Most rule books give the 3-handed game of 500 as the standard version, but I think the 4-handed game is more widely played, so I chose that for my basic version.
Most of the information below (especially the variations) came from John McLeod's Card Game Supplement website (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/jmcleod/500.htm). On that page Ben Butzer contributed the St. Paul rules and Carol Bott contributed the Youngstown rules. I need to thank Adrian Whichello and all of the above.
Five Hundred
Number of Players - 4 playing as partners.
Object - to score 500 points.
Deck - 43 cards deck made by removing the 2's, 3's, and black 4's from a standard 52-card deck and adding a joker.
Rank of Cards - In trumps the rank (from highest to lowest) is Joker(Best Bower), Jack(Right Bower), other Jack of the same color(Left Bower), Ace, King, Queen, 10, 9, 8. 7, 6, 5, 4(if there is a 4 in that suit). In other suits the ranking is standard with Ace high, except that the other suit the same color as trumps will not have a Jack in it. (Note that the best and left bower are considered to be in the trump suit for all purposes). If there is no-trump then the standard ranking with ace high applies to all suits with the Joker being a trump suit by itself.
Preliminaries - partners sit opposite each other (non-adjacent).
Dealing - Each player is dealt 10 cards and 3 cards are placed face down in the middle of the table as a widow. Normally, cards are dealt 3 to each player first time around, then 3 to the middle, then 4 to each player second time around, then 3 more to each player last time around.
Bidding - Each player has one chance to bid. A bid consists of a number (declaring how many tricks you can take, minimum of 6) and a suit (which will be trumps if that player wins the bid). A player may pass or bid higher than any bid given so far. The ranking of bids are given by their point values which are in the table below:
6 7 8 9 10
- - - - --
Spades 40 140 240 340 440
Clubs 60 160 260 360 460
D'monds 80 180 280 380 480
Hearts 100 200 300 400 500
Notrump 120 220 320 420 520
Whoever gives the bid with the highest value becomes the declarer. The other team are the defenders. If everyone passes, the hand is abandoned and the next player deals.
The Play - The declarer takes the widow into her hand without showing it to the other players. She then discards three cards from her hand without showing them to the other players. The declarer leads to the first trick. Play is by standard trick-taking rules (follow suit if able, if not you may play any card). Winner of a trick leads to the next. If the hand is being played with no trump, then the Joker is considered a suit of trumps by itself. A player may not play it to a trick unless out of the suit led. However, if the Joker is led, the person leading it may name a suit that the other players are required to play on the trick if able. Play continues until all tricks have been played.
Scoring - If the declaring team takes at least as many tricks as the declarer bid, they receive the score for that bid from the table above. If they fail to take the number of tricks bid, their score is reduced by the value of the bid. The defending team receives 10 points for each trick they take. A team that finishes a hand at over 500 points wins the game. If both teams go over 500 points during the same hand, the declaring team wins. If a team finishes a hand at -500 points or below, they lose the game.
General Variations to 500:
Variation in the deck
The game may be played without the Joker. The widow is reduced to two cards.
Variation in bidding
A bid of Nullo is allowed. This is a bid to take no tricks at no trumps. It is worth 250 points, ranking it between 8 spades and 8 clubs.
Variation in play
If there is no trump and the Joker is led, the player leading it may not name a suit that they have previously failed to follow suit to.
Variation in scoring
If the declaring team takes all ten tricks and their contract was for less than 250 points, they score 250 points instead.
Variation in number of players
For three players a 33-card deck consisting of the 7 through Ace in each suit plus a single Joker is used. Score is kept for each individual player. The declarer always plays alone against the other two players. (This is the "standard" version in most rule books and is an excellent three-handed game.)
For 5 players a standard deck plus a single Joker is used. Score is kept for each player individually. The declarer names a card not in his hand and the person holding that card becomes his partner for the hand. Both declarer and partner receive the score for the contract. (Some people play that the declarer names a specific player, not a card, as his partner.)
Specific variations:
The following rules are played in St. Paul, Minnesota.
The two black fours are included in the deck. Five cards are then dealt to the widow.
The deal is 3 to each player, 3 to the widow, 2 to each player, 2 to the widow, 3 to each, 2 to each.
At a players turn to bid, if she has a single ace but no other face cards or the joker, she may say "Ace - no face". This means she wishes to abandon the deal. Her partner may agree or disagree. Partners reply is binding. If partner agrees, the cards are thrown in and the next dealer deals. If partner disagrees, the bidding continues, but the team that said "Ace - no face" may not play any sort of Nullo bid.
Only the first two bidders may make a bid of 6 (called an "inkle"). Their partners must bid higher than 6, or pass. If no one bids higher than 6, the cards are thrown in and re-dealt by the same dealer.
Not a rule, but a convention is to allow two different ways to bid no-trumps. If the bid is "7 no-trumps" (or any number) then it is the standard no-trump bid. If the bid is "7 no" then it means the bidder has either the joker or a bower in each of the two different colors.
A bid of Nullo (if it is being allowed) is played alone by the declarer. The declarer's partner puts his hand face down on the table and does not play.
A player may bid "Grand Nullo" if her partner has bid Nullo. The bid is worth 510 points. It ranks between 10 hearts and 10 no-trump. If a player takes the contract at Grand Nullo she adds the widow to her hand, then discards 5 cards. The declarer's partner takes these discards in his hand, then discards 5 cards. The declarer leads to the first trick. The declaring team makes the contract if neither takes a trick. If either player takes a trick, they go back the 510 points and the defending team scores 10 points for each trick taken by the bidder.
The St. Paul rules are used there in tournament play with the following differences:
There is no set target of 500 points for a game. Instead a round of 4 hands is played. The number of rounds played is the number of players divided by 4.
After four hands the low scoring team gets up and moves to the next table. The high scoring team remains at the same table. In both cases, the former partners must now play against each other.
Nullo and Grand Nullo bids are not allowed.
Each player keeps a record of the number of points they have scored in all the rounds. At the end of the tournament, the player who has scored the most total points is the tournament winner.
In Youngstown, Ohio a tournament is played as above with the following differences:
A tournament consists of 10 rounds.
The Ace - No Face rule is not used.
If the bid is for less than 10 tricks, but the declaring team takes 10 or more tricks, 100 points is added to their score.
A bid of "6 no-trump" means the bidding player has the joker. A bid of "6 no" indicates 2 aces. A bid of 6 in a suit means the bidder has a bower in that suit. A bid of "7 no" means the bidder has better than 2 aces but does not want the bid. "7 no-trump" is a standard bid.
The following rules are used in Australia and New Zealand.
The deal is usually 3 to each player, 1 to the widow (or "kitty" as it is commonly called), 4 to each, 1 to kitty, 3 to each, 1 to kitty.
The Nullo bid is used, but called Misere (miz-air) and is always played alone.
It is worth 250 points, but for bidding purposes ranks between 7 no-trumps and 8 spades. It may only be bid after someone has bid 7. Misere cannot be bid as the opening bid, or after only bids of 6 tricks have been given.
A bid of Open Misere ranks between 10 diamonds and 10 hearts. It is worth 500 points. It can be bid anytime. It is played alone and the declarer places his cards face up on the table for all to see after the first trick has been played.
Bidding continues for as many rounds as necessary. Once a player has passed, she may not bid again that hand. The declarer is the only player not to pass.
In a no-trump, Misere, or Open Misere contract, if the declarer holds the Joker he may (but is not required to) name the suit to which the Joker belongs. The joker is then the highest card of that suit.
In a no-trump, Misere, or Open Misere contract, if the declarer does not hold the Joker or does not name a suit for it, then the rules from the basic game apply with the following differences.
- In a Misere or Open Misere contract, a player must play the Joker if he has no cards of the suit led.
- A player leading the Joker may only name a suit which has not previously been led. If all four suits have been led, the Joker may not be led, except to the last trick.
If the contract is Misere or Open Misere the declaring team scores positive or negative the correct amount. The defending team does not score in either case.
To win the game, a team must have a score over 500 points and have successfully made a contract on the last hand. If a side has not fulfilled both requirements, additional hands are played until a team does so.
Here are some variations to the Australian version.
A Misere bid is allowed anytime.
Open Misere cannot be bid until someone has bid 8 or more.
Misere ranks between 9 no-trumps and 10 spades in the bidding.
The declarer may not name a suit for the Joker in a regular no-trump bid (but may for Misere or Open Misere).
In any hand with no trumps and an undeclared Joker, the holder of the Joker must play it if void of the suit led.
If the declaring team makes their contract the defending team scores nothing. If the declaring team fails to make their contract their score is reduced by the value of their bid and the defending team scores 10 points for each trick they take.
Misere is worth 230 and Open Misere is worth 430.
In the 5-handed version, after the declarer names a card, the person holding it does not identify himself. The identity of the partner is not known until the card is played. Some play that the declarer may not name a trump. Some play that the declarer may name any card except the Joker. (Alternately, it may be played that the holder of the card identifies himself immediately, or the declarer names a specific player to be partner.) If the declarer wishes to play alone (4 against 1), she says so instead of naming a card. (Alternately, a player may declare alone by naming a card in his own hand or among the discards. In this case, it is not immediately apparent the player is playing alone.) If the declarer plays with a partner, they each win or lose half the value of the contract. If the declarer plays alone, she wins or loses the full value of the contract. Some play that if the declarer wishes to play alone, she names a card in her own hand or among the discards. In this case, the opponents do not know the declarer is playing alone until the card is played or the end of the hand.
A few people do not allow the Misere bid, give an Open Misere bid a value of 230 points, and allow an additional "Super Open Misere" worth 430 points. If a player bids "Super Open Misere", he places his cards face up after the first trick and the opponents play the cards instead of the declarer. (They play this way because they feel the Misere bids are normally too easy compared to the scoring value.)
There is a 6-handed version of 500, but it requires a special deck of cards and will not be described here.