Put
A 16th-19th century English vying and trick-playing game for two players, documented in Charles Cotton's 1674 gaming compendium and closely related to Truco.
Coming soon — not yet playable
Rules
Put is a two-player game documented as early as the 1660s (in Francis Willughby's Book of Games) and later described in detail in Charles Cotton's 1674 The Compleat Gamester. Each player is dealt three cards, and up to three tricks are played.
At any point, a player may "put" — proposing to raise the stakes for the hand — which their opponent must either accept (continuing at the higher stake) or decline (conceding the hand and its current stake). This propose-or-fold betting mechanic, layered on top of simple trick-play, closely parallels the core betting/folding decision at the heart of poker.
Historical note: Put is documented by card-game historians as closely related to the French/Spanish game Truc and, by extension, the South American game Truco (also in this library) — all three share the same "propose a raise, opponent accepts or folds" betting spine layered over a simple trick-taking card game.
Strategy notes: Because both the trick-play and the "put" betting decisions carry real information, Put rewards a mix of trick-taking skill and bluffing courage — a useful example of how betting-on-a-hand mechanics could attach to entirely different card-play structures (trick-taking here, versus the showdown-based comparison poker eventually settled on).
Common house rules
Two players only
Put is historically a strictly two-player game; larger tables wanting to try it should treat it as a rotating head-to-head exhibition rather than force it into a full-table format.
Compare to Truco
If your table already knows Truco (also in this library), Put's 'propose a raise, opponent accepts or folds' mechanic will feel immediately familiar — the two games share a documented lineage.
Three-card, three-trick structure
Standard rule: each player gets exactly three cards and up to three tricks are played per hand, with the 'put' raise option available before or during trick-play depending on the historical source consulted.
Related games
Based on shared category, origin, and rules that reference each other.
Loo
Also called Lanterloo — England's most popular card game by the early 18th century, where players may fold for free or commit to winning a trick or pay a forfeit into the pool.
Learn the rules →Post and Pair
A 16th-17th century English vying game (also called 'Pink'), referenced by Shakespeare, built around three-of-a-kind combinations and considered a direct ancestor of Brag.
Learn the rules →Truco
A wildly popular South American trick-taking game built around bluffing and betting on hidden hand strength — Argentina's answer to poker's core mechanic of representing a hand you may not have.
Learn the rules →Ambigu
A French vying game first recorded in 1659 under Louis XIV, blending elements of Whist, Bouillotte, and Piquet, with hand categories that closely parallel modern poker rankings.
Learn the rules →