Poch, Pochen or Pochspiel () is a very old card game that is considered one of the forerunners of poker, a game that developed in America in the 19th century. An etymological relationship between the game names is also assumed. Games related to Poch are the French Glic and Nain Jaune and the English Pope Joan. Other forerunners of poker and possible relatives of the game are the English game, Brag, from the 16th century and the French Brelan (later Bouillotte) and Belle, Flux et Trente-et-Un. Poch is recorded as early as 1441 in Strasbourg.
Pochen is also another name for the card game Tippen or Dreiblatt.
History
A game called boeckels is attested as early as 1441 in a Strasbourg ordinance and surfaces periodically during the 15th century as bocken, usually in the context of being banned. It was mainly played in the south German states as well as Alsace and the Rhineland. By the 16th century the game had become well known enough to be featured in a 1519 satirical print of Emperor Charles V playing Bockspyl with an unnamed Turk and King Francis of France and for an anti-Luther pamphlet to be published called Bockspil. No detailed rules are known, but it is evidently a pure gambling game for any number of players.
The oldest known board or Pochbrett is in the collections of the Bavarian National Museum and dates to the early 16th century. It is square in shape and has 7 rows of 6 cells each, marked out by white lines. The top row displays German-suited playing cards, probably of the Ansbach pattern. These cards, all in the suit of hearts, are the Deuce, King, Ober, Unter and Ten ("X") and there is also a column for Bock (Poch) depicted by a billy goat. Other boards of that period were rectangular, often columnar, and with additional compartments for Sequenz (sequence), Braut (marriage) and Trio (run of 6-7-8).
The game of Poch went through its 'dark ages' from around 1620 to 1710 when neither references nor boards are recorded, but re-emerges in the early 18th century. This is also when the first octagonal boards appear. These were joined and eventually superseded by round boards in the 19th century. Over the centuries the number of compartments rose from the original six to the nine that are used today.
Pochen was not only popular in the German-speaking area of central Europe, but also appears to have spread to France.
Rules
Poch was and is played in many variations with different details; its rules have changed over time and even the modern rules are not universal or binding like the rules of chess.
Pochen (19th century)
The rules reproduced below are based on the description in Von Alvensleben (1853). The board illustrated is of the earlier, rectangular type that date to at least the early 16th century.
Overview
The aim is to win counters by melding, vying (pochen) and shedding. Three to eight may play, but the game is best for three to six. Deal, vying and play are clockwise. Players required a 52-card French-suited pack and a staking board with eight pools.
Preliminaries
Each player antes 1 counter (Marke) to each of the following 7 rows or pools on the board: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, Marriage (K+Q) and Sequence (7-8-9). The eighth row, Poch, is used in stage 2. The player who draws the first Ace deals first. He has the cards cut by the player to the right, deals 5 cards each (3+2) and turns the next for trump.
Part 1 – Melding
Players show cards or combinations in the trump suit matching those on the board and collect the counters from the corresponding row. A player with the trump K+Q wins Marriage; the player with the highest run wins Sequence; if they are the same, a trump sequence wins; if they are the same and neither is in the trump suit, the player in forehand wins. A player with a Marriage or Sequence collects the counters for the individual cards as well as the combination. Counters not won are carried forward, added to in later deals until a player has that meld and clears the pool.
Part 2 – Pochen
Part 2 is a vying (pochen) stage where players may vie if they have a set of 2 or more cards of the same rank; otherwise must pass. Forehand begins and may pass or "knock!" (ich poche!) and place 1 or more counters in the Poch row. In turn players (a) pass, or (b) "hold" (ich halte!), placing a stake equal to that of the knocker, or (c) "knock higher" (ich poche nach!), i.e. raise, and add a higher stake. A player not willing to hold a raise, folds and forfeits his or her stake. Once no-one wants to raise further, those who held the last raise reveal the cards they are vying with and the player with the highest set wins.