POLIGNAC. QUATRE-VALETS, OR FOUR JACKS.
Cards and Players. When Polignac is played by four persons, a Piquet pack is used, and eight cards are dealt to each player, 3-2-3 at a time. When five play, the two black Sevens are deleted, and six cards are given to each player. When six play, each receives five cards. When seven play, the dealer takes no cards. In France, the cards usually rank as in Écarté; K Q J A 10 9 8 7; but in England and America it is more usual to preserve the order in Piquet, A K Q J 10 9 8 7. There is no trump suit. All the preliminaries are settled as at Hearts or Slobberhannes.
Counters. Each player is provided with ten or twenty counters, as may be agreed upon, and the player first losing his counters loses the game, and pays to each of the others any stake that may have been previously agreed upon, usually a counter for each point they have still to go when he is decavé.
Objects of the Game. The object of the game is to avoid winning any trick containing a Jack, and especially the Jack of spades, which is called Polignac. The moment any player wins a trick containing a Jack, he pays one counter into the pool. If he takes in Polignac, he pays two counters. The eldest hand begins by leading any card he pleases, and the others must follow suit if they can. The highest card played, if of the suit led, wins the trick, and the winner leads for the next trick. If a player has none of the suit led he may discard anything he pleases.
The game is sometimes varied by adding a general, or capot. Any player who thinks he can win all the tricks announces capot before the first card is led. If he is successful he loses nothing; but each of the others must pay five counters into the pool, one for each Jack, and one extra for Polignac. If the capot player fails to win every trick, each player pays for whatever jacks he has taken in.