When you create a Joker table, tamashebi.cc offers two variants: standard and tskhrianebi (the "nines"). The rules (deck, bidding, play, the jokers, scoring) are the same in both. The difference is the sequence of hands, and that single change noticeably alters the character of the game: the short, almost random hands disappear, and every deal becomes a full contest.
What tskhrianebi is
In tskhrianebi 16 hands are played, and in every hand each player is dealt nine cards, so the four of them get the whole deck between them. The hands are split into four pulkas (blocks of hands scored together) of four hands each. The pulkas are kept because the premia, the moshla and the sheet totals are all counted by pulka. The variant is chosen when the table is created; in the lobby every table card says whether it plays "standard" or "tskhrianebi", and the same is written at the foot of the sheet. Once the match starts the variant cannot change: like the khishti type and the premia rules, it is frozen until the end of the match, so the whole sheet is written under one set of rules.
Side by side
- Number of hands: 24 in standard, 16 in tskhrianebi.
- Cards per hand: in standard 1 to 8, then 9 four times, 8 down to 1, and 9 four more times; in tskhrianebi always 9.
- Pulkas: in standard 8, 4, 8 and 4 hands; in tskhrianebi all four pulkas have four hands.
- Trumps: in standard, in 1- to 8-card hands, the turned-up card decides trumps (a joker means bezi, no-trump); in tskhrianebi no card is left to turn up, so in every hand the player to the dealer’s left chooses trumps or bezi after seeing their first three cards.
- Bidding: in both, from 0 up to the number of cards, with the last bidder’s restriction. In tskhrianebi always 0 to 9.
- Every trick: nine of nine is 900 in both; in standard it is also possible in short hands, for example two of two for 200.
- Special khishti (the penalty for bidding and taking nothing): in standard it depends on the size of the hand (from −100 to −900), in tskhrianebi it is always −900. Khishti 200 and 500 are the same in both.
- The jokers: in a nine-card hand the whole deck is dealt, so both jokers are always in someone’s hand. In short hands a joker may not be dealt at all, or may be turned up for trumps.
- Length: tskhrianebi has fewer hands, but every hand is long, nine tricks.
How a hand of tskhrianebi goes
- The dealer gives everyone three cards, starting on the left.
- The player to the dealer’s left looks at those three cards and names trumps (spades, clubs, diamonds or hearts) or bezi.
- The other six cards are dealt, and everyone holds nine.
- Bidding starts with the same player; the last bidder may not bid the number that would make the bids total nine.
- Nine tricks are played, and the player who chose trumps leads to the first.
- Scores are written as usual, and after four hands the pulka closes, with the premia and the moshla.
Scores and the sheet in tskhrianebi
The scoring rule is the same in tskhrianebi, but since every hand has nine cards there is just one price list, and it is easy to remember: a made pass is 50, one is 100, two 150, three 200, four 250, five 300, six 350, seven 400, eight 450, and bidding and taking all nine tricks 900. A missed bid, as always, scores 10 for each trick taken. The sheet is shorter (sixteen rows instead of twenty-four) and is divided into groups of four rows, with a total at the end of each pulka. For example, if you made all four hands of a pulka and they scored 150, 200, 100 and 250, the pulka is worth 700, 950 with the premia, written 9.5. A pulka like that often decides the whole game.
What changes in strategy
Choosing trumps from three cards
In tskhrianebi you choose trumps yourself every fourth hand, and you do it after seeing only three cards. If two of the three are of one suit, or the ace of a suit is among them, that suit is the natural choice. If all three are of different suits and include aces, bezi is often safer: with no trumps, nobody can beat your ace except with a joker. You cannot see the other six cards yet, so it is always a risk, and it gives the others information too: the trump chosen already says something about what the chooser holds. When you are not choosing, use that: if your neighbour named hearts, they probably hold the ace of hearts or several hearts, so your king or queen of hearts should not be counted as a trick on its own. If they named bezi, they often have aces and a joker. This is not a rule, only probability, but when bidding on nine cards every hint like that is worth having.
Jokers, khishti and the premia
Since both jokers are always in play, it pays to count them: if one has already gone and the other is yours, your joker played high is a guaranteed trick. If you have neither, remember that two tricks are "sitting" with someone else. At a special-khishti table every khishti in tskhrianebi is −900, almost as much as two good hands, so think carefully before bidding one on a weak hand: a pass scores 50 and carries no khishti risk. Finally, every pulka in tskhrianebi has only four hands, so the premia is sometimes more within reach than in the eight-hand pulkas of a standard game. If you are still on course for the premia going into the last hand of the pulka, a careful bid you can make exactly is often better than a risky one.
Which one to choose
If you are just starting to learn Joker, standard is better: short hands have few cards, so it is easy to see why a trick went where it did, why a bid failed and what the last bidder’s restriction means. Tskhrianebi appeals to players who like long, tense hands, choosing trumps themselves and less randomness. It is also a good choice if the one- and two-card hands in the first and third pulkas of a standard game felt too random to you: with nine cards, more depends on counting and less on luck. Both variants work fully on the site, the server keeps the sheet in both, and in the lobby you can pick a table with whichever one you want right now, or create your own and share the link with friends.
Frequently asked questions
- How many hands are there in tskhrianebi?
- 16 hands, in four pulkas, with nine cards in every hand.
- Is tskhrianebi longer than the standard game?
- Not in number of tricks. In standard, the hands from 1 to 8 and from 8 down to 1 add up to 72 tricks, and the nine-card hands another 72, 144 in all. Tskhrianebi has 16 hands of nine tricks each, again 144. The difference is that tskhrianebi has fewer deals and fewer rounds of bidding.
- Who chooses trumps in tskhrianebi?
- In every hand, the player to the dealer’s left, after seeing their first three cards. They can also choose bezi (no-trump).
- Are there premia and moshla in tskhrianebi?
- Yes, exactly as in the standard game: at the end of every pulka, after four hands.
- What does khishti cost in tskhrianebi?
- It depends on the table rule: khishti 200 is −200, khishti 500 is −500, and the special khishti is always −900.
Joker on tamashebi.cc is free and plays in the browser, on a phone too. Domino Coin is a virtual in-game coin: it is never money, cannot be bought or cashed out, and means nothing outside the site. The site is available in Georgian, English, Russian and Turkish.
The games on Tamashebi.cc are played in a Georgian-language interface. They are free and use a virtual coin, never real money.