How to Play

Piquet is the venerable 2-player French card game combining a 32-card deck, card exchange from a talon, declarations of point, sequence, and set, and no-trump trick play across 6 deals, with iconic bonuses for repique (60), pique (30), and capot (40).

Piquet (pronounced pee-KAY) is one of the oldest and most revered two-player card games in the Western canon, first documented in France in the 16th century and the favourite pastime of French and English aristocracy for over 300 years. Played with a 32-card piquet pack (the 7s-Aces of a standard deck), a match (called a partie) runs over exactly 6 deals. Each deal consists of an exchange phase, a declarations phase where players score for the longest suit (point), longest run (sequence), and best set of a rank (trio/quatorze), and finally a trick play phase with no trumps. Points also accrue through a set of elaborate bonuses: carte blanche (10 for a hand with no face cards), pique (30 bonus for reaching 30 before opponent scores any), repique (60 bonus for reaching 30 from declarations alone before opponent scores any), and capot (40 for winning every trick). Piquet rewards disciplined memory and pattern recognition above all other card skills and remains the sine qua non of classical European card gaming.

Players

Exactly 2 players. The non-dealer is called elder (or eldest hand); the dealer is called younger. Elder has significant advantages in both exchange and declaration phases and is the more pressured role. Deal alternates each hand, so over a full 6-deal partie each player is elder and younger 3 times.

Card Deck

One 32-card piquet pack: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7 in each of the four suits. Card rank in tricks, high to low: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7. No trump suit exists; only cards of the led suit can win tricks. For point (declaration): A = 11, K/Q/J = 10 each, 10-7 = face value. For scoring set declarations (trios and quatorzes), only ranks of 10 and above count; 7s, 8s, and 9s cannot form declaration sets.

Objective

Outscore the opponent over 6 deals. Points come from (1) the carte blanche bonus when holding no face cards, (2) declarations of point, sequence, and set, (3) pique and repique bonuses for reaching 30 first, (4) trick-play points for leading and winning tricks, (5) the cards bonus for winning 7+ of the 12 tricks, and (6) the capot bonus for winning all 12 tricks. Whoever has the higher cumulative score after deal 6 wins the partie; the margin of victory (the rubicon) determines the match-winning margin in the formal Rubicon Piquet scoring.

Setup and Deal

1. Cut for first dealer (lower card deals); the deal alternates each hand thereafter.
2. Shuffle the 32-card pack; the non-dealer may cut. The dealer then deals 12 cards face down to each player, in packets of 2 or 3, clockwise.
3. The remaining 8 cards form the talon (stock), set face down between the players. They are divided notionally into the elder's 5 (the top 5 cards) and the younger's 3 (the bottom 3 cards).
4. Carte blanche: Immediately after the deal, either player holding a 12-card hand with no Kings, Queens, or Jacks may declare and show carte blanche for an immediate 10-point bonus. The cards are returned to the hand after showing.
5. Elder's exchange: Elder (non-dealer) must exchange at least 1 and may exchange up to 5 cards from the top 5 cards of the talon. Elder's discards are set aside face down; the new cards go into hand. Elder may peek at any unused portion of their 5 after the exchange.
6. Younger's exchange: Younger may exchange up to 3 cards from the bottom 3 of the talon (or fewer, or none). Younger may look at the remaining talon cards (those elder did not take) only if they declare they will not take them. Any untaken cards are returned to the bottom of the exchange.
7. After exchanges both players have 12 cards; declarations begin.

Declarations

1. Declarations run in 3 categories in fixed order: POINT, SEQUENCE, SET. Elder always declares first in each category; younger either concedes or counter-declares.
2. Point: The length of your longest suit. Elder states the count (e.g., '5'). If younger's longest is shorter, younger says 'good'. If equal length, players compare total pip values using A=11, face cards=10, others face value; the higher-value holder wins. If point-totals tie, no one scores point for this deal. Score = length of the winning point (4 cards = 4 points, 5 = 5, 6 = 6, 7 = 7, 8 = 8).
3. Sequence: Runs of 3+ consecutive cards in one suit. Types: 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). Elder declares their longest sequence and its highest card; younger responds 'good' (younger's longest is shorter), 'not good' (younger's is longer), or 'equal' (same length; then compare top card, higher wins; if tied, no one scores).
4. Sets (trios and quatorzes): Three-of-a-kind (trio = 3 points) or four-of-a-kind (quatorze = 14 points) of ranks Ace through 10 only. Elder declares their best set; younger responds. Higher rank wins when both hold a set of the same type (four 10s beats four 9s; a quatorze always beats a trio).
5. Winning a category wins EVERYTHING in that category: If elder wins point with 5 hearts, elder scores 5 points; younger scores 0 points even for their 4-card longest suit. Same for sequence and set: only the winner in each of the 3 categories scores.
6. Full disclosure after the third category: Once all three categories are declared, the scoring cards may be shown to justify the counts. Players must be honest; falsely declaring a count or card is scorekeeping fraud.

Pique and Repique

• Repique (60-point bonus): If either player reaches 30 points during the declaration phase alone while the opponent has not yet scored anything (not even 1 point for carte blanche), the 30-reacher scores a 60-point repique bonus. Only declarations (point + sequence + set + carte blanche for that player) count toward repique; trick-play points do not.
• Pique (30-point bonus): If elder reaches 30 points in declarations and trick play combined before younger has scored anything, elder scores a 30-point pique bonus. This is only available to elder, since elder leads and can reach 30 before younger takes a single trick. Younger cannot earn pique.
• Only one bonus per deal: Repique supersedes pique; a player who earns repique does not also earn pique.

Trick Play

1. After declarations are settled, elder leads to the first trick by playing one card face up. Elder scores 1 point for leading (the point for lead).
2. Following suit: Each player in turn must play a card of the led suit if they have one. If not, they may play any card (which cannot win because there is no trump).
3. Winning a trick: The higher card of the led suit wins; there are no trumps. The trick winner scores 1 point if they did not lead; if they led and won, they score only the point for lead (no double count).
4. Point for lead on later tricks: 1 point for leading each trick. 1 point for winning any trick led by the opponent. 1 extra point for winning the last trick (trick 12).
5. Play all 12 tricks: Proceed trick by trick until every card has been played. Count captured tricks.
6. Cards (majority bonus): The player winning 7 or more of the 12 tricks earns a 10-point bonus at the end of the deal. If tricks split 6-6, no cards bonus.
7. Capot (slam): Winning all 12 tricks scores a 40-point capot bonus instead of the 10-point cards bonus.

Scoring

• Running total per deal: Carte blanche (10) + point (4-8) + sequence (3-18) + set (3 or 14) + repique (60) + pique (30) + leads (up to 12) + wins (up to 12) + last trick (1) + cards (10) or capot (40).
• Typical deal totals: 20 to 50 points for each side; a blow-out deal with repique or capot can produce 100+ for one side.
• Partie (6-deal match): Sum both players' totals after 6 deals. The higher total is the partie winner.
• Rubicon: The losing player's score is the rubicon. If the loser fails to reach 100 points, the winner's margin becomes (winner's score + loser's score + 100); otherwise the margin is (winner's - loser's + 100).

Winning

The partie winner is whoever has the higher total points after 6 deals. For match play, the margin of victory feeds into a running league or series score. A player who fails to reach 100 points over the 6 deals is said to be 'rubiconed' and loses by a particularly large margin in Rubicon Piquet scoring.

Common Variations

• Rubicon Piquet: The dominant modern form, with the margin-of-victory scoring described in the scoring section. Used in most Piquet tournaments.
• Piquet au Cent (Hundred-up): A fixed-target variant in which the first to 100 total points wins, regardless of deals played.
• Piquet Voleur (Three-handed): Three players, one sitting out each deal in rotation; cut-throat scoring.
• Piquet a Ecrire (Piquet Normand): A four-handed partnership variant played in northern France.
• Auction Piquet: A 20th-century variant with a bidding phase in which players auction the right to choose a trump suit for trick play; changes the strategic flavour significantly.
• Open Piquet: Both players' hands are revealed to each other; a teaching variant used for training the declaration and trick-play analysis skills.

Tips and Strategy

• The exchange is the single most important decision of the deal. Elder gets 5 exchanges, younger gets 3; discard your shortest suits and weakest cards to concentrate strength in 1 or 2 long suits for the point and sequence declarations.
• Count every card after exchange. With 32 cards and 12 in each hand plus 8 in the talon, after the exchange you know every card that entered play. Your opponent holds 12 of the 19 cards you have seen (hand + talon); the other 7 are the remaining talon.
• Prioritise sequences over point. A quint (5-card run) scores 15 points compared to a 5-card point at 5 points. If forced to choose between building point or building sequence, pick sequence.
• Repique is the killer move. A hand with carte blanche (10) plus a quint (15) plus a quatorze (14) and a winning point (6) totals 45 from declarations alone: if the opponent has no scoring category, repique triples that with a 60-point bonus. Build for repique when your initial hand is already decorations-rich.
• As elder, aim for pique. A strong declarations score plus a quick trick lead can push elder to 30 before younger scores at all, netting the 30-point pique bonus. Younger cannot earn pique so elder has a built-in edge.
• Track what the opponent exchanged. The number of cards they exchange is a direct clue to their hand shape: exchanging 3-5 cards implies a rebuilt hand; exchanging 0 implies a strong, balanced pat hand.

Glossary

• Elder: The non-dealer; leads declarations and trick play.
• Younger: The dealer; responds to declarations and follows on the first trick.
• Partie: A full 6-deal match.
• Talon: The 8-card stock left after the deal; divided 5-3 for exchanges.
• Carte blanche: A hand with no face cards; worth an immediate 10-point bonus.
• Point: Declaration for the longest suit.
• Sequence: Declaration for the longest run of consecutive same-suit cards; names Tierce/Quart/Quint/Sixième up through Huitième.
• Set: Declaration for three or four of a kind of rank 10 or higher; trio (3 points) or quatorze (14 points).
• Pique: 30-point bonus for elder reaching 30 total before younger scores.
• Repique: 60-point bonus for reaching 30 from declarations alone before opponent scores.
• Capot: Winning all 12 tricks; scores 40 instead of the 10-point cards bonus.
• Cards bonus: 10 points for winning 7+ of the 12 tricks.
• Rubicon: The 100-point threshold; failing to reach it magnifies the loss margin in Rubicon Piquet.