VINT  , a

Russian card-game . It is generally considered as the immediate ancestor of Bridge (q.v.) . Vint means in Russian " screw," and is given to the game because the four players, each in turn, propose, bid and overbid each other until one, having bid higher than the others care to follow, makes the trump, his vis-d-vis becoming his partner . It has many points of resemblance to Bridge . The cards have the same rank; the score of tricks is entered under the line, and points for slam, penalties and honours above the line; while the value of the different suits is the same as in Bridge: spades, clubs, diamonds, hearts and " no trumps." In a " no trump " declaration aces only count as honours; in a suit declaration both the aces and the five next highest cards . During the progress of the bidding and declaring, opportunity is taken by the players to indicate by their calls their strength in the various suits and the high cards they hold, so that, when the playing begins, the position of the best cards and the strength of the different hands can often be fairly accurately estimated . The leads are subject to much the same rules as those in Bridge . See The Laws and Principles of Vint, edited by Frank W . Haddan (London, 1900) .