Primero (in English also called Primus, in French Prime, in Italian Primiera or in Spanish Primera), is a 16th-century gambling card game of which the earliest reference dates back to 1526.

Although Daines Barrington is of the opinion that it is of Spanish origin, a poem of Francesco Berni is the earliest known writing to mention the game; it affords proof that it was at least commonly played in Italy at the beginning of the 16th century.

In English literature, besides the occasional use of the foreign names, the game is designated primero (and also prima-vista, a probable variant), with the usual corruptions in spelling of the early days.

[7] Whichever opinion these two seventeenth-century lexicographers might have had on the origin of primero, it seems fairly plausible that the game being played in different parts of Europe had to acquire similar names as it migrated from one country to another, or from one region to the other, notably in Italy and Spain.

The cover of the pack lying on the table displays two lions supporting a shield, upon which is what appears to be a heraldic rose (the crest of the Tudors), and underneath, though indistinctly, the partially illegible name of a French card-maker Jehan Licl**rer.

The money on the table, together with considerable heaps of gold and silver, appears to be coins of Edward VI and Queen Elizabeth I.

As the first Marquess of Exeter, Lord Burleigh, is said to have entirely devoted his time to business and study, taking no diversion but that afforded by his gardens, of which he was both fond and proud, it is to be supposed that this painting was not actually a portrait of him, though mistaken for his, as was the ownership of the old manor-house of Wimbledon.

Judging from the partial descriptions of the game which remain to us, it might seem that primero was played for either large or small stakes, as agreed upon.

[13] Primero appears to have been one of the earliest card games played in England during the Renaissance and the Tudor dynasty,[14] and certainly it continued to be one of the most fashionable games throughout the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I of England, Elizabeth I and James I, due to the frequent mention of it by many writers of that time.

The private expenses of Princess Mary, Henry VIII's daughter and later Queen, also contain numerous items of money "for the playe at cardes".

Among the epigrams of John Harington we have one which describes "The Story of Marcus' Life at Primero",[15] in which many of the terms of the game are developed in detail.

According to Charles Cotton,[16] primero, which by the time of the Restoration in 1660 had already evolved into many other variations, some of six cards, rapidly went out of fashion with the introduction of the Spanish game of Ombre.

However, a number of reconstructions of the game have been made, primarily on the basis of books describing playing strategy and references in period literature.

The player who holds the prime, a sequence of the best cards and a good trump, is sure to be successful over the adversaries – hence the game's name.

If no one bets, the stakes are carried forward to the next deal; but if one stays in, at least one other must contest the pot, this obligation ultimately falling upon the player immediately ahead of the last bettor if everyone else has folded.

What they apparently must not do is to underbid their hands; for as Cardano puts it: "If anyone wins with the greatest point, he is obliged to show another card; otherwise he loses his deposit because he could have a 'Flush'...

It is taken from terms used at primero, and perhaps other games then played)[19] is made at the second card, and when the first player say "pass", every one is obliged to discard, notwithstanding any one may have an ace or a 6 in hand.

In Venice, for instance, the mode of playing may be different; in Lombardy, Naples, France and Spain, so many countries, so many customs.

The most essential operation of this game may be its two principal hands, the flush[clarification needed] and the primera, and a third, derived from the first, which is called punto; from these three are deducted all the varieties which daily occur at primero, as the greater and lesser flush, the great and little prime, and more or less points; this diversity gives rise to numerous controversies and disputable points.