The combinations and their values are as follows:—
| CLASS A | |
|---|---|
| King and Queen of any plain suit, Marriage | 20 |
| King and Queen of trumps, Royal Marriage | 40 |
| Sequence of five highest trumps, Sequence | 250 |
| CLASS B. | |
| Spade Queen and diamond Jack, Bézique | 40 |
| Two spade Queens and diamond Jacks, Double Bézique | 500 |
| CLASS C. | |
| Any four Aces | 100 |
| Any four Kings | 80 |
| Any four Queens | 60 |
| Any four Jacks | 40 |
The four court cards in class C may be all of different suits, or any two of them may be of the same suit.
A great many misunderstandings arise with respect to the manner and order of making declarations, most of which may be avoided by remembering the following rules:
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 there is no card to be drawn, no announcement 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 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 one already made in the same class. For instance: Marriages and sequences belong to the same class. If the sequence has been declared, a player cannot take from it the King and Queen and score a marriage; neither can he add a new Queen to the King already in the sequence, and announce a marriage; because the higher combination was scored first. But if the marriage is first announced, the A 10 J may be added and the sequence scored, after winning another trick.
Cards once used in combination cannot again be used in combinations of equal value of the same class. For instance: Four Kings have been declared, and one of them afterward used in the course of play. The player cannot add a new King to the three remaining, and announce four Kings again. A marriage in spades has been declared, and the King got rid of in play. A new King of spades will not make another marriage with the old Queen. A bézique has been scored, and the Jack got rid of in play; a new Jack of diamonds will not make another bézique with the old Queen.
Some judgment is necessary in making announcements, the question of time being often important. Suppose hearts are trumps, and the winner of the trick holds double bézique, sixty Queens, and a royal marriage:—
