Bidding in Pilotta

The auction is the language you speak with your partner before the first card falls. Here is how the bidding flows, what a single, double and triple opening mean, how your partner responds, and when the defence dares to close the game.

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How the auction flows

• Bidding starts at 80 and rises in steps of 10, counter-clockwise around the table.
• The highest possible bid is 820: the most a partnership can score in one deal — a καπό (250) plus the biggest δηλώσεις their sixteen cards can hold (570).
• A pass is not final — you may re-enter the auction on a later round.
• If all four players pass, the hand is thrown in and the next dealer redeals.

The three basic openings

With the Jack or the Nine, a single opening also needs at least one Ace outside trumps.

How your partner responds

• +10 for holding the missing strong trump (the Jack or the Nine) — bid on the first round of the auction.
• +10 per Ace outside trumps — Aces without the Jack/Nine are bid on the second round.

Declaration openings

When your hand carries a declaration, the opening announces it: bid = base opening + the declaration's value.

The closed game

During the auction the defenders may close the game — a bet that the bidders will fail their contract. The team that wins a closed round scores double the contract plus all 162 of the round's points plus every declaration; the other team scores zero. If the bidders trust their hand and reopen it, the stake becomes quadruple. The closed game is the sweetest — and the most dangerous — moment in Pilotta.

Worked examples

Your partner answers an 80

You open 80 in ♠ with five trumps — the Jack, Ace, Ten, Eight and Seven ♠, but not the Nine — and the Ace ♣ outside. The next opponent passes. Your partner holds the Nine ♠ and the Ace ♥, so he bids 100 in one go: 10 for the Nine you are missing and 10 for the Ace.

A declaration opening: 130

You hold the King, Queen, Jack and Ten ♠, without the Nine ♠. That is a quarte (50) with the Jack, so with ♠ as trumps you open 130: the single opening of 80 plus 50. Your partner answers as over an 80: 10 if he holds the Nine ♠, and 10 for each Ace he holds outside trumps. Each is owed on its own: he bids his Aces even without the Nine.

What a contract of 100 is worth

You buy the hand at 100 and nobody has a declaration. If your team takes 112 points in tricks and the opponents 50, the contract is made: you score 100 + 112 = 212, written 21 on the score sheet, and they score 50, written 5. Had your team taken only 98, the contract fails: you score nothing, and the opponents take 100 + 162 = 262, written 26.

Questions about bidding

What is the lowest bid in pilotta?

80. Every bid after it must be higher, in steps of 10, and the auction goes round counter-clockwise.

Can you bid again after passing?

Yes. A pass is not final; if the auction comes round to you again, you may bid. It ends when three players in a row pass after a bid.

What happens if all four players pass?

The hand is cancelled and the next dealer deals again.

What does an opening of 90 mean?

It says you hold both the Jack and the Nine of the suit you name, with other trumps beside them. Your partner answers with 10 for each Ace he holds outside trumps.

Do declarations count towards the contract?

Yes. A bid of 80 means your team expects to make at least 80 points from its tricks and its declarations together.

What is the closed game?

It is the defenders' bet that the bidders will fail. Whoever wins a closed round scores double the contract plus all 162 points of the round plus every declaration, and the other team scores nothing; if the bidders reopen it, the contract counts four times.