Poque
The 17th-18th century French bluffing and betting game most often credited as the direct namesake and ancestor of the English word 'poker.'
Coming soon — not yet playable
Rules
Poque is a historical French card game rather than a single fixed modern ruleset — surviving accounts describe it as a vying game played with a 20- or 32-card piquet-style deck (rather than a full 52-card deck), where each player is dealt a hand and bets in rounds on whose hand is best, with the option to bluff, raise, or fold rather than reveal a weak hand.
Because Poque predates standardized rulebooks, exact hand rankings and betting structures varied by region and era; most historical descriptions agree on the core mechanics that make it recognizable as poker's ancestor: private hands, sequential betting with the option to raise or fold, and winning either by holding the best hand at a showdown or by making every other player fold first.
Poque is widely credited by etymologists and gaming historians as the direct source of the word "poker," carried to the United States (particularly New Orleans) by French colonists and immigrants in the early 19th century, where it merged with local card-game traditions and evolved into the games recognizable as poker today.
Strategy notes: Because reliable rule reconstructions vary, Poque is best treated as a historical reference point rather than a game to be played strictly "by the book" — the value here is in understanding where poker's core mechanics (private cards, betting in rounds, bluffing, folding) actually came from.
Common house rules
Treat as a reference, not a fixed ruleset
Because historical accounts of Poque's exact rules vary by source and era, most tables that want to 'try' it simply agree on a simplified vying structure (deal a hand, bet in rounds, best hand or last player standing wins) rather than chasing one canonical rule set.
Piquet deck (32 cards)
If reproducing something closer to historical play, use a stripped 32-card piquet deck (7 through Ace in each suit) rather than a full 52-card deck, which changes hand probabilities noticeably.
The etymology, not the rules, is the point
Most dealer's-choice tables include Poque for its historical significance as the namesake of 'poker' rather than as a serious game to play for real stakes — treat it as a fun aside between other hands.
Related games
Based on shared category, origin, and rules that reference each other.
Bouillotte
A high-stakes French vying game that emerged during the Revolutionary era, played with a stripped 20-card deck and believed to have shaped the early French form of Poque.
Learn the rules →Brelan
A French vying game from the 15th–19th centuries, played with three cards and a card turned from the deck — a key link in the chain leading to Bouillotte and Poque.
Learn the rules →Glic
One of the oldest recorded European vying games, dating to at least 1454 — its French name is considered the most direct linguistic root of 'Poque,' and by extension 'poker.'
Learn the rules →As Nas
A centuries-old Persian card game, played with a 20 or 25-card deck among five players, that many gaming historians point to as a possible influence on poker's hand rankings and betting structure.
Learn the rules →