500 Card Game Companion

groupsObjective & Teams

Four players form two partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other. The aim is to be the first team to reach 500 points, while avoiding a fall to -500 points.

Each hand has a bidding side and a defending side. The bidding side tries to make its declared contract; the defenders try to stop them.

styleCards & Deal

A common Australian four-player game uses a 43-card deck. Each player receives 10 cards and three cards form the kitty.

After bidding, the successful bidder takes the kitty, adds it to their hand, then discards three cards before play begins.

gavelBidding

1. Starting left of the dealer, players may bid or pass.
2. A normal bid states the number of tricks, from 6 to 10, and a suit or No Trumps.
3. Misère is a special contract in which the bidder undertakes to lose every trick. In the common Australian ranking used here, it is higher than any 7-level bid and lower than any 8-level bid, and is normally only available after a 7-level bid has been made.
4. Each bid must outrank the previous bid.
5. The highest bidder wins the auction and becomes declarer.
6. If everyone passes, many groups redeal.

trophyPlaying Tricks

• Players must follow the suit led if able.
• If unable to follow suit, a player may play any card.
• In a trump contract, the highest trump wins the trick; otherwise the highest card of the suit led wins.
• The winner of each trick leads to the next trick.

starBowers

In a trump contract, the Jack of trumps is the Right Bower and is the highest trump. The Jack of the same colour as trumps is the Left Bower and is the second-highest trump.

The Left Bower counts as part of the trump suit for following suit.

do_not_disturb_onMisère

In a Misère contract there are no trumps and the bidder tries to take no tricks at all. After taking the kitty and discarding three cards, the bidder plays alone; their partner places their cards face down and takes no part in the hand.

The bidder leads the first trick. Normal follow-suit rules apply. If the bidder avoids every trick, their partnership scores +250. If the bidder takes even one trick, their partnership scores -250. The opponents score 0 trick points in either case.

Misère rules vary between groups, particularly its bidding rank and the treatment of the Joker, so agree on local rules before play.

calculateScoring

If the bidding partnership makes at least its contract, it scores the contract value. If it fails, the contract value is deducted from its score.

The defending partnership commonly scores 10 points for each trick it wins.

The scorer on the next page uses this common method.