29 Card Game Rules: How to Play Twenty-Nine
The 29 card game rules start with four cards that carry every point: each Jack is worth 3, each Nine 2, each Ace and Ten 1, and nothing else scores, so the deck holds 28 points. To play the 29 card game, four players in two partnerships bid for how many of those points their side will take. The highest bidder picks a trump suit and keeps it face down, and the bidding side has to collect at least its bid over eight tricks.
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Card points: Jack 3, Nine 2, Ace 1, Ten 1
| Card | Points each | All four suits |
|---|---|---|
| Jack | 3 | 12 |
| Nine | 2 | 8 |
| Ace | 1 | 4 |
| Ten | 1 | 4 |
| King, Queen, 8, 7 | 0 | 0 |
That adds up to 28. The cards rank in the same order inside every suit: J, 9, A, 10, then K, Q, 8, 7. So a Jack beats an Ace, and a trick won with a King is worth nothing unless it caught a point card. You are counting points, not tricks.
Why 29, then? Older rules gave one more point for winning the last trick. The rules on pagat.com note that most players now leave it out, and so do we: our tables count 28 card points and nothing for the last trick.
What you need to play 29
Four players, with partners sitting opposite, and a 32-card pack. Take an ordinary deck and remove the 2s through 6s, which leaves 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K and A in each suit. Everyone ends up with eight cards, and a hand is eight tricks.
The bidding, seat by seat
The dealer gives four cards to each player, and bidding starts on the dealer's left and goes clockwise. Say North is dealing:
- East speaks first. East either bids a number of card points, 16 or more, or passes.
- South has to go higher or pass. Each bid must beat the one before it, up to 28, which is every point in the deck.
- Then West, then North, the dealer. Once you pass, you are out of the auction for this hand.
- Round again until one bidder is left. The bidding keeps going round among the players still in. When three have passed, the last one holds the bid.
- If the first three all pass, the dealer can't pass too. The dealer's side plays at 16.
You bid for your partnership, on four cards, before you have seen the other four. Count Jacks and Nines first; the strategy page goes into how high to go.
Setting the trump, and the reveal
The winning bidder chooses the trump suit and sets it face down. Nobody else is told, not even the bidder's partner. Then everyone gets four more cards, and the player on the dealer's left leads the first trick.
The reveal. While the trump is hidden, every trick goes to the highest card of the suit that was led, even if someone has thrown in a card of what turns out to be trumps. The trump comes out when a player who can't follow suit asks for it. It is turned face up for the rest of the hand, and from then on the highest trump in a trick wins. On our tables the player who asked must play a trump on that trick if they hold one.
Playing the tricks
- Follow the suit that was led if you can. If you can't, play any card, or ask for the trump first.
- Before the reveal, the highest card of the led suit wins. After it, the highest trump wins; with no trump in the trick, the highest card of the led suit.
- Whoever wins a trick leads the next. After eight tricks each side adds up the card points it has taken. The two totals always come to 28.
The pair (marriage) and doubling
Pagat's main rules add the pair, and some tables also play doubling. Both change what a hand is worth:
- The pair. A player holding the King and Queen of trumps can show them once the trump is out, straight after their side wins a trick. If the bidding side shows it, their target drops by 4. If the other side shows it, the target goes up by 4, to no more than 28. The target never drops below the minimum bid.
- Double and redouble. The defenders can double, so the hand is worth 2 game points instead of 1, and the bidders can answer with a redouble, making it 4.
Game points and the red and black sixes
| The bidding side | Game points |
|---|---|
| takes at least its target in card points | +1 (2 if doubled, 4 if redoubled) |
| falls short | −1 (2 or 4 if doubled or redoubled) |
Only the bidding side's score moves. The defenders' score stays where it was, whether the bid is made or not. At a real table each side keeps score with two sixes: the red six, called nali or red chaka, for plus points and the black six, kala or black chaka, for minus points. Reach +6 and your side wins the match; sink to −6 and it loses. Our tables play the match to six the same way, and you can also pick a shorter match to four.
Where our tables differ from the book
- 28, not 29. No point for the last trick.
- The lowest bid is 16. Pagat gives 15, and notes that some tables play 16. A dealer forced to bid plays at 16.
- Asking means trumping. In pagat's main rules the player who asks is not forced to trump. We follow the variation where they must, if they can.
- Computer players don't double or show the pair. On your turn, if you can't follow suit while the trump is hidden, you can tap Ask for trump, and the computer players ask too. The Declare marriage, Double and Redouble buttons are for human players only: computer players never show a pair, double or redouble. Doubling is open for 8 seconds once the trump is set, and if nobody doubles, the hand is played for one game point.
A sample hand of 29, step by step
North deals 4 cards to each player. The auction starts with East, on the dealer's left:
- Bidding. East bids 16, South 17, West passes, North passes, and East passes too. Three passes end the auction, so South holds the bid at 17, and North and South need 17 card points between them.
- Trump. South chooses hearts and puts a low heart face down. Nobody else knows the suit, not even North. Everyone then gets 4 more cards, and East leads the first trick.
- The reveal. On the third trick spades are led and West has none left, so West asks for the trump. The heart is turned up, and West has to play a heart on that trick because West holds one.
- The pair. Say South holds the King and Queen of hearts. Right after North and South win a trick, South shows them. 17 minus 4 is 13, but the target can't go below 16, so it becomes 16.
- The count. After 8 tricks North and South have 19 card points and East and West 9, which makes 28. 19 clears the target, so North and South gain 1 game point. Had East or West doubled before the first card, it would have been 2, and 4 after a redouble from North or South.
House rules you will run into
Twenty-Nine is played across much of north India, Bangladesh and Nepal, and the details shift from table to table. Three that come up often, all from pagat's write-up:
- Bangladesh pair. The pair helps the bidders only on a bid above 18: a bid of 19 or 20 drops to 16, and 21 drops to 17. A bid of 16 to 18 gets nothing. Our tables don't play this.
- Seventh card trump. Instead of choosing, the bidder calls for the seventh card: the seventh card dealt to the bidder, not yet seen, sets the trump. Our tables don't play this.
- Single hand. A player with a very strong hand plays alone, without trumps, for all eight tricks, worth 3 game points won or lost (6 in parts of West Bengal). Our tables don't play this.
The 29 card game variants page has the rest, including counter-clockwise play and the Gorakhpur auto-double.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the 9 beat the Ace?
Twenty-Nine belongs to the Jass family of games and uses the order J, 9, A, 10, K, Q, 8, 7. Belote players know it as their trump order; in 29 every suit ranks that way.
Is there a last-trick point?
In the old count, yes: one point for the last trick, which is where the name 29 comes from. The rules on pagat.com note that most players now leave it out. Our tables do too, so there are 28 card points in a hand.
When exactly is the trump revealed?
When a player who can't follow the led suit asks for it. It is turned face up and stays that way for the rest of the hand. On our tables the player who asked must play a trump on that trick if they have one.
What if my partner asks for the reveal?
The same rule applies to everyone, partner included. Even the bidder's partner only learns the trump when it is revealed.
What is a marriage worth?
4 points on the bidding side's target. If the bidders show the King and Queen of trumps, the target drops by 4, never below 16 with a minimum bid of 16. If the defenders show it, the target rises by 4, never above 28. It can only be shown after the trump is out, straight after your side wins a trick. On our tables a Declare marriage button appears at that moment and stays until the next card is played. Computer players never show a pair.
How does doubling work?
A defender doubles, so the hand is worth 2 game points instead of 1, and the bidders can redouble to make it 4. It counts for that hand only. On our tables the defenders get 8 seconds to double once the trump is set, before the first card, and the bidders then get 8 seconds to redouble. Computer players never double or redouble.
Is Twenty-Nine related to Call Break?
Only loosely. Call Break is every player for themselves with spades always trump, and it scores tricks. Twenty-Nine is a partnership game that scores card points, with a trump the bidder chooses and hides.
Do my cards stay private online?
Yes. The server checks every bid and card, and it does not send the hidden trump to anyone's screen until it is revealed.
How many points is a Jack in 29?
Three. The Jack is the highest card in its suit. The Nine is worth two, the Ace and Ten one each, and the King, Queen, Eight and Seven nothing. That is 28 card points in the deck; the old extra point for the last trick made 29.
What beats what in 29?
In every suit: J, 9, A, 10, K, Q, 8, 7. Jack is high, then Nine, then Ace, which catches out most new players. Once the trump is revealed, any trump beats any card of another suit.
What happens if everyone passes in 29?
If the first three players pass, the dealer cannot pass and must bid the minimum, 16. The auction then ends with the dealer's team as the bidders.
Who leads the first trick?
The player on the dealer's left, who also bid first. After that, whoever wins a trick leads the next one, and the deal moves one seat clockwise each hand.
How many points do you need to win 29?
Six game points. A side gains one for making its bid and loses one for missing it, and only the bidding side's score moves. Without doubles that takes at least six hands.
Glossary
- Pair, or marriage
- The King and Queen of trumps in one hand. Shown after the reveal, it moves the bidders' target by 4.
- Point cards
- J (3), 9 (2), A (1), 10 (1). 28 points in the deck.
- Reveal
- Turning the hidden trump face up, on the request of a player who can't follow suit.
- Nali and kala
- The red six and black six each side uses to keep its game points, plus and minus.
More about 29
- 29 Card Game Strategy
- 29 Card Game Variants
- 29 Card Points: what each card is worth, and counting a hand.