500 Basics
500 is a partnership trick-taking game where players bid to set trump and the number of tricks the team can capture. The team winning the bid and making their bid earns points based on both the level and suit of the bid. The team not winning the bid earns points at 10 per trick taken. Games are played to ±500 points. The team with the highest score wins.
Trickster 500 offers two popular variations: American and Australian. The primary difference between these two is that the American variation has only one round of bidding. In the Australian version, bidding continues until three of the four players have passed.
Terminology also differs slightly between the two variations. Undealt cards are referred to as the “widow” in the American version, “kitty” in the Australian. Likewise, a bid to take no tricks is called Misère in the Australian variant but Nullo in the American.
The Deck
500 is commonly played with a 43-card deck: 4–Ace in Hearts and Diamonds (11 cards each), 5–Ace in Spades and Clubs (10 cards each), plus the red Joker. In suits other than trump, ranks are typical with Ace high. In trump, the rank of cards is Joker, Jack of trump, Jack of the other suit the same color of trump (the “off Jack”), Ace, King, Queen, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, and 4 (if trump is Hearts or Diamonds). With the rule option “Joker low in Nullo (Misère),” the Joker(s) become the lowest ranked cards and are not trump.
Trickster 500 offers a game option to change the deck size to 45 cards (adding the 4s of Spades and Clubs) and 46 cards (adding the black Joker to the 45-card deck).
The 6-player game uses a 63-card deck: a full standard 52-card deck, plus 11s, 12s, red 13s, and the red Joker. The 5-card kitty adds the 2 black 13s. The 6-card kitty adds the black Joker.
The 3-player game uses a 33-card deck (7–Ace plus Joker). Ten cards are dealt per player and there’s a 3-card kitty.
The Deal
Ten cards are dealt to each player. The remaining cards are left undealt and comprise the “widow” (“kitty” in the Australian variation). These cards are added to the player’s hand who wins the bid. That player must then discard an equal number of cards.
Based on the deck size, the widow (kitty) will be 3, 5, or 6 cards.
Bidding
Following the deal, starting with the player left of the dealer, each player may place a bid consisting of a number of tricks and a suit, choose to bid “Nullo” or “Open Nullo” (“Misère” and “Open Misère” in the Australian version, or Pass. Bids must be higher than the previous bid, if any.
In the American version, the 6-level bids of the first two players to bid are special bids called “inkles.” Inkle bids cannot win the bidding; they are used to indicate strength in a suit to the bidder’s partner. Bidding begins at the 7-level for the last two players to bid. American version bidding is just one round. If everyone passes, the deal advances and the cards are redealt.
Bid choices for American 500 following an i♠ initial bid. The yellow highlight indicates the suggestion.
In the Australian variation, bidding starts at the 6-level for all players and continues around the table until three players have passed following a non-pass bid. Players who pass may not reenter bidding unless the “Pass after bid” rule option allows it (see 500 House Rules Options, below).
Example bids for Australian 500. The yellow highlight indicates the suggestion.
In both variations, a bid of Nullo (Misère) means the player believes he or she can take zero tricks. The partner of the player who wins the bid with Nullo (Misère) does not play. A bid of Open Nullo (Open Misère) is played with the bidder’s cards face-up and the bidder’s partner does not play. As such, Open Nullo is the “Hail Mary” bid of 500. Open Nullo (Open Misère) can be overbid by 10NT. (Options allow this to be changed; see Open Nullo (Misère) under 500 House Rules Options, below.)
In Trickster 500, to place either the Nullo (Misère) or Open Nullo (Open Misère) bid, click or tap the blue Nullo (Misère) button. A popup menu will appear allowing you to choose Nullo (Misère) or Open Nullo (Open Misère).
Play
The player who wins the bid leads the first trick.
Play continues clockwise following the led suit, if possible, or playing any other card if not. When all four players have played, the trick is taken by the player who played the highest trump, if any, or the player who played the highest card of the led suit.
If the bid is no-trump, the joker wins any suit in which it is played. It, however, can only be played when the player is out of the led suit. If there are two jokers in the game and both are played on the same trick, the monochrome (black) joker beats the color (red) joker.
The player who takes the trick leads the next trick. If the bid is no-trump and the player chooses to lead a joker, he or she is asked to choose the suit which other players must follow. The joker is considered the highest-ranked card of that suit and will win the trick.
Scoring
If the team that won the bid takes at least the number of tricks indicated in the bid, their score is increased by a value based on their bid (see the following table). If they miss their bid, the same value is subtracted from their score.
| Bid | NT | ♥ | ♦ | ♣ | ♠ |
| 6 | 120 | 100 | 80 | 60 | 40 |
| 7 | 220 | 200 | 180 | 160 | 140 |
| 8 | 320 | 300 | 280 | 260 | 240 |
| 9 | 420 | 400 | 380 | 360 | 340 |
| 10 | 520 | 500 | 480 | 460 | 440 |
A bid of Nullo (Misère) is worth 250 points; an Open Nullo (Open Misère) is worth 500. The values of Nullo (Misère) can be changed to 210 or 230 and Open Nullo (Open Misère) to 330, 430 or 520 (see Open Nullo (Misère) under 500 House Rules Options, below). If a team takes all 10 tricks (a slam) with a bid of 8♠ or lower, they earn of 250 points.
The opponents (team that did not take the bid) earn 10 points for each trick taken. When playing with the game option “must bid to win,” these points are awarded only up to when the team’s game score is 490 points.
The game is over when either team exceeds 500 points, or a team goes below −500. The team with the higher score wins unless the game option “bidder goes out” is set. In the case of “bidder goes out,” if both teams go over 500, the bidding team wins.
500 House Rules Options
When:
“Now” creates a new game that starts immediately. Other options schedule a game for a time in the next 24 hours. Compete and Join games only.
Winnings:
Four levels of winnings based on the buy-in level—30, 110, 275 or 550 Trickster Chips. Compete games only.
Variation:
“American” uses one round of bidding with “inkle” bids replacing the 6-level. “Australian” allows multiple rounds of bidding and includes 6-level bids.
Play:
“To ±500” plays the game until one team has positive or negative 500 points. When “# of hands” is selected, the game is played only for the number of hands selected in the “Play # of hands” option.
Play # of hands:
Sets the number of hands to be played when the “Play” option is set to “# of hands.” When the number of hands is completed, the highest score wins.
Players:
“3” is a 3-player solo game. “2v2” is 4 players in 2 teams of 2 each. “2v2v2” is 6 players in 3 teams of 2 each. “3v3” is 6 players with 2 teams of 3 each.
Widow (kitty) size:
How many cards will be in the window (or kitty) which affects what cards are in the deck. “3 cards” uses 4–Ace in ♥ & ♦, 5–Ace in ♣ & ♠, and a red Joker. “5 cards” uses 4–Ace in all suits plus red Joker. “6 cards” uses 4–Ace in all suits plus red and black Joker (black is high). The 3-player game always uses a 3-card kitty.
Must bid to win:
“Yes” requires taking the bid to win the game, even if you’re over 500 points (default for Australian). “No” allows winning the game by rolling over 500 points, regardless of who took the bid (default for American). Note that the game may still end if a team fails their bid and goes below −500. In that case, the non-bidding team wins. Applies only when “Play” is set to “To ±500.”
Bidder goes out:
“Yes” means that if both teams go over 500, the bidding team wins. “No” means that the team with the highest score over 500 wins.
Raise own bid:
“Yes” allows the high bidder to increase his or her bet after 3 others have passed. Choose “Pass” in the bidding options to keep the same bid. “No” ends bidding when 3 players pass after a bid. Australian variant only.
Bid after pass:
“Never” prevents players who passed from reentering bidding. “Always” allows all players to keep bidding until all but one have passed. “If Bid Changed” reopens bidding whenever a player changes the suit of their bid. If “Raise own bid” is on and a player raises their bid after all other players have passed, bidding is also reopened. Sometimes called New Zealand rules. Australian variant only.
Play
Nullo (Misère):
“Off” means Nullo (Misère) bids are not offered. “After 7” requires that some player bid at the 7-level before a Nullo (Misère) can be bid (Open Nullo (Misère) can be bid anytime). “Anytime” allows Nullo (Misère) or Open Nullo (Misère) to be bid anytime. See Open Nullo (Misère) after 8 (below) for restrictions on Open Nullo (Misère).
Nullo (Misère) points:
Sets the score for Nullo (Misère) to “±210”, “±230” or “±250”. “±210” allows 7NT to overcall it; “±230” can be overcalled by any 8-level bid; “±250” can be overcalled by 8♣ or better unless the option “8♠ overbids Nullo (Misère)” is set (see below) in which case any 8-level bid can overcall it.
Nullo (Misère) plays:
“Own Hand” means a Nullo (Misère) bidder plays only his or her hand and their partner sits out. “Both Hands” requires the Nullo (Misère) bidder to play their hand and their partner’s hand. The partner’s hand is played face-up for all players to see. The 3-player game is always played “Own Hand.”
Open Nullo (Misère) points:
Sets the score for Open Nullo (Misère) to “±330”, “±430”, “±500” or “±520”. “±330” allows any 9-level bid to called over it; “±430” allows any 10-level bid; “±500” allows only 10NT to be called over it; “±520” allows no overcalls.
Misère gets kitty (Nullo gets widow):
“Always” means all bidders get the kitty (widow). “Never” does not give the kitty to a Misère or Open Misère bidder. “Unless Open” gives the kitty to a Misère bidder but not an Open Misère bidder.
Joker low in Nullo (Misère)
When “Yes” and the bid is Nullo (Misère), the jokers become the lowest cards in the deck and are not trump; they won’t take a trick (unless they are led and the other players are void in the declared suit). If both jokers are played in a suit, the black joker is the lowest.
Open Nullo (Misère) after 8:
“Yes” requires that some player bid at the 8-level before an Open Nullo (Misère) can be bid. “No” allows Open Nullo (Misère) to be bid anytime Nullo (Misère) bids are offered. Nullo (Misère) option must be set to After 7 to use this option.
8♠ overbids Nullo (Misère):
“Yes” allows any 8-level bid to overbid a Nullo (Misère) bid. This is the default for ±250 Nullo (Misère).
Review last deal:
“Yes” displays the cards and bids of all players after each deal. All players must explicitly continue to the next deal. “No” means the game progresses to the next deal immediately. Join and Practice games only.
Limits
Must be invited:
“Yes” hides this game from other players until they’ve been explicitly invited using the “Invite Friends” form. “No” allows all friends of players in this game to see it. Join and Compete games only.
Allow suggestions:
“Yes” to allow players to see bid and card play suggestions, depending on their personal setting. “No” prevents all players from seeing suggestions. Always “Yes” in Play games; “No” in Compete games.
Show all hands:
“Yes” shows all players’ hands face up during the game. “No” keeps other players’ hands face down. Join and Practice games only.
Hide player points:
“Yes” hides the points taken during the hand displayed next to each player’s name.
Allow watching:
“No” prevents anyone from watching the game. “Face Down” allows up to 10 additional players to watch the game with all players’ hands face down. “Face Up” allows watching with players’ hands face up. Join games only.
Chat during game:
“None” disables all chat during the game. “Preset” allows only the built-in chat messages to be used. “Text” allows full chat. Full chat is also always available before and after games.
Time to bid:
Specifies an optional time limit for a player to bid. “Off” means there are no time limits on bidding. “7s,” “15s,”, “30s” & “60s” sets a limit to bid of 7, 15, 30 or 60 seconds, respectively. Automatically set in Play games.
Time to play:
Specifies an optional time limit for a player to play a card. “Off” means there are no time limits on card play. “7s,” “15s,”, “30s” & “60s” sets a limit to play a card of 7, 15, 30 or 60 seconds, respectively. Automatically set in Play games.
