five hundred
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What is the card game called Five Hundred?
Five hundred is a card game created in 1904 by the United States Playing Card Company. It is a cross between euchre and bridge. While bridge eventually surpassed it in popularity, five hundred is still played in America and is the national card game of Australia and New Zealand.
Though many versions exist, a popular one involves three players using a 32-card deck and a joker. Each player gets ten cards, and three cards are placed face down as a "widow." Players bid, and the highest bidder takes the widow, discards three cards, and aims to win at least six tricks with a chosen trump suit.
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How many players are needed to play Five Hundred?
The card game Five Hundred can be played with two to six players. A popular version involves three players using a 32-card deck and a joker. Five Hundred is the national card game of Australia and New Zealand but was devised in 1904 by the United States Playing Card Company as a cross between euchre and bridge. The game's objective is to be the first to score 500 points.
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What is the main goal of the game Five Hundred?
The main goal of Five Hundred, a card game created in 1904, is for a player to reach 500 or more points by winning contracts or to reach minus 500 or more points as a result of multiple losses.
Here's how it works: Players bid for the chance to declare a trump suit and then try to win at least as many tricks as they bid (6 to 10). The highest bidder takes the widow (three face-down cards), adds it to their hand, and discards three cards. If the declarer succeeds, they score points based on their bid. Opponents score points for each trick they win. The game continues until someone reaches 500 points by winning a contract or reaches -500 points from losses.
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How are the cards dealt and what is a 'kitty' in Five Hundred?
In Five Hundred, ten cards are dealt to each player in a three-four-three sequence, and three cards are dealt face down to the table as a "widow". Each player bids, starting with the player to the dealer's left, for the right to name the trump suit and attempt to win at least six tricks.
The highest bidder takes the widow, adds it to their hand, and discards three cards face down in its place. These three cards are sometimes referred to as the "kitty". The bidder then leads first, and players must follow suit if possible. The trick is won by the highest card of the suit led or the highest trump card played.
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What does it mean to make a 'bid' in Five Hundred?
In the card game Five Hundred, a bid is a player's declaration to win a certain number of tricks (from 6 to 10) with a chosen suit as trump. Bidding starts with the player to the dealer's left, with each subsequent bid needing to be higher than the last, according to a set schedule. The highest bidder then takes the "widow" (three face-down cards), integrates it into their hand, discards three cards, and aims to win at least as many tricks as they bid, using the nominated suit as trump.
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How is scoring determined in the game of Five Hundred?
In Five Hundred, scoring is determined by the contract a player bids and fulfills. The highest bidder becomes the declarer, takes the widow (three facedown cards), and discards three cards, aiming to win at least as many tricks as bid (6 to 10) with the trump suit.
If the declarer succeeds, they win the contract's value. If they fail, they lose that value. Opponents score 10 points per trick won, regardless of the declarer's success or failure. Misère bids (attempting to lose every trick) have special scoring: if the declarer loses every trick, they win a high score; if they take any tricks, they lose a substantial amount, and each opposing player scores 10 points for each trick taken by the declarer.
The game concludes when a player reaches 500 or more points by winning a contract or reaches minus 500 or less from losses.
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five hundred, card game for two to six players, devised in 1904 by the United States Playing Card Company. Though later eclipsed by bridge, it still has a substantial American following and has also become the national card game of Australia and New Zealand. Five hundred was devised as a deliberate cross between euchre, with its distinctive âbowers,â and bridge, with its system of bidding.
There are too many versions of the game to describe any one as standard, but the popular three-player game is representative. Three players use a 32-card deck plus a joker. In the trump suit, cards rank in descending order joker (âbest bowerâ), jack of trump (âright bowerâ), jack of the same colour as trump (âleft bowerâ), followed by A, K, Q, 10, 9, 8, 7. Cards rank A, K, Q, J (if not left bower), 10, 9, 8, 7 in the other suits. In a no-trump game the jacks rank in the usual position.
Ten cards are dealt each player in a three-four-three sequence, and three cards are dealt facedown to the table as a âwidow.â Each player in turn, starting with the player at dealerâs left, has one chance to bid (though some players allow bids to go around until two players pass), and each bid must be higher than the last. Whoever bids highest takes the widow into hand, discards any three cards facedown in its place, and aims to win at least as many tricks as bid (6 to 10) with the suit named as trump.
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Misère is beaten by any bid of eight or more tricks, but open misère is the highest-possible bid. Declarer leads first. (At open misère the hand is spread faceup before the opening lead.) Players must follow suit if possible; otherwise, they may play any card. The trick is taken by the highest card of the suit led, or by the highest trump if any are played, and the winner of each trick leads to the next. In a no-trump bid, including misère, the joker is in fact a trumpâthe only oneâand may be played when its holder cannot follow suit, thereby winning the trick. If led, its holder calls for a suit to be played to it, which may not be one in which he has already shown out (i.e., voided). The declarer either wins or loses the value of the contract. Regardless of success or failure, each opposing player scores 10 points per trick wonâor, in a misère, 10 points for each trick taken by the declarer, for which reason misères must be played right through. The game ends when a player reaches 500 or more points as the result of winning a contract or reaches minus 500 or more from multiple losses. If a player reaches 500 only through scoring 10 per trick rather than by fulfilling a contract, play continues until a qualifying contract is won.