If a combination, duly scored, is broken up, one
or more cards must be substituted, either from the cards upon the table or from the hand of the player, to entitle him to a fresh score. There is an apparent exception to this rule in the fact that, if a player has declared two independent marriages in the same suit, and all four cards are on the table simultaneously, he may make two more declarations of marriage with the same cards. In truth, however, this merely follows the rule. King 1 (already "married" to queen 1) may again be married to queen 2; and king 2 (already married to queen 2) to queen 1 in like manner.
A player who has two or more declarations to score may elect which he will score first, the other remaining in abeyance; e.g. a player having declared Four Kings, including the king of spades, and subsequently declaring Bézique (the king of spades still remaining on the table) would ipso facto become entitled to score a Marriage, royal or ordinary, as the case might be. We will suppose the former. In such a case, he would say, "I score forty, and forty for marriage to score." This declaration should be repeated, by way of reminder, after each trick, till actually scored. If, in the meantime, the player becomes entitled to score some other combination, he may, on winning a trick, score the latter in preference to the one previously declared, still keeping this in reserve. The mere fact of having declared a given combination "to score" does not preserve the right to score it, if in the meantime the declarant either plays one of the cards composing it or makes use of them to score some higher declaration of the same class.
The last nine tricks are played like the last eight
in the ordinary game; but the winner of the last trick, instead of 10, scores 50.
How the Score is dealt with.
The game is complete in one deal, and is won by the player who scores most points, according to the foregoing table, exclusive of brisques. These latter are only taken into account where the scores are otherwise equal. If, after the addition of the brisques, the scores are still equal, the game is drawn.
There is one other case in which the brisques are reckoned. The score of 1000 points is known as the "Rubicon," and a player not reaching this score is "rubiconed." In this case, also, each player adds in his brisques; and if the score of the loser is thereby brought up to 1000, he "saves the rubicon."
Assuming that the rubicon is saved, the score of the loser is deducted from that of the winner, fractions of a hundred being disregarded in both cases. To the difference are added 500 points for game, and the total is the value of the game, the stakes being usually so much per hundred points. If it happen that the difference between the two scores is less than 100, it is reckoned at that figure, making, with the 500 for game, 600. Thus, if the respective scores are, A, 1510; B, 1240; A wins 1500 - 1200 + 500 = 800. If A's score were 1550, and B's 1520, A would win 100 + 500 = 600.
If B is rubiconed, the value of the game is computed after a different method. The points made by him (still disregarding fractions of a hundred) instead of being subtracted from, are added to the