PIQUET, a game of cards played be tween two persons with 32 cards—viz. the four honors and the highest four plain 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 eight, called the "talon," or stock, are then laid on the table. The first player must then dis card from one to five of his cards, replac ing them 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 play er 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-blanche" is a hand of 12 plain cards, and counts 10 for the player who possesses it. The "point" is the greatest number of cards in any suit, or, if the players are equal in this respect, that which is highest in value (the ace counting 11, each court card 10, and the plain cards according 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 the greatest number of cards, or, if the players have sequences equal in this 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, 15; of six cards, 16; 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 hold er; but should neither player have a quatorze, then the highest set of three is counted instead, but it reckons only three. The possessor of the highest se quence or the highest quatorze also counts all inferior sequences and qua torzes (including sets of three) ; while his opponent's sequences and quatorzee 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 the cards are laid and tricks are taken as in any ordinary card game. Each player counts one for every card he holds, 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 "capot"). If one player counts 30—i. e., 29 by his va rious points, and one for the card he leads, before his adversary has counted anything, he at once doubles his score, reckoning 60 instead of 30 (this is called the "pique"), and should his score reach 30 before he plays a card, or his adver sary begins to count, he mounts at once to 90 (the "repique").