Five Hundred — usually just called 500 — is a free online version of the trick-taking card game Australians grew up with, played four-handed in partnerships: you and a computer partner sitting North, against two computer opponents. It uses the 43-card pack: five to ace in every suit, the two red fours and one Joker. Everyone gets ten cards and three go face down into the kitty. Then comes the bidding. Each bid names how many tricks your side will take, from six to ten, and the trump suit or no-trumps, and it is worth exactly what the Avondale schedule says — 6♠ is 40, 7♥ is 200, 10 no-trumps is 520 — so the scores are printed right on the bidding grid. You can also bid Misère, promising to take no tricks at all while your partner sits the hand out, and Open Misère, the same thing with your cards face up on the table. Whoever bids highest picks up the kitty and throws away three. With a trump suit the order of trumps is the Joker, the right bower (the jack of trumps), the left bower (the other jack of the same colour, which counts as a trump) and then ace down; in no-trumps the Joker is the only trump and whoever leads it names the suit. Make your bid and you score it; miss and it comes off your score, while the other side collects ten for every trick they take. First to 500 wins — but only by making a bid — and a side that sinks to minus 500 loses. Five tables, from a friendly clubroom to a state final, with opponents who bid by feel, play by the book, or count every card.
How to play Five Hundred
- Press Play and pick a table. You sit South with a computer partner sitting North, against the two players East and West. Each table you win opens the next.
- Everyone is dealt ten cards from a 43-card pack — five to ace in each suit, the two red fours and the Joker — and three go face down into the kitty.
- Bidding starts to the dealer's left and goes round the table. Each bid names a number of tricks (6 to 10) for your side and a trump suit or no-trumps, and has to outrank the last one; suits rank spades, clubs, diamonds, hearts, then no-trumps. The grid shows every bid with its value. Pass with the Pass button or the P key — once you pass, you are out of the bidding for that hand.
- Misère (250) means you will take no tricks at all, playing alone while your partner sits out; it can only be bid once someone has bid seven. Open Misère (500) is the same with your hand shown to everyone, and can be bid at any time it outranks the bid before. If all four players pass, the cards are thrown in and dealt again.
- The highest bidder picks up the kitty and throws away any three cards — tap them, or press their numbers, then Throw away — and leads the first trick.
- Follow the suit led if you can; otherwise play anything. Playable cards rise in your hand; tap one or press its number (0 is the tenth). The highest trump wins the trick, or the highest card of the suit led if no trump was played.
- With a trump suit, the trumps run: the Joker, the right bower (the jack of trumps), the left bower (the other jack of the same colour — it counts as a trump, not as its printed suit), then ace, king, queen, ten and down. In no-trumps the Joker is the only trump: you can play it only when you cannot follow suit, it wins any trick, and if you lead it you name the suit everyone must follow.
- Make your bid and your side scores its value; take all ten tricks on a bid worth less than 250 and you score 250 instead. Miss and the value comes off your score. The other side scores ten for every trick it takes. A misère scores its value for no tricks and loses it the moment you take one.
- The first side to 500 wins, but only by making a bid: points from tricks alone stop at 490. A side that falls to minus 500 loses. Win the match for a star, and win it by the table's margin for two or three.
Tips
- Bid what the hand is worth. You score exactly your bid, never your extra tricks, so an under-bid 6♥ that takes nine tricks earns 100 when 8♥ would have earned 300.
- Count your partner for about two tricks. A hand with four sure trumps and a side ace is usually a seven bid once you add them and the kitty.
- The left bower belongs to trumps. With hearts as trumps the jack of diamonds is a heart: you must play it on a heart lead, and you cannot use it to follow diamonds.
- As the bidder, lead trumps early. Every round of trumps pulls two or three of theirs, and the Joker and right bower are there to win them.
- Throw away to make a void. Discarding a short side suit from the kitty lets you trump that suit the first time it is led.
- Do not waste a big card on a trick your partner is already winning with a certain winner — play low and keep it for later.
- In no-trumps, keep the Joker for the trick that matters. It wins whatever it lands on, but only when you are out of the suit led, or when you lead it and name the suit.
- Only bid misère with low cards in every suit — a lone high card, or a suit with no small cards under it, is a trick waiting to happen. Throw your worst three into the kitty.
- Near 500, points from tricks cannot finish the match for the other side. If they sit at 490, they have to bid and make something to win.
FAQ
Is Five Hundred free to play?
Yes. It runs in your browser with no download, no sign-up and nothing to buy. All five tables are included and open one after another as you win them.
Which rules does this 500 use?
The Australian four-handed partnership game: the 43-card pack with the Joker and two red fours, ten cards each and a three-card kitty, the Avondale scoring schedule, misère only after a bid of seven, Open Misère ranking between 10♦ and 10♥, 250 for all ten tricks on a smaller bid, ten a trick to the non-bidders, and first to 500 by making a bid, with minus 500 losing.
What are the right and left bowers?
The two jacks of the trump suit's colour. The jack of trumps is the right bower, second only to the Joker; the other jack of the same colour is the left bower, third highest. The left bower stops being a card of its printed suit and counts as a trump for everything, including following suit.
How does the Joker work in no-trumps?
It is the only trump. You can play it only when you cannot follow the suit led, and it wins the trick. If you lead it, you name a suit and everyone else must follow that suit — but you cannot name a suit you have already shown out of.
Is this the same game as Rummy 500?
No. Five Hundred is a trick-taking game with bidding and trumps, played in partnerships. Rummy 500 is a rummy game about melding sets and runs and digging into the discard pile. Both are on this site: the rummy one is on the Rummy 500 page.
How is it different from Euchre?
It grew out of Euchre, and the bowers work the same way, but everything else is bigger: a 43-card pack with a Joker instead of 24 cards, ten-card hands, a kitty to exchange with, a real auction over the Avondale schedule rather than accepting or passing a turned-up card, misère bids, and a match to 500.
How good are the computer players?
Measured on the same deals played twice with the sides swapped, the club player comes out ahead of the beginner on about five deals in six, and the card counter comes out ahead of the club player on about two deals in three. The club player makes about three contracts in four. From the second table on, a beginner in your seat wins about one match in four, and the card counter about half.
Does the computer cheat?
No. It never sees your cards, your partner's or the kitty's. The card counter keeps track of every card played and of which suits each player has shown out of, and plays out likely deals of the unseen cards to choose its card. The only hand it sees is one laid face up for Open Misère — which everyone sees.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. Held upright, the table sits above a bidding grid and your ten cards fanned across the bottom of the screen; held sideways, the table is on the left and your cards and the grid on the right. Every card and bid is a tap.