When the bidding, if any, is completed, the player who bid the highest,—thenceforward known as "the bidder,"—has the first lead.
The bidder, before playing, takes the "widow" into his own hand, and then discards any three cards out of the thirteen. These rejected cards are to be laid face downwards on the table, and may not be inspected by any one. There are penalties for discarding too many or too few cards, and for illegally looking at the discard.
The value of any bid depends, as in Auction Bridge, partly on the number of tricks contracted for, and partly on the declaration as to trumps. The best and most modern schedule (known as the "Avondale") is as follows:—
| Bids | 6 Tricks | 7 Tricks | 8 Tricks | 9 Tricks | 10 Tricks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In Spades | 40 | 140 | 240 | 340 | 440 |
| In Clubs | 60 | 160 | 260 | 360 | 460 |
| In Diamonds | 80 | 180 | 280 | 380 | 480 |
| In Hearts | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 | 500 |
| In No-trumps | 120 | 220 | 320 | 420 | 520 |
The scale is uniform, and easy to remember. The numbers increase downwards by 20 at a time, and horizontally by 100 at a time. It will be noticed that no two bids are numerically equal.
There are certain restrictions on the power of the Joker in the case of No-trumps. The leader of it cannot nominate it to be of a suit in which he has previously renounced; and if he plays it (not being the leader) to the lead of a suit in which he has previously renounced, it has no winning value.
When there are trumps, the Joker and both Bowers form part of the trump suit in the order of precedence already explained.
If the bidder fulfils his contract, or makes any greater number of tricks fewer than ten, he scores the number of points set out in the above table, but no more. If he wins all the ten tricks, he scores a minimum of 250; but if his bid be worth more than 250, he scores nothing extra. Should he fail in his contract, the value of his bid is set down in his minus column, and has to be deducted from his past or future plus score. In every case, each opponent of the bidder scores 10 points for every trick that he wins.
The winner of the game is he who first scores 500 points (hence the title of the game). If two players score more than 500 each in the same deal, one of them being the bidder, the latter is the winner. If neither is the bidder, he who first makes the trick that brings his score over 500 is the winner.