RUBICON BÉZIQUE.
Rubicon Bézique bears the same relation to the ordinary game that Railroad Euchre does to Euchre proper. In fact the game might well be called Railroad Bézique, for its chief peculiarity is the rapid accumulation of large scores. The game seems to have originated in France, but is now very popular wherever Bézique is played.
CARDS. Rubicon Bézique is played with four piquet packs of thirty-two cards each; all below the Sevens being deleted from an ordinary pack. The four packs, which should be of the same pattern and colour, are shuffled together and used as one. The cards rank: A 10 K Q J 9 8 7, the ace being the highest, both in cutting and in play.
MARKERS. The game may be kept on a bézique marker, a pull-up cribbage board, or with counters. Markers must be made to score at least 5000 points. When a cribbage board is used, it is usual to count the outside row of pegs as 10 each, the inner row as 100 each, and the game pegs in the centre as 1000 each. If counters are used, there must be for each player; four white, to mark 10’s; one red to mark 50; nine blue to mark 100’s; and four coppers to mark 1000 each. These counters are moved from left to right of the player as the points accrue. In whatever manner the count is kept, it should be distinctly visible to both persons, as playing to the score is very important.
STAKES. Rubicon Bézique is played for so much a hundred points, and in settling up, all fractions of a hundred are disregarded, unless they are necessary to decide the game. Ten cents a hundred is the usual stake; sixpence in England. Games are seldom worth less than one or two thousand points.
PLAYERS. Rubicon Bézique is played by two persons, one of whom is known as the dealer, and the other as the pone. They cut for seats and deal, the player cutting the higher card having first choice, and electing whether or not to deal himself. In cutting, the cards rank as in play, the ace being the highest. If a player exposes more than one card, he must cut again.
DEALING. The cards are thoroughly shuffled, and presented to the pone to be cut. At least five cards must be left in each packet. The dealer then distributes the cards three at a time, first to his adversary and then to himself, for three rounds, so that each player receives nine cards. No trump is turned; but the first marriage declared and scored is the trump suit for that deal. The undealt portion of the pack, called the stock or talon, is slightly spread between the two players, and a little to the left of the dealer. If in spreading the stock any card is found to be exposed, there must be a new deal by the same dealer.
Misdealing. A misdeal does not lose the deal, but in some cases a new deal is at the option of the pone. If the dealer exposes a card belonging to his adversary or to the stock, the pone may demand a new deal; but if either player exposes any of his own cards, the deal stands good. If too many cards are given to either player, and the error is discovered before the dealer plays to the first trick, there must be a new deal. If either player has too few cards, the pone may demand a new deal, or may allow the dealer to supply the deficiency from the top of the stock. If any card is found exposed in the pack, there must be a new deal. If any card faced in the stock is not discovered until the first trick has been played to by the dealer, the exposed card must be turned face down, without disturbing its position. If the pack is found to be imperfect, the deal in which it is discovered is void; but all previous scores or cuts made with that pack stand good.
METHOD OF PLAYING. The pone takes up and examines his nine cards. If he finds himself without King, Queen or Jack of any suit, he immediately shows his hand to the dealer, and marks fifty points for carte blanche. Whether he has carte blanche or not, he begins the play by leading any card he pleases. If the dealer has carte blanche, he must show and score it before playing to the first trick. Players are not obliged to follow suit, nor to trump; but may renounce or trump at pleasure until the stock is exhausted, after which the method of play undergoes a change. Until the first marriage is declared and scored there is no trump suit. If the second player in any trick follows suit, the higher card wins. Trumps win plain suits. If identical cards are played to the same trick, such as two club aces, the leader wins.
The tricks are left face upward on the table until an ace or Ten is played, for tricks not containing either of these cards are of no value. When an ace or Ten is played, the winner of the trick gathers in all the cards that have accumulated, and turns them face down in front of him. These counting cards are called brisques, and if a player neglects to gather the brisques he wins, his adversary may do so when next he wins a trick, whether the trick he wins contains a brisque or not; the fact that there is a brisque on the table is sufficient.
Declaring. The winner of any trick, before leading for the next trick, has the privilege of announcing and scoring any one of certain combinations that he may hold in his hand. After, or in the absence of any such announcement, and before leading for the next trick, he draws one card from the top of the stock, and places it in his hand, without showing or naming it. His adversary then draws the next card, so that each restores the number of cards in his hand to nine. This method of playing, announcing, and drawing is continued until the stock is exhausted.
If a player who has already announced carte blanche finds that the first card he draws from the stock is not a King, Queen or Jack, he shows it to his adversary, and scores another fifty points for another carte blanche. This may be continued until he draws one of those cards. Carte blanche cannot be scored at all unless held before a card is played; that is, it must be dealt to the player originally.
All combinations announced and scored must be left face upward on the table, but the cards still form part of the player’s hand, and may be led or played at any time, although they must not again be taken in hand until the stock is exhausted.
The first marriage announced and scored, no matter by which player, makes the trump suit for that deal; but a player with a marriage on the table is not obliged to announce it if he does not wish to make that suit the trump.
Irregularities in Play. If a player leads out of turn, and his adversary plays to the lead, whether intentionally or otherwise, the trick stands good. If the adversary calls attention to the error, the card led out of turn may be taken back without penalty.
If, after playing to the first trick, one player is found to have more than his right number of cards, the English rules say that the game is to be immediately abandoned, and the adversary of the player in error is to add 1300 points to his score at the time the error is discovered, together with all the points already scored by the player in error; but the latter amount must not exceed 900.
The same penalties are enforced if one player has too many cards and the other too few; but in the latter case the hand is played out, the player not in fault scoring all he can.
If both players have more than their right number of cards, the deal is void. If either has less than his proper number, his adversary having the right number, the deal stands good, and there is no penalty except that the player with the right number of cards wins and scores for the last trick. If both have less than the right number, the deal stands good, and the actual winner of the last trick scores it.
It will be observed that these rules are quite different from the French rules, which have been given in connection with the ordinary game of Bézique. In France, it is always the custom to establish the status quo, if possible, and to assume that the error was quite unintentional. In England, all laws are based on the assumption that your adversary is a rogue, and the penalties are absurdly severe, but we have no authority to change them.
Irregularities in Drawing. If a player has forgotten to take his card from the talon, and has played to the next trick, the English laws compel him to play the remainder of the hand with eight cards; the French laws give his adversary the option of calling the deal void, or allowing the player in error to draw two cards from the stock next time.
If a player draws two cards from the stock, instead of one, he must show the second one to his adversary if he has seen it himself. If it was his adversary’s card, he must show his own card also. If he has not seen it, he may put it back without penalty. If he draws out of turn, he must restore the card improperly drawn, and if it belongs to his adversary, the player in error must show his own card. If both players draw the wrong cards, there is no remedy.
If the loser of any trick draws and looks at two cards from the stock, his adversary may look at both cards of the following draw, and may select either for himself. If he chooses the second card, he need not show it.
If, on account of some undetected irregularity, an odd number of cards remain in the stock, the last card must not be drawn.
OBJECTS OF THE GAME. Each game is complete in one deal, and the score of the loser is deducted from that of the winner. The combinations which may be declared and scored are the same as in Bézique, but owing to the use of four packs of cards double combinations are much more frequent, and triple combinations are not uncommon.
The chief concern of the player must be, first of all, to save himself from a rubicon; that is, either to reach 1000 points, or to score as few points as possible. If he does not reach 1000, his adversary will take whatever he has scored, and add them to his own, besides 1300 in addition for rubicon and brisques. For instance: At the end of the hand A has scored 1200, and B has only 700. B is rubiconed, and his 700 points are added to A’s 1200, together with 1300 more for a rubicon game and brisques; giving A a grand total of 3200 points to nothing. Had B reached 1000, he would have saved his rubicon, and A would have scored the difference only, or 200 points, plus 500 for the game; 700 altogether.
Brisques. The aces and Tens of each suit are of no value unless it is necessary to count them to decide a tie, or to save a rubicon. They are never scored during the play of the hand.
Declarations. The combinations which may be announced and scored during the play of the hand are divided into three classes: A, Marriages and Sequences; B, Béziques; and C, Fours. Only one combination can be scored at a time, and it must be announced and laid on the table immediately after the player holding it has won a trick, and before he draws his card from the talon. If he draws without announcing, it is equivalent to saying he has no declaration to make. Having drawn his card, even if he has not looked at it, he cannot score any declaration until he wins another trick. The various combinations and their values are as follows:
| CLASS A. | |
|---|---|
| King and Queen in any plain suit, Marriage | 20 |
| King and Queen of trumps, Royal Marriage | 40 |
| Five highest cards in a plain suit, Sequence | 150 |
| Five highest cards in trumps, Royal Sequence | 250 |
| CLASS B. | |
| Spade Queen and Diamond Jack, Single Bézique | 40 |
| Two spade Queens and diamond Jacks, Double Bézique | 500 |
| Three spade Queens and diamond Jacks, Triple Bézique | 1500 |
| Four spade Queens and diamond Jacks, Quadruple Bézique | 4500 |
| CLASS C. | |
| Any four Aces | 100 |
| Any four Kings | 80 |
| Any four Queens | 60 |
| Any four Jacks | 40 |
Besides the foregoing, there is the score of fifty points for carte blanche, which may be announced only before the first trick is played to, and the score of fifty points for the winner of the last trick of all.
In class A, the first marriage declared must of course count 40, as it is the trump suit for that deal. In class C, the four court cards may be of different suits, or any two or more of them may be of the same suit.
The rules governing declarations are as follows:—
The player making the declaration must have won the previous trick, and must make his announcement before drawing his card from the stock. When the stock is exhausted, so that no cards remain to be drawn, no announcements can be made.
Only one declaration can be scored at a time, so that a trick must be won for every announcement made, or the combination cannot be scored. This rule does not prevent a player from making two or more announcements at the same time; but he can score only one of them.
A player cannot make a lower declaration with cards which form part of a higher combination already shown in the same class. For instance:—Marriages and sequences belong to the same class. If a sequence has been declared, the player cannot take from it the King and Queen, and score for the marriage; neither can he add a new Queen to the King already used in the sequence, because the higher combination was scored first. The same rule applies to lower and higher béziques. But if the lower combination is first shown and scored—the marriage—the A 10 J may be added afterward, on winning another trick, and the sequence scored. This rule does not apply to cards belonging to combinations in different classes. A Queen used in class A may be used over again in both B and C classes.
Re-forming Combinations. The chief peculiarity in Rubicon Bézique is that combinations which have been laid on the table and scored may be broken up, re-formed, and scored again indefinitely. For instance: A player has declared royal sequence, and scored 250 points for it. He may play away the Ace, breaking up the sequence, and upon winning the trick lay down another Ace, re-forming the sequence, and scoring 250 points again. He might repeat the same process with the Ten, King, Queen and Jack, and in six successive tricks he would score this royal sequence six times, making 1500 points out of it. In actual play it is not necessary to go through the formality of playing away a card from the combination on the table, and then replacing it, for it amounts to the same thing if the new card in the hand is led or played, and the fresh combination claimed.
Marriages, béziques and fours may be broken up and re-formed in the same way. After declaring 100 Aces, the player may lead or play another Ace, and claim another 100 Aces, scoring them when he wins a trick. In this way, eight Aces actually held might score 500 points. In the bézique combinations, a new card simply re-forms the single bézique. In order to score double, triple, or quadruple bézique, all the cards forming the combination must be on the table at one time, but they may be played and scored one after the other, cumulatively. For instance: A player holding quadruple bézique and showing all eight cards at once would score 4500 only; the minor béziques would be lost. If he had time, and could win tricks enough, he might show the single first, scoring 40, then the double, scoring 500, then the triple, scoring 1500, and finally the quadruple, scoring 4500, which would yield him a grand total of 6540 points. He might declare marriage in hearts, and afterward play three more heart Queens, scoring each marriage, and then three heart Kings, scoring three more marriages. These would all be new combinations.
Double Declarations. These are carried forward in the manner already described for the ordinary game. Suppose a player has two spade Kings on the table, and shows double bézique. He of course marks the more valuable score, 500, and simply claims the marriages by saying: “With twenty and twenty to score.” On winning another trick he is not compelled to score the previous announcement if he has any other or better to make. He might have two more Queens, and would announce: “Sixty Queens, with twenty and twenty to score.” If he scores one of the announcements held over, he still carries on the other.
When announcements are carried forward in this manner, it must be remembered that the cards must still be on the table when the time comes to score them. If one of them has been led or played, or the stock is exhausted before the player wins another trick, the score held over is lost.
Time. On account of the great number of combinations possible at Rubicon Bézique, it is very seldom that a player succeeds in scoring everything he holds. He is allowed to count the cards remaining in the talon, provided he does not disturb their order. This count is often important toward the end of the hand. For instance: You know from the cards you hold, and those played, that your adversary must have in his hand the cards that will make a double bézique on the table into a triple bézique, which would give him 1500 points. If, on counting the stock, you find only six cards remain, and you have three certain winning trumps to lead, you can shut out his 1500 by exhausting the stock before he can win a trick.
Irregular Announcements. If a player announces a combination which he does not show; such as fours, when he has only three, which he may easily do by mistaking a Jack for a King, his adversary can compel him not only to take down the score erroneously marked, but to lead or play one of the three Kings. A player may be called upon to lead or play cards from other erroneous declarations in the same manner; but if he has the right card or cards in his hand, he is permitted to amend his error, provided he has not drawn a card from the stock in the meantime.
The Last Nine Tricks. When the stock is exhausted, all announcements are at an end, and the players take back into their hands all the cards upon the table which may remain from the combinations declared in the course of play. The winner of the previous trick then leads any card he pleases, but for the last nine tricks the second player in each must not only follow suit, but must win the trick if he can, either with a superior card or with a trump. Any player failing to follow suit or to win a trick, when able to do so, may be compelled to take back his cards to the point where the error occurred, and to replay the hand from that point. In France he is penalised by counting nothing from that point on, either for brisques or for the last trick.
The winner of the last trick scores fifty points for it immediately.
SCORING. Each deal is a complete game in itself, and the winner is the player who has scored the most points for carte blanche, combinations, and the last trick. The brisques are not counted, unless they are necessary to decide a tie, or save a rubicon.
The value of the game is determined by deducting the lesser score from the higher, and then adding 500 points to the remainder. In this deduction all fractions of a hundred are disregarded. For instance: A’s score is 1830; while B’s is 1260. A wins 1800, less the 1200 scored by B, which leaves 600; to this must be added the 500 points for game, making the total value of A’s game 1100 points.
If the scores are very nearly equal, being within one or two hundred points of each other, the tricks taken in by each player are turned over, and the brisques are counted, each player adding to his score ten points for every brisque he has won. Suppose that after the last trick had been played and scored, A’s total was 1260, and B’s 1140. This is close enough to justify B in demanding a count of the brisques. It is found that A has seven only, while B has twenty-five. This shows B to be the winner of the game, with a total score of 1390 to A’s 1330.
If the difference between the final scores is less than 100 points, after adding the brisques and throwing off the fractions, the player with the higher score adds 100 points for bonus. In the case just given, B’s final score is equal to A’s, after dropping the fractions from both; so he would add 100 for bonus to the 500 for game, and win 600 points altogether.
Rubicons. If the lower score is less than 1000, no matter what the higher score may be, the loser is rubiconed, and all the points he has scored are added to the score of the winner, instead of being deducted. In addition to this, the winner adds a double game, or 1000 points, for the rubicon, and 300 points for all the brisques, no matter who actually won them. For example: A’s score is 920, and B’s 440. It is not necessary to count the brisques to see that A wins and B is rubiconed. A adds B’s 400 to his own 900, making his score 1300, and to this total he adds 1300 for rubicon and brisques, making the value of his game 2600 points altogether.
The loser is not rubiconed if he can bring his total score to 1000 by adding his brisques. Suppose A has 1740 and B 850. The brisques are counted, and it is found that B has eighteen, making his score 1030, and saving his rubicon. A adds his fourteen brisques, making his total 1880, which makes the value of his game 1800, minus B’s 1000, plus 500 for the game, or 1300 altogether.
If B’s brisques did not prove sufficient to save the rubicon, A would count them all. Suppose that in the foregoing case B had taken in only eleven brisques, leaving his total 990. As this does not save the rubicon the game is reckoned as if the brisques had not been counted at all, and A wins 1800, plus B’s 800, plus 1300 for rubicon and brisques; 3900 altogether.
If the player who is rubiconed has scored less than 100 points, the winner takes 100 for bonus, in addition to the 1300 for rubicon and brisques.
When a series of games is played between the same individuals, it is usual to keep the net results on a sheet of paper, setting down the hundreds only, and to settle at the end of the sitting.
Suggestions for Good Play will be found in Binocle.
CHINESE BÉZIQUE is Rubicon Bézique with six packs of cards shuffled together and used as one. The counts run into enormous figures, and 6000 is not an uncommon score for the winner.
In CHOUETTE BÉZIQUE, one of several players agrees to take all bets, and has the choice of deal and seats without cutting. His adversaries may consult together in playing against him. If the chouette player wins, one of his opponents takes the loser’s place; but if he loses, the same player opposes him for the next game. The adversaries usually cut to decide which of them shall play the first game against the chouette player, the highest card having the privilege. If there are four players, two may play against two, each consulting with his partner and sharing his bets.