How many points in French Tarot? Oudlers, contracts, petit au bout: scoring a deal

How it works

French Tarot is played with a 78-card deck: four suits of 14 cards (1 to 10, jack, knight, queen, king), 21 numbered trumps and the Excuse. It is most often played by 4, also by 3 or 5. Each deal pits a taker, alone (or with a partner at 5), against the defence formed by the other players.

After the deal, six cards remain as the chien (three at 5 players). Each player in turn passes or bids a contract: prise, garde, garde sans (without the chien), garde contre (against the chien). The taker picks up the chien (except in garde sans and garde contre), discards as many cards, then the tricks are played. At the end, the taker’s cards are counted: if they reach the target, the deal is won.

There is no points target for the game: you play an agreed number of deals, often a round (everyone deals once) or several, and the highest total wins. Since each defender pays the taker, or the reverse, the scores of a deal always add up to zero: that is the check to make before moving on.

The cards and the 91 points

Half points are avoided by counting in pairs: a court card or an oudler with a low card, or two low cards together. A king and a low card are worth 5, a queen and a low card 4, a knight and a low card 3, a jack and a low card 2, two low cards 1. Only the taker’s tricks are counted, plus the chien if they kept it (in garde contre the chien goes to the defence); the defence has the rest, 91 minus the taker’s total. Counting the defence is often quicker, which is why the counter accepts either.

The oudlers are worth 4.5 points each, but their main role lies elsewhere: their number in the taker’s tricks sets the target to reach.

The target by oudlers

The Petit counts as an oudler if it is in the taker’s tricks at the end, so if it has not been captured. The 21 cannot be captured. The Excuse stays with whoever plays it (who gives a low card in exchange), unless it is played in the last trick: it then goes to the other side and no longer counts as an oudler for its owner. One more oudler means 5 to 10 points less to reach: the whole strategy of the game revolves around the Petit.

The contract is made if the taker reaches or exceeds the target, failed otherwise. The difference is the gap between their points and the target, positive or negative. If half a point is left over, it goes to the winning side: 41.5 with two oudlers is a win by 1; 40.5 is a loss by 1.

The contracts and their multipliers

Bids go up in that order, each player able only to pass or outbid the previous call. If everyone passes, the next player deals. The multiplier applies to the base score of the deal and to petit au bout, but neither to handfuls nor to the slam.

Scoring a deal

The score of the deal, the amount each defender pays to the taker (or receives from them), is worked out in this order:

1. 25 + the difference, as an absolute value: a garde made by 6 and a garde failed by 6 are both worth 31 before the sign.
2. × the contract: 31 × 2 = 62 in a garde.
3. ± petit au bout: 10 × the contract, added if the attack won the last trick with the Petit, subtracted if the defence did — whatever the result of the contract.
4. + the handful: 20, 30 or 40, not multiplied, to the side that wins the deal, even if the opponent announced it.
5. + the slam: 400, 200 or −200, not multiplied.

The total is positive if the contract is made, negative if it fails (petit au bout and the handful are added with their own sign). It is then applied to each player: at 4, the taker scores three times the score and each defender the opposite; at 3, the taker scores twice the score; at 5, see below.

Example: Nico bids garde with two oudlers and finishes on 47. Target 41, difference +6, base 25 + 6 = 31, × 2 = 62. He won petit au bout: + 20, that is 82. Nico scores + 246, each of the three defenders − 82. Had he finished on 38 (difference − 3): base 28 × 2 = 56, petit au bout stays his (+ 20), so a loss of 36: Nico − 108, each defender + 36.

Petit au bout, handfuls and slam

A handful is announced and shown before playing one’s first card: 10, 13 or 15 trumps at 4 players (13, 15 and 18 at 3; 8, 10 and 13 at 5). The Excuse may complete a handful, but showing it means you have no other trump. Both sides may each announce a handful: the bonuses add up and go together to the winning side.

A slam is all the tricks for the attack. If announced, the taker leads whatever their seat. If the defence takes every trick, each defender receives 200 points on top of the normal score.

With 3 and 5 players

With 3, each player receives 24 cards, the chien has 6, and the taker plays alone against two. They score twice the score of the deal, each defender the opposite. Handfuls are shown at 13, 15 and 18 trumps.

With 5, each player receives 15 cards and the chien has 3. Before turning the chien, the taker calls a king (a queen if they hold the four kings): whoever holds it becomes their partner, without revealing themselves before playing the card. The score is split into three shares for the attack, two for the taker, one for the partner, against one share paid by each of the three defenders. If the called king is in the taker’s hand or in the chien, they play alone against four and score four times the score. Handfuls are shown at 8, 10 and 13 trumps.

Another way to play with 5: with a dummy. The dealer sits out the deal, the other four play an ordinary four-player game, and the role rotates with the deal. The counter handles both formats.

Example of a four-player round

Emma, Nico, Pat and Lea, a round of four deals. The taker is in bold, and every line adds up to zero.

Deal 1: target 41, difference + 6, (25 + 6) × 2 = 62, + 20 for petit au bout = 82. Deal 2: target 51, difference − 3, (25 + 3) × 1 = 28 lost. Deal 3: target 36, difference + 16, (25 + 16) × 4 = 164, + 20 for the handful announced by Nico but earned by Emma, who wins, that is 184. Deal 4: 40.5 against a target of 41, the half point goes to the winning defence: a loss by 1, (25 + 1) × 2 = 52, + 20 for the defence’s petit au bout, that is 72 per defender. Emma wins the round with + 570, mostly thanks to her garde sans.

Variants

• Misères: an old rule, removed from the official rules: a player with no trump (misère d’atout) or no court card (misère de tête) announces it before play and receives 10 points from every other player, whatever the result of the deal. An option in the counter.
• Five players with a dummy: the dealer sits out, the other four play a four-player game; the dummy rotates with the deal. Simpler than calling a king, and very common in families.
• Handful to the side that announced it: a common table rule: the handful benefits whoever showed it, even if they lose the deal. The official rules give it to the winning side.
• Petit au bout not multiplied: some tables count a flat 10 points for petit au bout, whatever the contract.
• Two-player Tarot: each player holds 18 cards and has 18 more laid out in piles in front of them, only the top card visible; the chien has 6. The deal is scored the same way and paid once.
• Game to a points total: instead of a number of deals, you stop at the first deal where someone passes 1,000 (or the agreed total).

Common mistakes

• Multiplying the handful or the slam by the contract: only the 25 + difference and petit au bout are multiplied. A single handful is worth 20 in a prise as in a garde contre.
• Giving the handful to the side that announced it: under the rules, it goes to the side that wins the deal. A defence handful on a garde that is made benefits the taker.
• Forgetting the Excuse played in the last trick: it changes sides and no longer counts as an oudler for its owner: a target of 41 can become 51.
• Counting the chien for the taker in garde contre: it goes to the defence. In garde sans, it counts for the taker without being looked at.
• Not checking the line: the scores of a deal always add up to zero. If they don’t, someone flipped a sign or forgot a defender.
• Rounding the half point at random: it goes to the winning side: 41.5 with two oudlers is + 1; 40.5 is − 1.

Frequently asked questions