Pottle

Contributed by Joan Milliken

Players: 3 to 7

Equipment required:

1 pack of 52 playing cards
Chips (or matches)
1 set of 5 suit cards (draw a heart, club, diamond, spade and NO (for no trumps) on 5 pieces of card or paper)
2 sets of number cards (numbers 0 to 7 on separate pieces of card or paper)

Preparation:
Before starting to play, decide on the value of a chip. Each player then exchanges his money for chips. The sets of suit and number cards are placed in the centre of the table.

Betting:
Each player places a chip in the ‘pot’ on the table.

Deal:
The dealer starts dealing to the player on his left and continues until seven cards have been dealt to each player.

Bidding:
Starting with the player on the dealer’s left, each player bids the exact number of tricks he hopes to make. He indicates his bid by placing in front of him one of the number cards from the centre of the table.
The player who has bid the highest number (or the first to bid that number) then chooses the trump suit. He places the required suit card on the table in front of him.

Play:
The winner of the auction leads a card and the highest card played wins the trick. Each player must follow suit, except in the case where he does not have one he may play a trump to win the trick.
Tricks taken are placed in front of the person who wins them.

Winning:
The person with the highest number of tricks bid and made, wins the pot. The winner must make exactly the number he has bid.
Only one person can win the pot so if there is a tie, the pot is added to for the next round. If no one gets it right, then the pot is also added to for the next round.
This means that it is not only in each player’s interest to make his contract but also to make sure that the other players do not make their contract.

The deal is then passed to the winner of the pot.
The suit and number cards are replaced so that the next round can be played as above.
More chips can be purchased as necessary and these can be redeemed for the agreed amount at the end of play.