Khishti is the most painful word in Joker. One badly judged hand and a red minus appears on the sheet that takes several good hands to make up. That is why, in a new group, the first question before the game is often "what is the khishti?" This article explains when khishti is written down, what it costs at the different tables on tamashebi.cc, how that compares with house rules, and how to avoid it.
What khishti is
Khishti is written down when a player bid one or more tricks and took none. It does not matter whether they bid one or six: if they finished the hand with zero, it is khishti. The hand itself scores nothing (zero tricks, zero points), and a penalty is added on top. On the sheet, that hand’s cell shows the penalty, in red. A few examples to make the line clear:
- Bid 2, took 0: khishti.
- Bid 1, took 0: khishti, even in a one-card hand.
- Bid 3, took 1: not khishti. The bid failed, and 10 points are written for the one trick.
- Passed, took 0: not khishti. That is a made pass, worth 50 points.
- Passed, took 2: not khishti. The pass failed, and 20 points are written.
The three khishti options on the site
Whoever creates a table chooses the khishti type in advance, and it does not change for the whole match. The chosen type is shown on the table card in the lobby, in the waiting room and at the foot of the sheet, so you know what you are playing before you sit down. Khishti 200 means every khishti costs −200, written −2, whether it is a one-card hand or a nine-card one, the first pulka or the last. Khishti 500 is the same but −500, written −5. At such a table the risk is far higher: one khishti eats almost the score of two good nine-card hands, and in short hands that of several hands together.
The special khishti is the default. Here the penalty depends on the size of the hand: 100 for every card dealt. In a one-card hand a khishti costs −100, in a four-card hand −400, in a nine-card hand −900. In tskhrianebi, where every hand has nine cards, every khishti is −900. The logic is simple: the bigger the hand, the more an accurate bid can score in it, and the more a mistake costs. In the lobby you may also come across an older table whose card says "off" where the khishti should be; at such a table a bid that ends with zero simply scores zero. A new table, though, is created with one of the three options above.
- 1 card: −100 (on the sheet −1)
- 3 cards: −300 (−3)
- 5 cards: −500 (−5)
- 8 cards: −800 (−8)
- 9 cards: −900 (−9)
The same hand at three tables
Take a nine-card hand: Levan bid 2 and took nothing. At a khishti-200 table he gets −200, at khishti 500 −500, at the special table −900. Now a one-card hand at the start of the first pulka: Nika bid 1 and missed. Khishti 200 gives −200, khishti 500 gives −500, and the special khishti only −100. So a fixed khishti makes short hands expensive, and the special one makes long hands expensive. That shapes how people play: at a fixed 500, players are careful about bidding one even in a one-card hand, while at a special table the nine-card hands are the ones that need the most care. Compare this too: in a nine-card hand, bidding and making two is worth 150. At a special table a khishti on that same bid is −900, so one failed hand wipes out six successful ones like it. That is why on a doubtful hand it is often better either to pass or to bid only what you are sure of taking at least one trick with.
House rules: khishti by pulka
In many families and Georgian sources the khishti is tied to the pulka: −200 in the first and third pulkas, −500 in the second and fourth, the nine-card hands. Some play a fixed 200 or 500, and some do not use khishti at all. The rule varies from table to table, so with a new group it is best to agree before you start. On tamashebi.cc the problem solves itself: the option is written on the table, everyone sees it before sitting down, and it does not change once the match starts.
Khishti, premia and moshla
A khishti hand is a missed hand, so it costs the player the premia for that pulka. The khishti itself, though, is never the score that the premia adds or the moshla takes away; only ordinary hand scores count for that. The khishti does go into the pulka total, and if someone earned the premia in that pulka, the player with the khishti can get both the penalty and the moshla: first the khishti, then the loss of their best hand’s score. That is why khishti hurts twice.
How to avoid khishti
- Count a joker as one trick when bidding: played high it always wins, unless the second joker is played high after it.
- On a weak hand a pass is often better than bidding one: a made pass is 50, while a khishti can be −900.
- The ace and king of trumps are solid tricks; a non-trump king or queen is not, especially in long hands, where someone short in that suit can trump it.
- Keep in mind whether you bid last: the last bidder is barred from one number and may be forced to bid one more or one fewer.
- Once you have taken a trick, khishti can no longer touch you; at worst you score 10 points per trick.
- Towards the end of the hand, count who has taken how many and who still needs what: it is often clear who is trying to take your last trick from you.
- Remember that a joker played high can only be beaten by the other joker, played high later in the same trick. If the second joker has already gone, your joker is a safe trick.
Frequently asked questions
- What does khishti 200 mean?
- A table where every khishti costs −200 points (−2 on the sheet), whatever the size of the hand and whatever the pulka.
- How is khishti 500 different?
- Only in the penalty: every khishti is −500, written −5. Everything else is the same.
- What is the special khishti?
- A penalty of 100 for every card dealt: −100 in a one-card hand, −900 in a nine-card hand.
- Can you get khishti for a pass?
- No. Khishti only applies when you bid one or more and took zero. A made pass is 50 points, a failed one 10 per trick.
- Can the khishti type change in the middle of a game?
- No. It is chosen when the table is created and stays the same until the end of the match, so nobody’s score is recalculated mid-game.
- Can I get both a khishti and a moshla in one pulka?
- Yes. Khishti is the penalty for a missed hand, while the moshla is written at the end of the pulka if another player earned the premia. Both can happen together, which is why khishti hurts twice.
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.