GAME GUIDE
Preferans
Russian 3-player trick-taking game with complex bidding.
01 · UNDERSTAND THE PRINCIPLE
Essential rules
Objective
Russian 3-player trick-taking game with complex bidding.
Variant played: Simplified variant · three players · the kitty counts as two tricks
- Players
- 3
- Duration
- 30–60 min
- Deck
- 32 cards
Bid from six to ten
Bid six to ten tricks and a suit, or No Trump. More tricks rank higher; with equal trick count, the order is clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, No Trump.
Take the stock
The declarer adds the two reserve cards to their hand, then discards two before playing the ten tricks.
Discard two cards
After receiving the kitty, choose exactly two cards to discard. In the suggested variant, the kitty counts as two tricks for the contract.
Follow the requested suit
You must play a card of the requested suit if you have one. The value of your other card does not let you avoid that obligation.
Trump with a trump card
If you do not have the requested suit, you may play a trump. Here, spades are trumps and your hand contains no hearts.
Check the contract
In this simplified variant, add two reserve tricks to the tricks won by the declarer. A contract of six is therefore met by four tricks won plus the reserve.
Detailed rules
Variant played: Simplified variant · three players · the kitty counts as two tricks · Version 1.0.0
The essentials to get started
Russian 3-player trick-taking game with complex bidding.
Bid from six to ten
Bid six to ten tricks and a suit, or No Trump. More tricks rank higher; with equal trick count, the order is clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, No Trump.
Take the stock
The declarer adds the two reserve cards to their hand, then discards two before playing the ten tricks.
Discard two cards
After receiving the kitty, choose exactly two cards to discard. In the suggested variant, the kitty counts as two tricks for the contract.
Follow the requested suit
You must play a card of the requested suit if you have one. The value of your other card does not let you avoid that obligation.
Trump with a trump card
If you do not have the requested suit, you may play a trump. Here, spades are trumps and your hand contains no hearts.
Check the contract
In this simplified variant, add two reserve tricks to the tricks won by the declarer. A contract of six is therefore met by four tricks won plus the reserve.
The table guides you through each turn and suggests the legal moves. This guide presents the basic rules; regional variants may differ.
02 · Cards to inspect
Cards to inspect
Look at the ranks and suits of these cards.
VIDEO ACTIONSView every type of move
Bid from six to ten
1 / 6Preparing cards…
Read the steps in this demo
- Spot the choices or the count in this example.
- Bid higher or pass.
- 7♣ beats all level six bids.
Cards to inspect
01 · Situation
Spot the choices or the count in this example.
Bid six to ten tricks and a suit, or No Trump. More tricks rank higher; with equal trick count, the order is clubs, diamonds, hearts, spades, No Trump.
Teaching example · playable table cards