Games - Piquet

	Games - Piquet

Piquet is a card game for two players. It is considered by many to be one of the best two player card games. Pronounced "pee-kay" in France, it is usually pronounced "picket" in English speaking countries.

History

Piquet is one of the oldest card games still being played. It originated over 500 years ago, with a written reference dating back to at least 1534, in Gargantua and Pantagruel by Rabelais.

Rules

Piquet is played with a 32 card deck. Start with a standard 52 card deck and remove all of the 2's through the 6's. This leaves all of the 7's through the 10's, the face cards, and the aces.

Each game consists of a partie of six deals (partie meaning part in French). The player scoring the most points wins (see the scoring section for further details).

The Cut

The player who draws the highest card on the initial cut may choose to deal the first hand. It is preferable to deal first so as not to deal the last hand. Dealing puts a player at a disadvantage.

The Deal

Cards are dealt 12 to each player, with the remaining eight forming the talon, which is placed face-down between the players. The talon may be split by the dealer into two piles of five and three cards, respectively.

The dealer is referred to as the Younger hand and the non-dealer, the Elder hand.

Carte Blanche

After the deal, players sort their cards in their hands. If a player has no face cards in their hand, then they may declare Carte Blanche, which is worth 10 points. This done by quickly showing their hand to the opponent while saying "Carte Blanche".

A hand of this type is fairly rare, and often scores poorly, so it is usually advantageous to declare it, despite the tactical disadvantage of giving information to the opponent.

Carte Blanche must be declared prior to exchanging cards. Only one player may declare Carte Blanche. The Elder hand exchanges their cards first, so they have the advantage here. The Younger hand must wait until the Elder exchanges their cards. If the Elder has not declared Carte Blanche, then the younger may.

Exchanging Cards

The goal of exchanging cards is to improve your hand before the declaration and the play.

The Elder hand exchanges first. This is done by taking one to five cards from the hand and placing them face down. An equal number is then drawn from the talon. The player must state how many cards they intend to exchange if fewer than the maximum. If the Elder chooses to take fewer than the maximum, they may then look at the remainder if they like (which are the first ones that the Younger will take).

The Younger hand exchanges next. Again, at least one card must be exchanged. The younger may also exchange up to five cards, depending on how many the Elder exchanged. If the Elder exchanged all five, then obviously the Younger may only exchange up to three.

The Declaration Phase

In the declaration phase, the players ascertain who has the better hand in each of three categories. This is done in an oblique sort of way that leads to some of the intrigue of Piquet. Elder hand declares first, with Younger responding.

In each part of the declaration, the Younger hand may choose to contest the Elder's claim. By doing so, the Younger may reveal information that would be useful during the trick-taking phase, called the play. Likewise, the Elder may choose not to reveal information in one or more parts of the declaration.

The Point

If the Elder has at least four cards in a suit, they may make a declaration. For example, "Point of four".

The Younger would then respond indicating that they had more, fewer, or the same number of cards in a suit. This is done by saying "Good" (the Elder has more and wins the point), "Not good" (the Elder has fewer), or by saying "Making?" or "How many?", indicating that the Younger has the same number of cards in a suit, which requires clarification.

If both players have the same number of cards in a suit, then they must tally the value of the cards. The values of the cards are: ace = 11, face cards = 10, and face value for the rest.

After adding the values of the cards, the Elder calls out the number. The Younger may then say "Good", if the Elder's value is greater, or "Not good" and the number that wins the point. For example: "Not good: 39" or "Not good, I have 39".

The winner of the point scores the number of cards in the suit, not their value.

The Sequence

The next part of the declaration is the sequence, in which the longest consecutive run of cards is valued. A sequence must have at least three cards and they must all be in the same suit.

Again, the Elder hand starts. For example, "Run of three" or "Sequence of four". The Younger then responds with "Good" or "Not good", in the same way as before, or by contesting. To contest, the Younger says "How high?", to which the Elder responds with the highest card in the sequence. For example, "To the queen".

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