Rules for Piquet

Piquet is a classic two-player card game regarded as one of the most skill-demanding card games in existence. The game has been popular since the 16th century and is first mentioned in written sources from 1535. Piquet uniquely combines strategy, memory, and card management.

The objective is to score points through card combinations and by winning tricks. A partie consists of six deals, and the player with the most points after these rounds wins. To "cross the Rubicon," one must achieve at least 100 points total.

Piquet is played with a reduced deck of 32 cards. Remove all cards from 2 to 6, leaving you with 7-10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace in each suit.

Card ranking (from highest to lowest):
A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7

A partie consists of 6 deals where players alternate dealing. The player who draws the higher card deals first. The dealer is called "younger hand" and the opponent "elder hand." It's advantageous to deal first since you avoid dealing the sixth and final hand.

The dealer deals 12 cards to each player, usually in groups of three. The remaining 8 cards are placed face-down as a talon (exchange pile).

Card exchange:

• Elder hand may exchange up to 5 cards but must exchange at least 1 card
• Younger hand may exchange up to what remains in the talon (usually 3 cards)
• Players exchange by discarding cards face-down and drawing new ones from the top of the talon
• If a player exchanges fewer cards than allowed, they may look at the cards they could have taken

A player with no face cards (Jack, Queen, or King) in hand has "carte blanche" and scores 10 points immediately.

Elder hand must announce this before exchanging and show the cards quickly. Younger hand waits until elder hand has exchanged before carte blanche is announced and shown.

After exchanging, the declaration phase begins where players can score points for combinations. Elder hand declares first in each category:

1. Point (longest suit): The player with the most cards in one suit scores as many points as the number of cards. With equal numbers, the value is compared (A=11, face cards=10, others=face value). If still tied, neither scores.

2. Sequence (cards in order):

• Tierce (3 cards): 3 points
• Quart (4 cards): 4 points
• Quint (5 cards): 15 points
• Sixième (6 cards): 16 points
• Septième (7 cards): 17 points
• Huitième (8 cards): 18 points

3. Set (matching cards):

• Trio (3 of a kind, at least 10s): 3 points
• Quatorze (4 of a kind): 14 points

Declaration procedure: Elder hand announces their best combination in each category. Younger hand responds "Good" (if elder wins), "Not good" (if younger wins), or "Equal" (if tied).

There are two important bonuses that can be achieved during declarations and play:

• Repique: If a player scores at least 30 points in declarations before the opponent scores anything, they receive 60 bonus points
• Pique: If a player scores at least 30 points total (declarations + tricks) before the opponent scores anything, they receive 30 bonus points. Only elder hand can achieve pique since they always score 1 point for leading

After declarations, the cards are played in tricks. There are no trumps in Piquet.

• Elder hand leads to the first trick and scores 1 point for leading
• Players must follow suit if possible
• The highest card in the led suit wins the trick
• The trick winner leads to the next trick
• Players score 1 point for each trick won
• The player who wins the last trick scores 1 extra point

Trick bonuses:

• The player who wins the most tricks (7 or more) scores 10 points for "the cards"
• With 6-6 tricks each, no bonus is scored
• A player who wins all 12 tricks scores 40 points for "capot"

Players announce their running score aloud throughout the game. This is an important part of the game's tradition and strategy.

Points are scored for:

• Carte blanche: 10 points
• Point: 1 point per card in longest suit
• Sequences: 3-18 points depending on length
• Sets: 3 or 14 points
• Leading: 1 point (elder hand only)
• Tricks: 1 point per trick + 1 for last trick
• Most tricks: 10 points
• Capot: 40 points
• Repique/Pique: 60/30 bonus points

After each deal, the total points are recorded and added to the partie score.

A partie ends after 6 deals. The player with the highest total score wins.

The Rubicon rule: If the loser hasn't achieved at least 100 points, they are said not to have "crossed the Rubicon." In this case, the winner's margin is calculated as the sum of both players' scores plus 100.

Example: If the result is 128-85, the loser hasn't crossed the Rubicon. The winning margin becomes: 128 + 85 + 100 = 313 points.

In case of a tie after 6 deals, two extra deals are played to decide the partie.

Piquet is a game of nearly perfect information since you can deduce much about your opponent's hand:

• Keep careful track of which cards have been discarded and exchanged
• Use declaration information to deduce your opponent's hand
• Balance the need for good declarations against dominating trick play
• Consider "sinking" (not declaring) certain combinations to keep information hidden
• Remember that winning the most tricks creates a swing of at least 22 points
• Try to achieve repique or pique when possible
• As younger hand, be careful with exchanges since you have limited access to the talon

Piquet rewards experience and memory - the more you play, the better you become!