|
MUS
Players and Cards
Object of the Game
Vocabulary and Pronunciation
Deal and Mus
The four ways of comparing hands
Haundia
Txikia
Pareak
Jokua
The Betting
Betting on Haundia and Txikia
Betting on Pareak and Jokua
Hor Dago
The Showdown and Scoring Haundia and Txikia
Scoring Pareak
Scoring Jokua or Puntuak
Keeping score - Tantoak and Hamarrekoak
Keinuak - the signs
NABO Official Tournament Rules
History of the Game
Ontario, Oregon
Basque Club Tournament
PLAYERS
AND CARDS
Mus
is played by 4 players working as two teams.
Partners sit opposite each other and play moves in a
counter-clockwise direction. The player seated to the right of the
dealer is the esku and is the first player to speak.
The
suits in Mus are cups, coins, swords and clubs. However, suits are
irrelevant in mus. Each
suit has an erregea or king (12), zaldia or horse (11),
txanka or jack (10), 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, and
1. Each card has the
value of its corresponding number with the exception of the face
cards which are all worth 10 points.
If playing with another type of deck remove the 8s and 9s and
10s. The queen in the
American deck substitutes the horse (zaldia).
OBJECT
OF THE GAME
The
first team to get 30 points wins (at NABO tournaments you play to
40). This is
accomplished over the course of several hands. Score
is kept with tantoak (little metallic garbanzos), real beans
or other tokens. Players
score points for having the best hand of cards in each of four
categories: haundia (high), txikia (low), pareak (pairs)
and jokua (game). Players can attempt to score additional
points in any category by betting. The betting is carried out in a
specific order, and cards are not revealed until all four betting
rounds of the hand have been completed.
DEAL AND MUS
The
dealer shuffles, the player to dealer's left cuts, and the dealer
deals the cards (counter-clockwise) one at a time until each player
has four.
Mus
is a proposal that all four players should have a chance to improve
their hands by discarding one or more cards. This can only happen if
all four players agree. The players speak in turn starting with the esku.
If all four agree to change cards by saying "Mus"
the discard takes place as described below, but if any player
disagrees by saying hasi, mintza or musik ez, there is
no opportunity to discard and the game proceeds immediately to the
first round of betting.
If
everyone said "Mus", then each player in turn,
starting with the esku, discards from one to four cards face
down and is dealt an equal number of new cards. The players look at
their new hands and there is another opportunity to propose "Mus"
as before.
If
the players keep on agreeing to Mus, eventually the dealer
will run out of cards. If this happens while more than one player
requires cards, all the discards are shuffled to form a new stock to
deal from. If the cards run out while only one player is short, then
the cards excluding that player's discard are shuffled to make a new
stock.
THE
FOUR WAYS OF COMPARING HANDS
The
players compete to establish who has the best cards in each of four
different categories, Haundia, Txikia, Pareak
and Jokua, which will now be explained.
Note:
In all cases, if two hands are otherwise equal the winner is the esku,
or the earlier player after the esku in counter-clockwise
order. In the diagram, in case of equality, A beats B who beats C
who beats D.
Haundia
(High)
This
is won by the hand with the highest cards. In comparing two hands
the cards in each are arranged in descending order. The hand with
the higher first card wins, or if these are equal the hand with the
higher second card, or if these are equal too, the higher third
card, or if the first three cards are tied the higher fourth card.
In
the absence of betting on Haundia, the side with the best Haundia
wins one tanto.
Txikia
(Low)
This
is won by the lowest hand. The cards are arranged in ascending order
and the hand with the lower first card wins, or if these are equal
the lower second card, and so on.
In
the absence of betting on Txikia, the side with the best Txikia
wins one tanto.
Pareak
(Pairs)
These
are sets of two or more cards of equal rank. There are three types.
In ascending order they are:
Parea
Two
cards of equal rank and two of different ranks - such as
King-Jack-Jack-5. The hand with the higher pair wins, and the other
two cards are irrelevant even if the pairs are equal. Therefore
between 7-7-4-3 and King-Horse-7-7, the winner is the esku or
the earliest player after the esku in counter-clockwise
order.
Mediak
Three
cards of equal rank and one card of a different rank, such as King-
King-King-6. The hand with the higher set of three cards wins, and
the rank of the fourth card is irrelevant.
Dobleak
Two
pairs of cards of equal rank, such as Horse-Horse-5-5. There is no
special significance if all four cards are of the same rank - this
just counts as two equal pairs. If more than one player has dobleak,
the higher pair is compared first, then the lower pair. So
Horse-Horse-5-5 beats Jack-Jack-Jack-Jack because the Horse is
higher than the Jack, and Horse-Horse-5-5 beats Horse-Horse-4-4
because the 5 beats the 4.
Any
dobleak beats any
mediak, and any mediak beats any parea,
irrespective of the ranks of the cards.
If
there is no betting on the pareak, whoever has the best hand
scores for her own and her partner's hand as follows:
| parea |
1 tanto |
| mediak |
2
tanto |
| dobleak |
3
tanto |
and
the other side scores nothing for any pareak they may hold.
Jokua
(Game)
For
the purposes of Jokua, the cards have point values as
follows:
| King, Horse, Jack |
10 points |
| 7 |
7 points |
| 6 |
6 points |
| 5 |
5 points |
| 4 |
4 points |
| Ace |
1 point
|
In
other words face cards are worth 10, and other cards are face value.
For
Jokua, you simply add up the point values of the cards in
your hand. To have Jokua you must have at least 31 points.
The
best Jokua is a hand of exactly 31 points.
The next best is 32. Then come in descending order 40, 37, 36, 35,
34 and 33 (potolo), which is the lowest Jokua. If your
cards total 30 or less you don't have a Jokua. Note that a 31
point Jokua held by the Esku is unbeatable.
If
there is no betting on Jokua, then the side with the best Jokua
scores for both their hands: 3 tantoak for Jokua of 31
and 2 tantoak for any other Jokua. The other side
scores nothing.
If
no one has Jokua, then you compete instead for the best Puntuak,
which is a hand totaling 30 or fewer points. The highest Puntuak is
a hand with 30 points, then 29, 28 and so on, down to 4, which is
the worst. If no one bets, the player with the best Puntuak
gets 1 tanto.
BETTING
There
is a round of betting for each category of hand: Haundia, Txikia,
Pareak, Jokua, and they must be taken in strict order.
Each round is begun by the esku (the player to dealer's
right). The esku may announce each round so that the players
know what they are currently betting on, but this is not really
necessary if the players are awake because the four rounds always
occur in sequence.
Betting
on Haundia and Txikia
Each
round of betting is begun by the Esku , who may either pass
(paso) or bet (enbido). If the esku
passes, the next player in counter-clockwise order may pass or bet,
and so on round the table. If all four players pass, there is no
betting in that category, and the esku begins the round of
betting for the next category.
A
bet is a proposal to stake some number of tantoak, at least
2, on the outcome of the category. If no number is mentioned, 2 is
assumed, so if the esku starts the first round of betting by
just saying "I bet - enbido", it is a proposal to
stake 2 tantoak on the Haundia. It is also possible to
bet a higher number by saying for example "enbido
5", or "enbido 20".
If
someone bets, the opposing team has three options. They must decide
whether to:
- fold
(tira) - conceding that the betting side wins that
category, irrespective of who has the best cards, but losing
only one tanto;
- see
(edoki - agreeing that the side with the best cards will
win the amount bet; or
- raise
(beste 2 or 2 gehiago) - proposing to raise the
stake further (2 or any amount).
Either
partner may speak; if they disagree, in general the more aggressive
action prevails (raise rather than see, see rather than fold).
However, it is possible for a player to overrule partner by using
the plural: "we fold" or "we see". If the
opponents fold in response to the first bet of a round, the side
that bet immediately win one tanto for "tira".
If the opponents see the bet, the scoring is deferred to the
showdown at the end of the hand. Raising is a proposal to increase
the stake further, by at least 2. If no number is stated, 2 is
assumed, but it is possible to raise by any higher amount. It is
helpful to state the amount of the raise and the new total - e.g.
"I bet 3", "I raise 5, making 8". After a raise,
the other side now has to decide whether to fold, see or raise
further, and so on.
The
round of betting continues until one side or the other either folds
or sees the last bet or raise. If one side folds, the other side
immediately takes the number of tantoak previously staked (example:
A says "I bet"; B says "I raise, making 4"; A
says "I raise 16, making 20"; B says "We fold".
A and C immediately take 4 tantoak.) If the last bet or raise
is seen, then in the showdown, the side with the best cards in that
category will win the agreed stake.
Betting
on Pareak and Jokua
The
betting procedure described above applies to the first two rounds, haundia
and txikia. The procedure for pareak and jokua
is slightly different.
Pareak:
Before any betting on Pareak can begin, each of the four
players must announce in turn (truthfully) whether they actually
have Pareak by saying "bai" (yes) or "ez"
(no).
- If
at least one player from each partnership says "bai",
then there follows a round of betting on the Pareak,
using the same procedure as for haundia and Txikia.
- If
both players of one partnership say "ez", but
one or both of the other partnership say "bai",
then the side with Pareak will score for them at the end,
but there is no betting.
- If
all four players say "ez", then there will be
no score for Pareak at all on that hand, and of course no
betting.
Jokua:
Before any betting on Jokua can begin, each of the four
players in turn must say whether they have Jokua - that is
whether their cards total at least 31 points.
- If
at least one player from each partnership says "bai",
then there follows a round of betting on Jokua, using the
same procedure as for haundia and txikia.
- If
both players of one partnership say "ez", but
one or both of the other partnership say "bai",
then the side with Jokua will score for them at the end,
but there is no betting.
- If
all four players say "ez", then there will be
no score for Jokua, but instead, there is a competiton
for puntuak. So in this case there is a round of betting
on who has the best Puntuak, using the same procedure as
for Haundia and Txikia.
HOR
DAGO
Hor
dago (literally
“there it is”) is a special bet - a proposal for an immediate
showdown, staking the outcome of the whole game on the current
category. During any of the four rounds, a player instead of betting
or raising in the normal way may say Hor dago. The opponents
must then either fold - conceding the loss of that category, or see
it, in which case there the cards are shown and the game is decided.
Here
is an example. In the first round of betting A, B and C pass, D says
"enbido 5" and A says "edoki". So haundia
will be worth 1 hamarreko (equivalent to 5 tantoak).
Second round of betting (Txikia): A says "enbido";
B says "beste 4, making 6"; C says "Hor
dago". B and D must now either fold or see. If they fold, A
and C take a total of 6 (1 hamarreko and 1 tantoa). If
they see it, whichever side has the best Txikia wins the game
immediately (and the 1 hamarreko for haundia
become irrelevant, even if they would have been enough to decide the
game).
It
is of course, possible to say Hor dago instead of the first
bet of a round. If you do this and the opponents fold, you get just
one tanto, for "tira".
THE
SHOWDOWN AND SCORING
After
the end of the last round of betting (on Jokua or Puntuak),
all four players show their cards, and the hand is scored. Again
this is done in the order Haundia, Txikia, Pareak,
Jokua. The order of scoring is important because it is
possible for the game to be won by one side reaching 30 points part
way through the scoring process.
Scoring
If
either side folded during the corresponding betting round there is
no further score - the winners have already had their tantoak.
If for example A and C bet on Txikia and B and D folded, then
even if B or D actually turns out to have the best Txikia there
is no score for this, as they have given up their right to win Txikia
by folding (A and C have bluffed successfully).
If
the betting round ended with one side seeing the other, or if
everyone passed, then the hands are compared to see which individual
player has the best combination of that type, and that player's team
wins the agreed amount of tantoak (or one tanto if
everyone passed).
Example
(for haundia): A (esku) has 7-7-2-ace; B
has king-king-jack-ace; C has king-king-jack-ace; D
has horse-horse-horse-6. Then B's hand is best (B and C have equal
cards but B is earlier in the order of play), so B and D win the
stake for haundia.
Scoring
Pareak
If
one side folded in the betting round, then the side which made the
final bet or raise automatically wins, even if their actual Pareak
are not as good as the side that folded. The winning side will
already have won one or more tanto for this in the betting
round, but now in addition they score the appropriate amount of tantoak
for the Pareak in their hands, that is: 1 for parea; 2
for mediak; 3 for dobleak. They must have at least one
example of Pareak between them or they were not allowed to
have bet. If both partners have Pareak then both score.
If
the betting round ended with one side seeing the other, then the
hands are compared to see which individual player has the best Pareak,
and that player's team wins the agreed stake for the Pareak, plus
the value of the Pareak in both their hands.
If
there was no betting, the hands are compared as above, and the
winning player's team just score for the Pareak in both their
hands. Of course if no one has Pareak at all then no one
scores.
For
example: A (esku) has 7-7-ace-ace; B has
king-king-jack-ace; C has king-king-jack-ace; D has
horse-horse-horse-6. A's
hand is best (dobleak), so A and C score for A's dobleak
and C's parea. Assuming that A and C have bet 4 and B and D
have seen it then A and C win a total of 8 tantoak (3 + 1 +
4). Alternatively if A and C bet 4, B and D raised by 6 making 10,
and A and C then folded, B and D would now win 3 tantoak (for
B's parea and D's mediak) in addition to the 4 they
won during the betting round when A and C folded.
Scoring
Jokua or Puntuak
The
principle is similar to scoring Pareak. If one side folded
during the betting, then the other side has already won, and has
already taken some tantoak. In addition to this, if the
betting was on Jokua, both members of the winning team score
the appropriate amount of tantoak for the Jokua in
their hands (3 for 31, 2 for any other Jokua). If the betting
was on the Puntuak, they just take one additional tanto
for winning the Puntuak.
If
the betting round ended with one side seeing the other, then the
hands are compared to see which individual player has the best
cards. In the case of Jokua, the winning player's team wins
the agreed stake, plus the value of the Jokua in both
their hands. In the case of Puntuak, the winning player's
team wins the agreed stake plus just one extra tanto for
winning the Puntuak.
If
there was no betting, but at least one player had Jokua, then
the team of the player with the best Jokua scores for this
and for her partner's Jokua if any. If no one had Jokua,
then the team of the player with the best Puntuak scores one
point.
This
is done with small metallic garbanzos, real beans, pebbles, or other
convenient small objects. You need 18 of them. They all start in a
saucer in the middle of the table, and are taken and placed in front
of the four players to represent the score. Each partnership decides
who will keep the ones (simply referred to as tantoa) and who
will keep the fives (hamarrekoak).
Note: in Basque, the word hamarreko, (oddly
)literally means "of ten" rather than "of five".
When
a partnership wins one or more tanto, the player keeping the
ones simply takes the appropriate number from the saucer and places
them in front of himself. When he has five, he gives one to his
partner, who is keeping the fives (hamarrekoak), and puts the
other four back in the saucer. When taking or moving tantoak
you should always tell the opponents how many you are taking, and
why.
Adapted
from “Mus” written
by John McLeod. From: The
Card Games Web Site
by
John McLeod (john@pagat.demon.co.uk).© John McLeod, 1995, 2003
Last
updated
18th January 2004. Adaptation
by Ontario Basque Club.
KEINUAK (signs):
A player cannot show his hand to his
partner, but one can send signs to let his partner know what is in
his/her hand. This can be helpful because one player could
simultaneously play both his/her partner's hand and his/her own,
therefore confusing the opposition. The trick is to send the
signals while the other team is not looking, and in turn, to watch
the opposition should they attempt to pass any signs. Teams
can only utilize the accepted signs. They are:
|
