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by Lawrence Nelson
last updated: 2/21/85
Players
The Game is played with two teams of two players each, partners sit
on opposite sides of the table.
Object
The object is to win the most games you can.
The deal
The game is played with a deck of 52 cards plus two (2) Jokers.
All the cards are dealt out to the players plus a six (6) card kitty.
(I.E. 12 cards to each player and 6 to the kitty)
The kitty
The kitty has six (6) cards that is won by the player with the highest
bid. The winner can take out from the kitty all the cards he thinks
will help him and his partner win the game. He must replace the cards
he take out of the kitty with cards from his hand. The kitty counts as
his teams first book. In a no trump hand it is never shown. Players
can decide before play starts if the kitty is shown when there is
trumps.
A game
A game is won when you get seven (7) points or make your opponents
go negative seven (-7).
Books
A group of four cards (one played by each player). In a turn a player
MUST play a card in the same suit that lead the book. If a player does
not have one he may then play a trump or a card of another suit.
Bidding
There is one round of bidding, starting with the dealers left, each
player makes a bid (how many book above six (6) his team can make).
You must either bid higher than the person to your right or "pass"
(make no bid). If everyone passes the dealer MUST make a bid. The
player whos bid wins goes first
Making your bid
You get points by making your bid. You make your bid by taking six (6)
books plus the number of books your team bid. For example if your team
bids four (4) you have to make ten (10) books to win the hand. Your
opponents can get points when your team has the bid by taking 7 or more
books from you (they get one point for each book over 6). If you make your
bid you get points equal to the number you bid, plus one point for each
extra book you make. For example if you team bids three (3) and your make
ten (10) books you get three points for making your bid, plus one (1) extra
point for making the fourth book (over the 6).
Not making your bid
If your team does not make the books you said you would (your bid plus
the 6 extra books) you lose the number of points equal to your bid. for
example if you team bids five (5) and you only make ten (10) books you
lose five points from your score.
The Bids
A player bids on the books he thinks he and his partner will make,
starting with the player to the left of the dealer.
The valid bids range from the lowest (3 high) to the highest (7 no).
The following chart shows the range of the bids:
+--------------------------------------------------------+
| where n1 is a number from 3 to 7 |
+----------+---------------------------------------------+
| n1 high | Cards are A,K,Q,J,10,....... |
| n1 | (saying only a number implies high "with") |
+----------+---------------------------------------------+
| n1 low | Cards are A,2,3,4,5,........ |
+----------+---------------------------------------------+
| n1 no | no trump (bid winner picks direction) |
+----------+---------------------------------------------+
The player who wins the bid does the following:
1) tells in which way the cards are going
(if the bid does not specify it)
2) What suit is the trump suit
(if there is to be a trump suit)
3) Take the kitty and replace the cards in his hand
(if he wants to). Some players play that if there is
going to be trumps then the kitty is shown. This must
be decided before the game starts. The kitty is never
shown in a no trump hand.
4) If there are no trumps and other players have Jokers
They now can replace the Joker and only the joker with
one of the cards in the kitty (high joker get to pick
first) without looking at the cards.
5) after steps 1-5 are done, takes the kitty and makes it
his teams first book. He now plays his first card and
the game starts.
Order of the cards
When the bid is high the order is:
Ace,King,Queen,Jack,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2
When the bid is low the order is:
Ace,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,Jack,Queen,King
With Trumps
A trump is a wild card that can beat any card played in a book.
If a game is played with trumps the order of cards are as follows:
When the bid is high the order is:
-(H)-> high-Joker,Low-joker,Ace,King,Queen,Jack,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2
When the bid is low the order is:
-(L)-> high-Joker,Low-joker,Ace,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,Jack,Queen,King
Note there are now two new cards in the order of cards, they are the
two jokers (high and low). A trump can only be played if a player
DOES NOT have any of the suit that lead a book but MUST play one (if
he has one) if the lead suit is trump.
Other rules
Also note the following rule notes:
1) If the lead card is not a trump and you do not have one,
you can play either a TRUMP or a card from another suit.
2) If you play a card that is not the same suit as the lead
card when you have a card of that suit in your hand, and
you get caught by one of your opponents, your team must
give up three (3) books to your opponents.
player 2
________
+------------------------------+
| +--+ |
| |12|+ |
| +--+| |
| +--+ |
| |
| +--+ (kitty) +--+ |
| +--+| +--+ |+--+ |
| |12|+ | 6|+ +|12| |
player 1 | +--+ +--+| +--+ | player 3
________ | +--+ | ________
| |
| +--+ |
| +--+| |
| |12|+ |
| +--+ |
+------------------------------+
player 4 /Dealer
________________
At this table players 1 and 3, 2 and 4 are partners.
and that player 4 is the dealer so player 1 starts off the bidding.