Is it acceptable to play against your partner?

[Zapawa]

Sorry for using English, I don't speak French very well. Hopefully this is allowed. See below for Google Translate.

I've been learning French Tarot for a few weeks now and I really love it. I have one question about acceptable behaviour in the game:

Recently I had a game where I was leading with 195 points by the last hand. I was called by a player with 191 points. All the other players had significantly lower scores. If I chose to try losing the bid on purpose, I would have won the game. However, staying loyal to my partner would mean that he'd overtake me by points and I would get second place. I chose the latter out of courtesy, but in general is it acceptable to betray your partner?

______

J'apprends le Tarot Français depuis quelques semaines maintenant et j'aime vraiment ça. J'ai une question sur le comportement acceptable dans le jeu :

Récemment, j'ai eu un match où j'étais en tête avec 195 points à la dernière main. J'ai été appelé par un joueur avec 191 points. Tous les autres joueurs avaient des scores significativement inférieurs. Si j'avais volontairement choisi d'essayer de perdre l'enchère, j'aurais gagné la partie. Cependant, rester fidèle à mon partenaire signifierait qu'il me dépasserait aux points et que j'obtiendrais la deuxième place. J'ai choisi cette dernière par courtoisie, mais en général est-il acceptable de trahir son partenaire ?

[Woodruff]

J'apprends le Tarot Français depuis quelques semaines maintenant et j'aime vraiment ça. J'ai une question sur le comportement acceptable dans le jeu :

Récemment, j'ai eu un match où j'étais en tête avec 195 points à la dernière main. J'ai été appelé par un joueur avec 191 points. Tous les autres joueurs avaient des scores significativement inférieurs. Si j'avais volontairement choisi d'essayer de perdre l'enchère, j'aurais gagné la partie. Cependant, rester fidèle à mon partenaire signifierait qu'il me dépasserait aux points et que j'obtiendrais la deuxième place. J'ai choisi cette dernière par courtoisie, mais en général est-il acceptable de trahir son partenaire ?

Bonjour,

Épineuse question... À titre personnel j'aurais tendance à que c'est acceptable, car même si l'important, ce n'est pas de gagner, lorsqu'on joue à un jeu on essaie d'orienter sa stratégie dans ce sens. Je n'en voudrais donc pas à celui qui me ferais ce coup là. Y aurait-il comme un intérêt moral de ne pas chercher à gagner dans ce cas ? Cela ne me semble pas souhaitable, mais il faut garder la tête froide.

D'un autre côté, il est vrai que beaucoup de joueurs voient ça d'un mauvais œil. Du coup, à voir selon la situation et avec qui vous jouez.

[kerkael]

In the specific situation you explain, and as you are not in a tournament team (in duplicate 3+1 vs 1+3) but at a 5p table, you play for yourself. In such a case, if your goal is to win with the highest score at the end, then the rules don't force you to play to let your partner win.
By courtesy, you can announce the situation, and everyone would know, as this can't be seen as against the whole game if 1 round is lost, why you're doing it. Though, you will find players who think you play against them, while it's your right. And you should not be blamed. Don't forget that Tarot can be played for money, and at the end, that's what the score is about.

It's not the same when in defense one of your partners decides to give up a queen, because he thinks you're not playing good. This happened to me, and the player explicitely said: "you play bad, so by revenge I give up." This was stupid, as they could not know my hand, and decided to criticize the game while in still in play. No way to get any reasonable thinking from them after that (the 2nd player in defense criticized my game as well), showing ignorance about the rules of the game (don't show up your Poignée if you're not sure to win), as well as bienséance around the table (don't criticize, or blame the other player's game if you don't understand it). And whatever : don't talk about it during the game.

Anyway, you will have your arguments, and they can convey the truth but be completely ignored by players who just want to troll your game.

Good luck.

[Jellby]

Personally, I'd find it acceptable, at least in BGA, where what matters (if anything) is the final position.

If this was in a different context, where for example points are translated into money, then your best interest is to maximize your points, regardless of whether another players has more points than you.

In any case, this is an individual game.