A Deal at a Glance
A single deal of Thousand follows a fixed sequence. Each step is described in detail in its own page; this overview is here so you can keep your bearings.
The seven phases of a deal
1. Deal → 7 cards each + 3 to the talon
2. Bid → Auction starting at 100, in steps of 5 or 10
3. Talon → Declarer reveals the 3 cards and takes them
4. Pass → Declarer passes 1 card to each opponent
5. Raise → Declarer may raise their bid based on the new hand
6. Tricks → 8 tricks played, with marriages declared on the lead
7. Score → Card points + marriage bonuses recorded; check for 1000
The pages in this section walk through each phase:
| Step | Page |
|---|---|
| Deal | Dealing |
| Bid | Bidding |
| Talon, Pass, Raise | The Talon |
| Trump & Marriages | Trump & Marriages |
| Tricks | Trick-taking |
| Score | Scoring |
The contract
The declarer's bid is a contract: they have committed to scoring at least that many points in the deal (counting card points + marriage bonuses). If they make the contract they score their bid; if they fail, they lose the bid amount from their running total.
Defenders score the card points and marriages they capture in the same deal, separately for each defender.
End of the game
A deal is played, scored, and added to the running totals. The first player to reach 1000 points wins. Reaching exactly 880 puts a player on the barrel — a high-pressure state described in Scoring.