Cards. Sixty-six is played with a pack of twenty-four cards, all below the Nine being deleted. The cards rank, A 10 K Q J 9; the Ace being the highest, both in cutting and in play.
Markers. The game may be kept with the small cards in the unused portion of the pack, or with a whist marker or counters. Anything that will score up to seven points will do.
Players. The regular game 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 highest cut having the choice.
Stakes. Sixty-six is played for so much a game, or for so much a point, the loser’s score being deducted from the winner’s. If the loser has not scored at all, it is usually counted a double game.
Dealing. The cards having been shuffled and presented to the pone to be cut, the dealer gives six cards to each player, three at a time, dealing first to his adversary. There are several ways of making the trump, one of which should be agreed upon before play begins. One way is for the pone to draw a card from the top, the middle, or the bottom of the talon, after the dealer has given each player his six cards. Another way is for the dealer to turn up the seventh card, after dealing the first round of three to each player. Another, and the one generally adopted in America, is for the dealer to turn up the thirteenth card for the trump, after giving six cards to each player. The trump card is left face upward on the table, and is usually placed under the remainder of the pack, which is slightly spread, face down, for the players to draw from.
The general rules for irregularities in the deal are the same as in Binocle. A misdeal does not lose the deal.
Objects of the Game. The object of the game, as its name implies, is to count sixty-six. If a player can get sixty-six before his adversary, he counts one point toward game. If he gets sixty-six before his opponent gets thirty-three, which is called schneider, he counts two. If he gets sixty-six before his adversary wins a trick, which is called schwartz, he counts three. The player first making seven points in this manner wins the game.
A player may reach sixty-six by winning tricks containing certain counting cards; by holding and announcing marriages, which are the King and Queen of any suit; and by winning the last trick.
The various counts for these are as follows:—