Ultimate Book of Card Games: The Comprehensive Guide to More Than 350 Games (45 page)

Deal seven cards to each player, and leave the three remaining cards face down on the table. This is the kitty.

SCORING
The first player to score 1,000 points wins. You earn points by capturing tricks that contain point cards, and by successfully declaring the following combinations (both cards must be in your hand when declaring):

K of hearts-Q of hearts for 100 points

K of diamonds-Q of diamonds for 80 points

K of clubs-Q of clubs for 60 points

K of spades-Q of spades for 40 points

At the end of each round, if the declarer’s points total meets or exceeds his bid, the bid is added to the round score (e.g., if declarer bids 125 points and ends the round with 125 or more points, he scores his round points + 125). If the declarer does not meet the bid, the bid is
deducted
from his round score.

All other players score whatever points they won in the round, rounded to the nearest increment of five (e.g., if a player scores 51 points in the round, her final round score is 50; if she scores 53 points, her final score is 55).

HOW TO PLAY
The game starts with a round of bidding. The player to the left of the dealer opens at 100 points and, moving clockwise, all players continue bidding in increments of five points (105, 110, 115, etc). Players are bidding on how many total points they think they will score in the round.

There are 120 point cards in each round, so bids above 120 can only be achieved by scoring at least one combination in the round. In fact, players may not bid more than 120 unless they are holding at least one combination
in
their hand. Players may pass, but they may not re-enter the bidding later. Once two players in a row pass, the player with the highest bid becomes the declarer. The declarer turns up the kitty for all players to see and puts these cards into his hand. Now the declarer may—but is not required to—increase his bid, in increments of 5 points.

The declarer leads the first trick with any card; all other players
must
follow in suit (if they can). Otherwise, they play any card. The highest card in the leading suit wins the trick.

A unique feature of 1,000 is the ability to introduce a trump suit midgame. This happens when a player declares a king-queen combination, then leads one of the cards of said combination. The suit of the combination immediately becomes and remains trump until another king-queen combination is declared.

In the trick-taking rounds, once a trump suit is declared, any player who cannot follow the leading suit
must
play a trump. Tricks are won by the highest card in the leading suit, or by the highest trump card. If a player
cannot follow suit and cannot play a trump, only then may they play a card from another suit. The round continues until all cards are played. The deal then moves clockwise.

VARIATION: CUTTHROAT 1,000

Connoisseurs of 1,000 generally play the cutthroat version, which is exactly like the basic game but introduces three variants to the way the game is scored.

First up is the
barrel.
A player (or players) is “on the barrel” any time her cumulative score falls between 880 and 1,000 points. When this happens, her score is immediately reduced to 880 points. To get off the barrel in a subsequent round, the player must be the declarer and either score more than 120 points (thereby winning the game) or fail to meet her bid (thereby having points deducted, likely falling below 880 total points, and as a result falling off the barrel). If you’re on the barrel and are not the declarer, any points you score in a round do not count. You may be on the barrel for no more than three rounds; after the third round, deduct 120 points from your score (thereby falling off the barrel).

Next up is the
zero play.
If a non-bidder fails to earn any points from tricks in three (not necessarily consecutive) rounds, 120 points is deducted from his score on the third instance.

Finally, the
forfeit play.
Before any cards are played (but after the kitty is reviewed), the declarer may forfeit the game. Each opposing player earns 60 points for a forfeit. You may forfeit as often as you like, but 120 points are deducted from your score on a third (and each subsequent third) forfeit.

1. DIFFICULTY
   :
   medium
   
2. TIME LENGTH
   :
   short
   
3. DECKS
   : 1
   

8-5-3 offers the same thrills as Hearts, with an extra dimension of strategy and even more opportunities for brutalizing your friends. This game is not for the meek.

HOW TO DEAL
Start with a fifty-two-card deck, and deal sixteen cards, face down, to each player. The remaining four cards are set aside. The dealer reviews his or her cards, nominates a trump suit, discards any four cards (face down), and replaces them with the four cards originally set aside.

SCORING
The goal is to win tricks, and each player has a predetermined target: eight tricks for the dealer, five for the player to the dealer’s left, three for the final player. At the end of each hand, players earn (or lose) 1 point for each trick above (or below) their target.

Games are played to 16 points. However, if a player wins twelve tricks in a single hand, the game is over and that player wins immediately.

HOW TO PLAY
The dealer leads the first trick with any card, and the other players must follow suit if they can. Tricks are always won by the highest card of the leading suit, or by the highest trump card. Aces are ranked high in this game.

Once the first hand is complete, the deal shifts clockwise and new rules are introduced. In the second hand (and all subsequent hands), the players who beat their targets in the previous hand may forcibly exchange cards with players who failed to meet their targets, up to the number of tricks by which their targets were missed. For example:

Assume player one beat her target, while player two lost by two tricks, and player three lost by one trick. On the next deal, player one exchanges two cards with player two and one card with player three. These cards are added to their hands and, for each card passed, they return face-down to player one the highest-ranking card in the same suit. So if player one passes 2 of clubs to player two, player two must return the highest club card in his hand. If the receiving player has no cards in the suit, the original card is returned.

Assume players one and two both beat their targets. On the next deal, both players pass cards to player three (the player with the highest target
for the
upcoming hand
passes first), who returns the highest-ranking card(s) in the same suit(s). The number of cards passed equals the number of cards by
which players one and two exceed their previous targets (e.g., if player two earned two tricks over the target, two cards are now passed).

Once the exchanges are complete, the dealer names trumps, discards four cards, and replaces them with the four set-aside cards. The game continues as before.

If the dealer of a new hand must exchange cards with other players and then picks a higher card of the same suit from the set-aside cards, the dealer must privately show (not give, just show) these higher-ranking cards to the appropriate player.

VARIATION: 9-5-2

This is played exactly like the basic game, except for two rule changes. First, the targets are modified to nine tricks for dealer, five tricks for the player to the left of the dealer, two tricks for the final player. Second, the dealer is allowed to review the set-aside cards
before
deciding which cards to discard from her own hand. Games of 9-5-2 are played to 20 points.

1. DIFFICULTY
   :
   medium
   
2. TIME LENGTH
   :
   short
   
3. DECKS
   : 1
   

Big Three is not well-known in Western card-playing circles, even though Da San (as it is known) is hugely popular in China. The rules of this Westernized version are identical. The only difference is the card rankings, which have been simplified.

HOW TO DEAL
Start with a fifty-two-card deck, choose a dealer to shuffle, and then place the deck face down on the table. Starting with the dealer, each player takes cards one at a time, moving clockwise, until all players have sixteen cards. The remaining four cards are left face down on the table.