Primero, the Northpass Way

By Master Richard the Poor of Ely

One card game that is not a trick-taking game is Primero, an Italian game of the sixteenth century that is similar to poker. It has been described in SCA publications before, but it has yet to catch on.

Part of the problem is that people are trying to be too authentic with the rules. In Primero, you need a 40 card deck, which is made by removing the tens, nines, and eights from a standard deck. Then, each card is assigned a point value that has no relation to the number on the card - a six is worth eighteen points and a two is worth twelve, for example - and the cards are ranked in a bizarre order: from highest to lowest, they are seven, six, ace (Ace? Yes, Ace!), five, four, three, two, and then all the face cards. The whole mess means you spend more time doing arithmetic than playing the game. Compared to this, the variations in rules given in the SCA publications are insignificant.

There is an easier way to do this. To make a 40 card deck, simply remove all the picture cards (Kings, Queens, and Jacks). Then let the point value for a card simply be the number on it. So a six is worth six points, and a two is worth two points. An Ace is worth one point. This does not affect the play of the game! We are merely rearranging an arbitrary set of values. Now to the actual play of the game. Each player is dealt four cards, face down. Here's the ranking of hands:

Numerus

Two or three cards of the same suit (e.g. three hearts)

Primero

One card of each suit

Fluxus

Four cards of the same suit

Chorus

Four cards of the same rank (e.g. four threes)

Within the same hand, add up the point values of the cards involved. The winner has the higher total:

Bob	Ray
3 of Hearts	2 of Spades
6 of Hearts	3 of Spades
8 of Hearts	10 of Spades
2 of Clubs	4 of Diamonds

Both have a Numerus, but Bob has the higher point total (17 to 15) and wins. Note that it is possible for a two-card Numerus to beat a three-card one (e.g. 9+10=19, which beats 3+4+5=12)! In the case of a pair of two card Numeruses, use the one with the higher value. If the point values come out equal, then add in the value of the remaining cards:

Tom	Dick
7 of Clubs	3 of Diamonds
9 of Clubs	5 of Diamonds
3 of Spades	8 of Diamonds
6 of Spades	7 of Hearts

Both have a Numerus of sixteen (7+9 and 3+5+8), but Tom wins since his total hand has the higher value (25 to 23). If it were still tied, split the pot and leave any odd coin for the next pot. Of course, a Primero, Fluxus, or Chorus would beat any of these hands.

Now for the betting and actual play of a hand. Everyone antes up, and the cards are dealt:

Hansel	A of Clubs	8 of Clubs	4 of Diamonds	8 of Hearts
	Numerus of 9
Gretel	3 of Hearts	10 of Hearts	2 of Spades	4 of Spades
	Numerus of 13
Ted	7 of Diamonds	8 of Spades	9 of Hearts	10 of Clubs
	Primero of 34
Alice	2 of Hearts	4 of Hearts	7 of Hearts	9 of Clubs
	Numerus of 13

Hansel doubts his Numerus of 9 is going to win, so he passes. When you pass, you trade in one or two cards. Hansel trades his 8 of Hearts and 4 of Diamonds, hoping to increase his Numerus.

Gretel's Numerus of 13 is about average for a first hand. Feeling daring, she bets two (of whatever the local currency is). When you bet, you have to announce your hand, so Gretel calls out, "Numerus of 13 for two."

Now it's Ted's turn. His hand is a very high value Primero, so he's going to stay with it. He has to meet Gretel's bet, so he tosses in two coins and then calls, "Primero of 34 for six."

Since right now Alice has the same hand as Gretel, she is going to have to pass, trading in the 9 of Clubs and hoping to get a Heart to make a Fluxus. Alice also knows that there is no such thing as "folding" in Primero as there is in poker. And while bluffing when calling your hand is allowed, it is frowned upon. If she wanted to bluff, she would only have to meet the most recent bet (in this case Ted's six) and not the total amount bet so far (Gretel's two and Ted's six). Finally, when passing, you don't have to bet.

After getting their new cards, here's what they have:

Hansel	A of Clubs	8 of Clubs	A of Diamonds	5 of Diamonds
	Numerus of 9
Gretel	3 of Hearts	10 of Hearts	2 of Spades	4 of Spades
	Numerus of 13
Ted	7 of Diamonds	8 of Spades	9 of Hearts	10 of Clubs
	Primero of 34
Alice	2 of Hearts	4 of Hearts	7 of Hearts	2 of Diamonds
	Numerus of 13

Hansel hasn't improved his hands, so he passes again, trading in the two Diamonds. Gretel has to pass as well, trading in her two Spades. Now that everybody has had a chance to bet or pass after Ted declared his hand, betting stops and the cards are shown:

Hansel	A of Clubs	8 of Clubs	6 of Spades	6 of Hearts
	Numerus of 9
Gretel	3 of Hearts	10 of Hearts	7 of Clubs	6 of Diamonds
	Numerus of 13
Ted	7 of Diamonds	8 of Spades	9 of Hearts	10 of Clubs
	Primero of 34
Alice	2 of Hearts	4 of Hearts	7 of Hearts	2 of Diamonds
	Numerus of 13

Ted wins easily.

There's one more rule, the "forced stake", so let's do one more hand to show it.

Hansel	A of Clubs	2 of Clubs	4 of Clubs	3 of Diamonds
	Numerus of 7
Gretel	5 of Spades	7 of Spades	10 of Spades	9 of Diamonds
	Numerus of 22
Ted	5 of Diamonds	10 of Diamonds	7 of Hearts	3 of Spades
	Numerus of 15
Alice	3 of Hearts	10 of Hearts	A of Diamonds	9 of Clubs
	Numerus of 13

Hansel's Numerus is too small to win. He trades in the 3 of Diamonds and the A of Clubs, hoping for another Club of a higher value. Yes, you can break up a hand like this. He could have just traded the 3 of Diamonds, trying for a Fluxus, but he thinks it's worth the risk since he will get to try again when the play comes back to him.

Gretel bets, calling "Numerus of 22 for five."

Ted now has a dilemma. He can trade in the 7 and 3, hoping for more Diamonds to try and beat Gretel's Numerus, or he can trade in the 5 and hope for a Club to get a Primero. Not knowing what the other players have, he reasons he's got one chance for one of ten cards (the Club), or two chances for three cards (the 7, 8, and 9 of Diamonds which would at least tie him with Gretel). There's also the chance of getting two diamonds to make a Fluxus, so he goes with that and trades in the 7 and 3. Having to make this decision is what makes the game interesting.

Alice passes as well, trading in her 3 of Hearts to try to get a Primero.

Here's what they have after the trading:

Hansel	2 of Clubs	4 of Clubs	6 of Clubs	5 of Hearts
	Numerus of 12
Gretel	5 of Spades	7 of Spades	10 of Spades	9 of Diamonds
	Numerus of 22
Ted	5 of Diamonds	10 of Diamonds	3 of Clubs	A of Spades
	Numerus of 15
Alice	4 of Spades	10 of Hearts	A of Diamonds	9 of Clubs
	Primero of 24

It's Hansel's turn, but he can't beat Gretel. So he passes. Here's where the Forced Stake comes in. If only one person bets with everyone else passing, the last person before the play comes back around to the bettor is forced to meet the bettor's stake. Reluctantly, Hansel tosses five into the pot (to match Gretel's bet) and trades in the 5 of Hearts.

Hansel	2 of Clubs	4 of Clubs	5 of Clubs	6 of Clubs
	Fluxus of 17
Gretel	5 of Spades	7 of Spades	10 of Spades	9 of Diamonds
	Numerus of 22
Ted	5 of Diamonds	10 of Diamonds	3 of Clubs	A of Spades
	Numerus of 15
Alice	4 of Spades	10 of Hearts	A of Diamonds	9 of Clubs
	Primero of 24

Hansel is surprised to get another Club, giving him a winning Fluxus, to the dismay of everyone else - especially Alice, who thought her Primero was going to win.

So, there it is. Primero the Northpass way. A quick card game for several players, where the keys (as in any gambling game) are knowledge of the cards and money management skill.

The rules for betting are adapted from "Tommy's Primero", a computer version of the game for MS-DOS systems. You can download a free version of it from the Tommy's Toys website at www.tommystoys.com (along with a number of other Period games, like Rithmomachy).

Back to Østgarðr	Back to Games