Thirty-Five

Thirty-Five is a modern version of the Italian game of Trentacinque.

a) One standard pack of 52 cards;
b) Betting chips or cash.

From two to five players.

Court cards count 10 points; other cards their pip value.

Each player aims to hold a total of 35 points or more in one suit.

This is by high cut.

Standard.

Before each hand, each player, including the dealer, puts an agreed equal amount into the centre of the table to form a pool. This amount is known as the ante.

1) The dealer deals one card face down to each player, including himself, and then one card face down to the centre of the table.

He continues on this way until each hand, inculding the hand on the table, contains four cards. He then deals no further cards to the centre of the table, but continues dealing to each player, including himself, until each has a further five cards. Thus, the hand at the centre of the table contains four cards, and the other hands nine cards each.

2) The remaining cards of the pack are placed to one side, and do not enter subsequent play.

3) The players then examine their cards. A player, who holds cards in any one suit to the value of 35 or more, announces this fact, and takes the pool.

If two or more players have 35 or more, the pool is divided between them.

4) If no player claims the pool, bidding begins.

Betting takes the form of bidding for the table hand — the buy.

Bidding begins with the player to the dealer's left. His opening bid may be any amount up to the total in the pool. (If he does not wish to bid, he throes in his cards.)

Thereafter, each player may raise the bid, or throw in his cards, until only one player is left, who is prepared to bid. He then takes the table hand, and adds it to the nine cards he already holds.

Settlement involves only the pool and the player who has taken the table hand. If the player now holds cards to the value of 35 or more in anyone suit, he declares this fact, shows his cards, and takes an amount from the pool equal to his bid.

If his bid exceeded the amount of the pool, he takes all the pool but has no further claim. If the player does not hold cards in one suit to the value of 35 or more, he pays into the pool an amount equal to his bid.

Sometimes the pool becomes too large for the level of betting. It is best if a limit for the pool is agreed beforehand. If the pool passes that limit, it is divided among the players.

The deal passes one player to the left after each hand.

From 'The Official World Encyclopedia of Sports and Games'
© Diagram Visual Information Ltd 1979

Trentacinque

This is an Italian game, of which Thirty-Five is the American version.

a) One standard pack of cards from which the Eights, Nines and Tens have been removed, leaving 40 cards. This is known as an Italian or Spanish pack;
b) Betting chips or cash.

Four players.

The target, as in Thirty-Five, is 35 in one suit.

Everyone antes five chips to the pool.

The dealer deals nine cards to each player, and a widow of four cards face down to the centre of the table.

Each player in turn either passes or bids up to five for the privilege of taking the widow. A higher bid supersedes a lower, but two or more players may stay in, if they bid five each, in which case the widow goes to whichever of them has the highest count in one suit.

The purchaser takes the widow, and wins the pool, if he can now produce cards of one suit totalling 35 or more. If not, he loses his bid to the pool, which is carried forward to the next deal.

If a player was originally dealt a hand lacking any court card, or containing K-Q-J of one suit, he stays in and collects 2 chips from each opponent.