Section 3: Setup & Deal
Seating and First Dealer
Choose partners and sit opposite them. Select the first dealer by any fair method, such as drawing cards from the shuffled deck; the player drawing the lowest card deals first, with aces treated as high. If players tie, only the tied players draw again. After every completed hand, the deal passes one seat to the left.
Shuffle and Cut
The dealer shuffles the full 24-card deck. The player to the dealer's right may cut by lifting a packet and placing it beside the remainder; the dealer completes the cut by placing the original lower packet on top. A player who declines the cut should do so clearly, after which the deal begins.
Dealing the Hand
Starting with the player on the dealer's left and proceeding clockwise, the dealer gives each player five cards face down. Cards are traditionally dealt in packets of two and three, with the packet sizes alternated or otherwise distributed so everyone receives five. The exact two-and-three pattern is not strategically important, provided no player receives extra information and every player receives exactly five cards.
The four remaining cards form the kitty. The dealer turns the top kitty card face up without exposing the other three. Players may pick up and arrange their own hands but must keep every card concealed from opponents and partner.
Correcting Deal Errors
- If a card is exposed during the deal, a player receives the wrong number of cards, or the deal proceeds in the wrong direction, stop before trump is chosen and redeal with the same dealer.
- If the deck is discovered to contain the wrong cards before play begins, correct the deck, reshuffle, and redeal.
- If the wrong player deals and the mistake is noticed before trump is established, cancel the deal and give it to the proper dealer.
- If the wrong dealer's hand has already entered play, complete the hand and resume the normal rotation from the seat that should deal next. Do not score an extra penalty unless the group adopted one in advance.
Readiness
Before the first player acts on the upcard, everyone should confirm the partnership arrangement, target score, dealer, direction of play, and any house rules. Once trump has been established, players should avoid redealing for a correctable misunderstanding that does not affect the cards.