Setback · Auction Pitch
Rules of Setback
Also known as Auction Pitch. These are the rules used by this game.
Players
Four players in two partnerships: West and East against North and South. You play South, so North is your partner.
Cards
A standard 52-card deck, aces high. Each player is dealt six cards, so 24 cards are in play and the other 28 sit out each deal. Because of this, you can never be sure that any particular card (even the ace of trump) is in someone's hand.
The auction
Bidding starts with the player to the dealer's left and goes clockwise; each player bids exactly once. A bid is a promise that your side will take at least that many of the four points available in the deal. The possible bids are:
- Pass
- Two
- Three
- Four
Each bid must be higher than the previous high bid. A bid of four is the most anyone can promise, so it cannot be outbid and ends the auction at once; the dealer gets no "steal" of a four bid. If all four players pass, the hands are thrown in and the next player deals.
Play
The high bidder leads to the first trick, and the suit of that first card is trump for the whole deal. On each trick you must either follow the suit led or play a trump; only if you have no card of the suit led may you play anything else. The highest trump on a trick wins it; if there is no trump, the highest card of the suit led wins. The winner of a trick leads to the next one. There are six tricks in a deal.
Scoring
Four points are at stake in every deal:
| High | Won by the side that takes the trick containing the highest trump in play. |
|---|---|
| Low | Won by the side that takes the trick containing the lowest trump in play. |
| Jack | Won by the side that takes the jack of trump (if it was dealt). |
| Game | Won by the side that takes the most "game points" in its tricks (see below). If tied, nobody gets it. |
Game points
Every captured card counts, whatever its suit:
| Ten | 10 |
|---|---|
| Ace | 4 |
| King | 3 |
| Queen | 2 |
| Jack | 1 |
| Others | 0 |
Being set back
If the bidding side takes at least as many points as it bid, both sides score whatever they took. If it falls short, the bidding side is "set back": it scores nothing and instead loses the number of points it bid. The other side still scores what it took.
Winning
A side wins by reaching 11 points, but only by bidding and making its bid on the deal that gets it there. Reaching 11 on points taken while the other side held the contract does not end the game; you must keep bidding until you make one. A side that reaches 15 points wins regardless of who bid. A side that falls to -6 loses at once. If the bidding side makes its bid to reach 11 on the same deal the other side reaches 15, the bidding side wins.
Tips
- A hand with the ace (or king) of a long suit is worth a bid: leading it usually secures High and pulls trumps.
- The two of trump is precious: if your side takes the trick it is played in, you get Low. Throw it onto a trick your partner is winning.
- Guard the jack of trump. Play it only when your side is sure to take the trick.
- Tens are worth 10 game points. Feed them to your partner's winning tricks; never throw one away to an opponent if you can help it.
- When the opponents are close to 11, bid to keep them from getting the contract, even on a marginal hand.
About this page
Heavily modified from Brian Berns' Setback rules engine. The house scoring, the four-bid rule, the computer players (a Monte Carlo search that runs entirely on your phone, so the page works offline once loaded), the coach, and multiplayer are original to this site.