8. Trump Games

LOO

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 5 to 8.

CARDS: A regular deck of 52. Each player receives 3 cards, one at a time. An extra hand is dealt just to left of the dealer. This is the widow. The player at left of the widow, if he does not like his hand, may throw it away and take the widow instead. If he is satisfied with his hand, he must say so. Then each player in turn has a chance to take the widow, until somebody takes it or all refuse it.

THE PLAY ( SINGLE POOL ): After the matter of the widow is settled, the player at left of the dealer makes the opening lead. A player must always follow suit to the lead when he can, must play higher than any other card on the trick when he can, and when a plain suit is led of which he has none, must trump if he can.

The highest trump, or the highest card of the suit led, wins a trick. Ace is highest card.

The cards played are not thrown together in the middle of the table. Everybody keeps possession of his cards, placing them face up on the table in front of himself as he plays them.

TRUMPS: The play begins without any trump suit, and continues that way so long as everybody follows suit to every lead. When somebody fails to follow suit, play to the trick is finished, then the top card of the undealt remainder of the deck is turned over. This card decides the trump suit. The trick just played must be examined to see who won the trick, since a card that was merely "discarded" may turn out to be a trump.

SCORING: TO begin a game, all players receive equal numbers of counters. Each dealer must ante 3 counters to start a pool. When the pool contains no more than these 3, it is a single, and the play is as described above. After the play, the pool pays out 1 counter for each trick won. Every player who has won no trick must pay 3 counters into the next pool, thus making it a double (or jackpot).

DOUBLE POOL: This is formed by dealer's ante plus payments for loo (not winning a trick in the previous hand). After the deal, the next card of the deck is turned, deciding the trump suit immediately. The players look at their hands and each in turn must say whether he will play or drop out. If all but the dealer drop out, he takes the pool. If only one player ahead of the dealer decides to play, the dealer is obliged to play, too. He may play for himself, in which case he cannot take the widow. Or he may play to "defend the pool," in which case he must throw away his hand and take the widow.

The nearest active player at left of the dealer leads first. The. other rules of play are the same as in a single pool.

The double pool pays out one-third of its contents for each trick won. A player who stayed in and won no trick must pay 3 counters to the next pool. When the dealer plays merely to "defend the pool," he neither collects nor pays any counters; the pool settles with his opponent alone.

RAMS

This game is very similar to Loo. NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 3 to 5.

CARDS: A deck of 32. Discard all 2's to 6's from a regular deck of 52. The cards in each suit rank: (Highest) A K Q J 10 9 8 7 (Lowest)

Each player receives 5 cards in batches of 3 and 2. An extra hand or widow is dealt, as in Loo. The last card, belonging to the dealer, is exposed to determine the trump suit. Undealt cards are put aside until the next deal.

DECLARING: Beginning with the player at left of the dealer, each in turn must declare whether he will play or will drop out. If he plays, he undertakes to win at least one trick. Any player in his turn may discard his hand and take the widow instead (if it has not been taken before him).

Any player may declare rams. This means that he will undertake to win all the tricks. He may make this declaration either before or after taking the widow, but must make it before the next player in turn has declared. In a rams, everybody must play; any who have dropped out must pick up their hands again. If the rams player has not taken the widow, each player who has not refused it or has not dropped out gets a chance to take it.

THE PLAY: A player who declares rams makes the opening lead. Otherwise, it is made by the player nearest dealer's left, among those who have decided to play.

A player must follow suit when he can, and must play higher than any previous card on the trick, when he can. If a plain suit is led, he must trump if able, even if the trick has already been trumped. A trick is won by the highest trump in it, or, if it contains no trump, by the highest card played of the suit led.

SCORING: Equal numbers of counters are distributed to all players at the beginning of a game. The dealer antes 5 counters into a pool. After the game gets under way, the pool also contains payments from the previous deal.

Each player who has stayed in takes 1 counter (or one-fifth of the counters) from the pool for each trick he wins. Each who wins no trick must pay 5 counters into the next pool.

In a rams, however, the settlement is different. If the rams player wins all the tricks, he wins the whole pool plus 5 counters from every other player. If he loses a single trick, the cards are at once thrown in; he must pay counters to double the pool and 5 counters to every other player.

If everybody ahead of the player at right of the dealer passes, this player must pay the dealer 5 counters if he wishes to drop. In this case, the pool remains undivided. If only one player other than the dealer decides to play, the dealer must play to defend the pool. In this case he is allowed to take the trump card and discard another face down.

SIXTY-SIX

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 2, but variants for 3 and 4 are given below.

CARDS: A deck of 24 cards: A-K-Q-J-10-9 of each suit. (Discard all 2's to 8's from a regular deck.) Each player receives 6 cards, dealt 3 at a time. The rest of the deck is placed face down in the middle of the table, to form the stock. The top card of the stock is turned face up and placed partly underneath the stock. This trump card decides the trump suit.

RANK: The cards in each suit rank.(Highest) A 10 K Q J 9 (Lowest)

EARLY PLAY: The nondealer leads first. The cards are played out in tricks. A trick is won by the higher trump or by the higher card of the suit led. The winner of a trick draws the top card of the stock, and his opponent draws the next card. Thus each hand is restored to 6 cards after each trick. During this early play (before the stock is exhausted), you do not have to follow suit to the lead: you may play any card.

OBJECTS OF PLAY: TO meld marriages, to win counting cards in tricks, and to win last trick.

MARRIAGES: A marriage is a King and Queen of the same suit. In the trump suit, a marriage counts 40; in any other suit, 20. To score a marriage you must show it after winning a trick, then lead one of the two cards.

If nondealer wants to lead a King or Queen from a marriage for the opening lead, he may show the marriage and do so. But he does not score the marriage until after he has won a trick.

TRUMP CARD: A player having the 9 of trumps may exchange it for the trump card (to get a higher trump). You may make this exchange only after winning a trick, before making the next lead.

CLOSING: At any turn to lead, a player may turn the trump card face down. This signifies that he closes, that is, stops any further drawing from the stock. The hands are played out as in Later Play (below), with the difference that marriages may still be melded.

LATER PLAY: After the stock is exhausted, the 6 cards in each hand are played out. At this time, a player must follow suit to the lead if he can.

COUNTING CARDS: Cards won in tricks are counted as follows:
Each Ace ___________11
Each ten ____________10
Each King____________4
Each Queen __________3
Each Jack____________2
(No count for 9's)
For winning last trick___10

SCORING: The player who first reaches a total of 66 or more wins a game. Marriages are scored on paper whenever melded. Points taken in tricks are not entered on paper until a hand is finished, but an important feature is to keep mental track of these points as they are won. In your turn to play, you may claim that you have reached 66. Play stops at once and the cards are counted. If you are right, you score 1 game point— or 2 if your opponent has less than 33, or 3 if he has not even won a trick. If you are wrong, not having 66, your opponent scores 2 game points.

It is important to realize when you have won a game, and to claim it, because you may lose by playing out the hand. If you and your opponent both get more than 66, or if you tie at 65, neither wins. But the winner of the next hand gets 1 additional game point. Usually, at least 1 game point is won by somebody each deal. The one who first scores 7 game points wins an overall game.

THREE-HAND SIXTY-SIX

The dealer gives cards to the other two but none to himself. They play regular two-hand Sixty-Six. The dealer scores the same number of game points as the winner of the deal. If both players get 66 or more, or tie at 65 (without a claim), they score nothing and dealer gets 1. But a player is not allowed to win the overall game (7 points) as dealer. If the usual scoring would put him up to 7 or over, his total becomes 6, and he must win the last point as an active player.

FOUR-HAND SIXTY-SIX

The players sitting Opposite each other are partners. The deck is increased to 32 cards by adding the 8's and 7's. All the cards are dealt out, each player receiving 8. The last card is turned for trump, then taken in hand by the dealer. There is no melding. At all times a player must follow suit to a lead, if he can, and also must if possible play higher than any card already played to the trick. When a plain suit is led and he has none, he must trump or overtrump if he can. Every hand is played out. There is no advantage in claiming to have won. The winning side scores 1 game point for having taken 66 to 99, or 2 for 100 to 129, or 3 for every trick (130). If the sides tie at 65, 1 extra game point goes to the side winning the next hand.

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here….