either player wins the _=odd trick=_ he adds to his score ten points
for _=cards=_, in addition to all other scores. If either player wins
all twelve tricks, which would be the case in the example hand just
given as an illustration, he adds to his score forty points for the
_=capot=_; but this forty points includes the scores for the last trick
and for the odd trick.
A card once laid on the table cannot be taken back, unless the player
has renounced in error. There is no _=revoke=_ in Piquet, and if a
player has one of the suit led he must play it. If he fails to do so,
when the error is discovered the cards must be taken back and replayed.
_=REPIC.=_ If either player is able to reach 30 by successive
declarations, beginning with the point, all of which are admitted by
his adversary to be good, he adds 60 to his score, making it 90 instead
of 30, and this is irrespective of what his adversary may have in minor
or inferior combinations. The important thing to remember in repic is
that declarations always count in regular order, carte blanche taking
precedence of everything; then the point, sequences, and quatorze or
trio. Suppose elder hand to hold the following cards:--
♡ K Q J 10 9; ♣ A K Q; ♢ A Q 9; ♠ Q.
If the quinte to the King is admitted good for the point, it must be
good for the sequence also. That is 20. The four Queens must be good,
as the adversary cannot have any quatorze. This makes the total 34, and
60 added for repic, 94 altogether, to which he will add one for leading
the first card, if it is above a Nine.
Suppose the elder hand had the following cards:--
♡ A K Q J 8; ♣ A K; ♢ A K; ♠ A K 10.
If his point is good, that and his four Aces and Kings will make him
33 altogether; but his sequence is not good, because the dealer holds
five diamonds to the Queen, which comes in order before the score for
quatorze, and so saves the repic. Suppose that with the foregoing cards
the elder hand was told that even his point was not good. He would
count 29 for the 14 Aces, 14 Kings, and the card led. If the dealer had
a sixième in diamonds, and a quinte in clubs, for instance, he would
claim a repic, 96 points, in spite of the 29 announced by the elder
hand; because point and sequence score before quatorze.
Equalities do not save the repic. Take the following hands:--
Elder:--♡ A J 10 9 8; ♣ 10; ♢ 10; ♠ A J 10 9 8.
Dealer:--♡ K Q; ♣ A K Q; ♢ A K Q J 7; ♠ K Q.
The point is equal. The quatrième to the Jack is not good and the four
Tens are not good; so elder hand leads a card, and counts, “One.” The
dealer then claims repic, 95 points, which is good, although the elder
hand had an equal point.
_=PIC.=_ If either player can reach 30 in hand and play combined,
before his adversary scores anything, 30 are added for the pic. Pic can
never be made by the dealer unless the elder hand leads a card smaller
than a Nine; he must make repic if anything. To make pic the elder hand
must reach 30 in the regular order of scoring. Suppose holds these
cards:--
♡ A 9; ♣ A K Q J; ♢ K Q J 10 9; ♠ K.
If the dealer acknowledges the point to be good, everything else in
the hand must be good also. This will give the elder hand 27 before
playing a card; 5 for the point, 15 and 4 for the sequences, and 3 for
the Kings. By leading out the A K and Q, 3 more points are secured, the
dealer having nothing to score, and so the elder hand reaches 30 and
makes the pic, counting 60, and still having the lead. Equalities do
not save pic.
According to the strict rules of the game, a player who is playing for
pic is not allowed to count 30 at all, but must jump from his last
count, 29, to 60, or he loses the pic; but this is seldom or never
insisted on.
_=SCORING.=_ The last card played, the total number of points made by
each player are put down on the score sheet, or marked on a cribbage
board, and if neither player has reached 100 points, the deal passes to
the one who was elder hand on the last deal.
The order of scoring should be carefully observed, in order to
determine which goes out first, and whether or not a player is lurched.
Carte blanche, The Point, Sequence, Quatorze or Trio, Repic, Points for
Leading or Winning, Pic, the Odd Trick, Capot.
If one player reaches 100 before his adversary has reached 50, it is a
_=lurch=_, and counts a double game.
_=Abandoned Hands.=_ If a player throws down his cards, he may still
take them up again, unless he or his adversary have mixed their cards
with the discards, or with the remainder of the talon.
_=SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY.=_ The chief points for the beginner are
good discarding, and taking advantage of tenace positions in the play,
so as to secure the count for cards, which is often important.
_=Elder Hand.=_ In discarding, the pone should consider what there may
be against him. If it is unlikely that he will lose a pic or repic,
he should try for the _=point=_, which very often carries with it the
sequence. It must be remembered that there are only eight cards in
each suit, and by comparing those that you hold with those that your
adversary may hold it is comparatively easy, in the majority of hands,
to estimate the possible scores against you. Next to the point, the
most important thing is the score for _=cards=_. The point will save
pic and repic, but the cards will make the greatest difference in the
score in the long run. Sequences are always valuable, especially those
that are Ace high in the elder hand, because they enable him to win a
succession of tricks in play.
The elder hand should risk a good deal if he has a fair chance to make
a pic or repic, which will often settle the game. If there is any
choice as to what to keep of two nearly equal chances, always preserve
the combination that will be most likely to secure the count for cards.
In _=Leading=_, it is best to begin with the point, unless you know
that you are leading up to tenace, or to high cards that will bring in
a long adverse suit. The piquet player soon learns the importance of
tenace and fourchette, and can sometimes see how things must be managed
for five or six tricks ahead, so as to secure the odd trick. Tenace is
the best and third-best of any suit, such as A Q, while a fourchette
is any two cards within one of each other, such as K J, or Q 10, and
the lead from such combinations should always be avoided. If you have
the odd trick in hand, make it at once, before you risk anything else,
because the only difference between the odd trick and eleven tricks is
the count for each card led in the tricks.
_=The Dealer.=_ The first thing to guard against is a long run of
winning leads from the elder hand, which might make the odd trick, or
even capot. As there are no trumps it is very important for the dealer
to keep guarded Kings and twice-guarded Queens. The principal thing for
the dealer to remember is that if he cannot stop a long suit in the
elder hand, he will have to provide in advance for a certain number of
discards, and these must be so planned that guards will be preserved
in the other suits. He should also get his hand into such condition
that when he does get into the lead, he will not have to lead away
from tenaces or guarded Kings. Careful attention to his adversary’s
declarations, and a comparison of his own hand with his discards will
usually guide the dealer to a correct conclusion as to what to keep and
what to throw away in playing to tricks.
Mathematicians have exhausted their resources on Piquet, but their
conclusions are of little use to the average player. The subject of
discards has been very fully illustrated by examples from actual play,
especially in the _Westminster Papers_, but no one has yet given us any
simple rules like the jeux de règle at Écarté.
PIQUET NORMAND, FOR THREE PLAYERS.
In this form of the game the players cut for seats and deal. The cards
are dealt by twos and threes until each has ten, two cards remaining
for the talon. The dealer may lay out any two cards in exchange for
these, but no other player is allowed to touch them, nor to see the
discards.
The elder hand makes the first declarations. He makes repic and counts
90 if he can reach 20 without playing a card; and he makes pic, 60,
if he can reach 20 in hand and play, under the same conditions as in
the game for two players. The majority of tricks counts 10; if it is a
tie, each counts 5. Capot counts 40 if all the tricks are taken by one
player; but if two take them all between them, they count 20 each.
The game may be played for a pool, first man out to take all; or it may
be agreed that after one has retired the others shall decide it between
them by playing it out at the ordinary two-handed game.
PIQUET VOLEUR, FOR FOUR PLAYERS.
The players cut for partners, the two lowest pairing against the
two highest, and the lowest cut taking the first deal. Partners sit
opposite each other. All the cards are dealt out, two and three at a
time, each receiving eight cards.
The elder hand declares first, but instead of announcing one thing
at a time, and awaiting the reply of his adversaries, he declares
everything, and then plays a card. Suppose the cards are distributed as
follows, Z being the dealer:--
[Illustration:
♠ K Q J 10
♢ J 10 9 8
+-----------+
| Y |
♡ A; ♠ A; ♢ A Q | | ♡ K Q J; ♢ K 7
|A B|
♣ A Q J 10 | | ♣ K 9 8
| Z |
+-----------+
♡ 10 9 8 7
♠ 9 8 7; ♣ 7
]
A announces 41 for his point, sequence of three to the Queen, four
Aces, and says, “I play a club,” which is his lead for the first trick.
If the second player admits all these to be good he says nothing, but
plays a card. In this case, Y would announce four to the King, and
four to the Jack, and would play a spade, having no club. B would
then announce three Kings, which are good on account of his partner’s
having four Aces; but both the sequences are shut out by Y’s better
declarations. The dealer, Z, then declares four to the Ten and three to
the Nine, both those sequences being made good by his partner’s holding
the best sequence at the table.
The first trick played, each person at the table shows what he has
claimed, in order that his adversaries may verify the count. A would
then gather up the first trick, announcing the total score for his
side, which would be 22; 4 for the point, 14 Aces, 3 Kings, and 1 for
the card led. He would then play another club, announcing 22. This his
partner would win but would not count, as he is on the same side that
has already counted for the lead. If the play is followed up it will
be found that A-B make a capot. The adversaries will then score 15 for
their three sequences of four, and one of three.
No point of less than 30 can be announced.
_=Pic and Repic.=_ If one player, or two partners together, reach 20
in counting, without playing, they count 90 for the repic. If they
reach 20 in declarations and play together, they count 60 for the pic.
Carte blanche in the hand of one or other partner may count toward pic
or repic; and if two partners each held carte blanche, they would be
entitled to 90 points for the repic, no matter what the adversaries
held, because carte blanche takes precedence of all other scores.
PIQUET A ÉCRIRE.
This game somewhat resembles Skat in the manner of playing and
settling. Any number from three to seven persons sit around the table;
but only two play, and the losses of each individual are charged to him
on a score sheet ruled off for the purpose. The players may take turns,
each playing two deals, the first with the person on his left, and the
second with the one on his right. Or it may be agreed that the loser in
each deal shall give way to a new player, the winner of the majority
of points in each deal to continue. The game is generally arranged for
a certain number of tours or deals, at the end of which the scores are
balanced and settled for.
RUBICON PIQUET, FOR TWO PLAYERS.
The chief difference between this game and the usual form, Piquet au
cent, is in the manner of declaring. The usual method in England and
America is as follows:--
_=The Point=_ is scored by the player holding the greatest number of
cards in the suit, and the pip value is resorted to only to decide
ties. This is done in order to conceal, if possible, the nature of the
cards held. When the numerical value is asked, only the last figure is
given, “seven,” for instance, if the point is 47.
If the point is good, the elder hand immediately names the suit. If it
is not good, the suit is not named, and the elder hand proceeds to call
his _=sequences=_. It they are good, the suits must be named; the same
with quatorze and trio.
_=Under-calling.=_ If a player holds an inferior sequence, quatorze
or trio, which he knows is better than any his adversary can possibly
hold, he may call it, and afterward score the better combination,
provided he is correct in estimating the inferior one that he called
as _=good against the cards=_. But if the adversary can demonstrate
that the inferior announcement was not actually good against the cards,
and that it was possible for him to hold a better, the score for the
higher combination is lost. For instance: A player holds four Kings and
three Aces, and on glancing over his hand and discards, sees that his
adversary cannot hold any quatorze, so he declares the three Kings,
instead of the four Aces. Suppose he mistook a Nine for a Ten, and
overlooked the fact that his adversary might have had four Tens, the
score for the four Kings would be lost, but the three Aces would be
good if his adversary had discarded a Ten, and did not actually hold
four. In the ordinary game, the higher combination is lost if it is not
called.
In play, every card led, whatever its value, counts one, and winning
the trick counts one also. The last trick counts two, and the capot
forty. Pic and repic are reckoned as in the ordinary game.
_=Scoring.=_ Instead of playing 100 points up, six deals is a game,
each player dealing three times. The lower score is then deducted from
the higher, and 100 points added to the difference to determine the
value of the game, which is usually played for so much a point.
If the result of the six deals is a tie, two more deals must be played.
If they also result in a tie, the game is void.
_=Rubicons.=_ If either or both players fail to reach 100 points in
the six deals, the one having the most is the winner, and adds to his
own score all the points made by the loser, with 100 in addition for
game. For instance: A has 113 scored, and B 80. A wins 113 + 80 + 100 =
293 altogether. Again; A has 88, B has 84. A wins 88 + 84 + 100 = 272
altogether. Again; A has 180, B has 142. A wins the difference in the
scores, 38 + 100 = 138 altogether.
TEXT BOOKS.
Jeux de Cartes, by Jean Boussac.
Académie des Jeux, by Van Tenac.
Académie des Jeux, by Richard.
Règles de tous les Jeux, by Dreyfous.
Bohn’s Handbook of Games.
Piquet, and Rubicon Piquet, by Berkeley.
Laws of Piquet, by “Cavendish.”
_Westminster Papers_, Vols. II. to IX. inclusive. There are excellent
articles on the Laws in Vols. III. and VI., and on discards in Vol. VII.
IMPERIAL, OR PIQUET WITH A TRUMP.
Impérial differs from Piquet in some minor details, although the
leading principle is the same. There are no discards; sequences of
court cards are the only ones that count; tierces are worthless; and a
trump suit is added.
The _=cards=_ rank K Q J A 10 9 8 7; the K Q J A and 7 of trumps are
called honours, and in all sequences the four highest cards in the suit
are the only ones that count.
_=Counters.=_ Each player is supplied with six white and four red
counters, which are passed from left to right as the points accrue.
Each red is worth six white, and when all six white counters have been
passed over, they must be returned, and a red one passed over in their
place. When all the counters, four red and six white, have been passed
over, the game is won.
_=Dealing.=_ Twelve cards are given to each player, two or three at
a time, and the twenty-fifth is turned up for the trump. If this is
an honour, the dealer marks one white counter for it. There are no
discards.
_=Impérials.=_ Certain combinations of cards are known as impérials,
and the player marks one red counter for each of them. The best
impérial is carte blanche, which is sometimes marked as a double
impérial, and worth two reds. A sequence of K Q J A in any suit is an
impérial. An impérial de retourne may be formed in the dealer’s hand if
the turn-up trump completes his sequence or makes four of a kind. An
impérial tombée, or de rencontre, is made when the player who holds the
King and Queen of trumps catches the Jack and Ace from his adversary.
Four Kings, Queens, Jacks, Aces, or Sevens in one hand is an impérial;
but the Eights, Nines and Tens have no value.
_=Declaring.=_ The elder hand announces his point, as in Piquet,
and arrives at its value in the same way, reckoning the Ace for 11,
etc. The dealer replies, “Good,” or “Not good,” as the case may be;
but there are no equalities. If the point is a tie, the elder hand
counts it. The point is worth a _=white=_ counter. The impérials are
then called, each being worth one _=red=_ counter. The sequences are
called first, that in trumps being “good” of course; then the fours
are called, the best being four Kings, and the lowest four Aces. In
plain-suit sequences there are no “equals,” the elder hand counting
ties as an offset to the advantages of the deal.
_=Playing.=_ The elder hand leads a card, and the dealer then declares
and marks any impérials he may have that are good; after which he plays
a card. No impérials can be claimed or scored after the holder has
played a card. The second player in each trick must win the trick if
he can, either with a higher card or with a trump. For each honour in
trumps in the tricks won the player marks a white counter at the end of
the hand. The winner of the odd trick scores as many white counters as
he has tricks in excess of his adversary. If either player makes capot,
(all twelve tricks,) he scores two red counters.
_=Scoring.=_ When one player reaches six white counters and changes
them for a red, his adversary must take down any white counters he may
have scored. For instance: The pone has 2 reds and 4 whites up; the
dealer has 1 red and 5 whites. The pone scores two whites, reaching
six, and advancing his score to 3 reds, which are sometimes called
impérials. The dealer must take down his white counters, losing that
count altogether, and leaving himself 1 red. The only exception to
this is that at the beginning of the hand if both have impérials
combinations in hand, neither side takes down its white counters.
In _=Counting out=_ the following order of precedence must be observed:
The turn-up trump, (if it is an honour). The Point. Impérial in hand,
sequences first. Impérial de retourne. Impérial tombée. Honours in
tricks. Odd tricks.
CASSINO.
This is a very old and always popular game, which has lately been much
improved by the introduction of the variations known as Royal and Spade
Cassino, the latter especially being a very lively game. Like Euchre,
Cassino is eminently respectable, and is one of the few games of cards
that are unhesitatingly admitted to the domestic circle.
_=Cards.=_ Cassino is played with a full pack of fifty-two cards, which
have no rank in play, their pip or face value being the only element of
importance. In cutting for positions at the table, or for partners in
the four-handed game, the Ace is the lowest card, the others ranking
upward to the King in the order of their sequence.
_=Markers.=_ When a certain number of points is agreed on as a game,
the score may be kept with counters, on a sheet of paper, or on a
cribbage board. If each hand is a game in itself, it is settled for
immediately, either in counters or in money.
_=Players.=_ Any number from two to four may play, each for himself, or
four may play two against two, partners sitting opposite each other.
The players on the dealer’s right and left are known as the pone, and
the eldest hand respectively.
_=Cutting.=_ The players draw from an outspread pack for positions at
the table, the lowest card having the choice and dealing the first
hand. If the first cut does not decide, those tying must cut again. If
a player exposes more than one card he must cut again. The ace is low.
_=Stakes.=_ Cassino may be played for so much a game, or so much a
point; and it may be agreed that the game shall be a certain number of
points, or shall be complete in one deal, or that the player making
the majority of points on each deal shall score one, and the one first
making a certain number in this manner, such as five, shall be the
winner. If points are played for, the lower score is usually deducted
from the higher, and the difference is the value of the game. It is
sometimes agreed that if the winner has twice as many points as his
adversary, he shall be paid for a double game.
_=Dealing.=_ After the cards have been properly shuffled they must be
presented to the pone to be cut, and he must leave at least four in
each packet. Beginning on his left, the dealer distributes four cards
to each player in two rounds of two at a time, giving two to the table
just before helping himself in each round. No trump is turned, and the
remainder of the pack is left face downward on the dealer’s left. The
four cards dealt to the table are then turned face up, and the play
begins. After the four cards given to each person have all been played,
the dealer takes up the remainder of the pack, and without any further
shuffling or cutting, deals four more cards to each player, two at
a time, but gives none to the table. These four having been played,
four more are dealt in the same manner, and so on, until the pack is
exhausted, after which the deal passes to the left in regular rotation.
_=Irregularities in the Deal.=_ If the pack is proved to be imperfect,
or if a card is found faced in the pack there must be a fresh deal by
the same dealer. If a player deals out of turn, he must be stopped
before the cards on the table are turned face upward.
A misdeal loses the deal. It is a misdeal if the pack has not been cut,
or if the cards are shuffled after the pack has been properly cut; or
if the dealer deals a card incorrectly, and fails to remedy it before
dealing to the next player; or if he deals too many or too few cards to
any player or to the table.
If a card is exposed during the deal, an adversary may claim a fresh
deal. If, after the cards on the table have been faced, a card is
exposed by the dealer, or is found faced in the pack, the player to
whom it would be dealt may reject it, and it must then be placed in
the middle of the stock, and he must be given the top card. If a card
is exposed in the last round, the dealer must take it, and must allow
the player to whom it would have been dealt to draw a card from the
dealer’s hand, face downward. If he draws the exposed card, he must
keep it.
If the dealer gives any player an incorrect number of cards in any
round after the first, and does not detect and correct the error before
he deals to the next player, the dealer cannot count anything that
hand. The number of cards in each hand must be restored to four, either
by drawing from them, face down, or adding from the stock. If any
player lifts his cards before the dealer has helped all the players,
including himself, a misdeal cannot be claimed.
_=Objects of the Game.=_ The object in Cassino is to secure certain
cards and combinations of cards which count toward game. These are as
follows:--
_Points._
The majority of _=Cards=_ taken in. 3
The majority of _=Spades=_ taken in. 1
The Ten of diamonds, _=Big Cassino=_. 2
The deuce of spades, _=Little Cassino=_. 1
The _=Ace=_ of any suit. 1
A _=Sweep=_ of all the cards on the table. 1
The manner in which these points are secured will become apparent from
the description of the method of playing the hands.