He cannot lay all these cards down at once, and claim 600 points. Neither can he lay down four Queens and two Jacks, and score 560; nor four Queens and a King and score 100. He may announce them if he chooses to expose his hand in that manner, but he can score only one combination, and must win a separate trick to score each of the others. It would be better for him to select some one of the combinations, and declare it, waiting until he won another trick to declare the next one. A beginner would be apt to declare the highest count first, 500 for the double bézique; but under the rule which prevents a player from making a declaration which forms part of a higher one of the same class already made, he would lose the 40 points for the single bézique. It would be better to declare the single bézique first, scoring 40 points for it, and after winning another trick to show the other bézique, scoring 500 points more for the double combination. A player is not allowed to score 40 for the second bézique, and then 500 for the two combined; because if new announcements are made in the same class, at least one new card must be added from the player’s hand when the announcement is made, even if it is not scored until later.
Double Declarations. It frequently happens that a player is forced to make two declarations at the same time, although he can score only one of them. For instance: A player has announced and shown four Kings, one of them being the King of spades. On winning another trick he shows and scores bézique. One of the bézique cards forms a marriage with the spade King, and as the combinations belong to different classes, both may be scored, although the same card is used in each; but the player cannot score the second combination until he wins another trick. Under such circumstances it is usual to declare both combinations, scoring the more valuable, and repeating the one left over until an opportunity arises to score it. In this case the player would say: “Forty for bézique, and twenty to score.” If he lost the next trick he would continue to repeat at every trick: “Twenty to score,” until he won a trick.
A player having a score in abeyance in this manner is not obliged to score it if he has anything else to announce. A player with twenty to score might pick up the sequence in trumps before he won another trick, and he would be very foolish to lose the chance to score 250 for the sake of the 20 already announced. If he had time, he would probably declare: “Royal Marriage, forty, and twenty to score.” On winning another trick he would add the A 10 J of trumps, and announce, “Two-fifty in trumps, and twenty to score,” still carrying on the small score for a future opportunity.
A player may lay down and score eighty Kings, and afterward sixty Queens, the remaining Kings forming marriages. In such a case he would score the sixty points first, and declare the two or three marriages remaining. In the same manner he may have announced four Kings, and after playing away two of them, leaving two Kings of spades, he may declare double bézique, and claim the two marriages “to score.” In all such cases it must be remembered that the cards declared must still be on the table when the time comes to score them. If, in the case just given, one of the cards forming either of the marriages was got rid of in the course of play, that marriage could not afterward be scored, although it had been properly announced. If the stock is exhausted before the player with a score in abeyance can win another trick, the score is lost.
It is often very important for a player to know how much time he has to score. When the talon is spread it is comparatively easy to judge how many more tricks remain to be played. The English laws allow a player to count the stock, the French do not. A trick once turned and quitted cannot again be seen, and the players are not allowed to count the number of tricks they have won.
The last card of the stock is taken by the player winning the trick, and the turn-up trump goes to his adversary.
The Last Eight Tricks. When the stock is exhausted, the players take back into their hands all the cards remaining of the combinations which have been laid on the table. The winner of the previous trick then leads any card he pleases, but his adversary must now not only follow suit, but must win the trick if he can, either with a superior card of the same suit, or with a trump. The same rule applies to all the remaining tricks. Brisques still count for the winner of the trick containing them, and should be scored as soon as made. The winner of the last trick of all scores ten points for it immediately, in addition to any brisques that it may contain.
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 a player has too many cards after playing to the first trick, his adversary may either claim a fresh deal or may compel him to play without drawing from the talon, until the number of cards in his hand is reduced to eight; the player with too many cards not being allowed to make any announcements until he has his right number of cards. If a player has too few cards, his adversary may either claim a fresh deal, or may allow him to make good the deficiency by drawing from the stock.