PENCHANT.

Penchant is a complicated form of Cinq-cents and Bézique, played with a single pack of thirty-two cards, which rank as at Piquet; A K Q J 10 9 8 7, the ace being highest both in cutting and in play.

Cutting. The higher cut has the choice of seats, and the lower cut deals the first hand.

Dealing. After the cards have been cut by the pone the dealer gives one card to his adversary, then one to the stock, and then one to himself, all face down. Two more are then given to the stock, one to the pone, two to the stock again, and one to the dealer. This is continued, giving two cards to the stock between the ones given to each player, until the last round, when only one card is dealt to the stock. This will result in each player receiving six cards, and twenty being left in the centre of the table for the talon. No trump is turned. Very few players trouble themselves with this method of dealing, preferring to deal three cards to each player alternately, leaving the remaining twenty for the stock.

Playing. All the regulations for leading, following suit, drawing from the talon, etc., are the same as in Bézique, but the declarations and their values are quite different.

Brisques. There are twelve brisque cards, the Seven of each suit being added to the usual Aces and Tens. The brisques are not scored as taken in, except in the last six tricks. At the end of the hand all the brisques are counted, whether already scored in the last six tricks or not, and the player having more than six counts ten points for each above six. If each has six, neither scores. By this method, a player may make and score several brisques in the last six tricks, all of which he will reckon over again in the total count at the end.

Declarations. The winner of any trick, previous to the exhaustion of the stock, may announce and lay upon the table any one of ten different combinations, which are divided into three classes. These are as follows, with the number of points he is entitled to score for each:

CLASS A. DIFFERENT SUITS.
Any four of a kind, such as four Tens,100
Any three of a kind, such as three Queens,30
Any pair, such as two Nines,20
CLASS B. THE SAME SUIT.
Any sequence of five, containing K Q J,250
Any sequence of four, containing K Q J,40
Any sequence of K Q J,30
King and Queen of any suit,20
Queen and Jack of any suit,20
Any flush of five cards, containing K Q J,50
CLASS C. PENCHANTS.
Any Queen and Jack of different suits,10

The sequences and flushes in class B must all be of the same suit; penchant cards must be of different suits.

If the winner of any trick has no declaration to make, he signifies it by drawing the top card from the stock. His adversary, before drawing his card from the stock, may then declare a penchant, if he has one; but no other combination can be declared by the player who does not win the trick. If the winner of the trick makes any declaration, the loser cannot declare.

The Jack of the first penchant declared makes the trump suit for that deal, no matter which player announces it. Trumps do not increase the value of any combination, and are only useful to win plain-suit tricks.

All declarations are scored immediately, either on a marker or with counters. It will be observed that with the exception of sequences of five cards, fours, and penchants, the count is ten points for each card in the combination. Only one declaration can be made at a time.

Any card laid upon the table for one declaration can be used again in future declarations, provided the player making the new announcement adds at least one fresh card from his hand. A player having a marriage and a penchant on the table cannot afterward score for the pair of Queens; but if he adds a Queen from his hand he can score the triplet.

Pairs, triplets and fours are divided into two classes, the major being formed of court cards; the minor of cards below the Jack. Minor combinations cannot be scored if the adversary has upon the table cards which form a major combination of the same or greater value in the same class; that is, in class A. For instance: If your adversary has two Queens on the table, you cannot announce any pair below Jacks. His Queens need not have been announced as a pair; they may be parts of a marriage and a penchant. But if you have on the table a pair as good as his, you can score minor pairs. For instance: He has two Kings on the table, and you have two Aces. Your Aces cancel his Kings, and you can score any minor pair; but he can not. If you have a minor triplet to declare, such as three Eights, no major pair of his will bar it, because your triplet counts more than his pair. No minor combination on his side will bar you; it must be one of court cards, and it must be better than any that you have laid on the table yourself.

The Last Six Tricks. After the stock is exhausted, the second player must follow suit if able, and must win the trick if he can. As already explained, brisques won in the last six tricks are scored as they are taken in, and after the last card is played all the brisques are re-counted, the player holding more than six scoring ten points for each above that number. There is no score for winning the last trick.

Four deals is a game. At the end of the fourth deal the lower score is deducted from the higher, and the difference is the value of the game in points. If the lesser score is not at least 400 points, the winner doubles the difference in his favour.

The only text-book on this game introduces a great many technical terms which have no meaning to the ordinary card-player, and which have therefore been omitted from this description.

Suggestions for Good Play will be found in Binocle.