afford to risk your adversary’s making without putting him out. If you
have enough in your hand to get out on the show, you should not attempt
to make a single point in play. Pair nothing, for he might come out
with a pair royal; make no runs, for he might extend them. But if you
have not enough to show out, you must take every chance to peg the
difference, because if you cannot get out in play and first show, the
dealer has not only both hand and crib against you, but the first show
on the next deal. In six-card Cribbage, the usual pegging for the play
is five holes for the dealer, and four or five for the non-dealer. By
adding this expectation to your show, you can see how many you can hope
to peg yourself, and how many the dealer will probably be on hand, crib
and peg altogether. The hands should average 7 points, and the cribs 5.
FIVE-CARD CRIBBAGE.
In this form of the game only five cards are dealt to each player,
one at a time. Two of these are laid out for the crib, and the three
remaining are used in play, exactly as in the six-card game.
_=Three for Last.=_ The non-dealer on the first hand of each game is
allowed to peg three holes as a compensation for the advantage his
adversary derives from having the first deal. Although the rules allow
these three to be pegged at any time during the game, they should be
put up immediately, in order to avoid disputes.
There is no further play after a go is declared, or either player has
reached 31. The score for 31 is two holes; and for the go, one hole.
Great importance is attached to the score for the go at five-card
Cribbage, because so little is made in play that every point counts.
_=The Crib.=_ This is the most important thing in the five-card game,
and it is much more important to baulk your adversary’s crib than to
preserve your own hand. The best baulking cards are a King with a 10,
9, 8, 7, 6 or A. Never lay out a Jack, nor two cards which form a five,
nor any pair, nor any two close cards. In laying out for your own crib,
Fives, Sevens and Eights are the best. Any pair, any two cards that
make five or fifteen, and any close cards are also good. Keep pairs
royal and runs in your hand, and do not forget that a flush of three
counts in the hand; but the starter must agree to make a flush in the
crib.
_=Playing Off and On.=_ The pegging in play is usually small; 2 for the
dealer, and an average of 1½ for the non-dealer, hence the importance
of the go. The average hand is a little less than 5, and the crib about
5. The player is at home if he has pegged 17 in two deals, his own and
his adversary’s. He is safe at home if he is 7 ahead, or his adversary
is 7 behind.
In Five-card Cribbage, more than any other game, it is true that a game
is never won until it is lost. Take the following example, in which the
pone is 56 up, and the dealer has pegged only 5 holes altogether. The
separated cards show those laid out for the crib, and the odd card is
the starter.
[Illustration:
Pone;-- 🃗 🂧 🃆 🃔 🂳
🂣
Dealer;-- 🃖 🂶 🂦 🃒 🃓
]
The pone leads a Seven, and afterwards pairs the dealer’s Six, pegging
to 58. The dealer pegs 6 for the pair royal, and is told to go. This
enables the dealer to make a double pair royal and 31, pegging fourteen
holes more. (The last card does not count when a go or 31 is pegged).
On the show the pone has only a pair, which puts him to 60, within one
of the game hole. The dealer shows 12 in hand and 17 in crib, making
him 54 up. In the next deal the player who wanted one could not peg,
his adversary securing a fifteen and a go, and showing out with a pair
and a fifteen, 61 up and game.
THREE-HANDED CRIBBAGE.
Five cards are dealt to each player, and then another, face down, for
the foundation of the crib. Each player then lays out one card to make
the dealer’s crib up to four. The starter is cut by the player on the
dealer’s left, and the game proceeds as at six-card Cribbage, the
eldest hand having the first show, the dealer the last.
FOUR-HANDED CRIBBAGE.
When four play, they cut for partners, choice of seats, and deal; the
two lowest pairing against the two highest, and the lowest taking the
first deal and crib. The game is usually 121 points up, or twice round
the board, and only one player on each side keeps the score.
Five cards are dealt to each player, one at a time, and one of these
is discarded from each hand to form the crib, leaving four cards with
which to play. The right-hand adversary of the dealer cuts for deal;
the left-hand adversary for the starter. The eldest hand plays first,
and all pairs, sequences, and fifteens are scored by the side making
them. If a player says “go,” his left-hand neighbour must play, or pass
the go to the next player on his left. In this way it may pass entirely
round the table to the last player, who will then peg for it.
At this game there is a great deal more in the play than in either hand
or crib. The average hand and crib is the same as at six-card Cribbage,
7 for the hand and 5 for the crib, but the play for the partners will
run to 8 or 10 holes. Either side should be at home with 48 to 50 on
two deals; four individual hands of 7 each, four plays of five each,
and one crib of 5.
SEVEN-CARD CRIBBAGE.
This form of the game for two players differs from the others only in
the number of cards dealt to each player, which is seven. Two are laid
out for the crib, and five kept for playing. There being six cards in
each hand, with the starter, the counting combinations sometimes run
into high figures, and it is therefore usual to play the game 121 or
even 181 points up.
* * * * *
There are no authoritative _=LAWS=_ for Cribbage, but the foregoing
descriptions contain all the regulations in force at the best clubs.
TEXT BOOKS.
The Cribbage Player’s Handbook, by Walker.
Bézique and Cribbage, by Berkeley.
Pocket Guide to Cribbage, by “Cavendish.”
Bohn’s Handbook of Games.
Cribbage, by Rawdon Crawley.
Dick’s Handbook of Cribbage.
PIQUET.
Piquet is supposed to have been introduced during the reign of Charles
VII., and was designed as a motif for a ballet of living cards which
was given in the palace of Chinon. Of the etymology of the word piquet,
little or nothing is known, but the game itself is one of those
perennials that have survived much more pretentious rivals, and, thanks
to its intrinsic merits, it has never since its invention ceased to be
more or less à la mode.
There are several varieties of Piquet, but the straightforward game for
two players, sometimes called _=Piquet au Cent=_, or 100 points up, is
the most common and popular, and will be first described.
_=CARDS.=_ Piquet is played with a pack of thirty-two cards, all below
the Seven being deleted. The cards rank: A K Q J 10 9 8 7, the Ace
being the highest both in cutting and in play. There is no trump in
Piquet, and all suits are equal in value. Two packs are sometimes used,
one by each player in his proper turn to deal.
The cards have a certain pip-counting value, the Ace being reckoned
for 11, other court cards for 10 each, and the 7 8 9 10 for their face
value.
_=MARKERS.=_ As the scores are not put down until the end of the hand
or play the game is usually kept on a sheet of paper, or it may be
marked on a cribbage board.
_=PLAYERS.=_ Piquet is played by two persons, who sit opposite each
other. They are known as the dealer, and the elder hand or pone.
_=CUTTING.=_ They cut for seats and cards, the lower cut having the
choice, and dealing the first hand. If a player exposes more than one
card the lowest of those exposed must be taken as his cut. Ties are
decided by cutting a second time.
_=STAKES.=_ Piquet is played for so much a game of 100 points; but if
the loser has not reached 50 points he is lurched, and loses a double
game.
_=DEALING.=_ The cards shuffled, they are presented to the pone to be
cut, and at least two cards must be left in each packet. Twelve cards
are dealt to each player, either two or three at a time; but whichever
method is first selected must be maintained throughout the game. In
England the cards are always dealt by twos. No trump is turned. The
remaining eight cards are placed face downward on the table, the five
top cards being laid crosswise on the three at the bottom. These eight
cards are called the _=talon=_ or stock. Each player deals in turn.
_=Irregularities in Dealing.=_ If the pack is proved to be imperfect
the deal is void, but all previous scores or cuts made with that pack
stand good. A misdeal does not lose the deal under any circumstances.
If a card is found faced in the pack there must be a fresh deal
with the same cards. If a player deals out of turn, and detects the
error himself before he sees any of his cards, he may insist on his
adversary’s dealing, even if the adversary has seen his cards. As the
deal is a disadvantage the adversary is not bound to correct the player
in error.
If the dealer gives too many or too few cards to either player a new
deal is at the option of the adversary. The error will of course be
detected when it is found that there are only seven cards in the talon.
If the non-dealer elects to have the deal stand, the error in the
player’s hand must be remedied in the discard, as will presently be
described, and the stock must be divided 4-3 or 5-2, according to which
player has too many cards.
_=Carte Blanche.=_ The cards dealt, each player takes up his twelve
cards and sorts them into suits. If the pone finds himself without a K
Q or J, he should immediately claim 10 points for carte blanche. If the
dealer holds carte blanche, he does not declare it until the pone has
discarded.
_=DISCARDING.=_ The five cards on the top of the talon belong to the
pone, and he may discard from his hand any number of cards from one to
five, and replace them by an equal number from the top of the stock.
He must take at least one card, and he must take from the talon in the
natural order of the cards. If he has elected to let a deal stand in
which he has been given thirteen cards, he is entitled to four cards
only from the talon, and must in all cases leave himself with twelve
cards after his discard and draw are completed. If he does not take all
five cards, he must announce distinctly how many he leaves, for if he
fails to do so the dealer is not liable for having too many cards.
The dealer then discards, first declaring carte blanche if he holds it.
In England, he need not draw at all, in France he must draw at least
one card. Besides the three cards which belong to him, he is entitled
to take as many as he pleases of those left by the pone, and in drawing
from the talon he must take the cards in the order in which they come.
If two cards are left by the pone, for instance, and the dealer wants
three only, he must take the two left by the pone and one of his own
three, leaving the two others face down on the table. The number of
cards in hand after the discard and draw must be exactly twelve. Only
one discard is allowed, and having been made it cannot be changed after
the stock has been touched.
If the pone does not take all the cards to which he is entitled, he is
allowed to look at those that remain of the first five that were on
the talon; but on no account may he look at any of the dealer’s three.
If the dealer leaves any cards in the stock, he has a right to look
at them, but the pone may not see them until he has led for the first
trick, or announced the suit he will lead. If he announces a suit, and
after seeing the cards in the stock does not lead that suit, the dealer
may call a suit. If the dealer does not look at the remaining cards the
pone cannot see them either.
Each player keeps his discards separate from those of his adversary,
and is allowed to refer to them at any time during the play of the
hand, but on no account can he see his adversary’s discards, unless
that adversary has mixed with them one or more of the unseen cards
that were left in the stock, and afterward picks up and looks at his
discard, including the card which the other is entitled to see. For
instance: The dealer leaves a card without looking at it. This he
afterward mixes with his discard. Now, if he looks at his discard, of
course he sees the card left in the stock, and the pone may demand
to see not only the card left, but the entire discard. The same rule
applies to the pone if he takes into his discards an unseen card of the
stock.
_=Irregular Discards.=_ If a player discards less cards than he
intended, it is too late to remedy the error if he has touched the
stock. If he discards too many cards, as the dealer frequently will by
laying out five instead of three, he may take them back if he has not
touched those in the stock, but if he touches any card in the stock, he
must play with the short hand if there are not enough cards left in the
stock to make his hand up to twelve.
_=Irregular Drawing.=_ If the pone draws one of the three cards which
properly belong to the dealer, he loses the game; and if the dealer
draws any of the first five, before the pone has announced that he
leaves them, the dealer loses the game. The dealer has no right to
touch any part of the stock until the pone has discarded and drawn; but
if the pone draws without making any announcement about leaving cards,
the dealer has a right to assume that five cards have been taken, and
that only three remain in the stock. For instance: The pone discards
five cards, but draws four only, without saying anything. The dealer
proceeds to discard and draw. He has of course taken one of the pone’s
cards, but it is too late to remedy the error or claim a penalty, and
the pone must play with eleven cards. It is evident that the dealer
will have too many cards, but as he has been led into the error by his
adversary, he must be allowed to discard to reduce his hand to twelve.
If a player takes a card too many from the stock, he may replace it
if he has not put it with the other cards in his hand. If he has seen
it, he must show it to his adversary. If the superfluous card has
been taken into the hand, the player must have too many cards, and
can score nothing that deal. This does not prevent the adversary from
scoring anything he may have in hand or play, even if it is inferior.
If a player is found to have too few cards after the draw, he may still
play and count all he can make, but he cannot win a capot, because he
has no card for the last trick, which must be won by his adversary.
_=The Stock.=_ If a player looks at one of his adversary’s cards in the
stock before or during the draw, he can count nothing that hand. If
he looks at a card left in the talon after the draw, which he is not
entitled to see, his adversary may call a suit from him as many times
as he has seen cards. If a card of the talon is accidentally exposed,
the player to whom it would naturally belong may demand a fresh deal.
_=OBJECTS OF THE GAME.=_ In order to understand the principles that
guide players in discarding, the objects of the game must first be
explained. There are three classes of counting combinations at Piquet,
and the player that holds the better of each class, scores it. These
combinations are: Point; Sequence; Fours and Triplets.
_=The Point=_ is the suit having the greatest pip value, reckoning
the Ace as 11, court cards as 10 each, and the 10 9 8 7 at their face
value. If one player’s best suit contains five cards, worth 48 points,
and his adversary has a suit worth 51, the latter would be the only one
to count, and it would be called the point for that deal.
The value of the point is the number of cards that go to make it. In
England, they count a point containing the 7 8 and 9 as worth one less
than the number of cards. This is a modern invention, unknown to the
older writers on the game, and not always played.
_=Sequence.=_ Three or more cards of the same suit, if next in value
to one another, form a sequence. The French terms are generally used
to designate the number of cards in the sequence: Tierce, Quatrième,
Quinte, Sixième, Septième, Huitième. Many English works on cards
erroneously spell quinte without the “e,” and give “quart” for a
sequence of four. If one is going to use the French language at all, it
may as well be used correctly.
Sequences outrank one another according to the best card, if they are
of equal length; so that a quinte to a King would be better than a
quinte to a Queen; but a longer sequence always outranks a shorter one,
regardless of the high cards. The player holding the best sequence is
entitled to score it, together with any inferior sequences he may hold
in other suits. Should his adversary hold intermediate sequences, they
are of no value. For instance: One player holds a quinte to the Jack
in spades, a tierce to the Ten in hearts, and a tierce to the Nine in
clubs; while the other holds a quatrième majeure (A K Q J) in hearts,
diamonds, and clubs. None of the latter are of any value; but all those
in the other hand are good. If the best sequence is a tie, no sequences
can be scored by either player.
The value of a sequence is ten more than the number of cards that go to
form it, provided that number exceeds four. A tierce counts 3 only, and
a quatrième 4 only; but a quinte is worth 15, a sixième 16, and so on.
_=Fours, and Triplets.=_ Any four cards of the same denomination,
higher than a Nine, is called a Quatorze; three of any kind higher than
the Nine is called a Trio, or sometimes a Brelan. As a trio is seldom
mentioned without naming the denomination, it is usual to say; “Three
Kings,” or “Three Jacks,” as the case may be. The 7 8 and 9 have no
value except in point and sequence. The player holding the quatorze of
the highest rank may score any inferior ones that he may hold, and also
any trios. Should his adversary hold any intermediate ones, they are of
no value. In the absence of any quatorze, the best trio decides which
player shall count all the trios he may have in his hand, his adversary
counting none. For instance: One player holds four Tens and three
Jacks, his adversary holding triplets of Aces, Kings, and Queens. None
of the latter would be of any value, as the lowest quatorze is better
than the highest trio, and the player with the four Tens could count
his three Jacks also. Pairs have no value.
The value of any quatorze is 14, as its name implies. Trios are worth 3
only.
In discarding, the object is to secure the best counting combinations,
and also to retain cards which will win tricks in play. The
combinations take precedence of one another in scoring, the first being
always Carte Blanche, then the Point, then Sequence, and lastly the
Quatorze or Trio.
_=DECLARING.=_ Carte blanche must be announced and shown before a
discard is made. Each player having discarded and drawn, the elder hand
proceeds to announce any counting combinations he holds, which he must
declare in regular order, beginning with the point. In announcing the
point, the suit is not mentioned, only its value. The sequences are
defined by the number of cards and the highest; “sixième to the King,”
for instance. The fours and trios are defined in the same way; “four
Kings,” or “three Jacks.”
To each of these declarations, as they are made in regular order, the
dealer must reply: “_=Good=_,” “_=Equal=_,” or, “_=Not good=_.” If the
point is admitted to be good, the holder scores it; not by putting it
down on the score sheet, but simply by beginning his count with the
number of points it is worth. If the point is equal, neither player
scores it, and secondary points have no value under any circumstances.
If the point declared by the elder hand is not good, it is not
necessary for the dealer to say how much better his point is; that
will come later. To each of the other declarations replies are made
in the same manner, except that fours and trios cannot be “equal.” As
each combination is admitted to be good, the elder hand adds it to his
count. For instance: His point is 51, good; his sequence is five to the
Ace, good; and his triplet of Aces is good. These are worth 5, 15, and
3 respectively, and his total count is 23, if he has no minor sequences
or trios. This is not put down, but simply announced.
The strict rules of the game require the player whose combination is
acknowledged to be good, to show it; but among good players this is
quite unnecessary, for each usually knows by his own cards what his
adversary should and probably does hold.
The elder hand having finished his declarations, and announced their
total value in points, leads any card he pleases. If this card is a Ten
or better, he claims one point for leading it, even if he does not win
the trick, and he adds this point to his score.
An illustration will probably make the foregoing processes clearer. The
elder hand, after the draw, holds these cards:--
♡ A K Q J: ♣ A K Q: ♢ A K Q 7: ♠ A.
He announces: “Forty-one.” “Not good.” “Quatrième to the Ace.” “Not
good.” “Quatorze Aces,” which he knows is good; and which admits of his
counting his triplets of Kings and Queens. These are worth collectively
20 points, and on leading one of his Aces he announces “Twenty-one.”
The dealer, before playing a card, proceeds to claim the count for the
combinations which are good in his own hand, which is as follows:--
♣ J 10 9 8: ♢ J 10 9: ♠ K Q J 10 9.
The point is worth 5; the quinte 15, the quatrième 4, and the tierce 3;
27 altogether. His trios of Jacks and Tens are shut out by the superior
combinations in the elder hand.
Having claimed these 27 points, and their correctness having been
admitted by the elder hand, the dealer proceeds to play a card. If
either player has forgotten to declare anything before he plays, the
count is lost.
_=Sinking.=_ A player is not obliged to declare any combination unless
he wishes to do so, and he may sink a card if he thinks it would be to
his advantage to conceal his hand. Sinking is calling only part of a
combination, as, for instance, calling 51 for his point when he really
has 61; calling a quinte when he has a sixième, or a trio when he has
a quatorze. Sinking is usually resorted to only when the player knows
from his own hand and discards that what he declares is still better
than anything his adversary can hold; but it must be remembered that
the part of the declaration which is sunk in this manner is lost.
_=Irregular Declarations.=_ If either player claims a combination which
he does not hold, and does not remedy the error before he plays a card,
he cannot count anything that deal, losing any other declarations he
may have made which are correct. His adversary then counts everything
in his hand, whether his combinations were inferior or not. He also
counts for what he wins in the tricks.
If the elder hand’s declaration is admitted by the dealer to be good,
it is good, even if the dealer afterward proves to have a better point,
sequence, quatorze or trio. If any combination named by the elder hand
is not actually his best, he cannot amend his declaration after the
dealer has replied to it. This is in order to prevent a player from
getting information to which he is not entitled. If he holds three
Kings and three Tens, for instance, and announces the Tens in order to
find out whether or not his adversary has three Queens or Jacks, and
the dealer says: “Not good,” the three Kings are lost, and the dealer
scores his own trios.
It sometimes happens that in order to keep a good point or sequence,
a player will discard one card of a quatorze originally dealt him; or
one of a trio, of which he afterward draws the fourth. He can score
only the trio, of course; but his adversary, having none of that
denomination either in his hand or discards, knows that four were
possible, and after playing a card he has a right to ask the suit of
the card which was discarded.
_=METHOD OF PLAYING.=_ The elder hand can lead any card he pleases,
announcing the suit at the same time. The dealer is bound to follow
suit, if able, but he is not obliged to win the trick. As there are no
trumps, the higher card, if of the suit led, wins the trick. If the
second player does not follow suit, the leader wins. The winner of one
trick leads for the next, and so on until all twelve tricks are played.
Every time a card is played which is better than a Nine, the leader
counts one for it, adding the number to the total value of his score
as already announced. If the second player wins the trick with any
card better than a Nine he also counts one; but if the trick is won by
the player who led, there is no extra count for winning it. The winner
of the _=last trick=_ counts one for it, in addition to his count for
winning it with a card better than a Nine. If the leader wins it, he
gets the one extra.