Playing 500
500 is an extension of Euchre, originally invented in the United States in the early 1900s but now also played in Australia, New Zealand, and French Canada. We have included 500 as one of the classic games - but sadly there is a very small on line presence for this game. Despite this feature, this card game will surely be as fun and mentally-challenging as texas holdem or even chess. Read on and get a clear understanding of the game.
The setup
There are many variants to 500, but the "standard" deck has 45 playing cards, the deuces and threes being removed and a Joker added. 10 cards are dealt to each player and five are dealt face down on the table to form the "widow" (the "kitty" or the "blind".)
Alternatively, a 43 card deck can be used. In a 43-card game, the black 4's (or the 4's of spades and clubs) are also removed. Each player still receives a hand of 10 cards, while the widow consists of only three cards.
Players play in pairs, usually opposite each other. As in Euchre, in non-trump suits, the order is the normal Ace high-King-Queen-Jack-10-9-8-7-6-5-(4) low, but in the trump suit, the highest card is the Joker, then jack of trump, called the right bower, then the jack of the suit of the same color as the trump suit - the left bower. The left bower is considered part of the trump suit. So the order of cards in the trump suit is Joker-Right Bower-Left Bower-Ace-King-Queen-10-9-8-7-6-5-(4)
Bidding
Note that bidding rules vary significantly. After the deal, players call in turn, electing either to bid or to pass. A bid indicates that the player believes he and his partner together will win a certain number of tricks and designates that a certain suit will be trump for this hand, or that there will be no trumps. For instance, a bid of "seven spades" indicates that the player wants to attempt to win seven or more tricks with spades being the trump suit. A bid of "seven no-trumps" indicates that the player intends to win seven or more tricks with no trump suit (in which case the only trump card is the joker). Bidding proceeds clockwise around the table, and each subsequent bid must be a higher-scoring bid (see the scoring table below) or the player must pass. A player who passes cannot subsequently make a bid in this hand. Eventually, all but one player will pass and the bid is decided.
The player making the successful bid then collects the widow. This player sorts through his hand and discards the least-useful five (or three in the case of a 43 card deck) cards (possibly including cards picked up from the widow),
If nobody makes a bid, there are two variations. Most commonly, the hand is declared dead and a reshuffle and re-deal is made, but some games are played where no bids mean the round is played as no trumps, and scoring is ten points per trick.
Special bids
No trump means that the joker is the only trump card (there are no bowers and no trump suit when playing no trump.
A Misère bid means the bidding player is trying to lose all ten tricks. If playing with a partner, the partner folds their cards and does not participate in the round. Misère can only be bid after a 7 bid but before an 8 bid. However, because Misère is worth 250 points, and an 8-Spades bid is worth 240 points, players must decide before the start of play if the 8-Spades bet can beat a Misère since it is worth fewer points, but it is considered 'over' the Misère.
Open Misère is the same as misère except the player playing this bid must reveal all of their cards to their opponents after the first trick. It can only be bid after an 8 bid, and is one of the highest bids which can only be beaten by a 10-No Trump bet. Also called Lay Down Misère.
The game focuses on tricks. The lead starts with the player who won the bidding. In some variations, the player to the dealer's left leads first regardless of who won the bid. Players must follow suit if they can (This includes the left bower or any other card that is considered a trump, if trumps are led). If a player no longer has any cards of the suit that is led, he may play any card in his hand. After all four players have played a card, the highest trump takes the trick. If no trumps are played, the highest card of the led suit wins the trick.
The winner of the trick leads on the next trick. Once all ten tricks have been played, the hand is scored. The player to the left of the previous dealer deals for the next hand, so that the deal moves clockwise around the table.
Variations The standard game described above is the setup and deck for the most common four-player (two teams of two) variety of 500.
Scoring
The goal is for the team who wins the bid to take at least as many tricks as they bid. If the high bid is "eight hearts," then the team wins the hand if they take 8, 9, or all 10 tricks and are awarded points according to the table below. If they do not make their bid, the same number of points is subtracted from their score. Whether or not the bid winning team achieves its bid (except in the case of misère bids), the losing bidders receive 10 points for each trick (known as "peggings") they take. A team wins the game by scoring at least 500 points through winning bids, which means that any team surpassing 500 points solely with peggings has not yet won the game. A team whose score dips below -500 points loses the game. This is also known as going "out the back door."
Spades |
Clubs |
Diamonds |
Hearts |
No Trump |
|
6 tricks |
40 |
60 |
80 |
100 |
120 |
7 tricks |
140 |
160 |
180 |
200 |
220 |
8 tricks |
240 |
260 |
280 |
300 |
320 |
9 tricks |
340 |
360 |
380 |
400 |
420 |
10 tricks |
440 |
460 |
480 |
500 |
520 |
Misère: |
250 |
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Open Misère: |
500 |
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Where to play 500
You can play for free on line at Julianne Giffin.com