Le her (or ''le hère'') is a French
card game
A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...
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
''La vie tres horrifique du grand Gargantua, père de Pantagruel jadis composée par M. Alcofribas abstracteur de quinte essence. Livre plein de Pantagruelisme'' according to 's 1542 edition, or simply Gargantua, is the second novel by François ...
, 1534). Le Her belongs to the family of
Ranter-Go-Round 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.
[Hargrave, C. P., ''A History of Playing Cards and a Bibliography of Cards and Gaming'', New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1966, ''chapter IV. Playing cards in France'', páginas 31-88.]
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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