Everything You Need to Know About the 500 Card Game

If you're a fan of classic card games that combine strategy, teamwork, and a touch of luck, then the 500 Card Game might just be your new favourite. Loved by Aussies for generations, 500 is a versatile game perfect for family nights, camping trips, or lazy Sunday afternoons. Whether you’re new to the game or brushing up your skills, we’ve created the ultimate guide to help you learn the ropes.

🎯 What Is 500?

The 500 Card Game is a trick-taking game with bidding, played by four players in partnerships. It’s known for being fast-paced, competitive and - once you understand the basics - highly addictive! The objective is to be the first team to reach 500 points by successfully winning tricks after bidding.

🤔 What Other Names Does It Go By?

The game is usually just called “500”, but it’s sometimes referred to as:

• Five Hundred

• Bid 500

• 500 Rummy (though this refers to a different variation with rummy-style rules)

• Australian 500 (particularly in international circles)

Don't confuse it with Euchre, although the two games share some similarities in gameplay and card hierarchy.

Is 500 a Family-Friendly Game?

Absolutely! 500 is perfect for family gatherings with older kids (around 10+), teens, and adults. It teaches logic, forward thinking, and teamwork. While younger children may find the bidding phase tricky, simplified versions can be taught to ease them in.

It’s also great for camping trips and holidays, which is why we stock beautiful deluxe 500 card sets in-store at Adventure Awaits - perfect as a gift or for road trip fun.

🛠️ What You Need to Play

• A 500 card deck (a 45-card deck: regular cards + joker, and includes 11s, 12s, 13s from each suit)

• Four players (in teams of two, sitting opposite each other)

• Pen and paper for scoring

👉 Don’t have a 500 deck? You can buy yours here...

📝 How to Play the 500 Card Game

Setup:

• Shuffle the deck and deal 10 cards to each player, and set aside 5 cards as the kitty (face down in the centre).

• The player to the left of the dealer starts the bidding phase.

💬 The Bidding Phase

This is where players bid on how many tricks (rounds) they believe their team can win and in what trump suit.

Bids range from:

• 6 to 10 tricks

• In a suit (Spades, Clubs, Hearts, Diamonds) or No Trump

The highest bid wins the right to choose the trump suit and pick up the kitty, replacing 5 cards from their hand.

💡 Tip: The more tricks you bid, the more points you can earn - but fail to make your bid, and you lose points!

🔀 Card Hierarchy (Trump Suit)

This is where 500 gets fun! When a suit is declared trump, the card ranking changes:

1. Joker – highest

2. Right Bower – Jack of trump suit

3. Left Bower – Jack of same colour as trump suit

4. Ace, King, Queen, 10, 9... (in trump suit)

5. All other suits follow standard ranking: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9...

In No Trump, jokers are still highest, but jacks and other suits follow normal order.

🎮 Playing the Game

After the bidding and kitty exchange:

1. Player who won the bid leads the first trick.

2. Players must follow suit if they can.

3. The highest card in the lead suit (or trump) wins the trick.

4. Play continues for 10 tricks.

Do you need a CARD HOLDER? Check them out here...

📊 Scoring

Here is where a lot of families come unstuck, because the points depend on which suit you called, not just how many tricks you bid. Spades is the cheapest bid and No Trump is the dearest. This is the Avondale schedule, the one used almost everywhere in Australia.

Make your bid and you score the number in the table. Miss it and you lose that same number, which is what makes an ambitious call so risky. The team that did not win the bid scores 10 points for every trick they take, so there is always something in it for them.

💡 First team to reach or exceed 500 points wins the game. Drop to minus 500 and you are out, which in most households gets its own nickname.

🃏 What Is Misère?

Misère is the bid you make when your hand is so bad it is almost good. Instead of trying to win tricks, you are betting you can lose every single one of them. You play alone, your partner sits the hand out with their cards face down, and if you take even one trick you go down.

You can only call misère after someone has already bid seven, and there are two versions:

• Closed Misère, 250 points. You keep your hand hidden and play it out like any other hand.
• Open Misère, 500 points. After the opening lead you lay your whole hand face up on the table for everyone to see, then play it out. Much harder, and very satisfying when it comes off.

You still pick up the kitty and discard, same as any other bid. There is no trump suit in a misère, so the highest card of the suit led takes the trick, and the joker beats everything, which means holding it is genuinely bad news.

Make it and you score the 250 or the 500. Miss it and you lose the lot. Worth checking with the table before you start, because house rules vary on when misère can be called and on what happens to the joker.

🔄 Game Variations

• 3 Player: Each player bids for themselves; a dummy hand may be used.

• 2 Player: Remove lower cards for a shorter, faster-paced game.

• 6 Player (Pairs): Can be done with custom decks and extra cards.

• Joker Joker Rules: Some versions include multiple jokers for added fun!

Always clarify house rules before playing - many Aussie families have their own tweaks!

🧠 Strategy Tips

• Don’t overbid - early enthusiasm can cost points!

• Communicate subtly with your partner via card choices and leads.

• Watch what cards have been played (memory helps!).

• Take note of who’s void in which suit - it can signal a strong trump hand.

  Once you have 500 sorted, euchre is the natural next one to learn. Same trick-taking idea, half the cards, twice the speed.

🎁 Where to Buy the Best 500 Card Game Sets

At Adventure Awaits, we stock handpicked 500 Card Sets 

Perfect for:

• Family game nights

• Camping trips

• Christmas stockings

• Gifts for card game lovers

BUY your pack of 500 here...

Do you need a CARD HOLDER for all your favourites? 

Check out our 4 Deck Playing Card Cases here...

🛍️ Read this great article about our Favourite Card Games

🧡 Why We Love 500

There’s something about 500 that just brings people together. It’s competitive but fun, strategic but social. It’s the kind of game you can play for 30 minutes - or 3 hours! If you haven’t played before, now’s the time to learn. It might just become your next favourite family tradition.