twenty-five

twenty-five, Ireland’s national card game, related to the classic Spanish game of ombre. It was played under the name maw by the British King James I and was later called spoil five from one of its principal objectives. From it derives the Canadian game of forty-fives.

Twenty-five is a nonpartnership game played with a standard 52-card deck, usually by four to six players. After anteing one chip, each player receives five cards in batches of three-two or four-one, and the next card is turned up to establish the trump suit. The normal ranking of cards from high to low is K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A in red suits and K, Q, J, A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 in black suits (“high in red, low in black”). In trumps, however, the highest is always the 5 (“five fingers”), followed by the jack, the ace of hearts (regardless of the nominal trump suit), the ace of trumps (if not hearts), and the remaining cards in their usual ranking order according to colour.

The primary object is to sweep the pool by winning at least three tricks, preferably all five. Alternatively, it is to stop anyone else from doing so (“spoil five”), thereby increasing the size of the betting pool for the next deal. If written scores are kept, each trick counts 5 points, and the target is 25.

Any player dealt the ace of trumps may, if desired, “rob the pack” before playing to the first trick by taking the turned-up card and discarding an unwanted card facedown. If the turned-up card is an ace, the dealer may rob the pack by exchanging it for any unwanted card from his hand.

The player at dealer’s left leads to the first trick, and the winner of each trick leads to the next. To a trump lead the other players must follow suit if possible, unless the only one held is one of the top three trumps (5, jack, ace of hearts) and is higher than the one led. In this case that player may “renege” by discarding from another suit. To a nontrump lead the others may either follow suit or trump, as preferred, but may discard only if unable to follow suit. The trick is taken by the highest card of the suit led or by the highest trump if any are played.

If anyone wins the first three tricks straight off, that player may sweep the pool without further play. Alternatively, that player may lead to the fourth trick (“jink”), thereby undertaking to win all five. If he then loses a trick, he loses his stake. Jinking is now often omitted from the standard game.

Whoever wins three or more tricks wins the pool and, for winning all five tricks, gains an extra chip from each opponent. If nobody wins three, or a “jinker” fails to win five, the tricks are “spoiled,” and the pool is carried forward to the next deal, increased by one chip per player. The game ends when a player runs out of chips or reaches 25 points.

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Auction forty-fives is a Canadian variant that is particularly popular among Irish immigrants in Nova Scotia. The game is played by four or six people formed into two partnerships, seated alternately around the table. Each player is dealt five cards in batches of three-two or two-three. Beginning at the dealer’s left, each player may bid or pass, but passing precludes further bidding. Bids range from 5 to 30 in increments of 5. The dealer may “hold” (repeat) the highest bid. Whoever bids highest, or the dealer in a tie, then declares trumps, no suit being mentioned in the auction.

After the bid each player in turn, starting with the player at dealer’s left, may discard facedown any or all cards and be dealt replacements from the pack. (In some variants the dealer may “rob the pack” by looking through the undealt cards to pick out his replacements.) The rank of cards and rules of play are the same as in twenty-five.

Each trick counts five points for the capturing side, and five points goes to the partnership with the highest trump in play. Both partnerships score for the hand, except that the declarer’s bid is deducted from his partnership’s current score if it is not reached. A successful bid of 30 points (all the points) is scored as 60 points. The first partnership to reach 120 points wins. A side with 100 or more points may not bid lower than 20.