Objective
Win more of the five tricks than any other single player and collect the pot. The danger is on the other side: a player who stays in and wins no tricks at all has gone bourré, and must pay an amount equal to the whole pot into the next one. That is how pots grow, and why the game is known in south Louisiana as one to play with care.
Bourré works with two players, but it gets much more interesting with five or more, when every decision to stay in carries real risk.
Setup
Agree on what a chip is worth. Each player antes one chip into the pot. Cards rank in the usual order in every suit: ace high, then king, queen, jack and so on down to two.
The dealer deals five cards to each player, one at a time, face down, except for the dealer’s own fifth card, which is dealt face up. The suit of that card is trump for the hand, and the card stays in the dealer’s hand like any other. The rest of the deck is set aside as the stock for drawing.
How to play
Starting left of the dealer and going around, each player says whether they will pass or play. If you pass, put your cards in; you lose only your ante and cannot win the pot. If you play, you may discard any number of cards face down and the dealer replaces them from the stock. You can also stand pat. If the dealer turned up the ace of trumps, the dealer has a sure trick and must play.
The first active player to the dealer’s left leads to the first trick. After that, the winner of each trick leads to the next.
The rules of play are strict, and they are what make Bourré different from other trick games. You must follow suit if you can. If you cannot follow suit, you must play a trump if you have one. Whatever you play, you must beat the best card in the trick so far if you are able to, and if the trick has already been trumped and you cannot follow suit, you must overtrump if you can. Most tables also have a cinch rule: a player who holds enough high trumps to be sure of the pot must lead them, highest first, rather than hold back to catch other players with no tricks.
- 1Decide to play or pass, starting left of the dealer
- 2If playing, discard and draw replacements
- 3Follow suit, trump if you cannot, and beat the trick if you can
- 4Win the most tricks to take the pot
Winning
There are no points. Each hand is settled in chips as soon as the fifth trick is played.
| Result | What happens |
|---|---|
| Most tricks | Take the whole pot |
| Tricks split two, two and one | Nobody wins; the pot stays for the next deal |
| Played and took at least one trick, but not the most | Nothing won, nothing paid |
| Played and took no tricks (bourré) | Pay the size of the pot into the next pot |
| Passed | Out for the hand; only the ante is lost |
Three tricks always win. Two tricks win when no one else has two. Because the bourré payment matches the whole pot, pots can grow quickly, and many tables set a limit on how much a winner can take, leaving the rest for the next hand.
Variations
Pot limit: the winner takes no more than an agreed amount, such as 20 chips. Anything above that stays in the pot.
Pay to play: everyone antes before the deal, and each player who chooses to play puts in one more chip.
Limited draw: some tables let you exchange only up to four cards, so you always keep at least one card from the deal.
Tips from the table
Count your likely tricks before you stay. A couple of high trumps is a good reason to play. A hand of low cards in short suits is how players go bourré.
When you draw, keep trumps and aces and throw the rest. Since everyone must trump when they cannot follow, trumps decide most tricks.
Watch who cannot beat a trick. Because everyone must play high when they can, a player who plays low is telling you they are out of that suit or out of higher cards.
Passing is not losing. An ante is a small price next to paying a full pot.
Video Guides Are on the Way
We’re filming Game Guides that walk through full hands at the table, from the deal to the score.
Frequently asked
How do you say Bourré?
Boo-RAY. The name is French, and the game has been a fixture in the Cajun country of south Louisiana for generations.
What happens if two players each win two tricks?
Nobody takes the pot. It carries over to the next deal.
Do I have to play my highest card?
You have to play a card that beats the best card in the trick if you hold one. It does not have to be your very highest, only one that wins the trick at that moment.
Can the dealer pass?
Yes, like anyone else, unless the face-up card is the ace of trumps. Then the dealer is sure of a trick and must play.
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