Preference
Trick taking Game for Three Players

Preference is a card game of the Solo family which is thought to have originated in Russia. Preference is a trick-taking game for three players in which there are no fixed partnerships - each player plays for themselves. Like other card games of the Solo Family, Preference offers a variety of game objectives.

The Cards

Take a standard deck of 52 cards, and shorten it to 7 and up. That will give you a deck of 32 cards. For the purposes of taking tricks, cards rank from high to low: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7.

For the purposes of bidding, suits rank from highest to lowest: Hearts, Diamonds, Spades and Clubs.

Stakes

In Preference chips are used as stakes and each player is issued with an equal number of chips to start the game.

At the beginning of the first deal, each player contributes to an agreed amount to the pot, say 10 units each, and this is repeated any time the pot is emptied. The Soloist will draw his/her winnings from this pot if his/her contract succeeds, or pay into the pot if he/she fails.

The Deal

Deal and play are clockwise, and the deal proceeds to the left at the end of each hand.

Players are dealt 10 cards each in batches of three and four and three, with a Widow of two cards face down to the center of the table dealt between the first and second batch of cards.

Objective

The player who makes the highest bid becomes the Soloist, and plays against the other two Defenders with a view to taking at least 6 tricks. Each opponent is required to take at least two tricks if they play or, instead, can choose to "keep out", i.e. not to play that hand.

Bidding

Left of the Dealer bids first, and customarily opens the bidding process with a bid of "One", meaning "Six tricks in Clubs" regardless of their real intention. The next player in turn can either pass, handing over to the Dealer, or announce a higher bid - for example "Two", meaning, in this case, any suit higher than Clubs. Left of the Dealer can then either pass or say "hold" meaning that he / she is bidding a game worth at least two themselves. The next player in turn will then either have to bid higher or pass. Once one of these players finally passes, then the Dealer will enter the bidding process and the two will bid against each other until one of them drops out. The last player standing becomes the Soloist and plays against the other two as Defenders.

Once the bidding process is complete, the Soloist faces the cards of the Widow (where their bid allows them to use the Widow) so that all players can see. He / she adds the Widow to his / her hand and discards two cards face down. The Soloist then declares a contract which is equal to or greater than the highest bid.

Full Range of Bids

The full range of bids and their values from lowest to highest are as follows:

Concede

Where there is a contract of 6 or higher, each Defender has the option to "go along" which means he / she will play in that hand and must win at least two tricks, or can opt to "keep out" in which case he / she will lay their cards face down in front of themselves and not play to the hand.

However, should the other Defender insist, then such a player must play in the hand but does not have to win the obligatory two tricks, but together they must still beat the Soloist.

If both Defenders concede then the Soloist wins the contract without any play.

The Play

The Soloist leads to the first trick, and thereafter the winner of the trick leads to the next, except on a contract of No-Trumps, where the lead is initiated by the player to the Soloist's right.

Trick-Taking Rules

These strict trick-taking rules apply:

• Each player must follow suit to the card led, if possible.
• Each player must try to "head the trick" by playing a higher card to any previously played.
• If you can't follow suit, then you must trump in with a view to winning the trick.
• If you can't follow suit and you can't trump in, then you may play any card.
• The trick is won by the highest trump played. If no trumps are played, the trick is won by the highest card of the suit led.

Exceptions:

Misere:
Obviously, in a contract of Misere, it is not necessary to head the trick by playing a higher card.

Soloist leads a low card:
When the Soloist leads a low card, the rule is that the next player in succession must still follow suit but must not try to win the trick, but rather leave it to his / her partner to win, that is, if they think their partner can.

Settlement

If the Soloist wins their contract of six tricks, then he/she takes 10 units from the pot, but if the Soloist fails to win his /her contract then he/she pays 20 units into the pot. A Defender who did not win two tricks pays 10 units into the pot, that is, presuming they took part in the hand. If a player "kept out" then they do not need to pay into the pot.

Game

Preference is played over an agreed to number of hands, that being a multiple of the number of players so that each player gets the same number of turns to deal.

The player with the biggest stack of chips at the end of the game is the winner.

L I N K S

• Preference Card Game - Britannica - Contribution by David Parlett
• Russian Preferans - Card Games Website
• How to play Preference - from Bicycle Card Games Rules
• Preference - Wikipedia