Bidding is the process in many

card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...

s, such as Skat,

Pinochle Pinochle (), also called pinocle or penuchle, is a trick-taking ace–ten card game, typically for two to four players and played with a 48-card deck. It is derived from the card game bezique; players score points by trick-taking and also by ...

Binokel Binokel is a card game for two to eight players that originated in Switzerland as Binocle, but spread to the German state of Württemberg, where it is typically played with a Württemberg pattern pack. It is still popular in Württemberg, where i ...

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

Solo Whist Solo whist is the English form of Wiezen (Belgian or Ghent Whist), a simple game of the Boston family played in the Low Countries. It is a trick-taking card game for four players in which players can bid to make eight tricks in trumps with any pa ...

Préférence Préférence, frequently spelt Preference, is a Central Europe, Central and Eastern European 10-card plain-trick game with bidding (cards), bidding, played by three players with a 32-card Piquet deck, and probably originating in early 19th centur ...

L’Hombre Ombre (, pronounced "omber") or l'Hombre is a fast-moving seventeenth-century Card game#Trick-taking games, trick-taking card game for three players and "the most successful card game ever invented." Its history began in Spain around the end of ...

, Bauernschnapsen and most types of

Tarock Tarock is German for Tarot and may refer to: * German Tarok, progenitor of a family of American and Austro-German card games * Bavarian Tarock, once popular Bavarian card game * Königrufen, most popular Austrian tarot game, often just called Ta ...

, whereby players compete to be able to specify the type of contract, the

trump cards Trump card(s) may refer to: Cards * Trump (card games), any higher-ranked playing card * Trump cards, or Major Arcana, a suit in tarot * Trump Cards, 2022 NFTs featuring Donald Trump Film and television * ''The Trump Card'' (film), a 1942 Fren ...

and/or to be able to pick up a set of face-down cards known variously, for example, as the talon, skat, dabb. Bidding is one of only two major innovations to traditional

trick-taking game A trick-taking game is a card- or tile-based game in which play of a ''hand'' centers on a series of finite rounds or units of play, called ''tricks'', which are each evaluated to determine a winner or ''taker'' of that trick. The object of suc ...

s since they were invented; the other being the idea of a

trump suit A trump is a playing card which is elevated above its usual rank in trick-taking games. Typically an entire suit is nominated as a ''trump suit''; these cards then outrank all cards of plain (non-trump) suits. In other contexts, the terms ''trump c ...

. The concept of bidding comes from the game known in Spain as Tresillo and elsewhere as Ombre or L'Hombre. Ombre emerged in Spain between 1600 and 1650 from the Spanish variant of

Triomphe Triomphe (French for triumph), once known as French ruff, is a card game dating from the late 15th century. It most likely originated in France or Spain (as triunfo) and later spread to the rest of Europe. When the game arrived in Italy, it shared ...

(''Triumphus Hispanicus'').Depaulis (1987), p. 49.

Overview

Players may raise the bid (by bidding a higher contract or point value) until the highest bidder is determined when the others all say "pass." Naming a higher contract than an earlier player is known as

outbid The following is a glossary of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific (e.g. specific to Bridge (card game), bridge, Hearts ...

ding or

overcall In contract bridge, an overcall is a bid made after an opening bid has been made by an opponent; the term refers only to the first such bid. A ''direct'' overcall is such a bid made by the player seated immediately to the left of the opener, i.e ...

ing. By contrast, if a player bids higher than allowed by the rules or higher than the strength of his hand can reasonably sustain, this is ''

overbid The following is a glossary of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific (e.g. specific to Bridge (card game), bridge, Hearts ...

ding'' and usually has negative consequences, often involving the loss of the game. However, overbidding in Bridge may be used as a tactical manoeuvre in order to prevent the opponents playing a high value game. Bidding may be done in successive pairs as in Skat (in the sequence: deal - listen - announce - reply) or

Schafkopf Schafkopf (, lit. 'sheep's head'), also called Bavarian Schafkopf, is a popular German Trick-taking game, trick-taking card game of the ace–ten family for four players that evolved, towards the end of the 19th century, from German Schafkopf. ...

, known as bidding and holding, or in strict rotation as in

Euchre Euchre or eucre ( ) is a trick-taking game, trick-taking card game played in Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, Upstate New York, and the Midwestern United States. It is played with a deck of 24, 25, 28, or 32 standard playing cards. There are no ...

and

Königrufen Königrufen or Königsrufen (German: "Calling the King"Dummett (1980), ''Twelve Tarot Games'', p. 147.) is a four-player, trick-taking card game of the Tarot card games, tarot family, played in Austria and Southern Tyrol, with a pack of 54 cards ...

. Bidding may be limited to one round, or it may be permissible for bidding to go around more than once.

Bidding methods

Dummett and McLeod defined four common methods of bidding or "bidding procedures", cited below in addition to other methods.Dummett & McLeod (2004), pp. 849–859.

Single round bidding

In single round bidding, players get one chance either to pass or to name the bid they wish to play. There is no holding and no raising; it is essentially 'one round, one bid'.

Bidding with immediate hold

In "bidding with immediate hold" there is also only one round of bidding. This time, however, an earlier player must immediately hold or fold if a later player names a higher bid. If the first holds, the second player may raise the bid and this continues until one or other folds. While the pair are alternately bidding and holding, no-one else may bid. Once one of the pair folds, the next player in turn may pass or outbid the survivor and, again, they continue until one drops out. In essence this is 'one round, bid and hold' or 'bidding and holding in pairs' with the bidding being conducted by successive pairs of players.

Bidding with immediate escalation

In "bidding with immediate escalation", there is one round of bidding. An earlier player must immediately overcall or pass if a later player names a higher bid. Holding is not permitted. The two players raise alternately until one passes whereupon the next player enters the bidding by passing or raising further. This is 'one round, bid and raise' or 'bidding and raising in pairs' with the bidding being conducted by successive pairs of players.

Bidding with delayed hold

In "bidding with delayed hold" players bid, pass or hold in strict rotation and there is usually more than one round of bidding. If a player is outbid and wants to hold, they must wait until their turn comes around again before holding. A player who has passed, does not speak again. This is 'multi-round, bid and hold'.

Bidding by escalation

In "bidding by escalation" players pass or bid in rotation and there can be more than one round of bidding. However, there is no holding so the bids simply escalate as bidding goes around the table. In effect this is 'multi-round, bid and raise'.

Jump bidding

In some games, players must start with the lowest legal bid and then raise them one step at a time. In jump bidding, players may 'jump' over intermediate contracts straight to a higher one. This may be combined with any of the above methods.

Other methods

Dummett and McLeod note that there are bidding procedures or variations which, for example, mandate that forehand always bids or that the dealer must become the declarer if all others pass.

References

Literature

Depaulis, Thierry Thierry Depaulis (born 1949) is an independent historian of games and especially of playing cards, card games, and board games. He is President of the association ''Le Vieux Papier'', a member of the editorial board of the International Board Game ...

(1987). "Un Peu de Lumiére sur L'hombre (3)" in ''The Playing-Card'' XVI (2), November 1987. {{ISSN, 0305-2133. pp. 44–53. *

Dummett, Sir Michael Sir Michael Anthony Eardley Dummett (; 27 June 1925 – 27 December 2011) was an English academic described as "among the most significant British philosophers of the last century and a leading campaigner for racial tolerance and equality." He ...

(1980). ''The Game of Tarot''. London: Duckworth. *

and John McLeod (2004). ''A History of Games Played with the Tarot Pack''. Vol. 2. Lewiston: Edwin Mellon Press. Card game terminology