Bidding is the process in many

card game A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ...

s, such as Skat,

Pinochle Pinochle (), also called pinocle or penuchle, is a trick-taking, Ace-Ten card game typically for two to four players and played with a 48-card deck. It is derived from the card game bezique; players score points by trick-taking and also by form ...

Binokel Binokel is a card game for two to eight players that originated in Switzerland as Binocle, but spread to the German state of Württemberg, where it is typically played with a Württemberg pattern pack. It is still popular in Württemberg, where i ...

Bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

Solo Whist Solo Whist, sometimes known as English Solo or simply Solo, is a trick-taking card game for four players. Despite the name it is not related to Whist, but derives from an early form of Boston played in the Low Countries, whose direct ancestor, in t ...

Préférence Préférence, frequently spelt Preference, is a Central and Eastern European 10-card plain-trick game with bidding, played by three players with a 32-card Piquet deck, and probably originating in early 19th century Austria, becoming the second mos ...

, L’Hombre,

Bauernschnapsen The card game of Bauernschnapsen (also called ''Viererschnapsen'') is an expanded form of the popular Austrian card game of Schnapsen, played by four players. This variant of Schnapsen is played throughout the whole of Austria. General rules Ba ...

and most types of

Tarock Tarot games are card games played with tarot decks, that is, decks with numbered permanent trumps parallel to the suit cards. The games and decks which English-speakers call by the French name Tarot are called Tarocchi in the original Italian, ...

, whereby players vie to be able to specify the type of contract, the

trump cards A trump is a playing card which is elevated above its usual rank in trick-taking games. Typically, an entire suit is nominated as a ''trump suit''; these cards then outrank all cards of plain (non-trump) suits. In other contexts, the terms ''tru ...

and/or to be able to pick up a set of face-down cards known variously, for example, as the

talon Talon or talons may refer to: Science and technology * Talon (anatomy), the claw of a bird of prey * Brodifacoum, a rodenticide, also known as the brand Talon * TALON (database), a database maintained by the US Air Force * Talon, an anti-vehicle- ...

, skat, dabb. Players may raise the bid (by bidding a higher contract or point value) until the highest bidder is determined when the others all say "pass." Naming a higher contract than an earlier player is known as

outbid The following is a glossary of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific (e.g. specific to Bridge, Hearts, Poker or Rummy) ...

ding or

overcall In contract bridge, an overcall is a bid made after an opening bid has been made by an opponent; the term refers only to the first such bid. A ''direct'' overcall is such a bid made by the player seated immediately to the left of the opener, i.e ...

ing. By contrast, if a player bids higher than allowed by the rules or higher than the strength of his hand can reasonably sustain, this is ''

overbid The following is a glossary of terms used in card games. Besides the terms listed here, there are thousands of common and uncommon slang terms. Terms in this glossary should not be game-specific (e.g. specific to Bridge, Hearts, Poker or Rummy), ...

ding'' and usually has negative consequences, often involving the loss of the game. However, overbidding in Bridge may be used as a tactical manoeuvre in order to prevent the opponents playing a high value game. Bidding may be done in successive pairs as in Skat (in the sequence: deal - listen - announce - reply) or

Schafkopf Schafkopf (), also called Bavarian Schafkopf, is a popular German Trick-taking game, trick-taking card game of the Ace-Ten family for four players that evolved, towards the end of the 19th century, from German Schafkopf. It is still very popular i ...

, known as bidding and holding, or in strict rotation as in

Euchre Euchre or eucre () is a trick-taking card game commonly played in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, and the United States. It is played with a deck of 24, 28, or 32 standard playing cards. Normally there are four players, two on e ...

and

Königrufen Königrufen or Königsrufen (German: "Call the King") is a four-player, trick-taking card game of the Tarot card games, tarot family, played in Austria and Southern Tyrol, with variants for two, three and six players. As with other regional tarot ...

. Bidding may be limited to one round, or it may be permissible for bidding to go around more than once.

Bidding methods

Dummett and McLeod defined four common methods of bidding or "bidding procedures", cited below in addition to other methods.Dummett & McLeod (2004), pp. 849–859.

Single round bidding

In single round bidding, players get one chance either to pass or to name the bid they wish to play. There is no holding and no raising; it is essentially 'one round, one bid'.

Bidding with immediate hold

In "bidding with immediate hold" there is also only one round of bidding. This time, however, an earlier player must immediately hold or fold if a later player names a higher bid. If the first holds, the second player may raise the bid and this continues until one or other folds. While the pair are alternately bidding and holding, no-one else may bid. Once one of the pair folds, the next player in turn may pass or outbid the survivor and, again, they continue until one drops out. In essence this is 'one round, bid and hold' or 'bidding and holding in pairs' with the bidding being conducted by successive pairs of players.

Bidding with immediate escalation

In "bidding with immediate escalation", there is one round of bidding. An earlier player must immediately overcall or pass if a later player names a higher bid. Holding is not permitted. The two players raise alternately until one passes whereupon the next player enters the bidding by passing or raising further. This is 'one round, bid and raise' or 'bidding and raising in pairs' with the bidding being conducted by successive pairs of players.

Bidding with delayed hold

In "bidding with delayed hold" players bid, pass or hold in strict rotation and there is usually more than one round of bidding. If a player is outbid and wants to hold, they must wait until their turn comes around again before holding. A player who has passed, does not speak again. This is 'multi-round, bid and hold'.

Bidding by escalation

In "bidding by escalation" players pass or bid in rotation and there can be more than one round of bidding. However, there is no holding so the bids simply escalate as bidding goes around the table. In effect this is 'multi-round, bid and raise'.

Jump bidding

In some games, players must start with the lowest legal bid and then raise them one step at a time. In jump bidding, players may 'jump' over intermediate contracts straight to a higher one. This may be combined with any of the above methods.

Other methods

Dummett and McLeod note that there are bidding procedures or variations which, for example, mandate that forehand always bids or that the dealer must become the declarer if all others pass.

References

Literature

* {{cite book, last1=Dummett, first1=Michael, last2=McLeod, first2=John, title=A History of Games Played with the Tarot Pack, volume=2, date=2004, publisher=Edwin Mellon Press, location=Lewiston, pages= Card game terminology