How many points in French Tarot? Contracts, oudlers, petit au bout: scoring explained

The 91 points and how to count them

The deck has 78 cards for 91 points. The three oudlers (the Petit, that is the 1 of trumps; the 21; and the Excuse, or Fool) are worth 4.5 each, kings 4.5, queens 3.5, knights 2.5, jacks 1.5 and every other card (trumps from 2 to 20, suit cards from 1 to 10) 0.5. You count in pairs to avoid half-points: a court card or an oudler with a small card, or two small cards together (1 point). A king + a small card = 5, a queen + a small card = 4, a knight + a small card = 3, a jack + a small card = 2, two small cards = 1.

At the end of the deal, you count only the taker’s cards, plus the chien (the dog, the six cards set aside) if they kept it, except in garde contre, where the dog goes to the defence. The defence has the rest: 91 minus the taker’s total.

The threshold to reach depends on the oudlers

The Excuse counts as an oudler for its holder provided they do not play it on the last trick; the Petit counts if it has not been captured. This is the whole point of Tarot strategy: one more oudler means 5 to 10 points less to reach.

Calculating the score for a deal

Start from the difference between the taker’s points and their threshold. Contract made, the difference is positive; failed, it is negative. The base score is 25 + the difference, which you multiply by the contract:

Then add, in this order:

• The petit au bout: 10 points × the multiplier, for the side that wins the last trick with the Petit. It is added to the taker’s score if they did it, subtracted if the defence did — whatever the outcome of the contract: a taker who fails but makes the petit au bout reduces their loss by 10 × the multiplier.
• The handful (poignée, declared and shown before the first trick): single 20, double 30, triple 40. It is not multiplied, and it always goes to the side that wins the deal, even if the opponents declared it.
• The slam (chelem): 400 if declared and made, 200 if made without being declared, −200 if declared and missed.

The result is what each defender pays the taker (or receives from them). With 4 players, the taker therefore scores three times the score, and each defender the opposite; the line always adds up to 0.

Worked example with 4 players

Emma takes a garde with two oudlers; she finishes with 47 points and wins the last trick with the Petit. Nico declared a single handful in defence.

1. Threshold with two oudlers: 41. Difference: 47 − 41 = +6.
2. Base: 25 + 6 = 31, × 2 (garde) = 62.
3. Petit au bout for the taker: +10 × 2 = 20, making 82.
4. Single handful: +20 for the winning side, making 102 — the handful Nico declared benefits Emma.

Emma scores +306 (3 × 102); Nico, Pat and Léa each score −102. Had Emma finished on 38 points, the difference would have been −3: base 28 × 2 = 56, −20 for the petit au bout (the taker still made it, so the bonus stays with her) = 36, +20 for the handful, which goes to the defence this time: each defender scores +56, Emma −168.

With 3 and 5 players

With 3 players, everyone has 24 cards, the dog has 6, and handfuls are shown with 13, 15 and 18 trumps. The taker scores twice the score, each defender the opposite.

With 5 players, the taker calls a king: whoever holds it becomes their partner. The score is split into three shares for the taker’s side (two for the taker, one for the partner) against one share for each of the three defenders. If the taker called a king they hold themselves, or one that is in the dog, they play alone and score four times the score. Handfuls are shown with 8, 10 and 13 trumps. The dog has three cards.

The mistakes we see at every table

• Multiplying the handful or the slam by the contract: only the 25 + difference and the petit au bout are multiplied.
• Giving the handful to the side that declared it: it goes to the side that wins the deal.
• Forgetting that the Excuse played on the last trick no longer counts as an oudler (and changes sides).
• Counting the dog for the taker in garde contre: it goes to the defence.
• Not checking that the line adds up to 0: if the sum of the deal’s scores is not zero, there is a mistake.

Frequently asked questions