Rules toepen

General rules of toepen

• Toepen is played with a piquet deck (a standard deck with the 2s through 6s removed).
• The ranking of the cards from lowest to highest is as follows: Jack, Queen, King, Ace, 7, 8, 9, 10.
• Players must follow suit whenever possible.

The objective of the game is to win the last trick

Dealing in toepen

• The dealer starts by dealing to the player to their left and continues clockwise.
• Cards are dealt one at a time.
• Each player receives a total of 4 cards.

Gameplay of toepen

• The player to the left of the dealer must lead the first trick.
• The game is always played clockwise.
• Players must follow suit if possible. If not, they may play any other card.
• The player who plays the highest card in the trick wins that trick and leads the next one.
• All played cards remain face-up on the table and are visible to all players.
• The player who wins the fourth and final trick wins the round.
• The winner shuffles the cards and deals the next round.

Scoring in toepen

• Losing players receive penalty points. If a player reaches 10 penalty points, he or she is eliminated from the game.
• Normally, a player receives 1 penalty point per lost round.
• However, at any time during the game, a player may knock.
  • Other players then have the choice to either call or fold.
  • Players who call and lose (including the one who knocked) receive 2 penalty points.
  • Players who fold receive only 1 penalty point, but since they are out for the round, they cannot win either.
• After a player has knocked, any other player can knock again later in the round (re-knocking).
  • Players who call and lose after a re-knock receive 3 penalty points.
  • Players who fold at this stage receive 2 penalty points.
• Players may continue re-knocking until a player still in the game would reach 10 penalty points if he or she loses.
  • Example: If a player already has 4 penalty points, re-knocking can continue until the next loss would give this player 6 additional penalty points (totalling 10).
  • Once the maximum re-knock level is reached, the round is played out.
• A player may knock multiple times in a round, but never twice in a row (they cannot re-knock themselves).
• If, after a knock, all remaining players fold, the round ends. Bluffing is therefore an important element in toepen.
• The game ends when only one player remains who has fewer than 10 penalty points. That player wins the game.

Additional rules in toepen

• Poverty. A player with 9 penalty points is considered to be in poverty.
  • If one or more players are in poverty at the start of a new round, the other players must decide whether to play or fold after looking at their cards.
  • A player who folds receives 1 penalty point.
  • A player who calls and loses receives 2 penalty points.
• Toep. If a player has 4 identical cards (e.g., 4 queens), they immediately declare “Toep”.
  • The player instantly wins the round, and all other players receive 3 penalty points.
• Chance for Toep. If a player has 3 identical cards, they may discard the fourth card and draw a new one.
  • If the new card matches the other 3, the player declares Toep and wins instantly.
  • All other players receive 3 penalty points.
  • A player may attempt Chance for Toep only once per round.
  • Bluffing is not allowed when attempting Chance for Toep.
• Dirty Laundry. If a player has 4 picture cards (Jack, Queen, King, or Ace) or 3 picture cards and a 7, they may declare “Dirty Laundry” and exchange their entire hand for 4 new cards.
  • Players may bluff about having Dirty Laundry.
  • Any other player may challenge by flipping over the discarded hand.
    • If the player really had Dirty Laundry, the challenger receives 1 penalty point, and play continues.
    • If the player was bluffing, they receive 1 penalty point and must continue the round with the originally dealt hand.
• Winning with a Jack. The Jack is the lowest-ranked card in the game.
  • If a player wins the final trick with a Jack, it is considered humiliating for the other players.
  • The player who wins with a Jack gets 1 penalty point deducted from their total.

Rules pottoepen

Pottoepen is a variation of toepen that is usually played for money. The money that can be won is collected in a pot. Pottoepen is typically played with 4 players but can also be played with 5 players.

The general rules, dealing, and gameplay of pottoepen are the same as in toepen.

Scoring in pottoepen

• Players start the game by contributing to the pot (e.g., $1 per player).
  • With 4 players, the initial pot contains $4.
• Players are then dealt their cards and can choose to:
  • Play for a portion of the pot.
  • Play for the entire pot.
  • Fold.
• A player cannot play for more than the total amount in the pot.
• If a player folds, they still stay in the game but cannot win or lose money for that round.
• After all players have declared their bets, the round is played.
• There is no knocking in pottoepen, nor are the extra rules from regular toepen used.
• The player who wins the last trick wins the round.
• If a player played for a portion or the entire pot and wins, they take the corresponding amount from the pot.
• If a player played for a portion or the entire pot and loses, they must add the corresponding amount to the pot.
• The pot can grow significantly during the game.
• If all players fold, a pass round is played. In this case, the objective is to avoid winning the last trick.
  • The player who wins the last trick must contribute a predetermined amount to the pot.
• If the pot drops below a set minimum amount, players must replenish the pot.
  • For example, if the minimum is $4 and the pot falls below that, players must contribute evenly to bring it back up.
• Bluffing is not a part of pottoepen, but it is considered more exciting than regular toepen because the pot can grow significantly.

End of the game in pottoepen

• Pottoepen can theoretically continue indefinitely.
• If players decide to end the game, the pot is evenly divided among the remaining players.
  • Example: If there is $10 in the pot and 4 players remain, each player receives $2.50.