Enquire within upon everything
Robert Kemp Philp105Each card as played remains face upwards on the table. Supposing the stake to be a penny a trick, the declarer, if he win all the tricks he declared, receives from each of his adversaries a penny for each of the declared tricks; but if he fail to win the required number, he pays to each of them a penny a trick. For Napoleon he receives double stakes from each player; but failing to win the five tricks, he pays them single stakes. The game, though simple, requires good judgment and memory to play it well. In some companies it is varied by the introduction of a Wellington, which is a superior call after the Napoleon, and takes triple stakes; or a Sedan, in which the player undertakes to lose all his tricks. This declaration takes precedence of all the others. Each player may Pass, or decline to make a declaration; and when all the players pass, the deal is void. Occasionally a pool or kitty is made by each dealer paying a half stake; or the players may purchase new cards from the pack. In either case, the pool is taken by the winner of the first Napoleon, or divided according to arrangement at the close of the play. The best play in Napoleon is not to win tricks, but to co-operate in defeating the declaring hand. 131. Picquet. A game for two players, once very fashionable in France and of some repute in England; but now quite obsolete. Like Quadrille, it is encumbered with a vast number of rules and maxims, technical terms and calculations; all too long and tiresome for modern card-players.

