The Penguin Book of Card Games: Everything You Need to Know to Play Over 250 Games (32 page)

cards stated in the bid, discard the rest, take the entire talon,

and discard down to 13 again. Depending on the number of

cards you kept (listed below, left column), you may now have

the choice of a trump contract or a misére. In a trump

contract, you name trumps and play to win at least the stated

number of tricks. In a misére, you play to lose every trick at

no trump.

bid 0 = win 7 or discard any two and lose al 11 tricks

played

bid 1 = win 8 or discard any one and lose al 12 tricks

played

bid 2 = win 9 or discard none and lose al 13 tricks played

bid 3 = win 10 or discard any one and lose al 12 tricks

ouverte

bid 4 = win 11 or discard none and lose al 13 tricks ouverte

bid 5, 6 = win 12 (no alternative)

A Note:

1. In the auction, a Gask of 5 overcalls a Gask of 6.

2. In a shortened misére, the opponents have 13 cards each but play only 11

or 12 tricks.

3. Ouverte means with your hand of cards exposed before the opening lead.

Table of bids and contracts, wins and losses at Vira

Notes referring to table of Vira bids

The first six payment columns specify chips received from or paid

to the common pool (1 chip = 8 points). The next three specify

points received from or paid to each opponent (8 points = 1 chip).

First try = As played after accepting the cards initial y drawn from

talon (and, in a turn-up, accepting one of their suits as trump).

Second try = After not accepting the first try, and drawing again. w

= won, l = lost, d = doubly lost, × = not applicable. prf = suit

= won, l = lost, d = doubly lost, × = not applicable. prf = suit

of preference, col = colour (suit of same colour as preference), of

= of -colour (other two suits). mis. ouv. = misére ouverte.

(a) = 0 for winning 8 tricks, but 1 per overtrick.

(b) = 1 for winning 9 tricks, and 2 per overtrick.

(c) Gask with 5 overcal s Gask with 6.

Variations

Aces low In some circles, if the soloist plays a gask or misére

holding al four Aces, they count low (below Two) instead of

highest in their suits.

Alternative schedules Some circles vary relative scale of contracts, so

that (for example) solo vira is the highest bid.

Additional bids Some recognize additional turn-ups of four cards for

10 tricks, five for 11, and six for 12, cal ed respectively Quadruple,

Pingel, and Carousel.

Notes on play

Vira is unique in boasting a schedule of conventional passes rather

than of conventional bids. If one player bids and the next passes,

the pass is construed as an invitation to the third player to play in

partnership against the proposed contract, and if that player also

passes then he may be understood to accept the invitation. It is

therefore customary to use a ‘first pass’, and sometimes also a

second (by the other player) to convey information about the

passer’s hand in accordance with an agreed code. For example, if

the opener ‘Begs’ for six tricks, a first pass promises stops in al four

suits. Conversely, if that player does not hold four stops, he is

expected to indicate that fact by overcal ing, even if there

isnocontracthefeels confident about undertaking. Unfortunately,

isnocontracthefeels confident about undertaking. Unfortunately,

schedules vary from circle to circle, rendering it impractical to

continue this description of what is probably the world’s most

eccentric card game.

Oh Hel ! Blackout, Bust, Elevator, Jungle Bridge, Oh Shit!, etc.

3-6 players, 52 cards

Oh Hel ! introduces a group of games in which you bid to win an

exact number of tricks instead of merely a minimum. Several early

relatives of Solo Whist included occasional bids to win exactly one

or two tricks, but Oh Hel ! – first described by B. C. Westal around

1930 – was the earliest to base the whole game upon this principle.

As it appears to be more popular in the USA, the fol owing

description is based on the rules of the Oh Hel ! Club of America.

(Source: Carter Hoerr, via the Pagat website.)

Preliminaries From three to seven players use a 52-card pack

ranking AKQJT98765432. A game consists of a fixed number of

deals related to the actual number of players. The turn to deal

passes to the left.

Deal Cards are dealt singly and face down. In the first deal each

player receives ten cards, or eight if six play, or seven if seven. In

each subsequent deal the number ofcards dealtis reduced by one.

Fol owing the one-card deal, the number dealt increases again, one

at a time, so that the final deal is of as many cards as the first. Stack

the undealt cards face down and turn the topmost card for trumps.

Bid Each in turn, starting at the dealer’s left, announces exactly how

many tricks he undertakes to win. Dealer, who bids last, may not

bid a number that would enable everyone to fulfil their bid. Play

Eldest leads. Players must fol ow suit if possible, otherwise may

play any card. The trick is taken by the highest card of the suit led,

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.

Score For making your bid, score 10 points per trick bid and won,

or 10 for a bid of nought. For failing, deduct 10 points for each

over- or undertrick. In the event of a tie, play another one-card

deal.

British Oh Hel !

In the original game, the number of cards dealt is one in the first

deal, two in the second, and so on up to the maximum possible for

the number of players. If al cards are dealt out, play at no trump.

Everyone, including the dealer, is free to bid any number. A

successful bid of n tricks scores n + 10. A failed bid scores zero.

Variations Many variations may be encountered. The most

substantial isthatinwhichplayersmakesimultaneousbidsbyholding

their clenched fist face down on the table and, at a given signal,

promptly extending as many fingers as tricks bid.

Romanian Whist

(3-6p, 24-48c) This highly refined derivative of Oh Hel ! is so

popular in Romania as to be cal ed ‘Whist’, without further

qualification. The main dif erences are as fol ows:

From three to six players use a pack stripped to eight times as

many cards as players – e.g. 24 if three play (AKQJT9), and so on.

The first few deals consist of one card each, there being as many

one-card deals as there are players. Thereafter, the number of cards

dealt increases by one until it reaches a maximum of eight, then it

dealt increases by one until it reaches a maximum of eight, then it

decreases by one and finishes again with as many one-card deals as

there are players. For example, if four play there are 21 deals: 1-1-

1-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1-1-1-1. (The one-card deals are

repeated in order to even out the dealer’s probable disadvantage of

having to bid a ‘wrong’ number.)

A successful bidder scores 5 plus the amount bid. An unsuccessful

bidder loses the amount bid, plus 1 per overtrick, if any.

Israeli Whist

(4pp, 52c) Another refinement of Oh Hel ! currently popular in

Israel, with Bridge-style bidding. (Source: Amir Mazuver et al., Pagat

website.)

Deal thirteen cards each. There are two phases of bidding, first to

determine the trump suit and then to determine the final number.

Each in turn, starting with the dealer, either bids or passes. A bid

consists of a number of tricks and a proposed trump. Each bid must

be higher than the last. A higher number overcal s a lower, and a

given number is overcal ed by the same number in a higher suit. As

at Bridge, the order is clubs (low), diamonds, hearts, spades, no

trump. The lowest permissible bid is ‘Five clubs’ and the highest

‘Thirteen no trumps’. Three successive passes do not prevent the

last bidder from bidding yet higher, and this phase ends only when

al four pass in succession. The last bidder is the declarer.

If al four pass immediately, play a ‘goulash’ round (see below).

Otherwise each in turn, starting at the declarer’s left but excluding

the declarer himself, must announce exactly how many tricks he

proposes to win, and the last bidder (at dealer’s right) must avoid

the number that would make exactly thirteen. If the bids total fewer

than thirteen, the game is described as ‘under’; if more, it is ‘over’.

The declarer leads to the first of thirteen tricks played in the

The declarer leads to the first of thirteen tricks played in the

usual way.

Your score depends on whether or not you bid zero and on

whether the game was ‘under’ or ‘over’.

If you bid one or more, and succeed, you score 10 plus the square

of the number you bid. For example, you score 19 for bidding and

winning three tricks. For failing, you lose 10 points per over- or

undertrick.

If you bid zero and succeed, you score 20 if the game was ‘over’

or 50 if it was ‘under’. For a failed bid of zero, you score minus 50

for the first trick you won, but reduce this by 10 points for each

subsequent trick won. This yields a penalty score of 40 for taking

two tricks, 30 for three, and so on.

Play up to any agreed target. (Scoring variations may be

encountered.)

Goulash If al pass immediately, each player passes any three cards

face down to his lefthand neighbour and then picks up the three

from his right. This inaugurates another at empt at bidding. Up to

three such at empts may be made before the cards are entirely

thrown in and dealt again.

Ninety-Nine

2-5players(best for 3),24-60 cards

Ninety-Nine was invented by me in 1968 and first published in the

February 1974 issue of Games & Puzzles magazine. It has since

appeared in many card-game books, in many languages, and is now

available as computer software. Though equal y playable by two,

four, or five, Ninety-Nine was specifical y designed for three

players, and this version is described first.

Deal Three players each receive twelve cards from a 36-card pack

ranking AKQJT9876 in each suit.