Blog
Trump and legal trick play: following suit, trumping, and winning
Learn which card is legal in a trick, when trump is required, and how the winning card is determined.
In trick play, the first question is not always which card is strongest. It is which cards you are allowed to play. The Hoşkin rules engine builds a legal-card set from the led suit, the suits in your hand, and the selected trump.
The led suit
The first card establishes the led suit. If you hold at least one card of that suit, you must play it. Even a powerful trump is unavailable while you can follow the led suit.
Trump when void
If you lack the led suit and hold trump, you must play a trump card. Trump is therefore not merely optional at this point; legal-card validation checks it. When trump itself is led, following suit naturally means playing trump.
No led suit and no trump
If you hold neither the led suit nor trump, you may play from the remaining suits. That freedom exists only after the first two conditions fail. The client can highlight legal choices, but the server gives the final acceptance online.
Finding the trick winner
If any trump is present, the strongest trump wins. Without trump, the strongest card of the led suit wins; a non-trump off-suit card cannot take the trick. Four copies can look tied, so the canonical engine's ordered resolution is authoritative.
The winner's next role
After all four players contribute a card, the trick is complete. The winner collects the four card-point values for the team and leads the next trick. The team taking the final trick also receives a separate 20-point bonus.
Before choosing a card, check for the led suit, then for required trump, then whether your intended card fits those conditions. Legality comes before strength.