The order of scoring should be carefully observed, in order to determine which goes out first, and whether or not a player is lurched. Carte blanche, The Point, Sequence, Quatorze or Trio, Repic, Points for Leading or Winning, Pic, the Odd Trick, Capot.
If one player reaches 100 before his adversary has reached 50, it is a lurch, and counts a double game.
Abandoned Hands. If a player throws down his cards, he may still take them up again, unless he or his adversary have mixed their cards with the discards, or with the remainder of the talon.
SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PLAY. The chief points for the beginner are good discarding, and taking advantage of tenace positions in the play, so as to secure the count for cards, which is often important.
Elder Hand. In discarding, the pone should consider what there may be against him. If it is unlikely that he will lose a pic or repic, he should try for the point, which very often carries with it the sequence. It must be remembered that there are only eight cards in each suit, and by comparing those that you hold with those that your adversary may hold it is comparatively easy, in the majority of hands, to estimate the possible scores against you. Next to the point, the most important thing is the score for cards. The point will save pic and repic, but the cards will make the greatest difference in the score in the long run. Sequences are always valuable, especially those that are Ace high in the elder hand, because they enable him to win a succession of tricks in play.
The elder hand should risk a good deal if he has a fair chance to make a pic or repic, which will often settle the game. If there is any choice as to what to keep of two nearly equal chances, always preserve the combination that will be most likely to secure the count for cards.
In Leading, it is best to begin with the point, unless you know that you are leading up to tenace, or to high cards that will bring in a long adverse suit. The piquet player soon learns the importance of tenace and fourchette, and can sometimes see how things must be managed for five or six tricks ahead, so as to secure the odd trick. Tenace is the best and third-best of any suit, such as A Q, while a fourchette is any two cards within one of each other, such as K J, or Q 10, and the lead from such combinations should always be avoided. If you have the odd trick in hand, make it at once, before you risk anything else, because the only difference between the odd trick and eleven tricks is the count for each card led in the tricks.
The Dealer. The first thing to guard against is a long run of winning leads from the elder hand, which might make the odd trick, or even capot. As there are no trumps it is very important for the dealer to keep guarded Kings and twice-guarded Queens. The principal thing for the dealer to remember is that if he cannot stop a long suit in the elder hand, he will have to provide in advance for a certain number of discards, and these must be so planned that guards will be preserved in the other suits. He should also get his hand into such condition that when he does get into the lead, he will not have to lead away from tenaces or guarded Kings. Careful attention to his adversary’s declarations, and a comparison of his own hand with his discards will usually guide the dealer to a correct conclusion as to what to keep and what to throw away in playing to tricks.
Mathematicians have exhausted their resources on Piquet, but their conclusions are of little use to the average player. The subject of discards has been very fully illustrated by examples from actual play, especially in the Westminster Papers, but no one has yet given us any simple rules like the jeux de règle at Écarté.