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La coinche

 

Coinche is a variant of belote. It is a card game played with 32 cards ranging from 7 to Ace. Two teams of two players compete in several rounds, the points of which are accumulated in order to reach the fixed point objective.

 

Distribution of cards and contract:

 

Cards are dealt clockwise starting from the player to the left of the dealer.

Each player receives three cards, then two, then three. Once all four players have received eight cards, it is the turn of the player to the left of the dealer to speak. He can then either skip his turn or announce a contract ranging from 80 to 650 points. He can also announce “hood” if he thinks his team will win all the tricks of the round.

The player then announces the value of the contract then the color that he proposes as trump for this contract.

It is then the next player clockwise to speak. He can then either skip his turn or bid by offering a higher contract.

 

In addition to the four suits of cards, the player has the option of offering an “Atout Atout” (TA) or a “No Trump” (SA) contract. In the context of an All Trumps contract, the four suits are then trumps and the rules relating to trumps apply to them (order of cards, obligation to raise, belote/rebelote). In a No Trump contract, as the name suggests, there is no trump and all suits have the same value. 

 

If a player thinks that the opposing team will not succeed in carrying out the proposed contract, he has the possibility of announcing "coinche".   The players of the other team will then have the possibility in turn either to pass, or to announce "surcoinche" if they consider that their team will carry out the announced contract.

In the case of a game with the “coinche on the fly” option, players have the possibility of announcing “coinche” even if it is not their turn to speak.

The bidding ends when three successive players have passed their turn, or when a player announces "surcoinche".

If none of the players announces a contract, the cards are reshuffled and a new round begins, starting with the next player on the left.

 

Game flow:

 

Once the contract is selected, the player to the left of the dealer plays the card of his choice, followed by the other players in turn in a clockwise direction.

A sleeve is made up of eight pleats. At each trick, each player must play a card and the player who played the highest card wins the trick. He then begins the next trick and so on until the end of the round.

Once the trick has started, the other players must play a card of the same color. If a player does not have one and his partner has not played the highest card in the trick, he will then have to play a trump card (he cuts). If he does not have a trump or his partner has played the highest card in the trick, he can then play any card.

If an opponent has already cut and is the strongest in the trick, then the player will have to play a trump of a higher value if he has any, or a weaker trump if he does not.

If his partner has already cut and he is the strongest in the trick, the player who does not have the color played initially can then play the card he wants.

If the first card of the trick is a trump, the other players must successively play a stronger trump than those already played if they have any.

 

Score calculation:

 

Ranking and value of the cards:

Asset :

  • Jack: 20 points 

  • New: 14 points 

  • Ace: 11 points 

  • Ten: 10 points 

  • King: 4 points 

  • Queen: 3 points 

  • Eight: 0 points 

  • Seven: 0 points 

 

Excluding assets:

  • Ace: 11 points 

  • Ten: 10 points 

  • King: 4 points 

  • Queen: 3 points 

  • Jack: 2 points 

  • New: 0 point 

  • Eight: 0 points 

  • Seven: 0 points

 

Any Asset Contract:

  • Jack: 14 points

  • New: 9 points

  • Ace: 6 points

  • Ten: 5 points

  • King: 3 points

  • Queen: 1 point

  • Eight: 0 points

  • Seven: 0 points

 

Non-Trump Contract:

  • Ace: 19 points

  • Ten: 10 points

  • King: 4 points

  • Queen: 3 points

  • Jack: 2 points

  • New: 0 points

  • Eight: 0 points

  • Seven: 0 points

 

Certain combinations of cards allow you to earn additional points (the “ads”) and are counted towards the fulfillment of the contract:

  • La Tierce: 3 consecutive cards of the same suit – 20 points

  • The Fifty: 4 consecutive cards of the same suit – 50 points

  • The Hundred: 5 consecutive cards of the same suit – 100 points

  • The Square: 4 cards of the same height – 100 points (square of 10, Queens, Kings, Aces), 150 points (square of 9), 200 points (square of Jacks)

 

On the first trick, players bid the height of the bids they own. The same card can only be counted for one announcement at a time (the player chooses which one to announce).   In the second fold, the players reveal their announcements. If both teams have announcements, the team with the strongest announcement counts the corresponding points. If the two teams have equivalent announcements (for example two thirds), the team which announces with the highest card counts the corresponding points. If both teams have equivalent bids at the same height, then the trump team scores points and if neither team has trump then neither team scores a point.

 

The points earned at each trick are counted at the end of the round.

The player who wins the last trick of the round scores 10 additional points.

If a player has the King and the Queen of the trump, he must then announce "belote" by playing the first card of the two then "rebelote" by playing the second and will then score 20 additional points. If a team does not win any fold (hood) it still keeps the points of its belote. A team that announces a hood and does not realize it does not keep the additional points of its belote.

 

To win the round, the team that took the contract must achieve at least the points announced in its contract. If she succeeds, she scores the sum of the points she made in the round + the value of her contract. If it does not succeed, the opposing team scores 162 points + the value of the contract.

The value of a wedged contract is multiplied by two, and that of an over-quenched contract by three. If a team wins a stuck contract, it counts 162 points + the original value of the contract x2. If unsuccessful, the opposing team rolls over the points they scored + the original value of the contract x2. If a team wins an overcoined contract, they win the points they scored + the original value of the contract x3. If unsuccessful, the opposing team rolls over 162 points + original contract value x3. The losing team then scores no points.

 

If a team realizes a hood without having announced it, it counts 250 points + the value of the contract. A hood that has been announced, completed or not, is worth 500 points. 

A “stuck” hood earns 1000 points. An “overstuck” bonnet earns 2000 points.

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