Game: 500

Thread: Re: 500 Review

waza — 2007-06-06T06:12:34+00:00

Great Review. I remember watching my father play many games as a child, particularly we used to go away with several other families. Almost always it was 4 handed, though sometimes 6 and very rarely 5. I also played it some myself 4 and 3 player but not for many years.

One of my strongest memories is the cheating that used to go on. You are not ment to tell your partner what yuo have good cards of, but I recall endless pointings at engagement rings, hands on hearts and digging and clubbing actions being mimed out.

One thing different from your review I always thought open misère was the highest bid worth 520 points and even out bidding slam (10) no trumps which is also worth 520. At least that was the way it was printed in the tiny rules that came with our 500 deck. The variant I have seen is rather than banning open misère outright is to allow 10 no trumps to beat it.

The problem with playing misère is you need to get bidding to a seven bid before you are allowed to bid it and higher again for open. If you are not careful when hoping for misère you can get stuck with a siz or seven bid you need to try and make even though you have bad cards.

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moxtaveto — 2006-07-10T14:38:45+00:00

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moxtaveto — 2006-07-10T14:38:33+00:00

Thread: 500 Review

sbszine — 2006-03-21T01:16:04+00:00

Overview
500 is a contract plain trick card game, devised by the United States Playing Card Company as a sort of midway between Euchre and Bridge. From English Euchre it takes the kitty and the three bower system, in which the joker and two like coloured jacks are the highest trumps, and from Bridge it takes the larger number of tricks, and the contract bidding. The game described in this review is the modern game (as described in David Parlett's Oxford Dictionary of Card Games), which varies slightly from the original rules as written. The variation occurs in the auction (n around bid-raise versus once around) and the scoring (Avondale versus original schedules).

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A six player 500 deck

Bits
Although typically played as a four player game, 500 supports 2-6 players fairly well. For the two to five player games, the cards from a standard deck are used. As there are ten tricks per hand, with the lead player taking a three card kitty, a game of 500 needs ten cards per player, plus three cards for the kitty. Five players use the full 52 card deck plus a joker, while for lesser numbers, cards are removed as equally as possible from the four suits, depleting the black suits first. A special six player deck is available, and this adds cards numbered 11, 12, and 13 to the red suits, and cards numbered 11 and 12 to the black, providing the ten extra cards needed for a sixth player. Accessories such as scoreboards and pads are available, but these are rarely used.

Gameplay
The actual play of 500 varies quite a bit depending on the number of players. Some player numbers play in partnerships, and some alone, but common to all player numbers are the following basic rules:

* a bid raise auction is held, going around the table clockwise until all players but one have passed

* players bid a contract to name trumps (e.g., a bid of 7 diamonds indicates that the player intends to win 7 of the 10 tricks using diamonds as trumps)

* the minimum normal bid is 6 spades (40 points), and the maximum is ten hearts (500 points)

* the highest bid takes the three card kitty into his or her hand, and discards three unwanted cards face down

* hands are played in plain trick fashion: the winner of the last trick leads, and others must follow suit or trump in if they cannot follow

* if the high bidder (or the high bidder's team) wins the named amount of tricks (or better), points are awarded according to the contract

* if the high bidder (or the high bidder's team) fails to win the named amount of tricks, points are deducted according to the contract

* the first player (or team) to 500 points wins, and a player (or team) reduced to -500 points is eliminated

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Some cards from a six player deck

As 500 is originally intended to be a partnership / team game, the 4 and 6 player games are (in my opinion) the most enjoyable, and also give the greatest scope for Bridge style informational bidding. In these modes, the players split into two equal teams spaced evenly around the table.

The two and three player games do not use teams, and the players simply compete against each other. Though other variants exists, the two player game as played in Australia uses a dummy third hand to reduce information and add bidding angst.

The five player game (using a full standard pack) has a unique and interesting partnership system. All players bid for themselves (as per the three player game), then (after taking the kitty) the winning bidder names a card not in his or her hand, and takes the player holding that card for a partner, with both taking the contract score. The other three players play solo against the partnership.

500 is playable at 2 or 3, but doesn't really shine unless played with 4-6. The simplest and most common mode is the 4 player, and it's probably the best to learn the game with.

There are several scoring schedules for 500, but the most common -- the Avondale -- is generally considered to be the best balanced. Any book of card game rules should feature the Avondale scoring. In addition to the basic contracts, three optional bids are usually played: no trumps (120 points for 6 no trumps, up to 520 for 10 no trumps), misère (lose all ten tricks, 250 points), and open misère (lose all ten tricks playing open handed, 500 points).

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a scoreboard featuring the Avondale schedule

Misère is a bone of contention among 500 players, with many groups refusing to allow misère bids, which they consider overvalued and against the spirit of the game. Personally I enjoy the misère contracts, as they allow players with a poor hand to participate in the bidding.

Conclusion
For people interested in Bridge, or looking for something a bit meatier than Euchre or Canasta, 500 is a good choice. Unlike Bridge, there are few bidding conventions and no competitive / tournament player base to speak of. In this regard it's a bit like the project GIPF games compared to chess or go: more accessible, but perhaps lighter strategically.

Having said that, beware of Australians over the age of 40, who will feed you to our dangerous native wildlife if you leave them on a bid of 6 spades.

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seppi — 2005-12-21T15:33:40+00:00

"5-huh"

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EndersGame — 2005-10-04T03:21:07+00:00

The most powerful card in 500: The joker, which trumps all other cards. If spades or clubs are trump, then the two black jacks are regarded as "bowers" and are the next most powerful cards.

Thread: Re: Comment

Craig — 2005-07-04T16:51:07+00:00

rri1 wrote:
Actually, 500 is copyrighted by the U.S. Playing Card Company.

It was copyrighted by them. According to their own web site, "It was devised and introduced in 1904 by the United States Playing Card Company, which held the copyright for 56 years but never charged anyone for its use."

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patogames — 2005-05-23T12:47:10+00:00

Thread: Re: Comment

rri1 — 2005-05-22T02:51:06+00:00

Actually, 500 is copyrighted by the U.S. Playing Card Company.

But it is far more popular Down Under than here.

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dowobeha — 2005-03-15T19:44:15+00:00

Extra cards for the 5 and 6 player variants.

Thread: Proposed New 500 Scoring Schedule

CDRodeffer — 2005-01-04T15:17:34+00:00

I have a younger brother and a younger sister, and since it plays especially well with three players, we used to play 500 quite a bit back in the early and middle 1980s. One minor difference in our play, though, was that we decided that none of the popular scoring scales were to our liking, so we used this slightly tweaked schedule which is based on the Avondale, but is modified to more aggressively reward higher bids. Instead of a linear increase of 100 points per trick, the increase progresses from 100 going from 6 to 7 tricks, 110 going from 7 to 8, 120 going from 8 to 9 and finally 130 going from 9 to 10:

[c]
Tricks 6 7 8 9 10
=======================================
Spades 40 140 250+ 370 500+
Clubs 60 160 270 390 520
Diamonds 80 180 290 410 540
Hearts 100 200 310 430 560
No Trump 120 220 330 450 580
---------------------------------------
Misere (Nullo) 250
Open Misere (Open Nullo) 500
=======================================[/c]

Taking ten tricks that were underbid still scores a minimum of 250, even if the contract specifies a lower score. You also still have to win a contract when going over 500 points to win the game. We play that 8 spades is a higher bid than misere, and that 10 spades is a higher bid than open misere, as indicated by the plus symbols next to those bids. We considered this to be more consistent with the spirit of the game than having 8 clubs and 10 hearts be the cutoff points. Another nice feature of this scoring schedule is that a bid of 10 of anything is worth at least 500 points.

Clark

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huber — 2004-10-18T13:26:21+00:00

Thread: Re:Comment

hadz — 2004-09-25T13:13:45+00:00

I think you're right about it being our national card game.

It's one of the best card games and scales well from 3 to 6 players. 2 player is do-able too, for sure.

Love this game! (Rivalled only by Skat IMHO for the best card game of all time, oh and maybe closely followed by Spades)

Thread: Comment

b5mith — 2004-08-20T01:58:13+00:00

Rumor has it this is our national game here in Australia, and it's not a bad game at all I might add. I particularly like the two player variant which is basically 3-player 500 with a dead hand. It's been years since I've played this.