Card Game Terms Explained: Trick, Trump, Void, Renege and More

Card game rules are full of jargon. What exactly is a trick? What does it mean to be void in a suit? Why is everyone shouting "renege"? This glossary explains the words you'll meet in 29, Callbreak, Spades, Hearts, Hazari and most other classic card games.

The basics

Deck / pack: the full set of cards. A standard deck has 52 cards in four suits. Some games remove cards; 29 uses only 32.

Suit: one of the four groups: spades ♠, hearts ♥, diamonds ♦ and clubs ♣.

Rank: a card's value within its suit (A, K, Q, J, 10…). Rank order changes between games: in 29 the jack is highest.

Hand: the cards you hold, or one complete deal from dealing to scoring.

Deal: handing out the cards. The dealer changes each hand, usually passing to the next player in the direction of play.

Eldest hand: the player next to the dealer, who often bids or leads first.

Trick-taking terms

Trick: one round in which every player plays one card. The winner "takes" the trick and usually leads the next one.

Lead: the first card played to a trick. Everyone else must respond to it.

Follow suit: playing a card of the same suit as the lead. In almost every trick-taking game you must follow suit if you can.

Void: having no cards of a suit. Being void lets you play any card, often a trump.

Trump / trump suit: a suit that beats all the others. Any trump beats any card of another suit.

• In Callbreak and Spades, spades are always trump.
• In 29 the bidder chooses trump secretly.
• Hearts has no trump at all.

Ruff / to trump: playing a trump on a trick when you can't follow suit.

Overtake / overtrump: playing a higher card (or higher trump) than the one currently winning. Callbreak makes this compulsory when possible.

Renege / revoke: failing to follow suit when you could have. It's usually punished with a penalty.

Breaking (hearts or spades): the first time a suit that can't be led is played, which then allows it to be led.

Bidding terms

Bid / call: a promise of how many tricks or points you'll win.

Contract: the final bid your side must make.

Set: stopping the other side from making their contract.

Overtrick / bag: a trick won beyond your contract. In Spades, too many bags cost points.

Nil: a bid to win no tricks at all.

Pair / marriage: holding the King and Queen of trumps. In 29, declaring the pair changes the target by 4 points.

Other terms

Kitty / widow: extra cards dealt to the table or set aside.

Cut: splitting the deck before dealing, done by the player next to the dealer.

Discard: a card you throw away, either onto a trick you can't win or onto a discard pile.

Troy / trail: three of a kind in Hazari and Teen Patti.

Run / sequence: consecutive ranks, such as 7-8-9. A colour run or pure sequence is also all one suit.

Learn by playing

The quickest way to make these terms second nature is to play. 29 Master and Card Adda show legal cards and trump reveals as you play, offline and free.

FAQ

What is a trump card?

A card of the trump suit, which beats every card of the other suits. The highest trump played wins the trick.

What is a trick in card games?

One round in which each player plays a single card. The best card wins the trick for its player.

What does "follow suit" mean?

Playing a card of the same suit as the card that was led. You must do this if you can.

What is reneging in cards?

Not following suit when you had a card of that suit. It breaks the rules and usually carries a penalty.

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