Tarabish

Tarabish (sometimes called Tarbish or 'Bish) is a trick-taking card game that played primarily by the people of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

There is some debate on the origin of Tarabish. There exist variations of the game in the Netherlands, the Middle East, as well as France that go by several names including Bela, Belotte, and Klaverjassen. Some have attributed the game to Germanic, Ukrainian and Hungarian roots. It is believed that the game was passed down from European immigrants who came to Cape Breton in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century to work in the booming steel and coal industries. Since then the game has developed into its modern form that has become greatly tied into the regional culture of Cape Breton.

Objective

The goal of the game is to be the first player or team to accumulate at least 500 points. However, if both teams score over 500, the highest score wins.

The Play

The game is generally played with 4 players made into two pairs that sit across from each other. Teammates sit at north and south for one team and east and west for the other team.

The deck consists of the cards from 6 and higher in each suit.

The dealer deals 3 cards at a time keeping the last three cards face down and cannot be looked at until a trump suit has been called or pass to the opposing player. These last three cards are known as the kitty.

Beginning with the player to the left of the dealer, players must always try to follow with the suit of the last played card.

If the play is not possible the player must follow with the trump suit (known as a cut), otherwise they can follow with any other suit.

If the player plays a trump while having other cards that follow suit or they do not play to beat in trump or lay any other suit while trump is played other than trump then the play is called a misplay and results in the opposing team getting all the points in a game.

The player with the best card (trump or non-trump) wins the trick and takes the lead. Play continues in this fashion until all cards are played.

Scoring

Upon completion of each hand, teams count the points in their winning tricks to determine the scores.

Card Values

Value of Trump cards only:

Card	Points
Jack	20
Nine	14
Ace	11
Ten	10
King	4
Queen	3
Eight	0
Seven	0
Six	0

Value of Non-trump cards:

Card	Points
Ace	11
Ten	10
King	4
Queen	3
Jack	2
Nine	0
Eight	0
Seven	0
Six	0

Runs

There are two types of runs that can be called.

A twenty is a run that is called during the first play (or trick) when a player have three cards in a row of the same suit. (e.g. 6,7,8 of hearts or 9,10,J of clubs) The twenty is shown or laid out on the table face up if called on the second trick.

If 2 players have a twenty then the player who has the higher cards wins. Otherwise if both are equal then they cancel each other out. However if one of the twenties is in trump then that twenty takes presidence over all other twenties that are equal. If a player has more than one twenty then they only have to call twenty and show both on the second play.

A fifty is a run similar to a twenty however it is a run of four cards in a row. The rules are exactly the same as a twenty, however only one player can get credit for a run. A four card run automatically defeats a three card run.

To be Valid Runs they must be announced before a player plays the first card, and the run must be shown before the second card is played. Failure to show a run eliminates it from contention.

The player with a valid run can count other runs in the hand if shown.

Bella

Bella (or Bells) is when a player has a king and queen of the trump suit in the same hand and is worth an additional 20 points when called. The player MUST call bella when playing the last of the 2 cards to get the points.

In the event that bella is part of a valid run, the player has the option to announce Bella when they show their run or wait until played.

Other points

The team winning the last trick receives 10 points towards their total for that hand.

The Minimum number of points in any hand is 162. Consisting of 62 points in trump values, 90 points in non trump values, and 10 points for last. The maximum number of points per hand is 282.

Tarabish Terms

The Bate - The team that accumulates less than half the points available.

The Half Bate - The team that accumulates exactly half the available points.

Bella - When a player has the King and Queen of trump in a single hand.

A Run - Three or four cards in sequence in the same suit.

A Twenty - A run of three cards.

A Fifty - A run of four cards.

A Misplay - When a player doesn't beat trump when he can. If a misplay is caught, all the points go to the team who caught the misplay.

Last - Final trick earning an additional 10 points to the winning team.

The Kitty - The three cards that are hidden to a player until after a trump is called.

Playing to beat - If at any time a player is forced to play a trump, he must beat the best trump card on the table.