500 (card game)
| Origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Five Hundred |
| Type | Trick-taking |
| Players | 2-6 |
| Skills required | Memory, Tactics |
| Cards | 33-63 |
| Deck | French |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Card rank (highest to lowest) | Trump suit: Joker J J A K Q (13) (12) (11) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 (3) (2) Other: Joker A K Q (J) (13) (12) (11) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 (3) (2) |
| Playing time | 30 min. |
| Random chance | Medium |
| Related games | |
| Euchre | |
500 or Five Hundred is a trick-taking game that is an extension of Euchre with some ideas from Bridge. For two to six players it is most commonly played by four players in partnerships but is sometimes recommended as a good three player game. It arose in America before 1900 and was promoted by the United States Playing Card Company, which copyrighted and marketed the rules in 1904. 500 is a social card game and was highly popular in the United States until around 1920 when first Auction bridge and then Contract Bridge drove it from favour. It continues to enjoy popularity in Australia, New Zealand, Quebec and Shetland.
Of the many variants to 500, the standard deck contains 43 playing cards: a Joker is included (sometimes two, in which case the black-and-white joker beats the coloured one), and the 2s, 3s, and two 4s are removed. Either the two black 4s are removed, or the 4 of spades and 4 of diamonds are removed, in which case the 4 that matches the trump color is also considered trump, so that there are always 13 trump cards (14 when using two jokers). Cards are dealt to each of the four players and three (four with two jokers) are dealt face down on the table to form the kitty (also known as the widow the blind or the hole card.) Alternatively, a 45 card deck can be used (46 with two jokers), in which case the 4s are not removed. Each player still receives a hand of 10 cards, but the kitty is increased to five cards (six with two jokers).
Players play in pairs, usually opposite each other. Traditionally, a bundle of three cards is dealt to each player, one to the kitty, a bundle of four to each player, one to the kitty, a bundle of three to each player, one to the kitty or with a 45 card deck: the deal is performed by dealing three cards to each player, then placing three cards in the kitty, four cards each and two to the kitty, and then three.
As in Euchre, in non-trump suits, the order of cards from highest to lowest is Ace, King, Queen, (Jack), 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, (4). In the trump suit, the highest card is the Joker, sometimes known as best bower in reference to the trump Jacks, followed by the Jack of the trump suit called right bower, and then the Jack of the suit of the same color as the trump suit called left bower, which is considered part of the trump suit, followed by the Ace, King, Queen, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, (4).
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