Estimation rules — how to play

Overview

Estimation uses a full 52-card deck, Ace high (A K Q J 10 … 2). All 52 cards are dealt every round — 13 to each of the four players — and there are no partners: everyone plays for themselves. Every round plays all 13 tricks; a round never ends early, and a hand void in a suit is never a reason to redeal.

A game is a series of rounds of two kinds: in a call round the players bid for the trump; in a fixed round the trump is set in advance. The first dealer is drawn at random, and the deal then passes to the next player each round. Every declaration is public the moment it is made.

The three declarations

A call round opens with three declarations. First, the Dash Call: starting with the player after the dealer, each player in turn may Dash Call — promise to take no tricks at all — or decline. A Dash Caller sits out the auction and the estimates; their estimate is 0.

Then the call. A call is a number of tricks from 4 to 13 plus a trump, and the trumps rank NT > ♠ > ♥ > ♦ > ♣ — no trump (NT) is the highest, clubs the lowest. On your turn you either pass or call higher than the standing call: more tricks, or the same number with a higher trump, so the lowest possible call is 4♣. Passing is final — you are out of the auction for the round. When everyone else has passed, the standing call is the Call: its owner is the Caller, its trump is the round’s trump, and its number is the Caller’s estimate. If nobody calls at all, the same dealer deals again; after three such redeals in a row, the round is played as a fixed NT round.

Last, the estimates. Starting with the player after the Caller and skipping any Dash Caller, each remaining player estimates how many tricks they will take, from 0 up to the Call’s number — never more. An estimate equal to the Caller’s number is With, and it scores like the Caller. An estimate of 0 is a Dash. Dash Calls and Dashes count together: at most two players can be on zero in a round. And the last player to estimate may not choose the number that would bring the total of the four estimates to exactly 13.

Over, Under and Risk

Because the total can never be exactly 13, every round is either Over (the estimates add up to more than 13 — there are not enough tricks for everyone) or Under (less than 13 — spare tricks must land on someone). Either way, at least one player is bound to miss.

The last player to estimate carries the Risk, set by how far the total lands from 13: 1 away, no Risk; 2–3 away, Risk; 4–5 away, Double Risk; 6 or more, Triple Risk. Each level is worth ±10 — a bonus if that player makes their estimate, a penalty if they miss.

Fixed rounds and Super Call

The last five rounds of every game — all five rounds of Micro — are fixed rounds, with the trump set in order: NT, then ♠, ♥, ♦ and ♣. There is no Dash Call and no auction: starting with the player after the dealer, every player estimates from 0 to 13, under the same two limits — at most two players on zero, and never a total of 13. Once the last estimate is in, the highest estimate is the Caller — on a tie, whoever estimated first — and anyone else on the Caller’s number is With.

Super Call: in a fixed round, a player who estimates 8 or more may also name a new trump for the round — any suit, or NT. A later Super Call with a higher number changes the trump again; an equal number does not, so the earlier one keeps it. Estimates already made stand.

Playing the tricks

The Caller leads the first trick and the winner of each trick leads the next. Follow the suit led if you can; otherwise play any card, a trump or a discard. The highest trump wins the trick; with no trump in it, the highest card of the suit led wins — and in an NT round only the suit led counts.

The first time a player cannot follow a suit, the table marks them Avoid in it — a reminder for everyone, not a rule. Each seat shows its tricks won against its estimate, and a seat that has taken more than it estimated is marked as bust.

How to play

1. Deal — All 52 cards are dealt, 13 to each player. The first dealer is drawn at random; the deal then passes to the next player each round.
2. Declare — In a call round: the Dash Call, then the call — 4 to 13 tricks and a trump, NT > ♠ > ♥ > ♦ > ♣ — then the estimates, from 0 up to the Call. In a fixed round everyone simply estimates from 0 to 13.
3. Never 13 — The last player to estimate may not bring the total to exactly 13, so the round is Over or Under — and the further the total lands from 13, the more Risk that last player carries.
4. Play the 13 tricks — The Caller leads the first trick. Follow suit if you can; the highest trump wins, otherwise the highest card of the suit led.
5. Score — Take exactly your estimate to score 10 plus your tricks, plus any bonus; miss it and lose the difference, plus any penalty. After the last round the highest total wins.

Scoring & winning

• Made (tricks won = estimate): 10 + the tricks won; +10 if you are the Caller or With; +10 if you are the only player to make your estimate; +10 per Risk level if you are the last estimator on Risk.
• Missed, over or under: −the difference between your tricks and your estimate; −10 if you are the Caller or With; −10 if you are the only player to miss; −10 per Risk level. There is no flat penalty on a miss — only the difference and these extras.
• A Dash Call scores a flat +25 in an Over round or +33 in an Under round if its player takes no trick, and −25 or −33 if they take any — instead of 10 + 0 or the difference. It still takes the only-winner or only-loser ±10, but never Caller, With or Risk. A plain Dash is an ordinary estimate of 0: 10 when made, minus the tricks taken when missed.
• Examples: a Caller on 5 who takes 5 scores 25 — 35 as the only player to make it — and taking 3 costs −2 − 10 = −12. A player on 3 who takes 3 scores 13; taking 5 scores −2. The last estimator on 1 with a total of 15 (Risk) scores 21 taking 1, and −11 taking 2. A Dash Call in an Under round: +33 made, −33 missed.
• A whole round, at ×1: one player Dash Calls; another calls 7♠; the next estimates 2; the last estimates 1 — a total of 10, Under, 3 away from 13, so the last player is on Risk. The Caller takes 7: 10 + 7 + 10 = +27. The player on 2 takes 4: −2. The Dash Caller takes one trick: −33. The last player takes 1: 10 + 1 + 10 = +21. Two made and two missed, so nobody is the only winner or the only loser.
• Sa'aydeh: if all four players miss, nobody scores that round and the next round counts double (×2). A second Sa'aydeh in a row makes the following round count ×4, the most it can be; after any round in which at least one player makes their estimate, it is back to ×1.
• Winning: after the last round the highest total wins, and totals can end well below zero. Tied players share their place — there is no extra round. On staked tables the pot is split by placement among the players who actually staked — bots never stake: two stakers 100% to the best-placed; three 70/30; four 60/30/10 — and the last of them takes nothing. Tied stakers split the shares of the places they span evenly.

Micro — the default length

Koutchina plays Estimation in three lengths, chosen in the table’s rules; the length changes nothing but the rounds — the same deal, the same declarations and the same scoring. Micro, the default, is five rounds, all fixed: round 1 NT, round 2 ♠, round 3 ♥, round 4 ♦, round 5 ♣. There is no Dash Call and no auction — every round, everyone estimates from 0 to 13 — which makes it the quickest way into the game.

Mini

Mini is ten rounds: five call rounds first — the Dash Call, the call and the estimates — then the five fixed rounds: round 6 NT, 7 ♠, 8 ♥, 9 ♦ and 10 ♣.

Full — the classic game

Full is the classic eighteen-round game: thirteen call rounds, then the five fixed rounds: round 14 NT, 15 ♠, 16 ♥, 17 ♦ and 18 ♣.

Strategy

FAQ