Ecarte

CardsPlayers | 2

Equipment

  • 1 deck of cards – Sixes and below removed

The Object

Score five points

The Deal

  1. Each player is dealt 5 cards in packets of three, then two.
  2. The remaining cards are placed face down on the table.
  3. The dealer turns the top card up – the suit of the turned up card is the trump suit. If the card is a king, the dealer scores a point.
    • Dealing alternates between the two players with each hand.

Playing

  1. If the non-dealer believes that he can make at least three tricks, he leads to the first trick OR the non-dealer can propose that both players exchange some of the their cards
    • The dealer can then decide to accept or refuse the proposal
    • If the dealer accepts, the non-dealer, and then the dealer discards at least one card and draws the same number of replacement cards from the deck
    • If the dealer refuses the proposal, the hand is played without an exchange of cards. The dealer is not obliged to take at least three tricks.
  2. The process can continue until the non-dealer decides to lead, or the dealer refuses a proposal or the deck is exhausted.
    • If the dealer refuses a proposal, or the deck is exhausted, play must start immediately with the non-dealer leading to the first trick.
    • Neither player may discard more cards than remain in the stock; and the trump card may not be taken in hand.
  3. If either player holds the king of trumps he may show it before play and score a point: provided that the player has not already played some other card to the first trick.
  4. At the start, the non-dealer plays first. The other player must follow suit and win the trick if possible: either by leading a higher card of the same suit or by trumping a non trump lead. If he can do neither, he can play any card. The winner of each trick leads to the next.

Scoring

  • 1 point | Taking 3 or 4 tricks in a hand
  • 2 points | Vole! Taking 5 tricks in a hand
  • 2 points | If the player who rejected an exchange fails to take 3 tricks with the hand he was originally dealt, 2 points are added to his opponent’s score

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