To play Bourre, you need :
- A game of 32 cards
- Between 2 and 6 players
Start a game of Bourre :
A player deals 5 cards to each player. Beforehand, a starting bet is set, and everyone bets this way in the pot (pronounced "pòteu" in Occitan), and finally the game can begin.
How does a game of Bourre take place?
Each card has a very particular value, in order, from the strongest to the weakest:
- The king (pronounced "lou rei")
- The queen (pronounced "la dama").
- The jack (pronounced "lou vaylète")
- The Ace (is pronounced "lou une")
- The 10 (is pronounced "lou dètz")
- The 9th (is pronounced "lou nòu")
- The 8 (pronounced "lou uètch")
- The 7th (pronounced "lou sèt")
The player who takes the hand in the first round is the oldest person in the table (he is called the "ancien"). He has the right to draw 1 or 2 cards from the rest of the deck, and place the equivalent number in the deck. Subsequent players are allowed to do the same.
Turns pass, and each player must lay down a card of the same colour, but higher than the previous one. When no one can play with that suit anymore, the last player to play makes a trick (called "a plec"), and restarts the game with another card.
Important: It is mandatory that two players have played to make a draw, if not, you move on to the next player by removing the card.
We continue, until no one has any cards left.
The one who hasn't made any creases is said to have said, "gruff» (that's where the expression "to be on the run" comes from), and he has to bet twice the starting bet, while the others bet the basic sum.
The cards are redistributed and you continue in this way until a certain number of turns (usually you stop at 7 ("sèt") turns, but you can also stop at 3 ("très"). This number must obligatorily be fixed at the beginning of the game in order not to disagree.
How to win a game of Bourre:
At the end of the pre-determined number of rounds, the player who has made the most tricks wins the entire "pòteu".