of being hit upon a six :

:

Deduct this 17 from 36-the number of chances upon two dice-and we have 19. From this table, then, we find that it is 19 to 17 against being hit upon a 6.

The odds of 2 love is about 5 to 2

Here, then, we have the game of Backgammon as played in the politest of polite circles. I trust I have made the method of playing it plain to the comprehension of the reader. Of course it will be understood that Backgammon cannot be so well taught by books as by a little oral instruction from a competent player. All I have attempted to do is to help the amateur on his road to a very amusing pastime.

BILLIARDS.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTORY.

"Let us to billiards, Charmion."—Shakspeare.

BILLIARDS is the best of all in-door games. When properly played, it combines within itself something of the scientific character of Chess without its silence, and much of the enjoyment belonging to cards without the gambling element. There is sufficient excitement in a good match of Billiards to enable the players to dispense altogether with wagers, and enough of interest to provide rational amusement for a whole room-full of lookers-on. It is a game which admits of the most scientific calculation, while at the same time it is by no means devoid of frequent strokes of chance and good luck. This combination of science and chance forms, indeed, one of the most attractive features of the game for while a good player may fairly reckon upon winning by virtue of his knowledge and skill, a bad one need not despair, for there are seven chances of scoring-six pockets and a canon-every time he strikes his ball. Billiards, too, may be properly placed in the category of athleticgames, for an active player walks two miles round and about the table every hour he plays.

The late William Cobbett used to say that the use of no instrument brought so many muscles into play as the spade. But, for my part, I prefer the Billiard cue; for by its use a certain degree of motion is imparted to every part of the body. Billiards gives exercise to the legs and arms, while it expands the chest, and at the same time employs and diverts the mind. Every person likes to exhibit whatever skill and aptitude he possesses. The orator is never so pleased as when he engages an attentive audience; the actor is never so delighted as when he hears the applause of boxes, pit, and gallery; the artist is never so entirely in love with his art and with himself as when he sees a discriminating crowd about his picture; the musician is never so fully impressed with the divinity of harmony as when he glances upwards into the entranced faces of his hearers; the huntsman never so fully believes in the exhilarating influence of the chase, the cricketer never so entirely gives himself up to the requirements of his animating exercise, the oarsman never pulls so lustily, the acrobat never jumps so fearlessly, the pedestrian never runs so swiftly, and few of us do anything so satisfactorily, as when there are lookers-on to appreciate and to applaud. So, also, the Billiard-player never acquits himself so well as in a crowded room. If f you want to see good play, you must witness it in the public room; but if you would play well yourself, you must practise steadily and unremittingly at the private table.

It is not necessary in this little book to say anything of the invention and introduction of Billiards; indeed, when I say that of its early history nothing whatever is known, I believe I say nearly all that can be said. Its origin is