Écarté
| Origin | France |
|---|---|
| Type | trick-taking |
| Players | 2-4 |
| Cards | 32 |
| Deck | Piquet |
| Play | Back and Forth |
| Card rank (highest to lowest) | K Q J A 10 9 8 7 |
| Related games | |
| Triomphe, Whist, Euchre | |
Écarté is a two-player card game originating from France, the word literally meaning "discarded". It is a trick-taking game, similar to whist, but with a special and eponymous discarding phase. It is closely related to Euchre, a card game played mainly in the United States. Écarté was popular in the 19th century, but is now rarely played.
All cards from two to six are removed from a 52-card pack, to produce the Piquet pack of thirty-two cards, which rank from the lowest 7, 8, 9, 10, ace, knave, queen, to king high. Note that the ace ranks between ten and knave, making the king the highest card.
The players cut to determine the dealer, who deals five cards each in packets of two and three, or three and two, either to whim or some agreement. The eleventh card is dealt face up to determine the trump suit. If this card is a king, the dealer can immediately mark an extra point for himself.
The elder hand (the player opposite the dealer) is then entitled, if that player so desires, to begin the exchange—a crucial part of the game. This involves discarding cards in order to improve their hand with fresh cards from the remaining pack. To make an exchange, the elder hand must make a proposal to the dealer of a specific number of cards. The dealer must then decide whether or not to accept. If the dealer accepts then the elder hand must propose a discard and the dealer should deal the same number of fresh cards from the pack; following which the dealer must then also make an exchange of at least one card. Once cards have been discarded, they are no longer used, nor looked at. If the proposal was accepted, then the elder hand can make another proposal, if desired, and can go on making proposals as long as the dealer accepts them. This process ends and play begins either at the point that the elder hand chooses not to propose, or the dealer refuses to accept, or the stock of remaining cards runs out.
The elder hand is under no obligation to make any exchange at all. If no initial proposal is made, the elder hand becomes a vulnerable player, leaving the dealer with a chance of scoring an extra point. The dealer suffers the same liability and becomes vulnerable if they refuse the initial proposal made by the opponent. After the initial proposal, the elder hand can decline to propose further and the dealer can refuse to accept at any point, without either player becoming vulnerable.
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Wikipedia