500 is a trick-taking card game. Also, it is the national card game of Australia. Learn the 500 card game with the help of our guide on How to Play 500.
Important Information about 500 Card Game
What are the requirements to Play 500?
A 43 card deck is required (A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, of Red Suites, and A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, of Black Suits and 1 Joker). Also, Four players are required to play this game. The game is played in partnerships. So, there’ll be 2 teams having 2 partners in each.
The Ranking order of the Suits
The ranks of the suites from highest to lowest: No Trump / Hearts / Diamonds / Clubs / Spades.
No Trump means, during the round no suit is selected as the Trump suit.
The Ranking order of the Cards
When there is a suit specified as the Trump Suit then the ranks of the cards from highest to lowest:
- Joker
- Jack of Trump suit
- Off Jack (Jack of the suit which has the same color as the Trump Suit. Example:- If Diamonds are Trump then Jack of the Hearts is “Off Jack”)
- Ace (A)
- King (K)
- Queen (Q)
- 10
- 9
- 8
- 7
- 6
- 5
- 4
When there is No Trump Suit then the ranks of the cards from highest to lowest:
Ace (A), King (K), Queen (Q), Jack (J), 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4.
Remember, a Trump suited card outranks any other card of any other suit.
The Object in 500 Card Game
The main objective in the 500 card game is to score 500 points first by bidding and winning tricks. A trick includes one card played by each player.
Determining Dealer and Dealing The Cards
The first dealer is determined randomly and then the dealership transfers in a clockwise manner. The dealer deals 10 cards to each player and places 3 cards in the center.
The Bidding
The player on the left of the dealer starts the bidding, and then the turn to bid moves in a clockwise manner. A player bids the number of tricks he expects his team to win and also specifies a suit to make that suit the Trump suit.
Example: If a player expects that his team will win 6 tricks and he wants to make diamonds the Trump suit then he may bid by saying “6 Diamonds”. A player has to bid more than 5 tricks.
Each player has to bid more tricks in the same suit or the same number of tricks in a higher suit than the previous bid. A player may pass if he doesn’t want to bid. The bidding may continue for more than one round.
The player who had passed the bid in any round cannot bid in the following rounds. The bidding continues until 3 of the 4 players pass the bid. The last player standing in this process wins the bid. The bid becomes the contract and the suit mentioned in the bid becomes the Trump suit.
How to Play 500
The player who won the bid leads the first trick by playing a card. Each player takes his turn by playing a card in a clockwise manner. Each player has to follow the suit of the led card. However, if a player cannot follow the suit of the card led, he may play a card of another suit.
If during the trick, Trump suited cards are played, then the player who played the highest-ranking trump suited card wins the trick. And if the trump suited cards are not played during the trick, then the player who played the highest-ranking led suited card wins the trick. The winner leads the following trick.
The off jack is also considered as part of the trump suit. So, the next players have to play Trump suited cards in order to win the trick.
If a bid is contracted with No Trump suit then also the joker is considered as the Trump suit. When a player leads a trick by playing the joker, he must specify a suit to be followed by the following players. A player can only play joker during the trick in a situation where the player cannot follow the led suit.
Scoring in 500 Card Game
The bid winner’s team gets points based on the bid made and won. The number of points that the bidder’s team will get are as follows:
| Trump Suit | 6 Tricks | 7 Tricks | 8 Tricks | 9 Tricks | 10 Tricks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spades | 40 | 140 | 240 | 340 | 440 |
| Clubs | 60 | 160 | 260 | 360 | 460 |
| Diamonds | 80 | 180 | 280 | 380 | 480 |
| Hearts | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 | 500 |
| No Trump | 120 | 220 | 320 | 420 | 520 |
Bid winner’s opposing team gets 10 points per trick won.
If the bid winner’s team cannot win the same or the higher number of tricks than mentioned in the contract, then his team scores the same number of negative points as mentioned above.
The team which scores 500 points first, wins the game.
This is How to Play 500. Play with friends and family and enjoy.
Thank you.