To have fun, relax, socialize, and be merry. As for the game itself, to score the most points at the end of the evening.
Four players at a table, paired up as partners sitting across from each other.
A standard deck of cards with the two's and three's discarded. One joker is used as well.The joker is always the highest trump. The jack of the trump suit (the suit that was bid) is the second-highest trump and is called the right bower. The jack of the other suit of the same color as the trump suit is the third-highest trump and is called the left bower. Thus if spades are the trump suit (the suit that was bid), the rank of cards is: Joker, Jack of spades (right bower), Jack of clubs (left bower), Ace of spades, K of spades, Q, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4.
The exception to this is the No-Trump bid, in which case the rank is: Joker, A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4.
At the beginning of each round, the first dealer is chosen by high cut. Each player is dealt ten cards in batches usually 3-2-3-2. After the first round of the deal, three cards are placed face down in the middle of the table to form the blind. After the third round of the deal, two more cards are added to the blind.Honestly though, no one really cares how the cards get dealt, so long as each player has 10 cards and there are 5 cards in the blind.
If the dealer fails to get the correct number of cards in everyone's hands and the blind, a "miss-deal" is called. All cards are thrown in and the dealer shuffles and re-deals. This is usually caused by forgetting to shuffle the previous hand's blind.
If a card's value is exposed during the deal, any player can call a miss-deal if desired.
If a player's hand contains only cards between 4 and 10, the player may call out "No Ace, No Face" at any time before the final bid. This results in a miss-deal.
The next dealer is the person sitting to the left of the previous dealer.
Bidding begins with the player on the dealer's left. Each player has only one chance to bid, either passing or making a bid higher than any preceding bid. Each bid must name a suit and a number of tricks, such as "seven hearts" or "eight no-trump". A bid is higher than a preceding bid if it has a higher scoring value in the following table:NUMBER OF TRICKS SUIT 7 8 9 10 No-trump 220 320 420 520 Hearts 200 300 400 500 Diamonds 180 280 380 480 Clubs 160 260 360 460 Spades 140 240 340 440 Nullo Not Allowed for Card Club Grand-Nullo Not Allowed for Card ClubIf you do not feel strong enough in your suit to bid 7, you can do what's called an inkle, or a 6 bid. This is telling your partner what suit you are strong in. This is only allowed if no one has bid 7 already. If someone has bid 6-spades, you may bid 6-clubs, etc. Some players interpret this to mean that you have the bower in the suit you inkled. In card club, "6 No-trump" means you have at least 2 Jacks, one red, one black (a.k.a. "split bowers"). "6 No" means you have the joker. You can remember which is which by thinking that 2 words ("No Trump") means you have two cards (split bowers), One word ("No") means you have one card (the joker).
If you cannot bid over the previous bid, or at all, you say "pass".
If no player bids 7, the deal is thrown in without score and the dealer shuffles and re-deals.
The high bidder takes the 5 cards in the blind into his hand and discards five cards face down. This allows the bidder to improve his/her hand. He/she then leads the first card.The hands are played out in tricks. A trick is a set of 4 cards, one played by each player. There are 10 tricks in each round of play. A player must follow the suit led, if able; if unable to follow suit, he/she may play any card. The highest trump in a trick wins it, or the highest card of the suit led when no trump cards are present. If the suit that was lead is not the trump suit, you can "trump" the trick by laying a card in the trump suit. For example, if Spades is the trump suit and an Ace of Hearts is lead, if (and only if) you have no hearts, you can play the 4 of Spades. This card is in the trump suit, therefore it beats the Ace of Hearts. Beware though, players behind you can trump over you as well, if they cannot follow suit.
When a trick is made, the 4 cards are placed on the table face-down next to the player that won the trick, or that player's partner. The winner of a trick leads the first card of the next trick. At any time, a player can ask to review the cards in only the last trick played.
With a no-trump bid, the joker is the sole trump card. It wins any trick that it is played on. However, the joker cannot be played onto a trick unless the player is unable to follow suit. When the joker is led, its owner specifies its suit and the other players must follow suit, if able.
If the team that bid wins at least as many tricks as were bid, it scores the value according to the bid table. It does not get extra points for tricks taken beyond the amount bid. The exception to this is if the team wins all ten tricks, it scores either the bid or 250 points (whichever is greater). If the bidding team is set (fails to make the bid), the value of the bid is deducted from its score. Thus a team can have a negative score. The other team is awarded a 100 point bonus for setting the bidding team. Regardless of whether the bid was made or not, the opposing team scores 10 points for each trick they took.A total of 6 hands are played out. At the end of these 6 hands, the team with the most points is the winning team. In the unlikely event of a tie, there will be a tiebreaker hand. The dealer is decided by cutting for a high card again, the winner of the hand is declared the winner of the round. If the bidding team is set, the opposing team is declared the winner, no points are awarded for this tie-breaking hand. Stats for bids, points, sets, etc. are not factored. A 9-bid does NOT win wine on a tiebreaker hand, it's only purpose it to determine which table the couples play at next.
6 hands are played in 5 rounds for a total of 30 hands. At the end of each round, you record your score and move to a new table based on whether or not you and your partner won the round.
Three tables are set up to create a high, middle, and low table. Your first partner is your spouse / significant other.If you win the round, you and your partner move towards the high table. If you are already seated at the high table and you win the round, you stay there.
If you lose, you and your partner move towards the low table. If you are already seated at the low table and you lose the round, you stay there.
When you move tables, you switch partners. Partners are always a male / female pair.
Initially, the host couple starts out at the high table. The host couple assigns the other couples to their initial tables in whichever way they please.
At the end of the night, your total score for all 5 rounds is tallied up and given to the coordinator who will keep a running score for the entire season.There is no entry fee for card club at this time, a travelling trophy may be given to best / worst individual and / or couple performances.
Special prizes are awarded for successfully making a 9-bid. The host couple will have 2 bottles of wine, one red and one white. The winners of the 9-bid will take one bottle each. If a new couple wins a 9-bid, they will take the wine from the previous winners. If no one successfully completes a 9-bid, one bottle of wine goes to the lowest male score, the other to the lowest female score. Lower of the two gets to pick which bottle they want.
After an initial planning meeting, a schedule will be laid out to determine who will host card club for the months of September to May. The host couple has the following duties:
- Provide space for 6 couples to play cards. 3 card tables and 12 chairs are needed. Resources can be pooled amoung the participants. If possible, the high table should be set up in a way to reward good play (fancier environment, fireplace, etc.) and the low table should be the most undesirable table to be at. (basement, garage, etc.)
- Provide delicious snacks and tasty beverages.
- Provide a botttle of red wine and a bottle of white wine for any winners of 9-bids.
- Provide tunes if available.
- Provide decks of cards, pencils, etc.
The club coordinator will provide standard score sheets.
For those of you who do not play 500 on a regular basis, there is plenty of jargon to become aquainted with...
Term Meaning Trick A set of 4 cards, one played by each member of the group. The highest trump card wins the trick, if no trump cards are played, the highest card in the suit that was led wins. The winner of the trick takes the 4 cards and places them face down on the table. Then this player leads the first card for the next trick. Bid The number of tricks you think you can take with the help of the blind and your partner. Minimum is 7, maximum is 10. After playing out all the cards you and your partner count how many tricks you took to determine if you made your bid. This determines how many points you get at the end of the hand. Blind (kitty, middle, widow) When you have the highest bid, you collect the 5 cards dealt into the blind. Then you discard 5 cards so still have 10 cards in your hand. The hope is to improve your hand slightly. Set If you fail to take as many tricks as you bid, you have been set. This results in subtracting the amount of points you bid from your score. For example, if you bid 7 hearts and only collect 6 tricks, you have been set. The opposing team gets a 100 point bonus and 10 points for each trick they took. Trump The suit that was bid. If 7 Hearts is bid, then hearts is the trump suit. If you are void in the suit that was lead, you can play a card from the trump suit to take the trick. For example, hearts is trump and the Ace of spades was lead, if you have no spades you can trump by playing the 4 of hearts to take the trick. Off-suit Any suit other than the trump suit. Inkle (ankle) A 6-bid which indicates to your partner the suit you are strongest in. Some people interpret this in different ways. Table talk To be avoided. Telling your partner what suit you are strong in with gestures or coded conversation. Asking your partner what suit you should play, etc. Sluff If you have no chance to take the trick, you throw a card that is worthless. Some people read into this to indicate which suit you would like your partner to lead. Shoot the moon A 10 Hearts Bid Right bower (the right) The Jack in the trump suit. (Jack of Hearts if Hearts is the trump suit) The second most powerful card behind only the joker. Left bower (the left) The Jack in the other suit of the same color as the trump suit. (Jack of Diamonds if Hearts is the trump suit) The third most powerful card behind the right bower and joker. Short-suit (void) Not having any cards in a suit. e.g. if you have no hearts you are said to be short-suited in hearts. Lead You play the first card of the trick for the first hand if you had the highest bid, or if you won the last trick.
html\500_season2\rules.html
Created: 07/31/2000
Last Modified: 09/20/2002
