This form of the game for two players differs from the others only in the number of cards dealt to each player, which is seven. Two are laid out for the crib, and five kept for playing. There being six cards in each hand, with the starter, the counting combinations sometimes run into high figures, and it is therefore usual to play the game 121 or even 181 points up.
There are no authoritative LAWS for Cribbage, but the foregoing descriptions contain all the regulations in force at the best clubs.
TEXT BOOKS.
- The Cribbage Player’s Handbook, by Walker.
- Bézique and Cribbage, by Berkeley.
- Pocket Guide to Cribbage, by “Cavendish.”
- Bohn’s Handbook of Games.
- Cribbage, by Rawdon Crawley.
- Dick’s Handbook of Cribbage.
PIQUET.
Piquet is supposed to have been introduced during the reign of Charles VII., and was designed as a motif for a ballet of living cards which was given in the palace of Chinon. Of the etymology of the word piquet, little or nothing is known, but the game itself is one of those perennials that have survived much more pretentious rivals, and, thanks to its intrinsic merits, it has never since its invention ceased to be more or less à la mode.
There are several varieties of Piquet, but the straightforward game for two players, sometimes called Piquet au Cent, or 100 points up, is the most common and popular, and will be first described.
CARDS. Piquet is played with a pack of thirty-two cards, all below the Seven being deleted. The cards rank: A K Q J 10 9 8 7, the Ace being the highest both in cutting and in play. There is no trump in Piquet, and all suits are equal in value. Two packs are sometimes used, one by each player in his proper turn to deal.
The cards have a certain pip-counting value, the Ace being reckoned for 11, other court cards for 10 each, and the 7 8 9 10 for their face value.