Le Her (or ''le Hère'') is a French
card game that dates back to the 16th century. It is quoted by the French poet Marc Papillon de Lasphrise in 1597. Under the name ''coucou'' it is mentioned in
Rabelais' long list of games (in
Gargantua, 1534). Le Her belongs to the family of
Ranter-Go-Round
Ranter-Go-Round is a primitive gambling game and children's game using playing cards. It is known in most European countries as Cuckoo; the French variant being called Coucou. Other English-language names include Chase the Ace and, in America, ...
games. It is played with a standard deck of 52
cards by two people, designated the dealer and the receiver. King is ranked high and ace low.
To play, the dealer gives one card to the receiver and one to the dealer. The receiver may choose to exchange cards with the dealer, unless the dealer has a king, in which case no exchange occurs. Then, the dealer may choose to exchange with the top card of the deck, unless the top card is a king, in which case no exchange occurs. In the case of the dealer and receiver having same ranked cards, the dealer is the winner.
Le Her played a role in the development of the mathematical theory of probability with solutions being sought by
Bernoulli and
de Montmort.
References
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Gambling games
French card games
16th-century card games
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