The full pack of 52 cards is used, cards ranking from Ace (high) to 2 (low). Seventeen cards are dealt to each player and the last card is turned face upward on the table to denote the trump suit. It takes no other part in the game.

THE PLAY

The player on the left of the dealer leads to the first trick; thereafter the player who wins a trick leads to the next. A player must follow suit, if he can, to the card led. If he cannot he may either trump or discard a card of a plain suit.

The player who wins a trick scores one point for it, but four points are deducted from a player’s score if he wins the Knave of hearts, three points if he wins the Knave of diamonds, two points if he wins the Knave of clubs, and one point if he wins the Knave of spades.

The aggregate score for each deal, therefore, is seven points (i.e. 17 points for tricks minus 10 points for Knaves) unless one the knaves is the card turned up to denote the trump suit. Game is won by the first player to score 20 points.

The players play all against all, but skillful poker play introduces temporary partnership that add much to the interest of the game. If , for example, one player is in the lead and the other two are trailing behind, they will combine with the aim of preventing the leading player from winning still more, even if they cannot reduce his score by forcing him to win tricks that contain Knaves.

In the same way, if two players have an advanced score, and the third is down the course, the two who are ahead will so play that such points as they cannot themselves win will go to the player with the low score rather than to the one with the high score.

The game, therefore, gives ample scope for clever play. Until the last Knave has been played, a player has to strike a balance between the incentive to take a trick, and so score a point, and the fear of being saddled with a knave, resulting in a loss.

There is much more in the game than appears on the surface. Consider the poker hands in the illustration. No score to anyone

East deals and the ♣ 7 is turned up. With his preponderance of trumps North appears to be in a position to score well. In reality his hand is far from being a good one, because, though the trumps give him the advantage of winning poker tricks, this advantage is more than offset by the fact that he is in the dangerous position of being forced to take Knaves.

Indeed, North is very likely to come out with a poor score; against good play by West he will be hard put to avoid taking the Knaves of hearts and diamonds for a loss of seven points and, in any case, he can hardly avoid taking one of them.

Games for Five or More Players