It is named after the mouche, a term that variously refers to its winning hand, the basic stake and the penalty for failing to take any tricks.

Although also called Bête, it should not be confused with the older game of that name from which it came and which, in turn, was a derivative of Triomphe.

[4] However, Bête or Beste is also the name of an earlier, possibly antecedent, game in which there is no equivalent of the flush known as the mouche, but otherwise the rules are much the same.

The term bête came to be used in both French and German as the name of the stake and penalty payment in a number of old games of this type and may be the origin of the word bet which dates to the same era.

[6] The following rules are based on van der Aa (1721)[3] with some additional clarifications from the Académie des Jeux Oubliés.

The dealer then places the discards on the table face to his right and gives the player the same number of cards from the top of the talon.

Silence is taken as a "yes", but a questioned player who speaks is expected to bluff and be evasive, as long as he or she doesn't lie.

If no-one has the mouche, once everyone has had the chance to stick or exchange cards, play begins with the eldest hand (premier en cartes) leading to the first trick.

A player who fails to take a trick must "make the mouche" i.e. pay a penalty equal to the amount of the current pool into the basket which is played for in the next deal along with the dealer's ante.