played. Every player must follow suit if possible. Trump is considered a suit, so if trump is led, and a player has trump in their hand, they must play trump. If a player cannot follow suit, then they can play any card from their hand. The person who played the card with the highest strength takes the "trick" (the highest trump, or if none, the highest card of the fail suit that was led). The player who took the previous trick then plays, or "leads," a new card for the second trick. After all tricks have been taken, their point values are totaled and the winner declared, with all players adding or reducing their personal points accordingly (see the charts, above). The deal then shifts to the person to the left of the previous dealer. Strategy Picker and partner The picker and partner should almost always lead trump. The picker should have the strongest hand, as he received additional cards, received free points in his bury, and hopefully had a stronger hand before picking. So for each trump he/she loses, four trump are lost by the other players. This is especially important in the called aces variant, as this gives the ace a much better chance of walking, or going around the table without being trumped. When the picker is weak, sometimes it may be wise to lead fail and hope that the partner can take the trick. In these circumstances, the partner leading trump may drain the picker's trump faster than a strong opponent, though this strategy may be dangerous if the partner is still unknown. Generally speaking, it is better to clear out as many suits of fail as possible when burying; it is better to have two clubs than to have a heart and a club. There are exceptions to this rule. Generally, it is best not to pick up the blind unless the player has four or more trump in a five-handed game, and it is best if at least one of those trump is a queen. Picking on three trump is unwise, unless they are very highly powered cards or the picker has point cards to place into the blind Opponents In the called aces variant, the opponents should usually lead another card of the called suit, as it is required by rule that the picker and partner must have and play a card of