CONCERTO

A sort of partnership Poker

Cards

Four players sit crosswise in partnerships, establish a first dealer by any agreed means, and receive 13 cards each from a 52-card pack ranking AKQJ1098765432 in each suit. The turn to deal and lead passes always to the left.

Object

Each side's aim is to create and score for four five-card Poker hands from the 26 cards between them, and to avoid being left with any such combination in the six cards remaining at end of play. In this game Poker hands score as follows:

	One pair.........	1
	Two pair.........	2
	Threes...........	3
	Straight.........	5
	Flush.............	6
	Full house.......	8
	Fours.............	12
	Straight flush...	15

Play

The first hand is played by North-South only. Each of them in turn, starting with North (the player to the dealer's immediate left), plays a card face up to the table until five cards have been played. If it forms a Poker combination, they score for it as specified above. If not, they score 0.

North then spreads the completed hand face up on the table before him and the turn passes to East-West, with East leading and playing as described.

Note that only one partnership plays at a time: there is no interaction of play between the two sides.

Passing

The leader to a hand must always play the first card and may not pass. Thereafter, each of you on your turn to play may either play a card or say 'Pass'. If you pass, your partner may either play the next card or pass too. If, however, he also passes, you must then contribute the next card, as no more than two consecutive passes are allowed for the play of any one card. (This does not, however, prevent you from passing all your own consecutive turns, thus enabling your partner, having the lead, to play out a ready-made Poker combination from his own hand.)

Forcing

Whenever you are entitled to pass, you may instead say 'Play'. This forces your partner to complete the hand himself, or, if he hasn't enough cards to do so, to play out all his remaining cards in one go.

Continuation

North having led to the first hand by North-South, and East to the first by East-West, the turn to lead continues in rotation to the left. This process is repeated until eight hands have been played, each player having led to two hands and stored them face up on the table before him. All completed hands remain visible throughout play, as Concerto is intended to be a game of calculation rather than memory.

Left-overs

Each side totals its scores for the four hands. The side with the higher total may then score a bonus for "left-overs" - that is, any combination that their opponents failed to get out. For this purpose the losers reveal their last six cards, and the winners score a bonus equivalent to 10 times the value of the highest five-card combination that can be made from them. For example, if the left-overs are sJ-6 h7-5 c9 d8, the winners add 50 for the straight. Six-card combinations don't count, with the exception of three pairs, which gives the winners a bonus of 60.

The winners are not themselves penalised for any left-overs. However, if both sides tie for hand-scores, then both reveal their left-overs. In this case the side leaving the higher combination loses, and the other side scores 10 times its value. If both leave the same combination, the losing side is the one whose combination contains the highest card, or second-highest if equal, and so on. If still equal, neither side scores for left-overs.

Game score

Each subsequent deal is made by the player to the left of the previous dealer, after very thorough shuffling, and each first lead by the player at the new dealer's left. Play continues until four deals have been made and played, or until either side, after scoring for hands and any left-overs that may accrue, has reached or exceeded a total of 100 points.

If one side finishes with 100+ points and the other does not, the winning side adds a game bonus of 100, plus an additional 100 for each deal left unplayed if fewer than four were played. (Revision of June 2008).

Variant

I've been experimenting with a scoring variation designed to reduce the credit given to a side that has been dealt a complete straight flush or four of a kind in one of its two hands.

Under this system, four of a kind counts only 8 if made entirely from one hand, 12 if three of them come from one hand, or 16 if two come from each hand. A straight flush from one hand scores 10, or 15 if four come from one hand, or 20 if three come from one hand.

This variation seems fairer and more logical than the version described above, and I now find that I prefer it.

Checklist

When you have the lead, go down this checklist and signal the first of the following combinations or part-combinations contained in your hand:

Five to a straight flush
Four of a kind
Four to a straight flush
Two sets of three
Full house
Three to a straight flush
Five-card flush or straight
Two pair
Four to a flush or straight
Three to a flush or straight
One pair

First-round or "strong" signals aim for a straight flush or four of a kind. They are normally played on the first two hands, and may be played later given a good distribution. Second-round or "weak" signals aim for a straight or flush, possibly a full house, and are normally played on the third and fourth hands, or on the first two given a bad distribution.

Of course, it is up to you and your partner's discretion whether you follow these signals strictly, or whether and how you modify them in the light of such known information as may be visible in the hands already played, or deduced from how your opponents fared in the preceding hand.

Strong signals (1): straight flush

You can signal a straight flush bid when you hold three or more cards in suit and range. Show your holding by playing upwards or downwards, and with one or more gaps between the two ranks (marked "x" below) as follows:

Signal e.g. Meaning L x x x H A-5 5 held, 5 in sequence (A-2-3-4-5) L x x H 2-5 4 held, 4 in sequence (2-3-4-5) L x H 3-5 4 held, 3 in sequence, 1 higher or lower (A-3-4-5 or 3-4-5-7) LH 4-5 3 held, 2 in sequence, one higher (4-5-7 or 4-5-8) HL 5-4 3 held, 2 in sequence, one lower (5-4-2 or 5-4-A) H x L 5-3 3 held, 3 in sequence, no other (5-4-3) H x x L 5-2 4 held, 1 missing between (5-4-2-A) H x x x L 5-A 3 held, none consecutive (5-3-A)

Note: Some holdings can be shown in more than one way. For example, 5-4-3-A could be signalled 5-2 or 4-A, or even 5-A, since, if your partner holds the missing 3, he will know it cannot mean 5-3-A and will therefore play it. Use your discretion, but always try to avoid playing across a gap whenever possible.

Strong signals (2): Fours and full houses

Call for four of a kind or a full house by playing your first and second cards as follows:

From this... play this... four of a kind same rank, heart then diamond three & three different rank, same colour full house different rank, different colour, from threes first threes only red and pass (heart if possible) two pairs same rank, black-red or minor-major* - or, if out of range, different rank, high then low one pair black and pass (diamond if both red)

* major = or , minor = or

Weak signals (straights, flushes, two pairs)

When leading to your side's third or fourth hand, or earlier given a bad distribution, go for a flush or straight by signalling as follows:

To show this: L-H H-L Examples same suit, out of range 5FL 2P 4 J = five diamonds held J 4 = J-J-4-4 held same suit, in range 4FL 3FL 4 8 = four spades held 8 4 = three spades held different suit, in range 4/5ST* 3ST 4 8 = 4-5-6-7-8 held 4 6 = four to a straight held 8 4 = three to a straight held

* With a complete straight, play lowest then highest regardless of suit. With four to a straight, play low-high, but beware giving misleading 5-straight or 4-flush signal.

Interpreting all signals listed above

same suit same colour different colour same rank - fours if otherwise 2 pairs two pairs same range 3 or more to a SF or 3 or 4 to a FL two threes or 3 or more to a ST full house, threes first or 3 or more to a ST out of range two threes or 5 flush two threes or 2 pairs full house (threes first)

Examples: Partner plays red 4, black 4 = holds another pair. Red 4, black 7 = holds either a full house of 4s over 7s or at least one other card to the same straight. Red 4, black J = holds a full house, 4s over Jacks.