PIQUET, a game of cards played between two persons with 32 cards—viz., the four honors, and the highest four plate cards of each suit. The cards are shuffled and cut as in whist, and then dealt, two by two, till each player has 12; and the remaining 8, called the to ,n., or stock, are their laid on the table. The first player must then discard from one to live of his cards, replacing llient with a similar number from the talon; and after him, the younger hand may discard if he pleases, similarly making up his proper number from the remaining cards of the talon. The player who first scores 100 wins the game, and the score is made up by reckoning in the following order—carte-blanche, the point, the sequence, the quatorze, the 'cards, and the capot. Carte-iv/ow/1e is a hand of 12 plain cards, and counts 10 for the player who possesses it. 'The point is the greater number of cards in any suit, or, if the players are equal in this respect, that which is highest in value (the ace counting eleven, each court-card 10, and the plain cards accord ing to the number of pips), and counts a number equal to the number of cards in the suit. The sequence is a regular succession of three or more cards in one suit, and the highest sequence (i.e., the one containing thetreatest number of cards, or if the players have sequences equal in tnis respect, the one of the two which begins with the highest card), if of three cards, counts three; of four cards, four; of five cards, fifteen; of six cards, sixteen, etc. The quatorze is a set of four equal cards (not lower than tens), as
four aces, four queens, etc., and the highest quatorze counts 14 for its holder; but should neither player have a quatorze, then the highest set of three is counted instead, but it reckons only three. 'I he possessor of the highest sequence or the highest quatorze also counts all inferior sequences and quatorzes (including sets of three): while his opponent's sequences and cpunorzes go for nothing. The first player reckons his points, and plays a card; the dealer then reckons his points, and follows his opponent's lead, and cards are laid and tricks are taken as in an ordinary card-game. Each player counts one for every card he leads, and the taker of the trick (if second player) counts one for it: the possessor of the greater number of tricks counting 10 in addition (the " cards"); or if he takes all the tricks, he counts 40 in addition (the "capon. If one player counts 30—i.e., 29 by his various points, and 1 for the card he leads, before his adversary has emit/ tcd anvtld ng, he at once doubles his score, reckoning GO instead of 30 (this is called the " and should his score reach thirty before he plays a card, or his adversary begins to count, he mounts at once to 90 (the " re-pique").