Editing 500 (card game) (section)

==Bidding==

After the deal, players call in turn, electing either to bid or to pass. A bid indicates the combined number of [[Trick-taking game|tricks]] the bidder believes they and their partner will take and the suit that will be [[Trump (card games)|trump]] for that hand, or that there will be no trump suit. For instance, a bid of "seven spades" (7{{spades}}) indicates that the player intends to win seven or more tricks with spades being the trump suit, whereas a bid of "seven no-trump" (7NT) indicates that the player intends to win seven or more tricks with no trump suit (in which case the only trump card is the joker).

Auction commences at the level of 6. A player may elect not to bid, or to "pass". Bidding proceeds clockwise around the table, with each player passing or making a higher-scoring bid. A player who passes cannot subsequently make a bid in that hand.

A player who has bid may only bid again in that hand if there has been an intervening bid by another player. However, in some variations a player who has bid and not passed may always bid again in that hand.

The order of seniority of suits in bidding (from lowest to highest, as reflected in the scores below) is as follows:
: {{spades}}, {{clubs}}, {{diamonds}}, {{hearts}}, no trump. 
Therefore, for example, a player who bids 7{{clubs}} may be outbid by a subsequent bidding player on 7{{diamonds}} or 7{{hearts}}, but not seven spades. A "no-trump" bid beats any suited bid of the same number. Eventually, all but one player passes and the bid is decided.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bradley |first=FG |date= |title=Five Hundred |url=https://www.fgbradleys.com/rules/rules4/Five%20Hundred%20-%20rules.pdf |url-status= |access-date=10 November 2022 |website=}}</ref>

In American play, there is only one round of bidding, with each player getting one chance, in turn, to either bid or pass. Moreover, in American play, a bid of six is called an "inkle". A player who bids "inkle spades" is typically indicating to their partner that they have some spades but not enough to bid seven. In most versions, one cannot win auction with an inkle. If auction doesn't reach the level of 7, cards are reshuffled.<ref name = "Pagat"/> Only the first two players may inkle.

If nobody makes a bid, there are multiple variations. Most commonly, the hand is declared dead and a reshuffle and redeal is made. This can be repeated only twice, after which the deal passes to the next player. Alternatively, the game is played where no bids mean the round is played as no-trump, and scoring is ten points per trick. Other variations include that the deal passes to the next player (no reshuffle); or that if no one else makes a bid, the dealer is required to make a bid.

The player making the successful bid then collects the kitty. This player sorts through their hand and discards the least-useful three (or five in the case of a 45-card deck) cards (possibly including cards picked up from the kitty), and places them face down; the discarded cards playing no further part in the hand.

===Misère and open misère ===
Misère and open misère are two special contracts in 500. A ''[[Misère]]'' (also called ''Nullo'' (sometimes pronounced ''Nello'') or similarly) bid means the bidding player is trying to not win any tricks. If playing with a partner, the partner folds their cards and does not participate in the round. Misère is the [[French language|French]] word meaning "extreme poverty". Misère is worth 250 pts. and is usually placed between 8{{spades}} and 8{{clubs}} in bidding.<ref name = "Pagat"/> It can be bid when auction reaches the level 7.<ref name = "Pagat"/>

''Open Misère'' is the same as misère except the player playing this bid must reveal all of their cards to their opponents after the first trick. Also called ''Lay Down Misère''. It is usually worth 500 and placed between 10{{diamonds}} and 10{{hearts}}.<ref name = "Pagat"/> May be bid at any time even as the first bid.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pagat.com/euchre/500.html#bidding |author = John McLeod|title = Five Hundred|quote= Open Misere is higher than Ten Diamonds but lower than Ten Hearts. You do not have to wait for the bidding to reach any particular level – Open Misere can be bid over any lower bid, or even as the first bid of the auction.}}</ref>

Value and precedence of open misère can vary. It can, for instance, also be worth 330 and placed between 8NT and 9{{spades}}.<ref name = "Pagat"/>

===Non-standard bids===
{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2021}}
* ''J5'' is a special version of no-trump where a jack replaces the ace as the highest card of its respective suit, keeping the rules in line with a suited game. The joker remains the only trump card, and the normal agreed-upon rules of its use still apply. In a J5 game there is no lower bower (e.g., the jack of diamonds is not considered a heart and so on). Other cards follow their typical hierarchy.
* ''Blind Misère'' is the same as misère except the bid must be called before the player views their cards.
* ''Double nullo'' is an American variant in which both players of the bidding team play and must not win any tricks. This is also called ''Grand nullo'', which is often corrupted to ''Granola''. Double nullo may be called by one partner even if the other partner passes. In this instance the player who calls nullo draws in their partner and both must play and not take any tricks. The person who calls double nullo picks up the kitty and gives the five cards they want to discard to their partner. Their partner then must take those five cards and pick the ones they want to keep and discard the rest.
* ''Grand nullo'' is sometimes played as a different bid from ''Double nullo'', in which case it is identical to normal nullo except for the bidder does not get access to the kitty. 
* ''Shields Double'' is a variant of ''Double nullo'' where one partner of the bidding team plays their hand open (after the initial trick).
* ''Patastrophe'' is an ''Open Misère'' where both partners on the bidding team play, with both calling partners playing their hand open (after the first trick). ''Patastrophe'' is worth 1000 points.
* The ''Wilkinson'' version of Misère is agreed to before the outset of the game, and is bid as such: 'closed misère' can be bid any time (even as a first bid) but is played open, and 'open misère' may also be bid likewise but is played open and without the kitty.
* ''Hi/Lo'' or ''5 and 5'' bid means one player intends to win 5 tricks and lose 5 tricks in the hand. The game is typically worth 350 points, and therefore outbids a 9{{spades}} or 9{{clubs}} bid, but not a 9{{diamonds}} or 9{{hearts}}. The game play is similar to a ''No-trump'' game in that the Joker is the only trump card and may only be used if the player cannot otherwise follow suit. When a ''Hi/Lo'' call is made the bidder's partner folds their cards and does not participate in the hand. This is also called ''Even Stevens'' in Australia.
* ''Ralphing'' is when a person that bids gets set by more than 3 tricks (that is a person wins the bid with 9{{hearts}} but only takes 6, or bids ''Nullo'' and takes 3 or more tricks). In the event that a person is ''Ralphed'', they are not allowed to bid in the next hand. The name comes from a person that would repeatedly over-bid and lose dreadfully each time. The rule was instituted so others would be allowed to win bids.
* ''Slam'': [[John McLeod (card game researcher)|John McLeod]] claims there exists a variation in which the declarer, after picking up the kitty, may call for a slam hand. The partner of the player who calls for a slam passes a single card to their partner then folds their hand and does not play.<ref name = Pagat/> The contractor who called for the slam hand must discard until they have only 10 cards remaining before starting play. The contractor must then win all ten tricks. It is worth 500 if there are trumps and 520 in no trump.<ref name = Pagat/>