Illustrated Hungarian Tarokk: Example Deal 5

contributed by Révész Gábor

The pagát accepts a cue bid and XXI-catch is announced

Bidding		(translation)
A B C D Három Passz Kettő Szóló Tartom		A B C D Three Pass Two Solo1 Hold
		1 Cue bid showing the XVIII (variant rule)

Card distribution after the exchange			The discard
A:	I, III, VII, IX, XIV, XVII, XIX, XX, K		-
B:	II, V, XII, J, C, A, J, CK		Q, J
C:	IIII, VI, X, XVI, XXI, K, A, J, K		Q, C
D:	VIII, XI, XIII, XV, XVIII, skíz, 10, C, Q		10, Q

Announcements

A:	Nyolc tarokk, hívom a XVIII-ast, pagátultimó, négykirály, passz	(Eight tarokks, I call the XVIII, pagátultimó, four kings, pass)
B, C:	Passz	(Pass)
D:	Trull, XXI-fogás, passz	(Trull, catch the XXI, pass)
A:	Treffkirály-uhu, duplajáték, passz	(King of clubs uhu, double game, pass)
B, C:	Passz	(Pass)
D:	Volát, passz	(volát, pass)
A, B, C:	Passz	(Pass)

The play

Trick	A	B	C	D	A	B	C
1.	XIX	V	VI	XV
2.	XX	II	X	XIII
3.	XVII	XII	IIII	XI
4.	XIV	C	XVI	XVIII
5.				skíz	III	A	XXI
6.				VIII	IX	J	A
7.	VII	J	J	Q
8.	K	C	K	C
9.	I	K	K	10

Comments

1. In general it can be said that the holder of the pagát, if he has the XX as well, should not open the bidding. It is better to wait to be called. Having a very strong hand may be an exception, though.
2. This game was played under the variant rule that a player who accepts a cue bid is obliged to announce either the trull or the pagátulti. So it may seem that by accepting the cue bid, A has undertaken the ultimó without encouragement from his partner. Is that true? No. The cue bid in itself indicated that D had a fairly strong hand (with six tarokks at least), and in addition A had the opening lead. That is quite enough to announce the ulti in any case.
3. The possibility of a XXI-catch had already occured to A when he accepted the cue bid, so he intended the four kings as an encouragement for it. (Double game as a further reinforcement would be reckless, because if C had proved to be the skíz, it would have been a costly failure.)
4. After announcing the XXI-catch and indicating the King of Clubs, A and D cooperated well in announcing both the double game and the volát.
5. Most players keep on hoping for some sort of miracle when the XXI's destiny is already sealed. C could have made the volát much more difficult by playing the XXI at trick 3, when he could see that it was certain to be caught. As the cards lie, the only way that D could then save the volát would be to lead a spade to trick 4 to give the lead back to A and catch the XVI. However, since D cannot know at this stage how the remaining two enemy tarokks are distributed or even whether his partner has the XVI, he is more likely to lead the XVIII to trick 4 after which the volát fails.

Result

Declarer's team makes volát!

Trull:	2 points
Four kings:	2 points
Solo double game:	16 points
Solo volát:	24 points
XXI-catch:	42 points
Pagátultimó:	10 points
King uhu:	20 points
Total:	116 points

Note

Some circles regard the three-two-solo bidding sequence as cue bid for the XIX, rather than the XVIII.

Conventions also vary according as to what announcements are obligatory after cue bids. Some circles do not compel a player who accepted the cue bid without a high honour to announce anything, in the same way that there is no obligation to announce anything in a yielded game (after the auction "three" - "two" - "pass"). The situations, however, are fundamentally different: a yielded game cannot be refused - after the pass the two bidder cannot avoid being declarer and calling the three bidder - but nobody is bound to accept a cue bid. Gábor Révész's view is that a cue bid and its acceptance create such interesting situations that the holder of the pagát should not be allowed to disrupt the process without accepting some consequences.