Deberts♠

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Scope and history

Deberts belongs to the Jass family of point-trick games and has a Russian-speaking playing tradition. Gambler publishes a specific club implementation; this does not establish an inventor or invention year. This guide follows that implementation, not a mixture of Clobyosh, Kharkiv and Moscow rules.

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Choose trump and complete the hand

Use 32 cards, 7 through A. Randomly select the first dealer. Deal 6 each, then expose the next card as the indicator. Nondealer may accept its suit or pass; dealer then has the same choice. After both pass, nondealer may choose another suit or pass, then dealer may choose another suit or pass. There is no no-trump bid. After 4 passes, the other player redeals.

Once someone accepts, that player is caller. Deal 3 more each, nondealer first, making 9. Expose the bottom stock card for information; it is not played. There is no replenishment. With the original indicator suit trump, either player may exchange trump 7 for the indicator before personally playing a first card. We disable the optional cancellation for four sevens. The previous caller deals next.

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Ranks and captured values

Trumps rank J–9–A–10–K–Q–8–7 and score 20–14–11–10–4–3–0–0. Other suits rank A–10–K–Q–J–9–8–7 and score 11–10–4–3–2–0–0–0. Last trick adds 10. Undealt cards score for nobody.

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Declare sequences and bela

Sequence order is A–K–Q–J–10–9–8–7 within one suit. A terc of 3 scores 20; a bertz of 4 scores 50. Before your first card announce your best sequence. Compare length, then highest card, then trump status; equal nontrump sequences favour the earlier announcement. The winner shows the claimed sequences after the first trick and scores all valid sequences only after winning at least 1 trick. Cards cannot belong to overlapping sequences.

Trump K and Q form bela worth 20 even without a trick; announce it when playing either card. Bela may overlap a sequence. Four equal ranks give no meld points. Teaching detail: a longer run may supply one highest 4-card bertz, not a separate 100-point quint; otherwise choose disjoint sequences before showing them.

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Play all tricks

Nondealer leads. Follow suit if possible; otherwise play trump if possible; otherwise any card. On a trump lead, beat the led trump when able. There is no obligation to overtake on a nontrump lead. Highest trump wins, otherwise highest card of the led suit. Winner leads next. Play 9 tricks. Stack tricks face down; either player may inspect the latest completed trick.

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Contract, hanging score and finish

Add captured values, last trick and valid melds. If caller scores more, both record their own totals. If caller scores less, caller records 0 and defender records both totals: this is a bait. If equal, defender records their own points and caller’s equal amount hangs for the next deal’s winner.

The club says hanging points are resolved next deal without accumulating, but does not explain a repeated tie. Our explicit teaching agreement awards the older hanging amount to the next deal’s defender on another tie; the new equal amount hangs normally. A 4-pass redeal is not a played deal. Keep hanging amounts separate from cumulative totals.

Play every deal to completion; no early victory call. First to 501 wins after scoring. If both reach 501 on that deal, the defender wins with the club result 501:500. Optional Mars and doubling are disabled.

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A legal trick and a bait

Hearts are trump. Nondealer leads 9♥. Dealer holds J♥ and 7♥ and must play J♥, taking 14 + 20 = 34. Choosing 7♥ would be illegal even to save the jack.

Suppose the final totals, including declarations, are caller 72 and defender 90. Caller has a bait: record 0 and 162 respectively. With equal totals of 81, defender records 81 and the other 81 hangs. If the following caller wins with 100 against 62, that caller records 181 and defender 62.

← On a small screen, scroll the diagram horizontally. →

Common questions