Pedro (game)

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Pedro (pronounced "peedro") or sometimes known as Pidro or Petro is a card game usually played by four people, who are usually divided into two partnerships sitting across from each other. It is a point-cards, trick-taking game played with a standard deck of 52 cards and, in some variations, one Joker.

Each hand consists of four phases:

The deal
The bid
The wash and the second (fill) deal
The play

1 Introduction
2 The deal
3 The bid
4 The second deal
5 The play
6 External links

[edit] Introduction

In Pedro, the following point values are assigned to the following cards of the trump suit:

Joker - 10 points
Five - 5 Points
Pedro ("Off-Suit Five") - 5 Points
Jack - 3 Points
Ace - 1 Point
Ten - 1 Point
Two (the Keeper) - 1 point

The Pedro ("Off Suit Five") refers to the same-color-as-trump Five Card of a different suit. For example, if Spades are being played, the Five of Clubs is the "Pedro" and considered trump.

There are twenty-six possible points for each hand.

The rank of cards is as follows:

[In trump suit:] A,K,Q,J,10,9,8,7,6,5,Pedro,4,3,2,Joker

NOTE: The Pedro and Joker ARE trump!

Rank in nontrump: No rank. Always below trump.

[edit] The deal

The four players are divided into two teams, with partners sitting opposite each other at the table. The dealer deals out nine cards three at a time beginning with the player to the immediate left.

[edit] The bid

Beginning with the first player to the left of the dealer, the players bid in turn as to how many of the twenty-six possible points they believe their team can take in play. The minimum bid is 7. Each successive player must bid at least one point higher or pass. Once a player passes he may not bid again. Players may outbid their partner.

[edit] The second deal

Whichever player bids the highest point value, that player then declares the suit of play for that hand, the trump suit. All players retain the on-suit cards in their hand (including the Pedro "off-suit five") and place all other cards in the middle of the table.

The dealer than takes the remaining cards and deals each player up to six cards, beginning with the player to the immediate left. For example, if the player has 4 trump cards, he will receive 2 cards from the dealer.

A player may retain more than 6 cards in their hand, provided they are all trump.

After the second deal to the other three players, the dealer may view all remaining cards in the deck. They may retain more than 6 cards, provided they are trump.

If the remaining deck does not have enough cards to give the dealer six cards for the play, then the dealer must take enough cards from the "wash" to make a six-card hand.

[edit] The play

Winner of the bid starts play. If trump is led, players must follow with trump if possible. Trump or highest trump takes the book for that team. Winner of each book starts the next book. If nontrump is led, any other nontrump can be followed—it does not need to be the same suit. Trump may also be followed. If no trump is followed, then play returns to the previous starter. The Two Card (Keeper) stays with the team that has it, i.e., if it’s thrown in a book and that book is lost, it still just goes right back to the team that had it in the first place.

At the end of the hand the point cards won in the books are counted for the each team that won them. Both teams receive the points they win in a hand, unless the bidding team didn’t reach their bid, then they will lose the amount they bid.