What is the Boule in Hand Rule and when should you try to shoot the cochonnet
If you have no more boule left and the jack is deemed dead i.e. moves over a dead boule line or shoots off the piste this rule comes into play. All the unthrown boule the opposition have in their hands count as points. However if you have only one boule left to throw or the opposition have no boule left either the end is deemed dead. The team who started the dead end starts another and no score is given to either team on that dead end. Just a mention here that the end begins from the end where the jack was before it died. This is the case even if the jack dies with the very first boule thrown. The circle can be drawn around where the jack was or on a line it took off the terrain. The dead jack boule in hand rule allows you to kill an end without lost of points as long as you have one boule left. Unfortunately it also allows teams to kill the end and score the boule in hand if you have thrown all your boule. For example, you have thrown the first point and it is very close. The other team shoot and miss, they shoot again and miss. They then throw their last four boule and defend the jack so well you would have trouble scoring any more points. The option maybe to kill the end by hitting the jack with a shot. Hopefully the jack is deemed dead and you would score four points from an end where you may have only scored one or two. But back to the last question "Should I shoot with my last boule?" You should always weigh up the options of shooting. If the jack moves but does not go dead it may stop you scoring points, remember the opposition shot twice and these two boule may be at the back of the head still live. Yes, the jack will land on them if you are unlucky.
Killing the end to save game could be an option. The opposition have pointed near the jack. It is not very close but the piste is tricky. You point four times and do not beat the first boule. They are on 11 points and the game looks over. You may decide to shoot the jack to kill the end and stop the opposition from scoring. If you fail you still have another boule left to defend the end. Drastic times may call for drastic measures
