Ultimate Book of Card Games: The Comprehensive Guide to More Than 350 Games (46 page)

Suits have no significance and cards rank (high to low) K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-A.

SCORING
Only the auction winner may gain and lose points. When any player runs out of cards, the round ends and the score is tallied. If the auction winner runs out of cards first, she earns the value of her bid multiplied by 2. For example, if the auction winner bids three and runs out of cards first, she scores 6 points (3 × 2). Otherwise, if either of the competing players runs out of cards first, the auction winner loses the amount of her bid multiplied by 2.

The scoring system is what drives the two-against-one component of the game. Only the auction winner earns or loses points, so the other two players form an ad-hoc partnership to stop the auction winner from being the first to run out of cards.

Games of Big Three are usually played to 20 points.

HOW TO PLAY
Once everybody has a sixteen-card hand, the player with 4 of hearts (or the lowest heart if 4 of hearts is not yet in play) starts an auction to decide who plays alone against the other two players. The possible bids are one, two, or three. The auction ends when somebody bids three, or when two players in a row pass. The winner of the auction takes the four remaining cards into his hand (for 20 cards total) and plays the hand against the other two players.

The person who opened the bidding (not necessarily the auction winner) plays first, and may make any of the following leads:

Any single card

Any pair

Any triplet (e.g., 10-10-10)

Any foursome (e.g., A-A-A-A)

A run of three or more cards

A run of three or more consecutive pairs (e.g., 4-4-5-5-6-6)

A run of three or more consecutive triplets (e.g., 10-10-10-J-J-J-Q-Q-Q)

A run of three or more consecutive foursomes

Note that aces, 2s, and 3s may not be used in runs or in runs of consecutive pairs, triplets, or foursomes.

Moving counterclockwise, the next player must beat the previous hand using the exact same number of cards and type of hand. If player one opens with 7-6-5, for example, player two may play only a higher run of three cards (e.g., 8-7-6), but not a run of four cards or anything else. If player two can beat the opening hand, it’s player three’s turn to play, using the exact same number of cards and type of hand.

Players are allowed to pass and then jump back in, but if two consecutive players pass, the cards on the table are turned face down and set aside. Whoever played the final hand in the previous round starts all over, playing a new combination of any type. The round continues until one player runs out of cards and scores are tallied.

VARIATION: FOUR-HAND BIG THREE

With four players, two teams are pitted against one another. Each player receives thirteen cards (there are no leftovers), and the highest bidder chooses any card
not
in his hand. The player holding that card becomes his partner, but does not disclose her identity until the nominated card is actually played.

All other rules are the same, except that three players in a row must pass in order to remove cards from the table and start a new hand. And when any player runs out of cards, that player’s team wins and earns the bid amount multiplied by 2 (unlike the three-player game, a team isn’t required to win the auction in order to score points at the end of each round.)

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

The venerable United States Playing Card Company invented this game in 1904. Unlike many “invented” games from the twentieth century, Five Hundred has withstood the test of time because it is, simply, an excellent game. It evolved from Euchre, and shares some features with Bridge. For a time, it was among the most popular trick-taking game in the United States.

HOW TO DEAL
Start with a fifty-two-card deck, and remove all 2s thru 6s, then add one joker, for a total of thirty-three cards. Deal each player ten cards in batches of three, four, three, plus three face-down cards in the center of the table (this is called the
widow
).

CARD RANKINGS
The joker is always the highest trump. In suit bids, the jack of trump (called
right bower
) is the second-highest trump, followed by the jack of the suit matching the color of the trump (called
left bower
). So, if clubs are trump, the card rankings in trump are (high to low): joker, J of clubs, J of spades, A of clubs, K of clubs, Q of clubs, 10 of clubs, 9 of clubs, 8 of clubs, 7 of clubs.

In non-trump suits, cards rank (high to low) from A to 7, not including the jack if it is left bower.

SCORING
If the bidder ultimately achieves his bid, he earns points as per the table below. If the bidder is able to win all the tricks in the round, he earns 250 points or the score
from the table below
, whichever is greater.

If the bidder is
set
and fails to achieve the bid, the value of the bid is subtracted from his score. Negative scores are permitted. The other players each score 10 points for every trick they individually won, regardless of whether the bidder wins or loses the bid.

The first player to score 500 total points wins the game. When two or more players score 500 or more points in the same hand, the bidder always wins (regardless of the final score). If neither player was bidding, the winner is the first player who crossed the 500-point threshold.

HOW TO PLAY
The hand starts with bidding. The player to the left of the dealer starts, and all other players have only one chance to increase the bid or to pass. When bidding, you must name a suit and a number of tricks that you’re committing to win, as in “six hearts” or “nine diamonds.”

A bid of 7 of clubs beats a bid of 7 of spades, for example, based on the point values in the following chart:

The hand is dead if all players pass, and the deal moves clockwise. Otherwise, the highest bid wins, and the opposing two players form a temporary partnership against the bid winner.

Experienced players usually add one final bid into the mix—a
nullo no-trump
bid. It’s worth 250 points (and thus falls between 8 of spades and 8 of clubs on the table) and requires the bidder both to play a no-trump game
and
to lose every trick. If a nullo no-trump bid fails, the bidder loses 250 points, and the opposing players each earn 10 points for every trick they take.

TRICK TAKING
The bid winner takes the three-card widow into her hand, discards any three cards face down, and leads the first trick. Thereafter, all players must follow suit if they can, or play any other card. Tricks are won by the highest trump played, or by the highest card in the leading suit. The winner of each trick leads the next trick.

Special rules govern the joker in no-trump games. First, if the joker leads a trick, the player must declare a suit, and all players must follow if they can. Second, the joker may be played mid-trick (and will automatically win the trick) only if the player in question cannot follow suit. Otherwise the jack may not be played.

HOW TO WIN
You have only one opportunity to bid, so it’s appropriate to go a little beyond your comfort zone in order to win the bid. That said, don’t make a suit bid without holding at least five trumps. And for no-trump bids, you really should have one
stopper
per suit—you can get away without a full set of stoppers if you hold the joker, but it is risky.