Hints on Five Hundred

Illustrative Deal

Five Hundred should present no problems to players of simple trick games like Whist and family, or comparable three-handers like Skat, as the management of trumps and long plain suits is much the same. Whist and Bridge players, however, must from the outset be aware of the facts that (a) in a suit contract one third of the cards in play are trumps (10 out of 30, as distinct from one quarter in other games), and (b) in a no-trump game there is in fact one trump - the Joker or Best Bower. This can make all the difference.

Before bidding assess your maximum safe bid and make it immediately, as you will have no chance to increase it if both opponents pass. If you lack the Joker do not think in terms of a no-trump bid unless you have Aces or at least guarded Kings in all four suits. For a suit bid you should normally hold at least five trumps, including a bower, though four with two bowers may be playable with good side-suit support. Unless you have exceptionally long trumps - seven or more - you must also have side-suit support in the shape of Aces and guarded Kings, or a long suit. A void after the exchange is good for ruffing, if you can afford to use trumps for that purpose rather than for clearing the trump suit, but is less useful before the exchange because of the likelihood of finding cards of that suit in the kitty. A hand containing only average trumps and one other good suit is dangerous, as you may be forced to spend all your trumps before getting an opportunity to play the long suit. But with two possible trump suits and adequate support it is usually better to entrump the weaker - diamonds, for example, on the following hand, rather than hearts:

J J K98 AKQ AQ

The hand is good for seven tricks in diamonds before the exchange, and is unlikely to be improved.

If you hold the Joker look first to any possibility of playing no-trumps. The fact of having the lead enables you to run through a long suit unbroken from the Ace, and the Best Bower will give you one opportunity of defending against one attack in a weak suit (but not more: you cannot afford two bad suits). Some hands that look like trump contracts at first sight prove to be 'no-trumps' on closer inspection and should be so played for the sake of a higher score. This, for example:

Joker KQT987 A Q8

The hand should yield seven in spades as it stands, for a value of 140; yet it can equally well hold as seven no-trumps for 220. By leading spades until the Ace falls, then trumping in and leading the, by now, unbeatable spades again, no more will be lost than the two clubs, and a spade.

Joker KQJ J87 QT J

This hand is good for a bid of six in hearts in the three-player game, as it contains the top three trumps (bowers - the Joker and both red Jacks), a good forcing suit (clubs) and a void (diamonds) upon which to make a low trump. The bid can be raised to seven, in the expectation that, even if the outstanding hearts are not evenly divided (3 + 2), some benefit may be afforded by the kitty. If an opponent takes the game in spades, this hand gains strength from its J as left bower in addition to the Joker as best bower.

The kitty should not be looked upon as a device for increasing your trump holding, as the chances are (obviously) against drawing more cards in the suit you hold longest, and much in favour of drawing cards in a suit you expect to void, or have void already. At most, hope that the kitty will improve six tricks to seven or perhaps eight, or seven to eight; but if you are bidding eight to start with do not expect it to yield a ninth. The kitty should be regarded not as a source of strength but as an opportunity to eliminate weakness. For example, having been dealt an unguarded King or Queen, you may either draw cards of that suit to guard or cover it from the kitty, or else draw none of the suit and so be able to void it by means of the discard.

Use the discard as a means of voiding a weak suit if you have good enough trumps to keep ruffing it when led, but beware of voiding a suit that one opponent may have been bidding against you, as she will then use it to force your trumps out and throw up weaknesses elsewhere. It is better to keep such suits stopped. Keep a long side suit but retain a guarded King in preference to a long weak suit.

The lead is a great advantage and must be fully exploited. In a trump contract, usual procedure is to play the trump suit and keep leading it at every opportunity, in order to draw two for one and so increase the power of those remaining. Having weakened opponents' trumps, and especially forced out any high ones, proceed to your longest suit and press that at every opportunity. If possible, however, refrain from leading from a suit headed by a tenace (A-Q or K-J(T) ) as it may be make to yield two tricks if you can afford to wait until it is led up to. In a no-trump contract lead and press your longest suit of five or more; or, if you have overall strength but no long suit, work upon the forcing out of adverse Aces and Kings in preference to leading your certain tricks. Use the Joker to trump in very circumspectly, as you have only one opportunity to do so. Sometimes it is better to forgo the ruff in order ot throw out a weak card in some other suit, such as the Queen from a holding of Ace-Queen only.

The opponents should play as partners and concentrate on beating the contract rather than on seizing miserly trick points individually. As an opponent, therefore, refrain from trumping or overtaking tricks won certainly or probably by your partner, unless you have a good reason for taking the lead. Remember, if she made any bid, what her proposed suit was. Lead that suit to her, even if only to force out the soloist's trumps, and avoid blocking it, especially in no-trumps. In a suit contract, the partners should weaken the soloist's trumps by leading into her void suit when possible, and particularly so when the soloist is lying second ot a trick, which is the worst possible position for her. At no trumps they should force her to use up her long trump as early as possible.

Miseres play as at any other comparable game (see, particularly, Hearts and related games). Open miseres should not be undertaken lightly, anespeciallyly not in the hope of voiding a short suit with high cards. For example:

J97 KT87 7 AQ

As it stands the spades cannot be beaten (unless led from), the hearts are equally safe, the 7 is a good lead, and the hope is to discard both diamonds after taking the kitty. Now suppose the kitty produces the Joker, J and 9. The Joker must be discarded, as it is a trump and must take a trick. If the original (high) diamonds are thrown, the holding of J7 9 is impossible to play open; no better would be the 7 Q9 by another discard.

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Ana: KQJ97 AJ87 7

Bruce: Joker AKQ K9 AJ98

Christine: JT98 AT8 KQT

Ana, first to speak, has a pretty strong misere and opens it straight away. Bruce was thinking in terms of seven diamonds, for which purpose he already has five trumps including the best and right bowers, and a good side suit in spades. In raising the bid to eight diamonds he takes a chance, trusting that, even with no improvement through the exchange, he may lose no more than one trump and the guard to the K. Christine passes. Ana declines to open her misere and passes.

Bruce then draws from the kitty Q T T and throws the last two back together with 9. This slightly strengthens his club holding, as he would be able if necessary to lead it in order to drive the Ace out.

Bruce leads his Best Bower (Joker) in the attack on trumps and draws two low ones in return. This leaves J K Q in play. If he next led J the chance of drawing the other bower and so winning the trick would be one in three. and if it failed he would be left without command of trumps. so he leads 8 instead, drawing Q and the left bower.

At the third trick Ana leads A and Bruce throws K as if threatening to trump another club lead. Now Bruce's Queen is high and the suit is safe - unless Christine holds a void in clubs and the outstanding trump. As it happens she does. At trick four, therefore, the lead of another club will beat the contract, the lead of a heart save it. Play it through and see.

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