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Introduction

The origins of this Canadian game are somewhat of a mystery. The Ukrainian communities of Saskatchewan and neighboring provinces are hotbeds of Kaiser playing. The game has been around in this region for at least 40 years and believe that it has its origins in the Ukrainian culture, possibly being brought over by immigrants to Canada. It is typically played when families visit or get together, especially over Christmas. However, I have not heard of any card game like this being played in Ukraine itself, or indeed anywhere in Europe.

Kaiser is played by four people - two against two as partners sitting across from each other. The first team to get 52 points wins the game.

Pack

This game is played with 32 cards - 7 through ace in each suit, but with the 7 replaced by the 3 and the 7 replaced by the 5. The cards in each suit rank from high to low: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7 or 5 or 3.

Idea of the Game

This is a trick taking game, in which each trick is worth one point. In addition the 5 is worth plus 5 points and the 3 is worth minus 3 points to the side which takes them in their tricks. The team which bids higher chooses the trump suit and tries to take at least as many points as they bid.

Deal

Deal and play are clockwise. The first dealer is chosen at random and after each hand the turn to deal passes to the left. The dealer deals out all the cards to the players, one at a time, so that everyone has eight.

Bidding

Each player in turn, beginning with the player at the dealer's left has one opportunity to bid. He may pass or bid a number; the possible bids are from five to twelve, either with a trump suit or in "no trumps". The trump suit is not specified in the bid, but a player who wants to play no trumps must say so in the bid - for example "eight no". A bid in no trumps outranks an equal bid in a suit, so the possible bids in ascending order are: 5, 5 no, 6, 6 no, 7, 7 no, etc. The maximum possible bid is 12 no. The computer version follows the rules laid out for the Kaiser tournament style which has a minimum bid of 7.

If a player bids, his bid must be higher that the previous bid, except that the dealer has the special privilege that he only needs to equal the previous bid in order to win the bidding.

Example:

Player A passes (isn't sure how many tricks he can make)

Player B bids 7 no (believes he can make 7 tricks without a trump)

Player C bids 8 (believes he can make 8 with a trump)

Player D bids 8 no (8 tricks without a trump)

Player D wins the bidding. Player D could also bid 8, equal to C's bid, and would then choose a trump suit.

If all four players pass, the cards are thrown in and the next player deals.

Play of the cards

The highest bidder names trumps (unless the bid was no trumps) and leads a card to the first trick. Play is clockwise. Each subsequent player must play a card of the same suit as the led card, if able to; if unable to, they may play any other card they wish. If any trumps are played, the player of the highest trump wins the trick; if no trumps are in the trick, it is won by the highest card of the suit led. The winner of the trick leads to the next trick. When all the cards have been played, the tricks are counted and scores written down.

Scoring

The score is depends on the bid, the number of tricks taken, and who took the 5 and the 3 in their tricks. The first team to reach a cumulative score of 52 or more points wins the game.

Each team counts how many points they have taken as follows:

The bidding team's score

If the team which chose trumps took at least as many points as they bid, they add to their score the number of points they took. If they took fewer points than their bid they subtract their bid from their score.

If the team which won the bidding played with no trumps, and took at least as many points as they bid, the add double the number of points they took to their score. If they do not make their bid then they subtract double their bid from their score.

 

The opponents' score

If the opponents of the team which won the bidding have a cumulative score of less than 45, they simply score the points they took, irrespective of whether the bid was won or lost. It is possible for this team to score less than zero (if they took the 3 with fewer than 3 tricks); in this case their cumulative score will go down.

If the opponents of the bidding team have a cumulative score of 45 or more, they cannot add any points taken to their score, but they still lose points if they took less than zero in tricks.

Variations

Some play that if you are dealt no aces, no picture cards and no 3 or 5, you can throw in the hand for a redeal.

Some play that a hand cannot be thrown in. If the first three players pass, the dealer is forced to bid the minimum.

Some play with a minimum bid of seven or six, rather than five.

Some play that a team which takes the 3 require three tricks to erase the 3 point penalty. If the team with the 3 take just one or two tricks, their score for the whole hand is minus 3 points. With three tricks their score would be zero, and additional tricks count one further point each as normal. The 5 can also be counted for plus 5 points provided that the team has at least three tricks.

Some play with a bid of Kaiser 40, by which the bidder undertakes to win all eight tricks alone (partner does not take part in the play). This scores 40 points if successful and loses 40 otherwise.

Some play that if a team has a cumulative score of minus 52 or worse, they lose the game and the other team wins.

Some play that the limit for scoring points for tricks without bidding is 47 points rather than 45. In this case if your score is 47 or more, you cannot score for tricks unless you are the bidding team, or unless you capture the 5 from the bidders, which wins the game for you.

Brian Berard reports a version in which each player passes one card face down to partner before the bidding takes place. Brian says that this variation adds to the game, in that a player can get rid of a lone card in a suit, such as a lone 5 of hearts etc.

Michael Mee describes a variation played with an extra two cards (the missing sevens) in the deck, so that there are 34 cards. Eight cards are dealt to each player, plus a kitty of two cards face down. The winning bidder must pick up the kitty and discard any two cards except the 5 & 3.