DOUBLE SIR

Hey there! Have you heard of Double Sir? It’s a fun card game that’s played in India and Pakistan. In this game, you team up with a partner to try and win tricks. The goal is to capture seven tricks in order to win the hand. But here’s the twist – instead of playing to a high score, the game lasts for a set amount of time. The player with the most “courts” at the end wins the game! So, how do you earn these coveted “courts”? Let me tell you.

THE CARDS & THE DEAL

Double Sir is played with a standard 52-card deck. To start the game, partners should sit across from each other at the table.

Each player is dealt 13 cards. The dealer begins by dealing out five cards to each player. Then, the player to the left of the dealer gets to choose the trump suit for the round after looking at their five cards. Once the trump suit is determined, the dealer completes the deal by giving out the remaining cards.

When it’s time for future deals, someone from the team that loses the round will be in charge of dealing the cards. You can find out more about scoring in the next section, where we explain how to determine the next dealer.

THE PLAY

THE FIRST TRICK

When starting the game, the player who called the trump suit leads the first trick by playing a card from their own hand. All the other players must try to match the suit if they have any cards in it. If they don’t, they can play any card they want. The highest card of the suit that was led or the highest trump card wins the trick. But, here’s the twist: the trick is not collected just yet. Instead, it’s turned over and placed face down. The player who won the trick will be the one to lead the next one.

CAPTURING THE TRICK PILE

Tricks keep piling up until a player manages to win two tricks in a row. When that happens, the player gets to collect the entire pile of cards and add them to their collection of tricks.

Remember, a player can only collect the pile of cards once they have won two tricks in a row.

Sometimes, there’s a sneaky trick in Spades

Let me tell you about an interesting aspect of the card game Spades. It’s called the trump. When you play Spades, the player who calls the trump gets to lead the first trick with the Ace of Spades. It’s a big deal because the Ace is the highest card in the deck.

Here’s how it works: let’s say Player 2 follows suit and plays a 3 of Spades, while the trump-caller’s partner plays a 5 of Spades. Player 4, on the other hand, doesn’t have any Spades, so they play a 2 of Hearts. It’s pretty clear that the Ace of Spades is going to win this trick, right?

Well, once the trick is over, the cards are flipped over and it’s the trump-caller’s turn to lead again. This time, they lead with an Ace of Hearts. But uh-oh, Player 2 doesn’t have any Hearts, so they play a sneaky Queen of Spades instead. The trump-caller’s partner follows suit with a 4 of Hearts, while Player 4 also plays along with a 7 of Hearts. Turns out, Player 2 wins this trick with their unexpected move.

So you see, Spades can be tricky. You never know what cards others might have up their sleeves. It’s a game of strategy and surprises. Will you be able to read your opponents’ moves and come up with clever tricks of your own? Give it a try and see!

So here’s what happened: Player 2 started the round by playing the Ace of Diamonds. Then, the partner of the person who called trump played a 6 of Diamonds, and Player 4 followed with a 2 of Diamonds. The person who called trump also played a King of Diamonds. Player 2 ended up winning the trick with the Ace of Diamonds and took home the entire pile of cards because they had won two tricks in a row. This gave their team three tricks in total.

Taking the Last Trick

The game continues until the last trick. The player who captures the 13th and final trick also gets any cards that are in the center, regardless of whether or not it was their second consecutive trick win.

Scoring Points

If a team manages to capture at least seven tricks, they automatically win the round. Winning seven rounds in a row is called a “court.”

When my team manages to capture all 13 tricks in a game of court, it’s a major achievement. It’s like hitting the jackpot and starting afresh with a clean slate.

However, if it’s the dealer’s team that accomplishes this feat, they’re awarded three courts. Now, that’s a real power play!

So, how do we determine the next dealer?

If the dealer’s team wins the hand, they relinquish the deal and pass it to the player on their left. Time to switch things up!

If the trump-callers team wins the hand without securing a court, then the same player continues dealing. They get another shot at it!

Now, if the trump-callers team not only wins the hand but also earns a court, the partner of the previous dealer takes over the dealing duties. It’s all about teamwork!

So, who ultimately wins the game?

We play the game for a set duration, and the team with the highest number of courts at the end emerges victorious. It’s all about accumulating those courts and claiming the title!

So, remember, in this exciting game, it’s all about strategizing, playing your cards right, and aiming for those courts. Will you come out on top?