Calling the Twenty: The Three-Round Playalong

Round 3

Somebody goes solo

  1. Deal
  2. Bid
  3. Play
  4. Count
  5. Score

Get the same ten cards for your seat.

The same hands once more

Put the same four hands together again. Do not shuffle and deal: sort the forty cards back into the hands shown under The Cards.

  1. Deal
  2. Bid
  3. Play
  4. Count
  5. Score

Bid in turn, starting with the Forehand.

First lap

P1

1 holds the Call and bids nothing higher

P2

2 “No-Trump.”

P3

3 “Solo.”

P4

4 “Pass.”

Second lap

P1

5 “Pass.”

P2

6 “Pass.”

P3Declarer
P4X
  • 3 Player 3 names Solo, a higher contract than No-Trump.
  • 5 Player 1 was outbid and has another turn, and passes.
  • 6 Player 2 was outbid too, and passes.

Player 3 now plays the contract Solo and is the Declarer.

In a Solo the Declarer plays alone against the other three players, the Taroks are trumps, and the Declarer needs 45 Card Points. You play by the rules of the first hand, under Which card you may play.

In the Call and the Solo, winning the last trick with the Pagat, the lowest Tarok, is a bonus called Pagat Ultimo. Won silently, with no announcement before the first trick, it scores 1 Victory Point for each player on that side, in the BONUS box.

P3 “Solo.”

What is Player 3’s plan? Player 3 has six Taroks, four of them from the XV up, and the Moon, and believes the hand is strong enough to win alone. Player 3 bids the Solo and plans to keep the Pagat for the last trick.

  1. Deal
  2. Bid
  3. Play
  4. Count
  5. Score

Play the hand, trick by trick.

Round 3 · Trick 1

  1. SkusP1 leads and wins
  2. Tarok VIP2
  3. Tarok XIP3
  4. Tarok IVP4

Player 1 wins and captures 8 CP.

P1 took the trick Skus and leads next.

Player 1 leads as the Forehand, even though Player 3 is the Declarer.

Round 3 · Trick 2

  1. Tarok XP1 leads
  2. Tarok VIIP2
  3. Tarok XVIP3 wins
  4. Tarok VP4

Player 3 wins and captures 4 CP.

P3 took the trick Tarok XVI and leads next.

Round 3 · Trick 3

  1. Jack of DiamondsP3 leads
  2. Tarok XIIIP4 wins
  3. One of DiamondsP1
  4. Queen of DiamondsP2

Player 4 wins and captures 7 CP.

P4 took the trick Tarok XIII and leads next.

Round 3 · Trick 4

  1. King of HeartsP4 leads
  2. Jack of HeartsP1
  3. Tarok VIIIP2
  4. Tarok XVIIP3 wins

Player 3 wins and captures 9 CP.

P3 took the trick Tarok XVII and leads next.

Players 2 and 3 are void in Hearts, so both must play a Tarok, and Player 3’s XVII is the higher one.

Round 3 · Trick 5

  1. Cavalier of DiamondsP3 leads
  2. Tarok XIVP4 wins
  3. Tarok IXP1
  4. King of DiamondsP2

Player 4 wins and captures 10 CP.

P4 took the trick Tarok XIV and leads next.

Round 3 · Trick 6

  1. Queen of HeartsP4 leads
  2. Tarok XIIP1
  3. Ten of ClubsP2
  4. Tarok XIXP3 wins

Player 3 wins and captures 6 CP.

P3 took the trick Tarok XIX and leads next.

Round 3 · Trick 7

  1. Cavalier of SpadesP3 leads
  2. Tarok XVIIIP4 wins
  3. Ten of SpadesP1
  4. Jack of SpadesP2

Player 4 wins and captures 6 CP.

P4 took the trick Tarok XVIII and leads next.

Round 3 · Trick 8

  1. Cavalier of HeartsP4 leads
  2. Tarok XVP1
  3. Jack of ClubsP2
  4. Tarok XXIP3 wins

Player 3 wins and captures 11 CP.

P3 took the trick Tarok XXI and leads next.

Player 3 plays the Moon here and keeps the Pagat for the last trick.

Round 3 · Trick 9

  1. King of SpadesP3 leads
  2. Tarok XXP4 wins
  3. Cavalier of ClubsP1
  4. Queen of SpadesP2

Player 4 wins and captures 13 CP.

P4 took the trick Tarok XX and leads next.

Round 3 · Trick 10

  1. One of HeartsP4 leads
  2. Queen of ClubsP1
  3. King of ClubsP2
  4. Tarok IP3 wins

Player 3 wins and captures 14 CP.

P3 took the trick Tarok I .

No other player has a Tarok left, so the Pagat wins the last trick: that is Pagat Ultimo.

Round 3 · The Score

Count it one last time

The three Defenders, Players 1, 2 and 4, pool their captured piles. Count each pile in the same three steps.

How to count

1
Tarok XTarok VIITarok XVITarok VKing of HeartsJack of HeartsTarok VIIITarok XVIIQueen of HeartsTarok XIITarok XIXCavalier of HeartsTarok XVJack of ClubsTarok XXIQueen of ClubsKing of ClubsTarok I
Ten of ClubsOne of Hearts

Player 3’s pile holds two of the empty four, the 10clubs and the 1hearts. Set them aside as you count.

18cards kept, the base

2
  • King of Hearts4
  • Jack of Hearts1
  • Queen of Hearts3
  • Cavalier of Hearts2
  • Jack of Clubs1
  • Tarok XXI4
  • Queen of Clubs3
  • King of Clubs4
  • Tarok I4

+ 26pips among them

3

18 + 26 = 44of 88 in the deck

This is Player 3’s pile.

1
SkusTarok VITarok XITarok IVJack of DiamondsTarok XIIIQueen of DiamondsCavalier of DiamondsTarok XIVTarok IXKing of DiamondsCavalier of SpadesTarok XVIIIJack of SpadesKing of SpadesTarok XXCavalier of ClubsQueen of Spades
One of DiamondsTen of Spades

This pile holds the other two, the 1diamonds and the 10spades. Set them aside as you count.

18cards kept, the base

2
  • Skus4
  • Jack of Diamonds1
  • Queen of Diamonds3
  • Cavalier of Diamonds2
  • King of Diamonds4
  • Cavalier of Spades2
  • Jack of Spades1
  • King of Spades4
  • Cavalier of Clubs2
  • Queen of Spades3

+ 26pips among them

3

18 + 26 = 44of 88 in the deck

This is the pile of Players 1, 2 and 4.

Player 3 needed 45 Card Points and has 44, so the Solo fails. The Solo is worth 4 Victory Points, and Players 1, 2 and 4 won the hand, so each of them scores 4 Victory Points.

Bonuses are scored regardless of who won the contract.

Player 3 lost the Solo, and Player 3’s Pagat Ultimo still scores 1 Victory Point.

Fill in the Round 3 row

  1. Write the Declarer and the contract on the hand’s top line: Player 3, Solo.
  2. CONTRACT: Players 1, 2 and 4 each score 4 Victory Points; write a 0 for Player 3.
  3. BONUS: Player 3 scores 1 Victory Point for the Pagat Ultimo; write a 0 for the others.