"I never prospered
since I forswore myself at primero.
Well, if my wind were but long enough to say my prayers, I would repent."
Falstaff: “The Merry Wives of Windsor”
by William Shakespeare
Primiera is a card game that was played in Italy since the late XV century, being considered the precursor of Poker.
It was sometimes played with a 52 cards deck (Rome), but more frequently with a 40 cards deck, being called the Primiera Cardanica and using the typical cards set from Bologna, that is still used nowadys.
Very similar to the modern Poker, it was played with 4 cards for each player, with 3 card renewals, and betting at each renewal. Players could stay and see the bet, or raise it, or abandon the game.
Even the possibility of bluffing was allowed, and who has the highest card combination - among the ones that went along with the betting - is the winner.
The origin of the game may be Italian or Spanish, that is not defined, but got rapidly diffused all around Europe at the time.
Each card has a specific value, suits are not important, nor define any difference.
The sequence: highest card value is for the 7 (value = 21), followed by the 6 (18) - Ace (16) - 5(15) - 4 (14) - 3(13) - 2(12) - Figures (10 each).
CHORUS: 4 cards of the same value (7,7,7,7 ... 6,6,6,6 etc)
FLUXUS (Flush): 4 cards of the same suit
SUPREMUS (or Fifty-Five): 7-6-Ace of same suit
PRIMIERA: one card of each suit
NUMBERS (Point): 2-3 cards of the same suit
