| Origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Alternative name(s) | Five Hundred |
| Type | Trick-taking |
| Players | 2-6 |
| Skill(s) required | Memory, Tactics |
| Cards | 33-63 |
| Deck | French |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Card rank (highest to lowest) | Joker A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 Joker J J A K Q 10 9 8 7 6 5 4. |
| Playing time | 30 min. |
| Random chance | Medium |
| Related games | |
| Euchre | |
500, Five Hundred, is a game devised in America shortly before 1900 and promoted by the United States Playing Card Company, who copyrighted and marketed the rules in 1904.[1] The game can be played by two to six players but the most common form is for four players in partnerships although some sources say that the game is primarily for three players.[2] The game is an extension of Euchre[3] which also incorporates the basic principles of Bridge.
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500 has always been considered as a social card game and was highly popular in the United States until about 1920 when Auction bridge surpassed it. Subsequently, Contract Bridge drove it out of favour in America,[4] but it continues to enjoy popularity in Australia. It is popular in New Zealand as well, and widely played in Quebec.
The game is played with a regular deck of cards with certain cards removed. Specialised "500" packs contain 63 cards, extended from 52 by the addition of a Joker, Elevens and Twelves in each suit, and two Thirteens in red suit. The full pack is only required for six players, however, and is stripped of various cards for varying number of players, the basic principle that there should be just enough for ten cards per player and three left over (or two if the Joker is omitted). (see Variations, below) .
Of the many variants to 500, the standard deck contains 43 playing cards: a Joker is included, and the 2s, 3s, and two 4s are removed. Either the two black 4s are removed, or the 4 of spades and 4 of diamonds are removed, in which case the 4 that matches the trump color is also considered trump, so that there are always 13 trump cards. Cards are dealt to each of the four players and three are dealt face down on the table to form the kitty (also known as the widow or blind.) Alternatively, a 45 card deck can be used, in which case the 4s are not removed. Each player still receives a hand of 10 cards, but the kitty is increased to five cards.
Players play in pairs, usually opposite each other. Traditionally, a bundle of three cards is dealt to each player, one to the kitty, a bundle of four to each player, one to the kitty, a bundle of three to each player, one to the kitty or with a 45 card deck: the deal is performed by dealing three cards to each player, then placing three cards in the kitty, four cards each and two to the kitty, and then three.
As in Euchre, in non-trump suits, the order of cards from highest to lowest is Ace, King, Queen, (Jack), 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, (4). In the trump suit, the highest card is the Joker, sometimes known as best bower in reference to the trump Jacks, followed by the Jack of the trump suit called right bower, and then the Jack of the suit of the same color as the trump suit called left bower, which is considered part of the trump suit, followed by the Ace, King, Queen, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, (4).
Bower is an Anglicization of the German Bauer, a word meaning farmer, peasant, or pawn. This name is often used to refer to the Jack of German games.
After the deal, players call in turn, electing either to bid or to pass. A bid indicates the combined number of tricks the bidder believes he and his partner will take and the suit that will be trumps for that hand, or that there will be no trump suit. For instance, a bid of "seven spades" indicates that the player intends to win seven or more tricks with spades being the trump suit, whereas 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).
In American play, a bid of six is called an "inkle". A player who bids "inkle spades" is indicating to their partner that they have some spades but not enough to bid seven. Only the first two players may inkle.
A player may elect not to bid, or to "pass". Bidding proceeds clockwise around the table, with each player passing or making a higher-scoring bid. A player who passes cannot subsequently make a bid in that hand.
A player who has bid may only bid again in that hand if there has been an intervening bid by another player. However, in Newcastle (Australia) play, a player who has bid and not passed may always bid again in that hand.
The order of seniority of suits in bidding (highest to lowest, as reflected in the scores below) is hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades. Therefore, for example, a player who bids "seven clubs" may be outbid by a subsequent bidding player on seven diamonds or seven hearts, but not seven spades. A "no trumps" bid beats any suited bid of the same number. Inkles are typically also similarly ranked: If the first player bids "six hearts", the next player cannot inkle spades, clubs, or diamonds. Their only options are to inkle no trump, bid seven or more (of any suit, or no trump or Misère), or pass. Eventually, all but one player passes and the bid is decided.
In American play, there is only one round of bidding, with each player getting one chance, in turn, to either bid or pass. The player making the successful bid then collects the kitty. This player sorts through his hand and discards the least-useful three (or five in the case of a 45 card deck) cards (possibly including cards picked up from the kitty), and places them face down; the discarded cards playing no further part in the hand.
If nobody makes a bid, there are multiple variations. Most commonly, the hand is declared dead and a reshuffle and re-deal is made. This can be repeated only twice, after which the deal passes to the next player. Alternatively, the game is played where no bids mean the round is played as no trumps, and scoring is ten points per trick. Other variations include that the deal passes to the next player (no reshuffle); or that if no one else makes a bid, the dealer is required to make a bid.
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 lead 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.
Double nullo may be called by one partner even if the other partner passes. In this instance the player who calls nullo draws in his/her partner and both must play and not take any tricks. The person who calls double nullo picks up the kitty and gives the five cards he/she wants to discard to their partner. Their partner then must take those five cards and pick the ones he/she wants to keep and discard the rest.
Two-handed 500 is played with a deck of 43 cards as per the standard game. Whereas in the standard game which includes partners, in the Two-handed game each player plays both the hand that is dealt to them and their partner’s which is dealt to the table. The deal is the same as the standard game, except that the partners hands are dealt to the table so that they have 5 cards face down, each covered by a face up card (to give a total of 10 cards). Bidding is the same as the standard game except Misère is generally not allowed. The kitty is used with the player’s hand only and no cards can be swapped between the hands. Order of play is as per the standard game. After each trick any exposed face down cards from the partner’s hands are turned up and revealed. Play then continues with the lead from the hand that won the last trick.
Alternatively, the game can be played as per three-handed but with a "dead hand".
Three-handed 500 is played with a deck of 33 cards. Dealing, scoring and game play are as for the standard game. The common variant is in bidding, where misère may be bid before a bid for seven tricks. This variant is permitted due to the relative rarity of seven-trick bids outside of team play. Open misère may be bid in a similar fashion. Alternatively, the game may be played with the standard deck (45 or 43 cards) with one hand dealt face down, which remains untouched during the game (a so-called "dead hand"). The common strategy is that the two players who are unsuccessful in bidding form a temporary alliance in an attempt to force the other player to lose his bid.
Another variation allows five players to play. All of the cards in a deck are used (although only one joker) so that each player can be dealt ten cards. The bidding starts to the dealer's left, and works by the same system as normal 500. The player who wins the bidding then gets to choose a card (the joker cannot be chosen). One of the bowers is usually chosen, or another high card. There are two versions of this variation. In one, the player who owns the chosen card announces that they have it, and then becomes the bidder's partner for that round. In the other, the player winning the bidding will not know who their partner is until the chosen card is played. Note that the partnership will usually change for each round. The remaining three players then play against the partnership. The player who won the bid gets to play the first card.
Scoring for this variation uses the same values as normal 500. If the partnership wins the required amount of tricks, they will both get points (full points each or half points each, depending on the variation), and if they don't, they will both lose points (either full or half). If one of the three remaining players wins a trick, that player will receive ten points. Neither misère nor open misère is usually permitted in this variant since it is too easy to win. Because the partnership changes each round, there are no fixed teams and each player plays for themselves. This adds dynamic, and new strategies will arise.
Special decks of cards exist for playing six-handed 500, using a total of 65 cards. Besides using all 52 cards of the standard poker deck, plus one joker, these sets include 11's, 12's, and 13's of all four suits. Each player receives 10 cards, and the kitty receives 5. Players seated in alternating positions around the table form two teams of three players each. (Queen's Slippers 500 pack does not have black 13's, usually 6 handed is played with 63 cards and 3 in kitty)
In some versions, no trump games (including misère), the only trump card is the joker (i.e. the best card) and it has no suit. There are no bowers and all the jacks fall between the queen and ten of their respective suits. Players must always follow suit and may use the joker to trump a trick only if they cannot otherwise follow suit. A player may not "renege" with the joker - i.e., use it as a card of a suit in which the player has already claimed to be void. In some variations, the joker may only be played as the first or last card in a suit.
In other variations, the person who wins the bid also has the option to 'Declare'. Such a declaration entitles the winner of the bid to receive one card from his partner after discarding from the kitty or blind. The partner picks his best card and hands it face down to the winning bidder, who must then discard one additional card to retain a ten-card hand. The winning bidder now plays against the opponents without the assistance of the partner and must take all ten tricks. If such a bid is unsuccessful it is scored as -500 (negative 500).
A variation in which the winning team/player must win exactly 500 points. The game is played as normal, with the additional rule that 1000 points (like negative 500 points) loses the game. "Peggings" (or "Scab Points") must be played. This variation usually (not always) results in a longer game, but generates an enjoyable level of complexity to both the bidding and playing.
Local variants may not include either open misère, misère or both.
A variation for four players using two Jokers and a standard 52-card pack stripped of 2s and 3s. The white Joker is considered stronger. The players are dealt 10 cards each in batches of 3-3-4. When 3 are passed, another 3 go to the pot (middle of the table). There should be 6 cards in the middle after the deal. Some variations allow for the final card placed in the kitty to be turned upright for all players to see.
The attacking player takes the pot and discards 6 cards of his choice, and no player may see them. The bidding goes accordingly with the other variation, and Misère may be allowed. The "petite" misère is equal to 500 points and can only be outbid by 8 no trump while "la grosse" or open misère is worth 1000 points and can only be outbid by 10 no trump (the latter is distinguished in that all cards are placed face-up on the table).
The game is played to a total of 1000 points. If a team fails to fulfil their contract, the points are added to the other team's total. Points are never subtracted.
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,"[5] then the team wins the hand if they take 8, 9, or all 10 tricks and are awarded points according to the table below. There are no bonuses for overtricks[6] (tricks over the number bid). 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, the opposing team receives 10 points for each trick they take. A team wins the game by scoring at least 500 points. A team whose score dips to -500 points or below loses the game. This is also known as going "out the back door" or "out backwards."
| Tricks | 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 |
| Slam | 250 for contract below total points of 250, normal for above 250 | ||||
| Nullo | 250 | ||||
| Double Nullo | 500 | ||||
Variations in score keeping
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