500 or Five Hundred is a trick-taking game developed in the United States from Euchre. Euchre was extended to a 10 card game with bidding and a Misere contract similar to Russian Preference, producing a good cut-throat three player game like Preference and a four player game played in partnerships like Whist which is the most popular modern form, although with special packs it can be played by up to six players. It arose in America before 1900 and was promoted by the US Playing Card Company, who copyrighted and marketed a deck with a set of rules in 1904. In 1906 the US Playing Card Company released the improved Avondale scoring table to remove bidding irregularities. 500 is a social card game and was highly popular in the United States until around 1920 when first auction bridge and then contract bridge drove it from favour. It continues to be popular in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where it has been taught through six generations community-wide, and in other countries: Australia, New Zealand, Canada (especially Ontario and Quebec) and Shetland. Despite its American origin, 500 is the national card game of Australia. Setup Of the many variants to 500, the standard deck contains 43 playing cards: a joker is included (sometimes two, in which case the black joker beats the red one), and the 2s, 3s, and two 4s are removed. Either the two black 4s are removed, or the 4 of spades and 4 of diamonds are removed, in which case the 4 that matches the trump colour is also considered trump, so that there are always 13 trump cards (14 when using two jokers). Cards are dealt to each of the four players and three (four with two jokers) are dealt face down on the table to form the kitty (also known as the widow, the blind or the hole card). Alternatively, a 45-card deck can be used (46 with two jokers), in which case the 4s are not removed. Each player still receives a hand of 10 cards, but the kitty is increased to five cards (six with two jokers). Players play in pairs, usually opposite each other. Traditionally, a bundle of three cards is dealt to each player, one to the kitty, a bundle of four to each player, one to the kitty, a bundle of three to each player, one to the kitty or with a 45-card