Welcome to Arba’a Turub!

I’m here to introduce you to an exciting card game called Arba’a Turub. It’s a game that involves four players, divided into two partnerships. The objective of the game is to win the most tricks in order to win a hand. But to become the ultimate champion, you’ll need to win two hands in a row!

Let’s Get Started!

Before we dive into the game, let’s quickly go over the setup. To prepare for Arba’a Turub, you’ll need four decks of cards, each consisting of 52 cards. However, we need to modify these decks by removing all cards ranked 5 and below, so we’re left with a 36-card deck containing Aces through 6s. Once you have your modified decks ready, it’s time to shuffle them up!

Next, we’ll determine the dealer. This can be done randomly, so everyone has a fair chance. Once the dealer is chosen, they will cut the deck. Now, it’s time to start dealing!

The dealer will distribute a 36-card hand to each player. They should do this by dealing three cards at a time. We start with the player to the dealer’s left, and once they receive their first three cards, they can take a peek and decide on the trump suit. Afterward, the dealing continues as described earlier.

When playing the game, it’s essential to make sure that the dealer has dealt the cards correctly. If we discover any mistakes, we should have the cards dealt again.

To keep things organized, many players like to sort their cards by rank and suit. This means switching between the black and red suits, so their hands are straight.

The dealing and playing of the cards follow a clockwise direction. We go around the table in this order.

If the dealer’s team wins the next game, the dealer’s position will be passed on to a player from the losing team. However, if the dealer’s team loses or draws the game, the dealer remains the same. In the case of a loss, players alternate being the dealer.

Card Rankings

Let’s talk about the ranking of the cards in this game. The ranking follows the standard order, with the Ace being the highest. After the Ace, we have the King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, and 6.

GAMEPLAY

The gameplay of Arba’a Turub is straightforward. It’s a trick-taking game that follows the usual rules. To start the game, the player on the left of the dealer goes first. After that, the winner of each trick leads the next one.

When a card is played, all the other players must follow suit if possible. If they can’t, they can play any card, including trump cards. Once every player has played a card, the highest trump card wins if there is one. If not, the highest-ranking card of the led suit wins. It’s worth noting that in this game, it’s possible for the same card to be played more than once. In that case, the first card played is considered higher.

In this game, players can also give signals to their partners about their hands. However, only the player who leads the trick can give signals.

The End of a Hand

In the game of cards, after all the players have played their hands, each team counts the number of tricks they have won. The team with the highest tally of tricks wins the hand.

The End of the Game

To win the game, a partnership must win two matches in a row. However, there are certain conditions that must be met for them to be declared the winners. First, the matches must be won consecutively. Second, the second hand won must have a higher number of tricks than the first hand won. Let me give you an example. If Partnership A wins two hands in a row, the first hand they win by getting a total of 17 tricks. In the second hand, they win with 20 tricks. This means they have successfully won the game.

If the number of tricks won in the second hand does not exceed the number of tricks won in the first hand, it’s considered a draw and the game continues.