56 Card Game Strategy
56 is the most strategic of the Kerala trump games: two packs, six players, open trump and bidding that carries real information.
Bidding
- Listen to every bid. In 56, bids describe hands. A partner's "28 Spades" usually means the Jack of spades.
- Count the team's points, not yours. With three players a side, your partners hold two-thirds of your team's cards.
- NT needs strength everywhere. Without a trump, any long suit the opponents hold becomes dangerous.
Play
- Remember the duplicates. Each card exists twice. When two identical cards fall in one round, the first played wins, so leading a Jack beats a later identical Jack.
- Trump is open. Everyone knows it from the bid, so count trumps from the first round.
- Feed and starve. Drop Tens and Aces on partners' winners; play K and Q on opponents' winners.
Doubling
Double when your side clearly holds the top cards of the bidder's suit. A doubled 40+ bid lost costs 6.
More: 56 bidding conventions · 56 rules
Counting duplicates: an example
Spades are trump. Both J♠ have fallen. One 9♠ has fallen. If you hold the other 9♠, it is now the top spade. But if an opponent leads the second 9♠ before you play yours, theirs wins (first played). So lead your boss cards yourself when you can.
Defending a high bid
- Keep your Jacks for rounds with points.
- Lead suits where your partners showed top cards in the bidding.
- Throw K and Q on rounds you can't win.
Partnership habits that win at 56
- Agree on conventions first. Even three or four shared conventions make bidding far more accurate.
- Don't bluff your own partners too often; they need to trust your bids.
- Track who showed what. If a partner bid "28 Clubs", they hold the top club: lead clubs to them.
- Count to 56. With three players a side, keep a rough tally of points taken so you know when the bid is safe or lost.
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