The elder hand having finished his declarations, and announced their total value in points, leads any card he pleases. If this card is a Ten or better, he claims one point for leading it, even if he does not win the trick, and he adds this point to his score.
An illustration will probably make the foregoing processes clearer. The elder hand, after the draw, holds these cards:—
| ♡ A K Q J: | ♣ A K Q: | ♢ A K Q 7: | ♠ A. |
He announces: “Forty-one.” “Not good.” “Quatrième to the Ace.” “Not good.” “Quatorze Aces,” which he knows is good; and which admits of his counting his triplets of Kings and Queens. These are worth collectively 20 points, and on leading one of his Aces he announces “Twenty-one.”
The dealer, before playing a card, proceeds to claim the count for the combinations which are good in his own hand, which is as follows:—
| ♣ J 10 9 8: | ♢ J 10 9: | ♠ K Q J 10 9. |
The point is worth 5; the quinte 15, the quatrième 4, and the tierce 3; 27 altogether. His trios of Jacks and Tens are shut out by the superior combinations in the elder hand.
Having claimed these 27 points, and their correctness having been admitted by the elder hand, the dealer proceeds to play a card. If either player has forgotten to declare anything before he plays, the count is lost.
Sinking. A player is not obliged to declare any combination unless he wishes to do so, and he may sink a card if he thinks it would be to his advantage to conceal his hand. Sinking is calling only part of a combination, as, for instance, calling 51 for his point when he really has 61; calling a quinte when he has a sixième, or a trio when he has a quatorze. Sinking is usually resorted to only when the player knows from his own hand and discards that what he declares is still better than anything his adversary can hold; but it must be remembered that the part of the declaration which is sunk in this manner is lost.
Irregular Declarations. If either player claims a combination which he does not hold, and does not remedy the error before he plays a card, he cannot count anything that deal, losing any other declarations he may have made which are correct. His adversary then counts everything in his hand, whether his combinations were inferior or not. He also counts for what he wins in the tricks.