Rank of Cards: The rank of cards within each suit shall be as follows: A,K,Q,J,10, and so forth. There is no rank of suits other than trump, which shall be different in each game, and will outrank all other suits.
Tricks: Each trick will begin with one player leading a card. The lead for the first trick belongs to the bidder, each subsequent trick will be lead by the player who won the previous trick. The player who plays the highest card of the suit led shall win the trick unless a trump has been played, in which case the player who played the highest trump wins the trick and leads the next.
Following Suit and Trumping: Each player after the lead must play a card of the suit which was lead unless s/he does not have one. In that case, that player may either play a trump or play a card in any other suit. Trump may be lead at any time in the game.
Bidding: The following bids are the only bids which are acceptable in this version of bid whist: 'Three', 'Four', 'Five', 'Six', 'Seven', and 'Pass'. The bid represents the number of tricks they are contracted to take beyond a book of five tricks (i.e. a bid of five means the bidder will attempt to win ten of the twelve available tricks). The bidding starts with the player at the dealer's left. There is only one round of bidding. Each bid must either be higher than the previous bid or the player must pass. Bids should be made promptly. The minimum acceptable number to win the bid is four (4). On the dealer's turn to bid, s/he may either accept the bid for the highest amount said, or grant the bid to the player who has placed the highest bid of at least four. The bidder signifies this by either picking up the kitty and placing it in his hand or passing the cards to the appropriate bidder. The player who wins the bid determines trump after picking up the kitty and discarding four cards. If no suit is stated specifically by the dealer before the first card is played, it is understood that the suit of the first card lead is trump.
The Kitty: The kitty consists of four cards placed at the dealers discretion during the deal. Neither the first nor last card can be placed in the kitty. The player who wins the bidding round takes the kitty into his/her hand and then discards four cards face down to his/her partners. These discards cannot be seen by anyone except for the dealer, and only before s/he plays the first card.
Scoring: For successfully completing a bid, the bidding team shall score the number of points equal to the number of tricks taken over the book of five tricks. This means that the bidding team can score more than they bid. If the bidding team fails to make their bid, the opponents score the points equal to the amount of the bid plus the number of tricks more than six taken. The first team to score at least 21 points wins the game, unless either team takes every trick in a hand. That team automatically wins the game, regardless of score (aka going Chicago).
