Newmarket is an English

card game A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ...

of the matching type for any number of players. It is a domestic

gambling game Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

, involving more chance than skill, and emerged in the 1880s as an improvement of the older game of

Pope Joan Pope Joan (''Ioannes Anglicus'', 855–857) was, according to legend, a woman who reigned as pope for two years during the Middle Ages. Her story first appeared in chronicles in the 13th century and subsequently spread throughout Europe. The s ...

. It became known in America as Stops or Boodle before developing into Michigan (see below). In 1981, Newmarket was still the sixth most popular card game in Britain.Parlett (1991), p. 3

History

Pope Joan was an English gambling game with an elaborate staking board in the shape of a rotating multi-compartment dish whose popularity waned in favour of Newmarket in the second half of the 19th century. It is mentioned as early as 1820 in an account of a duke "losing considerably at Newmarket", but the earliest rules were not published until the 1850s. Another early set of rules appears in ''The Bazaar, Exchange and Mart'' in 1875; it differs from later rules in that no spare hand is dealt to increase the number of stop cards.Heather (1875), p. 181. In America, it was also known as Newmarket to begin with, but later became known as Stops or Boodle before being superseded there by Michigan in the 1920s. Meanwhile Newmarket continues to be a popular family game in the UK, although both it and Michigan are being displaced by games of the Eights family. The 1885 ''American Hoyle'' contains the earliest transatlantic rules.Parlett (1991), p. 117Dick (1885), pp. 259–261. Different rules use different cards on the staking layout which are from a second pack, except where stated. These cards became known as ''boodles'' or ''boodle cards'' in America.Phillips (1957), p. 220. Other names include ''money cards'', ''luxuries'' or, in alluding to

Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...

, ''horses''. * Heather (1875) – K, Q, Kn and 10 * Dick (1885) – A, K, Q and Kn * "Trumps" (1897) – A, K, Q and Kn * Dawson (1923) – A, K, Q and J * Phillips (1957) – A, K, Q and J * Arnold (1988) – an A, K, Q and J of different suits. * McLeod (2000) – A, K, Q and J * Kansil (2001) Kansil (2001), p. 272. – A, K, Q and J * Parlett (south London, 2008)Parlett (2008), pp. 438–440 – four Kings from the player's pack. * Parlett ("original rules") – an A, K, Q and J of different suits.

Newmarket (1885)

An early description of the rules is given in 1885 edition of ''The American Hoyle'' on which the following is based:

Preliminaries

Newmarket is a round game for any number of players using a pack of 52

French-suited cards French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are cards that use the French suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains three or four face/court cards. I ...

from which the 8 has been removed. It requires a staking board to which the following cards from a second pack have been affixed: A, K, Q, Kn. Any player shuffles the pack, has it cut by the person to his right and then deals one card, face up, to each player in clockwise order beginning with

eldest hand Card players are those participating in a card game. Various names are given to card players based on their role or position. Position Games of Anglo-American origin In games of Anglo-American origin played in English-speaking countries, ...

(the player to his left). As soon as any player receives a Knave, he becomes the first dealer.

Stakes

Players stake an agreed number of chips upon any of the cards on the staking layout, distributing them as they choose. The dealer stakes double the amount in likewise fashion.

Deal and play

The pack is shuffled and cut before the cards are dealt in entirety, individually, beginning with eldest hand again. He also deals an extra hand for ''

stops Stop may refer to: Places *Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...

'' immediately before dealing to himself. There are no trumps. Eldest leads the lowest card of any suit that he has and names the card as he does so. The player with the next higher card in suit sequence plays and names it. The cards rank from Ace (lowest) to King (highest). Play continues in this way until a ''stop'' is reached. A player may play several cards in succession as long as they are in suit sequence. A ''stop'' is a card that stops the sequence continuing because no-one holds it or because it is the highest card; so the four Kings and the 7 are always ''stops''. Also a card ranking immediately below a card in the spare hand are ''stops''. When a ''stop'' is played, all the cards are turned face down and the player of the ''stop'' (the last card to be played), leads to the next round by playing the lowest card he has of any suit. If a player plays any of the cards on the staking layout, he sweeps the stakes on that card. If the stakes on any card are not claimed during the round (e.g. because that card is in the spare hand), they remain in place for the next round. If any are left at the end of the session, they are claimed by lot. Play continues until someone has got rid of all their cards and says "out!" He earns from each other player one chip for each card that player holds.

Newmarket (2011)

The following modern rules are based on Arnold (2011). The main differences from Dick are:Arnold (2011), pp. 206–208. * The 8 is not removed from the pack * Any K, Q, J and 10 may be used as staking cards as long as they are of different suits. They have picked up the American nickname of ''boodles''. * There is a separate pool which the winner sweeps instead of claiming a chip per card held by his adversaries * Stakes are prescribed: one to the pool and four to the staking layout

Preliminaries

A standard pack is used with cards ranking in their natural order, Aces low. A King, Queen, Jack and Ten from a second pack are laid in a row on the table; these are called ''boodles''. Deal and play are clockwise. Any player may shuffle and then distribute the cards, individually, until a Jack appears, whereupon the player who received the Jack, will deal first.

Stakes

Each player antes five chips: one to a central pool and the other four to the boodles in any combination he chooses.

Play

The cards are now dealt, singly and in rotation, to each player and, lastly, to a spare hand that is not subsequently touched. Eldest leads by playing any card face up as long as it is the lowest card he holds of that suit. The player with the next higher card in suit sequence now plays it; players may thus play more than one card in succession. Players announce the name of the card as they play and place the card in front of them, not in a common pile or run. This continues until the sequence reaches the King or no-one has the next higher card because it is in the spare hand. Once again, the ''stops'' are the Kings and any card immediately below a card in the spare hand. When a sequence stops, the player who played last starts a new sequence with a card that is the lowest of its suit in his hand. Whenever a player plays a card that matches a ''boodle'', he claims the stakes on it. The first player to go out by shedding all his cards sweeps the pool and the next deal starts.

Michigan

Michigan is the popular US version of Newmarket and differs from the 2011 version of Newmarket (above) in the following respects: * The ''boodles'' are an A, K, Q and J of different suits, not the K, Q, J and 10 * Aces are high * There is no pool. Players ante one chip to each ''boodle'', while the dealer antes two to each * The spare hand is dealt first, not last. It is a

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...

with which the dealer may exchange his hand * Players must change suit when a suit is stopped * Winning: as in the earliest rules, the winner collects from each adversary one chip per card held in the hand Arnold points out that both Newmarket and Michigan have a considerable number of variations.

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

* Arnold, Peter (1995) 988 ''The Book of Card Games''. New York: Barnes & Noble. * Arnold, Peter (2011). ''Chambers Card Games''. London: Chambers Harrap. * Southey, Robert (1853). ''Cowper's Works by Southey''. London: Bohn. *

Dick, William Brisbane Dick & Fitzgerald was a 19th-century United States publisher, founded by William Brisbane Dick (1827–1901) and Lawrence R. Fitzgerald (1826-1881), based in New York City. Their address at one time was 18 Ann Street. Dick and Fitzgerald was a pu ...

(1885). ''The American Hoyle.'' Dick & Fitzgerald, New York. Full view. * Harcourt, Seymour (1820)
''The Gaming Calendar'' and ''Annals of Gaming''
London: Stockdale. * Heather, H.E. (1875)
"Newmarket"
in ''The Bazaar, Exchange and Mart'', September 11, 1875. London. * Kansil Joli Quentin (2001). ''Bicycle Official Rules of Card Games'', 90th edn. Cincinnati: USPC. * Lock, Ward (1994). ''The Complete Book of Card Games''. London: Magna. * Paris, Matthew (1853). ''The Flowers of History'', Vol. 1. London: Bohn. *

Parlett, David David Parlett (born 18 May 1939 in London) is a games scholar, historian, and translator from South London, who has studied both card games and board games. He is the president of the British Skat Association. His published works include many pop ...

(1991). ''A History of Card Games'', OUP, Oxford. *

(2008). The Penguin Book of Card Games, Penguin, London. *

Phillips, Hubert Hubert Phillips (13 December 1891 – 9 January 1964) was a British economist, journalist, broadcaster, bridge player and organiser, composer of puzzles and quizzes, and the author of some 70 books. Life Education and early career Phil ...

(1957). ''Culbertson's Card Games Complete''. Watford: Arco. * "Trumps" (1894). ''The American Hoyle'', 15th edn. Dick & Fitzgerald, New York. {{Non trick-taking card games Stops group English card games Multi-player card games French deck card games