Tàihé A Bāo
泰和A包
Introduction
A correspondent reports having learned this game while living in Taihe (泰和) county, Jiangxi (江西) province, China, around 2013. We are not sure whether it has other names. The Roman 'A' in the name refers to the Ace, which is the highest ranking card in the game.
Players and Cards
There are four players, three of whom (the opponents) form a temporary partnership against the remaining player (the declarer) each hand. Three or five players can play by adapting the rules, described in the Variations section. Regardless of the number of players, in each hand there is always one declarer playing against the remaining players as a team.
A 40-card deck is used, made by removing all 2s, 3s, and 8s from a regular 52-card French-suited deck. The ranks of the cards are, from high to low, A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4. Suits are irrelevant to ranking.
Play is counterclockwise.
The Deal
The deck is shuffled and each player receives 10 cards. As is the case with most Chinese games, the cards are not dealt, but rather taken by the players one at a time in turn, in counter-clockwise order, from the face-down deck placed in the middle of the table.
If it is known who will start the bidding this hand, that player should take the first card, and the player to their left should shuffle. Otherwise, it doesn't matter who shuffles or takes the first card.
Bidding
The player who starts the bidding is:
- the previous declarer, if they won the previous hand, or
- the player to the previous declarer's right, if the previous declarer lost, or
- the holder of the 4 of hearts, if it is the first hand of the session.
Starting with this player, each player in counterclockwise order may declare or pass. If anyone declares, the play immediately begins with that player as declarer.
If all players pass in this first round, there is a second round of bidding, starting with the same player who began the first round. In the second round of bidding each player in turn must either call for a card or pass. Calling for a card is done as follows.
- The bidder names a card by rank and suit.
- The holder of the requested card must immediately pass it face-up to the bidder.
- In exchange, the bidder passes an unwanted card face-down to the player who passed the requested card.
The following cards may not be called for:
- Any card the bidder holds.
- Any Ace.
- The 4 of hearts, if it was used to determine who starts the bidding.
- Any card anyone else has already called for. Note that calling for a card of the same rank but a different suit is allowed. Only the specific card previously called for is forbidden.
The following cards may not be given away in exchange for the requested card:
- Any Ace.
- The 4 of hearts, if it was used to determine who starts the bidding.
In the second round of bidding everyone has one chance to either call for a card or pass. Calling does not end the bidding. When all have spoken, the last player who called for a card becomes declarer for the hand.
If everyone passes in the second round, the cards are thrown in without play and the hand is re-dealt and the same player starts the bidding again.
Note that in the second round of bidding each player only gets one chance to bid. A player who has passed in the second round cannot later call for a card, even if their hand was improved by subsequent exchanges.
The Play
The declarer begins play by leading any legal combination. Each player in turn may then beat the previous combination played, or pass. Beating a combination is usually done by playing a higher-ranking combination of the same type, though there are other ways, described below. Players may pass even if they can play, and may play even after having passed on the same type of combination. When three passes occur in a row, the played cards are set aside and player who played the unbeaten combination begins again by leading any legal combination. The following types of combinations may be played:
- A single card.
- A pair of cards of identical rank.
- A sequence of three or more cards of consecutive rank. Aces may not be used in sequences, and 7 and 9 are not consecutive. To beat another sequence, a sequence must contain the same number of cards as the other sequence and have a higher top-ranking card.
- A double sequence of two or more pairs of consecutive rank, e.g. 5566 or JJQQKK. Aces may not be used in double sequences, and 7 and 9 are not consecutive. To beat another double sequence, a double sequence must contain the same number of cards as the other double sequence and have a higher top-ranking pair.
- Three cards of identical rank. In addition to beating lower three-of-a-kinds, it can also beat any combination of any other type, except four-of-a-kind.
- Four cards of identical rank. In addition to beating lower four-of-a-kinds, it can also beat any combination of any other type.
Three-of-a-kind and four-of-a-kind known as "bombs" due to their ability to beat any non-bomb combination.
Play continues until one player is out of cards. If this is the declarer, they win. If this is any other player, the declarer loses.
Scoring
The game is usually played for money, with an amount agreed upon as one stake. If not playing for money, players win and lose "points", each point representing one stake.
If the declarer called for a card, the value of the hand, in stakes, is the number of people who called for a card during the bidding phase, including the declarer.
If no one called for a card, i.e. the declarer declared in the first round of bidding, the value of the hand is the total number of players plus one.
The declarer wins or loses the value of the hand to each opponent. For example, if three players called for a card during the bidding, and the declarer wins, they would collect three stakes from each opponent. A hand declared in the first phase of bidding in a four-player game would be worth five stakes against each opponent.
Variations
Five players can play, each receiving eight cards. A hand declared in the first phase of bidding is worth six stakes against each opponent.
Three players can play by removing the Ace of Spades from the deck, each player receiving 13 cards. In this variant, a set of three Aces counts as four Aces: it beats any other combination, including four-of-a-kind, and is unbeatable. A hand declared in the first phase of bidding is worth four stakes against each opponent.
Some play without Aces. Kings are then the highest ranking cards. In this variant, Kings may be exchanged during the bidding, and may be played as part of a sequence or double sequence. Five players can play without Aces by also removing the King of Spades, each player starting with seven cards. Three can play without Aces without further modifying the deck, each starting with 12 cards.
Some allow calling for a card already called by someone else during the bidding. Some allow it only if the bidder needs that card to complete a four-of-a-kind.
Some use the 4 of hearts to determine who begins bidding each hand, ignoring the result of the previous hand.
Some do not allow the player who starts the bidding to pass during the second phase of bidding. They must call for a card.
Some play that if exactly one player calls for a card during bidding, they automatically win one stake from each opponent, and the hand is not played.
Some play with simplified scoring: a hand declared during the first round of bidding is worth two stakes against each opponent, otherwise it is worth one.
Some play that if the declarer wins before any opponent plays any cards, the value of the game is doubled. In addition, some play that if the declarer loses after having played their opening lead but no other cards, the value of the game is doubled.