PIQUET.
At one time Piquet was one of the most fashionable of our card games, though latterly, perhaps owing to its being rather difficult to learn, it has not been quite so popular. It is played by two persons with thirty-two cards, all the twos, threes, fours, fives, and sixes being dispensed with; the remaining cards possessing the same value as at Whist. In each game the number of points is 101.
Before describing the game it will be most advisable to give the meaning of the technical terms employed.
Talon or Stock.—The eight remaining cards after twelve are dealt to each person.
Repique is when one of the players counts thirty points in hand before his adversary has or can count one; when, instead of reckoning thirty, he reckons ninety, and counts above ninety as many points as he would above thirty.
Pique is when the elder hand counts thirty in hand and play before the adversary counts one, in which case, instead of thirty, the hand reckons for sixty, to which are added as many points as may be reckoned above thirty.
Capot.—When either party makes every trick, which counts for forty points.
Cards.—The majority of the tricks, reckoned for ten points.
Carte Blanche.—Not having a pictured card in hand, reckoned for ten points, and takes precedence of everything else.
Quatorze.—The four aces, kings, queens, knaves, or tens. Each quatorze reckons for fourteen points.
Threes of Aces, &c., down to tens, reckon for three points.
Point.—The greatest number of pips on cards of the same suit, reckoned thus: The ace for eleven, the court cards for ten, nines for nine, &c., and count for as many points as cards.
Tierce.—Three successive cards of the same suit, reckoned for three points. There are six kinds of tierces, viz., ace, king, queen, called a tierce major, down to nine, eight, seven, a tierce minor.
Quart.—Four successive cards of the same suit, reckoned for four points. There are five kinds of quarts: ace, king, queen, knave, called quart major, down to ten, nine, eight, seven, a quart minor.
Quint.—Five successive cards of the same suit, reckoned for fifteen points. There are four kinds of quints: ace, king, queen, knave, ten, called quint major, down to knave, ten, nine, eight, seven, a quint minor.
Sixième.—Six successive cards of the same suit, reckoned for sixteen points. There are three kinds of sixièmes: ace, king, queen, knave, ten, nine, a sixième major, down to queen, knave, ten, nine, eight, seven, a sixième minor.
Septième.—Seven successive cards of a suit, reckoned for seventeen points. There are two kinds, viz., from the ace to the eight inclusive, a septième major, and from the king to the seven inclusive, a septième minor.
Huitième.—Eight successive cards of the same suit, reckoned for eighteen points.
The first thing, however, to be noticed is Have either of the players carte-blanche? Should the eldest hand have it, he must tell the dealer to discount for it, and show his cards. Should the younger hand have it, he must wait until the elder has discarded, then show his hand also.
The player who has carte blanche not only counts ten towards the pique, or repique, but prevents his opponent having either.
The dealer has the option of discarding or not as he feels inclined, but should he do so he must take in first any that may be left by the elder hand, and after that his own three which are at the bottom of the stock. The cards that may be left he can look at; but in that case the elder hand may do the same.
It is wiser, therefore, in some instances for the dealer not to look at the cards he leaves, because it will be more to his advantage that the cards should not be seen by his opponent. If the dealer should happen to mix up with his own discard any of the cards left by him, the elder hand can claim to see all, as soon as he has intimated what suit he means to lead. If, however, the elder hand should not lead the suit he named, the dealer can insist upon his leading any suit he pleases.
In the game of Piquet the value of the cards depends to a very great extent upon the various combinations that are made. The learner must, therefore, become thoroughly acquainted with these combinations, otherwise he might make the mistake in discarding of simply throwing out such cards as were of the least numerical value, which really would be a loss to him. There are no trumps in Piquet, therefore each trick is won by the highest card of the suit that is led.
In laying out try to secure a quatorze. Should neither player have four aces, quatorze kings annul queens, and, by the same rule, in the adversary's hand queens annul knaves. If you have four aces, you may reckon also any inferior quatorze, as of tens, and your opponent cannot reckon four kings, though he should hold them. In the same way, you can count three aces, and inferior threes down to tens, while your opponent cannot count his three kings.
The player who has the greatest number of cards in a suit has the point; but when both players have an equal number of cards in the same or different suits, the point is then won by the player who has the greatest number of pips, counting the ace as eleven and the court cards as ten each. The point being chosen, the eldest hand announces what it is, asking at the same time if it is good; if his adversary has more he replies "it is not good," if he has just as many he answers "it is equal," but if he has not so many he answers "it is good." The player who has the best counts as many for it as he has cards which compose it, and whoever has the point counts it first, be he elder or younger hand, points being equal; or the two players having equal tierces, quints, quarts, &c., neither can count.
The points, tierces, quarts, quints, &c., must be shown on the table, that their value may be reckoned; quatorzes, threes of aces, and kings need not be shown.
In reckoning after the carte-blanche comes the point, next the sequences, and then the quatorzes, or threes of aces, kings, &c. The cards are then played, each card, excepting a nine or an inferior one, counting one.
The elder hand having played the first card, the dealer before answering the card must count his own game, point, sequence, quatorze, or carte-blanche, if he has it, and, after reckoning them altogether, he takes the first trick if he can with the same suit; if he cannot do so his opponent has the trick.
When the tricks are equal they do not count. The winner of the last trick counts two.
The three chances in Piquet are the repique, pique, and capot, the whole of which are sometimes made in one deal. The capot is won by the player who wins all tricks adding ten instead of forty to his score.
A pique is gained as follows:—Supposing the elder hand to have a quint to an ace, which being a quint-major is as good as a point, it is therefore good also as a sequence, and counts twenty; suppose also that he should have three aces, which must be good, because he has a quint-major, that is, one of each of the cards that constitute a quatorze, that makes him twenty-three. In playing the cards, then, his quint-major and the two additional aces must also count one each, making in all thirty, upon which the player, instead of saying in his play "twenty-nine, thirty," says "twenty-nine, sixty."
Now for the repique. Supposing the elder hand to have the same point, good as above, and four aces as well, instead of three, he counts in his hand, without playing a card, first, five for his point, fifteen for his quint-major, and fourteen for his four aces—that is to say, thirty-four in hand, which is ninety-four in fact, the game in one hand.