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There are other rules some people play, others don’t. The ones I know about:

• Nulla
  or no nulla
  
• Some people play six-bids
  
• Indicate/Inkle mentioned above
  
• No ace/no face is a misdeal. This rule tends to be played by people who don’t play
  nulla.
  
• Declare. Bid seven hearts. Pick up the blind and get three more
  trump and an off-ace. Discard your five cards then look cross to your partner. “Give me your best card.” Your partner hands you one card, you add it to your hand and discard something (it can be whatever your partner gave you). You now must make 10. Your partner doesn’t play. Score is 500. My family didn’t play this rule, but I know people who do.
  
• Wikipedia lists a bunch of rules I’ve never heard
  about, but they also say the game is played internationally. I presume people in Australia learn different rules than those in the American mid-west, and what might be common there could be unheard of where I live.
  

There are tricks to playing well. First, you absolutely must count cards. You must know how many trump there are (13) and how many are left. It helps if you can remember who played which and who is likely to be out.

You don’t want to lose tricks you should win. My family nearly universally leads trump until the opponents are out of trump, then switches to off-suits. I have friends who play
their off suit aces first. I think that’s incredibly poor strategy. That off-ace is always going to be good, but by leading it, you’re making someone’s king good. You risk someone being naturally void of that suit (they weren’t dealt any), and can thus trump your ace. If you run them out of trump first, they can’t do that. Keep the ace and use it when you lose the lead and someone plays that suit. I believe the strategy of playing off-suit aces prior to pulling trump out costs on average about a half trick per game, and I don’t see any advantage. The only time you want to play off suit early is if you are short on trump and need to finesse, and you don’t finesse by playing your aces.

You want to learn to finesse. If someone plays a low, non-trump, and you are holding the Ace-Queen, chances are fairly high that person is trying to make her king good. Even if you are second to play, the queen is probably safe to play. The chance the other opponent has the king is only one-third, but due to play habits, the chances the person leading the low suit has the king is higher than average. Play the queen (it’s probably going to win) and your ace is still good. If you play the ace, your queen will lose to the king a little later.

Similarly, trying to get the ace played so your king is good is the other side of that.

You want to get good at reading people. When playing amongst friends and family, poker faces aren’t necessarily the norm. People give away a lot with body language. Some of it is a form of table talk, trying to tell her partner something. Well, learn to read it.

And, of course, learn to bid aggressively. If you let your opponents win seven-bids, they’ll go out. At the least, make them work for it. If you aren’t getting set now and then, you’re not bidding aggressively enough. When I bid I count on one good card from the blind and one from my partner. If I’m raising my partner, I count on at least three from her.

Playing well and playing in a “friendly” fashion can put you at cross purposes. I’ve played with friends who do not bid aggressively, and thus they win the bid far less than their “fair” share. This can be demoralizing for them and takes the fun away for them. You have to make a decision about this. I play to win, but I want everyone to have a good time. I would win more games if I consistently bid aggressively, but I might have fewer people willing to play with me if I did so.

Neither style is “right” because winning isn’t
everything.

On the other hand, I find it frustrating when playing with people who are interested in
chit-chat and always need to be prompted to actually pick up their hands and sort them because everyone else is waiting. I can walk and chew bubble gum at the same time. It’s kind of like going to a restaurant. Sit down, decide what you’re going to have, then talk. Don’t wait for the server to arrive before looking at the menu. There’s time for both. If we’re going to chat, we can play Kings in the Corner or leave the cards alone.

In my circles, it is common to analyze hands after they are played. It’s part of the fun. “Why did you…” is a common question.
“What was in the blind” is asked even more often, usually by someone who didn’t bid. “Oh, I should have bid” or “I’m glad I didn’t bid” are the typical responses after learning what was waiting.

What works in your circle may not work in mine. Some people are there to chat, and the cards are secondary. Some people bid less aggressively, and if there’s only one person in the group who bids aggressively, it can seem like bullying.

I don’t care for trash talk in any competitions. In fact, I wrote an entire novel based on how much I dislike trash talk —
Fitting In
. I absolutely hate it. I find it exceedingly ungracious. It’s one thing to be pleased because you finessed the cards and made your queen good. It’s another to tell your opponents what a bad night they’re going to have, what a superior player you are, or any of that. I find a lot of trash talk — or a lot of over-aggressive play — brings out the ugly in me. I don’t care to be an ugly person, so I avoid the situations that induce it.

It seems like a complicated game. It’s not that bad. The jacks confuse people. Scoring seems to confuse people. But compared to bridge, 500 is dead simple.

A writer by avocation, Robin has a renaissance interest in many areas. A bit of a gypsy, Robin has called a few places home and has traveled widely. A love of the outdoors, animals in general and experimenting with world cuisines, Robin and partner share their home with a menagerie of pets and guests, although sometimes it is difficult to discern who is whom.

Robin can be reached via email as
[email protected]
. Robin’s web site is
http://www.robin-roseau.com
.

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Copyright
2014 by Robin Roseau

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