500 Rules

Australia has laid claim to a great many things over the years: inventing the black box, inventing wine in a box, Russell Crowe and laying claim to the card game 500. Aussies have gone to such an extent to claim 500 as their own that they have put an international “dibs” on it by making it their national game, but it’s starting to be picked up by players around the world. So how do you play Australia’s national card game?

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How to play 500

The Aussie version of 500 is a game much like the card game Euchre. Where 500 strays from Euchre is that each player receives 10 cards instead of five, and the trump is not turned up but is decided by a bidding war. Like Euchre, though, the joker trumps all other cards.

As the name of the game suggests, the goal is to be the first player to reach a point total of 500. The Australian version is traditionally a four-player game consisting of two teams of two players with each team member sitting across from each other. As a four player game, 500 is usually played with a deck of 43 cards. Each two and three of all four suits are removed and the game is played with a Joker.

Dealing in 500

Once you have four players and teams have been decided it is time to start the deal. The initial dealer can be chosen at random but from then on the deal goes in a clockwise direction.

The deal is traditionally dealt as a round of three cards to each player, with one card in the kitty in the centre of the table, then a round of four cards to each player with another card in the kitty and finally another round of three cards to each player and another card in the kitty. Each player should have 10 cards each with three cards in the kitty.

Bidding in 500

After the deal, the player to the left of the dealer can begin bidding.

When it comes to bidding you can elect to choose one of four possible bids or you can just pass on bidding completely. The four possible bids are:

A trump suit and a number of tricks: this bid requires you to nominate a trump suit (Heart, Diamond, Spade or Club) and a number of tricks (between six and 10) you feel you and your partner can win. A bid would be “Seven Spades”.

No Trumps: this is a bid of how many tricks you can take without a defined trump suit. This bid can only be made with a minimum of six tricks.

Misere: this is a bid stating that you think you will lose all tricks without the help of your partner.

Open Misere: this is essentially the same bid as a Misere but after the first trick you lay your cards face up on the table.

Card ranks in 500

The Joker is the highest card in 500 when there is a trump suit. From there it goes the Jack, Ace, King, Queen, 10, nine, eight, seven, six, five and four of the trump suit. After the trump suit the other suits are rated as descending order Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs and Spades. The non trump suit cards are ranked as per usual Ace to four.

When there are no trumps the suits are ranked as per usual (Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs, Spades) and the cards are ranked the same too (Ace – four).

The Joker however changes depending on what the winning bid is. If the winning bid is No Trumps, Misere or an Open Misere then the Joker’s role differs greatly. If the Contractor holds the Joker then before play commences they can designate a suit that the Joker belongs to, thus becoming the trump card of that suit.

If the Joker does not belong to the Contractor, or is not designated a suit by the Contractor, then it doesn’t belong to a particular suit and is thus the highest card in the deck but can only be played under certain circumstances:

If you have no cards left of the suit being played that was dictated by another player.

The Joker must be played if the bid is Misere or Open Misere if you have no cards of the suit being played, but if the bid is No Trump then you can keep it to play later.

The Joker cannot be played once all the suits have been led unless it is the last trick.

A trick can be started with the Joker, nominating a suit as long as that suit has not already been led.

Play

The person who won the bidding (who is known as the Contractor) starts by collecting the kitty cards. The contractor must then replace the kitty with any three cards now in their possession.

If the winning bid made by the Contractor is a Misere or Open Misere then the Contractor’s playing partner puts their cards face down on the table, because they are out of the game.

From there the Contractor will have played the first trick and it is up to the other players to follow suit if they can. To win a trick you must have the highest trump card of the particular suit being played. Whoever wins each trick gets a score. The winner of each trick begins the next trick.

Scoring

The points are accumulated throughout the course of the game. The first person or team to reach a score of 500 wins. The point values are as follows:

Misere: Misere 250 points

Open Misere: Misere 500 points

Six Tricks: Spades 40 points, Clubs 60 points, Diamonds 80 points, Hearts 100 points, No Trumps 120 points

Seven Tricks: Spades 140 points, Clubs 160 points, Diamonds 180 points, Hearts 200 points, No Trumps 220

Eight Tricks: Spades 240 points, Clubs 260 points, Diamonds 280 points, Hearts 300 points, No Trumps 320

Nine Tricks: Spades 340 points, Clubs 360 points, Diamonds 380 points, Hearts 400 points, No Trumps 420

10 Tricks: Spades 440 points, Clubs 460 points, Diamonds 480 points, Hearts 500 points, No Trumps 520

Where can I play 500 online for real money?

As popular as 500 is, it is unfortunately not available to play at any reputable real money online casinos at present, which is strange considering other niche titles such as sports-themed casino games are readily available. Regardless, we’ll be the first to let you know when the game hits online casinos, so watch this space.

To enjoy a wide range of other online card games, head to Slots.lv which is our top-rated casino site for players from United States. There are some excellent new player welcome bonuses you can take advantage of and loads of card games and other casino classics to choose from.