This is an old and famous French gambling game, often referred to in
stories of fast life in European society. It was the rage during and
long after the French Revolution, but has lately had to share public
attention with Baccara, and even with Le Poker Américain. It has many
points in common with three-stake Brag, and is evidently descended from
the same stock. By many persons Bouillotte is considered superior to
Poker, because it offers the player many opportunities to speculate on
winning by the aid of cards that are not in his own hand.
_=Cards.=_ Bouillotte is played with a piquet pack, reduced to twenty
cards, only the A K Q 9 8 of each suit being retained. The ace is the
highest card in play and in cutting. If five persons play, the Jack
of each suit is added; if only three play, the Queens are discarded,
reducing the pack to sixteen cards. Two packs are generally used
alternately.
_=Counters=_ or chips are used, as in Poker, instead of money. Any
player may be the banker.
_=Players.=_ Three, four, or five persons may play; but four is the
proper number, and all descriptions of the game suppose it to be
four-handed.
_=Cutting.=_ To decide the positions of the players, a sequence of
cards is sorted out, equal in number with the number of players. These
cards are then shuffled, face downward, and each player draws one. The
highest of the sequence has the choice of positions, and so on down
until all are seated. The player who draws the King deals the first
hand.
_=Stakes.=_ Each player purchases an equal number of counters from
the banker, usually 100. This original _=cave=_ cannot be added to or
deducted from. As long as a single counter of it remains the player
must call for a sight, just as in freeze-out or table stakes; and not
until he is _=decavé=_, [has lost everything,] can he purchase another
stake, the amount of which is usually at his own option.
_=Blind and Straddle.=_ Before the distribution of the cards, the
dealer puts up a blind, usually five counters, which the player on
his right has the privilege of straddling. If he straddles, he may be
straddled again, and so on. In Bouillotte the straddle practically buys
from the dealer the privileges of the age. If it goes round until the
dealer buys it back himself, the straddling must then be stopped.
_=Dealing.=_ As in all French games, the cards are cut by the player on
the dealer’s left, and are dealt from right to left. Three cards are
given to each player, one at a time, face down, and the thirteenth is
then turned face up on the pack. This card is called the _=retourne=_.
_=Misdeals.=_ If any card is exposed during the deal, either in the
pack or in giving it to a player, it is a misdeal; but the distribution
of the cards is continued until each player has received three cards,
the exposed card being given out in its regular order. If any player
can show triplets, he receives one white counter from each of the other
players, and the hands are then abandoned. If more than one triplet is
shown, the inferior does not pay the higher. If no triplet is shown,
the cards are redealt. A misdeal does not lose the deal.
The deal passes to the right; but should the player whose turn it is to
deal have lost everything on the previous deal, and have just purchased
another stake, the deal passes to the player beyond him. If a player
withdraws from the table when it is his turn to deal, the deal passes
any newcomer who may take his place.
_=Betting.=_ The cards dealt, each player in turn, beginning with the
one to the right of the dealer, or to the right of the last straddler,
if any, can do one of three things: Equal the amount of the ante;
increase it as much as he pleases within the limits of his cave; or
pass, retaining his cards but betting nothing. If any player _=opens=_
the game by making a bet, the player on his right may equal or raise
it; but he cannot pass after the game is opened, unless he withdraws
from the pool. Any player may call for a sight for the amount in front
of him, but that does not prevent the others from continuing the
betting. If no one will open, the deal is void, and each player puts
five counters in the pool for the next deal. If a player opens, and no
one will equal or raise him, he wins the antes and straddles, if any.
If any player makes a raise which no one will meet, he takes whatever
is in the pool, unless a player has called for a sight for a small part
of it.
_=Calling and Showing.=_ If only two players bet against each other,
either may call the other, and demand a show of hands at any time; but
if three or four are betting, the privilege of calling falls upon each
in turn from right to left. For instance: A, B, C, and D play. D blinds
five counters, and deals. A passes, and B opens for five reds. C passes
out, while D and A both meet the bet of five reds, but neither will
raise it. This does not call B, who has the privilege of raising the
bet if he pleases. Suppose he raises, and D and A both meet it. On this
second round, C having passed out, it is D’s turn to say whether or not
he will raise. On the next round it will be A’s turn, and after that
it will be B’s second turn, and so on. Should any player meet the bet
but refuse to raise, although it is his turn, he still cannot call. If
he does not avail himself of his privilege of raising, he must _=pass
the word=_ to the player on his right; that is, transfer the privilege
to him. If he declines, it is a call; if he raises, it goes on until
every player has refused to avail himself of the privilege. If a player
chooses to raise without waiting for his turn, of course he can do so.
One of the fine points in the game is knowing when to raise the bet
yourself, and when to pass the word.
_=Rank of the Hands.=_ If a call is made, the hands are shown, and
the best Bouillotte hand wins. There are only two classes of hands
recognized in Bouillotte, the brelan, and the point; but there are
three kinds of brelans, which rank in the following order:
_=A Brelan Carré=_ is four of a kind; three in the player’s hand, and
the fourth turned up on the pack. If any player holds a brelan, [three
of a kind,] of a higher denomination than the brelan carré, the player
may turn up the card under the retourne, and if this makes his hand a
brelan carré also, he wins the pool. In addition to winning the pool,
the holder of a brelan carré receives from each player four white
counters.
_=A Simple Brelan=_ is three of a kind in the player’s hand, three aces
being the highest, and three eights the lowest. In addition to winning
the pool, the holder of a simple brelan receives one counter from each
of the other players at the table. If two are shown, neither pays the
other. Should the brelan be formed by uniting the retourne with two
cards in the player’s hand, it is a _=brelan favori=_, and the holder
of it receives an extra counter from every player at the table, whether
he wins the pool or not. For instance: The retourne is an eight; a
brelan of Queens is shown, and wins the pool. Another player holds a
pair of eights, and claims brelan favori. He does not pay the winning
brelan, but receives one counter from its holder, and also from each of
the other players. If the brelan favori wins the pool, it is paid two
counters by each player. If two simple brelans are shown, the higher
wins the pool; but both must be paid by each of the other two players,
who did not hold brelans.
_=The Point.=_ If no brelan is shown, the hands of all the players are
shown, including those who passed out during the betting. This will
expose thirteen cards, including the retourne. The pips in each suit
are then counted, the ace reckoning for 11, court cards for 10 each,
and the 9 and 8 at their face value. Whichever suit has the greatest
number of pips is called _=the suit that wins=_, and the player who
holds the highest card of it takes the pool; provided, of course, that
he was one of those who backed his hand until the last call. If the
player who holds the best card of the winning suit has dropped out
during the betting, his cards count for the player who has the highest
card of the suit among those who backed their hands. For instance: D
deals and turns the heart 8. A and B have passed out, but C has made a
bet which D has called. Neither has a brelan, so all four players show
their cards, and it is found that they lie thus:--
[Illustration:
🂮 🂭 🂨
+-------+
| B |
🂱 🂾 🂹 |C A| 🂡 🂩 🃙
| D |
+-------+
🃑 🃞 🃝 🂸
]
Spades are the winning suit: but neither C nor D has a spade, and as
neither A nor B is in the call, the spade suit cannot win anything. As
between clubs and hearts, D’s point is 40, and C’s 38; so D wins the
pool. C of course had a great advantage in betting, as he knew four
hearts were out, his own and the retourne; and all he feared was a
brelan. A would have won the pool if he had backed his hand, because he
would have had the highest card of the winning suit.
_=Calling for a Sight.=_ Suppose four players have the following caves
in front of them: A, 35; B, 60; C, 120; and D, 185. D blinds five,
deals, and turns the heart 9. A puts up all his 35 counters. B passes
out. C raises 50, putting up 85; and D bets everything, 180 more than
his blind. A demands a sight for his 35, and C puts up the remainder of
his 120, and calls a sight for them. Then D withdraws his superfluous
65, and it is a call. No one has a brelan, so all the hands are shown,
and the cards lie thus:--
[Illustration:
🂮 🃉 🃈
+-------+
| B |
🂡 🂭 🂩 |C A| 🃑 🃞 🃙
| D |
+-------+
🂱 🂾 🃝 🂹
]
The point is exactly even for clubs and spades, 40 in each. In case of
ties, the dealer, or the player nearest him on the right wins. In this
case A wins on account of his position, so clubs is the winning suit,
and A has the best card of it. But he can win from C and D only the
amount for which he called a sight, _i.e._ 35 counters. He therefore
takes down 105 as his share of the pool, leaving 170 to be decided
between C and D. Now, although C has a better point than D, it is one
of the principles of the game that the suit that wins cannot lose at
the same time; and as D has a card of the winning suit, while C has
not, D wins the remainder of the pool. If neither C nor D had a card of
the winning suit, C would win from D on account of his better point.
If we transposed the club ace and spade ace, spades would be the
winning suit, because the elder hand, A, had the best card of it; but C
would take the remainder of the pool, because he held a spade, while D
did not.
As it is, C is decavé, and must purchase another stake, or retire from
the game. If C had lost this pool with a brelan in his hand, he would
not be decavé; because after losing the pool, and all he had staked
therein, B, who had passed out, would have to pay him for the brelan,
and with this one white counter he would have to call for a sight in
the next pool he entered.
_=Methods of Cheating.=_ As in all games in which winning depends
entirely on the cards held, and not on the manner of playing them,
Bouillotte offers many opportunities to the greek. The small number
of cards in the pack, and the consequent ease with which they may be
handled, enable even the clumsiest card sharpers to run up brelan
carrés, make false shuffles, and shift cuts. There is one trick, called
the poussette, which consists in surreptitiously placing more counters
on the table when the player finds he has a hand worth backing. Marked
cards, and packs trimmed to taper one way, biseautés, are among the
most common weapons of the French tricheurs. As in Poker, it is best to
avoid playing with strangers.
_=Suggestions for Good Play.=_ Beyond the usual qualifications
necessary to succeed with any member of the poker family, Bouillotte
requires some study of the probable value of the point, which value
will vary with the number of players engaged in the coup. For instance:
The first player to say, having only 21 in his hand, should ante; but
if two other players had already anted, 31, or even 40 would be a
doubtful hand. If a bet had been made and met by another player, such a
point should generally be laid down.
With good cards it is always better for the eldest hand to pass,
especially with a brelan, for he will then have an opportunity to judge
of the value of the hands against him, and he can raise the bet to
his advantage. Good players will not bet on an ace alone, unless the
suit is turned up; nor on a point of 21 with a weak card of the turn-up
suit. If three play in a pool the point should be very strong to follow
beyond the first raise; and if four players are engaged, it is almost a
certainty that brelans will be shown.
When a player with a brelan has frightened off his opponents with a big
bet, it is usual to _=stifle=_ the brelan, as it is considered more to
the player’s advantage to leave his adversaries under the impression
that he may have been bluffing than to show the hand for the sake of
the one white counter to which it entitles him. With three cards of
one suit to the King, it is usual to bet high, in order to drive out
anything but a brelan. Any player holding ace and another of the suit
will of course abandon his hand, as his point is worth only 21 at the
most, and the player with three to the King will get the benefit of his
cards when the point is counted.
AMBIGU.
_=Cards.=_ Ambigu is played with a pack of forty cards, the K Q J of
each suit being deleted. The cards rank in the order of their numerical
value, the 10 being the highest, and the ace the lowest. Two packs may
be used alternately.
_=Players.=_ Any number from two to six may form the table, and the
arrangements for seats, first deal, etc., should be decided as at
Bouillotte.
_=Stakes.=_ Each player begins with an equal number of counters, the
value of which must be determined beforehand. A betting limit should be
agreed upon, and one player should be the banker for the evening.
_=Blind.=_ Before the cards are dealt, each player deposits one counter
in the pool; there is no straddle.
_=Dealing.=_ The cards are cut to the left, and dealt to the right, and
two cards are given to each player, one at a time, face down.
_=Method of Playing.=_ Each player in turn, beginning on the dealer’s
right, examines his hand, and if satisfied with it he says: “Enough.”
If not satisfied, he may discard one or both of his cards, and receive
others from the top of the pack. In either case he places two white
counters in the pool for his ante. All having decided to stand or
to draw, the remainder of the pack, exclusive of the discards, is
reshuffled and cut; each player is then given two more cards, one at
a time, and face down. Each in turn examines his four cards, and if
satisfied he says: “I play;” if not, he says: “I pass.” If all pass,
the dealer has the choice of two things: He may gather the cards and
deal again, each player putting another counter into the pool, or he
may put up two white counters himself, and compel the players to retain
the cards dealt them, the dealer keeping his also.
Any person announcing to play may put up as many counters as he pleases
within the betting limit. If no person will stay with him, he takes
back his raise, leaving the antes, and is paid two counters by the last
player who refuses. If two or more declare to play they can either meet
the amount offered by the first player, or raise him. If any player
declines to meet a raise, he must abandon his hand. If no one will call
the last raise, the player making it takes the pool, and then shows his
hand, and demands payment from each of the other players for whatever
combination he holds. If two or more players call, by making their bets
equal, they again draw cards, having the privilege of discarding any
number from one to four, or of standing pat. After the draw each in
turn can pass or play. If all pass, the hands are abandoned, and the
pool remains; each player adding one counter for the next deal. This is
to force players to bet on their hands. If a bet is made, the calling
and raising proceeds as in Draw Poker.
When there are not enough cards to supply the players, the discards
must be gathered, shuffled, and cut. Any player with too many or too
few cards must abandon his hand as foul. Any player showing his cards
must abandon his hand, and forfeit four counters to the pool.
The general laws of Poker governing all irregularities may be applied
to Ambigu; but it must be remembered that the French are very much
averse to penalties of all kinds, and if an error can be rectified
without doing an injustice to any player, it is usual to set things
right in the simplest manner possible.
_=Value of the Hands.=_ There are seven combinations of value in
Ambigu, which rank in the following order, beginning with the lowest:--
_=The Point.=_ The total number of pips on two or more cards of the
same suit. A single card does not count for the point. Three cards of
one suit are a better point than two cards, even if there are more pips
on the two cards. If no higher combination than a point is shown, the
player with the winning point receives _=one counter=_ from each of the
other players at the table, besides winning the pool, and everything in
it. In case of ties, the player having two cards in sequence wins. For
instance: an 8 and a 7 will beat a 10 and a 5. If this does not decide
it, the elder hand wins.
_=The Prime.=_ Four cards of different suits, sometimes called a
Dutch flush, is a better hand than the point. If a prime is the best
combination shown, the holder wins the pool, and receives _=two
counters=_ from each of the other players. If the pips in the prime
aggregate more than thirty, it is called _=Grand Prime=_, and the
holder receives _=three counters=_ from each of the other players,
instead of two. If two or more primes are shown, the one with the
highest number of pips wins. If this is still a tie, the elder hand
wins.
_=A Sequence=_ is a bobtail straight flush; that is, three of the four
cards are in sequence, such as the 2, 3 and 4 of spades, with an odd
card, such as a 9. This is a better combination than a prime, and the
holder receives _=three counters=_ from each player. In case of ties,
the highest sequence wins. If the sequence flush is one of four cards,
it is a doublet.
_=A Tricon=_, or three of a kind, is better than a straight, and
entitles the holder to _=four counters=_ from each of the other
players. Pairs have no value.
_=A Flush=_ is four cards of the same suit, not necessarily in
sequence, and is better than a tricon. The holder is paid _=five
counters=_ by each of the other players, in addition to winning the
pool.
_=Doublets.=_ Any hand containing a double combination will beat any
single combination. For instance: A player holds three of a kind, and
the fourth card in his hand is of a different suit from any of his
triplet. His hand is a double combination, prime and tricon, and will
beat a flush. A sequence of four cards of the same suit is a double
combination, and will beat anything but a fredon. When doublets are
shown, the holder is paid for both combinations, _=six=_ for tricon and
prime, or _=eight=_ for sequence and flush, as the case may be.
_=A Fredon=_, or four of a kind, is the best possible hand, and the
holder is paid _=ten or eleven counters=_ by each of the other players,
according to the pip value of his cards. He is paid eight counters for
fredon, and two for the prime, if it is smaller than 8’s; but he claims
grand prime if he has four 9’s, or four 10’S, and gets eleven counters.
In case of _=ties=_ which cannot be decided by the pip values, the
elder hand wins.
Even if a player has lost his entire stake in the pool, he must pay
the various combinations shown, and it is usual to reserve about ten
counters for this purpose.
_=Betting the Hands.=_ After the last cards have been drawn, the
players proceed to bet upon their hands precisely as at Poker. If a
player makes a bet or raise which no one will call, he takes the pool,
and then shows his hand and demands payment for the combination he
holds. It is very unusual for a player to stifle a hand at Ambigu, as
he would at Bouillotte. If a call is made, the players in the call show
and compare their cards, and the best hand wins the pool. Only the
player who wins the pool can demand payment for combinations held.
TEXT-BOOKS ON POKER.
Draw Poker, by John W. Keller, 1887.
Round Games, by Baxter-Wray, 1891.
Complete Poker Player, by John Blackbridge, 1875.
Proctor on Draw Poker, 1883.
Schenck’s Rules for Draw Poker, 1872.
The Poker Book, by Richard Guerndale, 1888.
The Gentlemen’s Handbook of Poker, by J.W. Florence, 1892.
Poker Rules in Rhyme, by Geo. W. Allen, 1895.
Science of Draw Poker, by David A. Curtis, 1901.
Poker, Brentano’s Pocket Library Series, by R.F. Foster, 1897.
Practical Poker, with complete laws, by R.F. Foster, 1905.
Treatise on Poker, by E.P. Philpots, 1904.
Poker probabilities, by Alleyne Reynolds, 1901.
The Game of Draw Poker, Mathematically Illustrated, by H.T.
Winterblossom, 1875.
THE EUCHRE FAMILY.
This family embraces four of the best known and most popular games
in the world, each of which has been considered the national game in
its own country: Écarté in France; Napoleon in England; Spoil Five in
Ireland; and Euchre in America.
It has always been the custom to trace the origin of Euchre to a
variety of Triomphe, or French Ruff, probably introduced to America by
the French of Louisiana; and to claim Écarté as its cousin, and the
French survivor of the parent game. In the opinion of the author, both
the game and its name go to show that Euchre is of mixed stock, and
probably originated in an attempt to play the ancient Irish game of
Spoil Five with a piquet pack. “Euchre” is not a French word, but the
meaning of it is identical with “Spoil Five”; both names signifying
that the object of the game is to prevent the maker of the trump from
getting three tricks. In the one game he is “spoiled;” in the other he
is “euchred.” In the old game of Triomphe, in Écarté, and in the black
suits in Spoil Five, the order of the court cards in plain suits is
the same, the ace ranking below the Jack. But in Euchre the Jack ranks
above the ace when the suit is trumps, exactly as it does in Spoil
Five. In the latter game the five is the best trump; but as there is no
five in a piquet pack, that trump was probably disregarded, leaving the
Jack the best. Taking up, or “robbing” the turn-up trump, is another
trait common to both Spoil Five and Euchre.
Spoil Five and Triomphe are mentioned in the earliest works on card
games. Triomphe can be traced to 1520, when it was popular in Spain;
and the origin of Maw, the parent of Spoil Five, is lost in the mists
of Irish antiquity. It was the fashionable game during the reign of
James I.
The old Spanish game of Triomphe, now obsolete, seems to have undergone
several changes after its introduction to France. At first it was
played either by two persons, or by two pairs of partners. If one
side had bad cards, they could offer to abandon the hand, and allow
the adversaries to count a point without playing. If the adversaries
refused, they were obliged to win all five tricks or lose two points.
It was compulsory to win the trick if possible, and to trump,
over-trump, or under-trump if the player had none of the suit led. This
peculiarity survives in the games of Rams and Loo, which also belong to
the euchre family.
After a time we find a variation introduced in which any number from
two to six could play, each for himself, and the player first winning
two tricks out of the five marked the point. Later still we find the
ace ranking above the King, thus becoming the best trump. If the ace
was turned up, the dealer had the privilege of robbing it, or the
holder of the ace of trumps could rob the turn-up, discarding any card
he pleased, just as in Spoil Five. But in Triomphe the dealer turned up
another card, and if that was of the trump suit the holder of the ace
could rob that also, and so on until he turned a card of a different
suit. This did not alter the trump, but merely stopped the robbing
process. Whether or not Triomphe borrowed this feature from Spoil Five
or Maw, it is now impossible to say.