TRIX - PROFESSIONAL TIPS

People usually say this is the easier game of the two, as it's "just arranging cards in order", but while playing Trix Complex Partner, it's way more than that. You've gotta watch each move, remember crucial cards played by your partner, and have a great estimate of probabilities in order to finish before your opponents. Even though the chances are low, this is where you have to battle it if you want to play like a professional. I'll keep updating if I can think of more rules but for now I think these are the usual lines I keep barking at my friends :D


- If you have multiple J's, always open the suit of the 2 which belongs to your team first, then the suit whose 3 or 4 is in your hand, then the suit whose A is in your hand, and then the other suit of which you do not have any extreme end cards. 

This is because when you have extreme end cards of a suit, you should not be blocking it as you need it to reach there for yourself too. Always try to put yourself in such a position where you are able to keep playing your own suits, or even Passing, but not playing on your opponents suits while they're blocking yours.


- If you have multiple J's or have to choose between playing high cards of multiple suits, always play the suit of which you have a lower number. This is to let your partner know that you played this first (for a reason) even though you could have played another. 

Towards the end, it's likely that your partner will have the choice between playing this suit and another, and they must here remember that you played this so you might need this suit to advance more and play it for you. This little move can also win you games, so make sure you also read your partner's priority choices when they face them.


- If you are blocking suits and are forced to play something for the opponents, play the card that is closest to the end of the line. This reduces the chances of the next player (opponent) having the next card  and them playing for your suit(s). 

For example, if you have the options to play between a K or another Q, play the K first. Or if there are numbers, play the lower number first as you'll still be blocking a higher number of opponents suit's cards.


- If you have two or more consecutive cards of a suit, it's an advantage as you will be holding that suit for at least 2 rounds. If the 2 of this suit is with your team, play on. But if it's the opponents', you can play another card for your team, or even play one of the consecutive cards instead of another suit you're holding from your opponents. This is handy when you are blocking another suit but don't want to play it for them, and yet not Pass.


- If your opponents have three 2's (one with one person and two with the other), block the suit that's with one person for as long as you can. For the one with 2 suits, you can be flexible and play on and even finish one, as long as both have at least one suit still blocked by your team to make them play your suit until the end. 

It's actually unlucky to have just one 2 amongst your team because the team with three 2's can control the game as they have to block only one suit. It's not impossible tho, as with the right cards you can still win 350. For example, once me and my (favourite) partner, while playing Trix, had three 2's with him and none with me. He finished his cards first and I got second. 


- If you have all the 2's amongst your team it's also possible to come first and second (even though this is the rarest), by blocking the other team from the top. This means keep playing downwards for every suit, taking care of playing the right suit when you have multiple options. 

This means if you have, say, a 7 of a suit and the 8 and 3 of another, you must play the 8 first as you need it to reach the lower card in your hand, and then play the 7 on the next round, and so on until partnership, chemistry and luck get your team till the end of the line. And once I even came first and second with me and my partner both having two 2's each. That obviously means after my partner finished as first, my last card was a Q, and my opponents (unfortunately) had the K and A. Rarest ending but possible, so take care.


- If you have low cards towards the end and the opponents on both sides have 2's with them, always play the suit of the 2 on your left first, as this forces the player on your right to Pass, giving your partner a chance to finish his hand 1st, and then you could be 2nd or 3rd depending on who has the last 3. This is rare, but a simple choice of suit can result in an extra 50 positive point which may be crucial to your win.


PRIORITY LIST (Check this order to decide what to play on each turn):

1. Downwards for a suit of your team player with only one 2
2. Downwards for a suit of your team player with two or three 2's
3. Upwards for a suit of which you have the Ace
4. Downwards for the suit of the opponent's 2 of which you have a low card (3 or 4)
5. Upwards for any suit
6. Downwards for the opponent's suit who has two or more 2's
7. Downwards for the opponent's suit who has only one 2

HOW TO PLAY

This is where the fun begins. Relax, wear comfortable clothes, play nice background music, get a nice deck of cards, and three other people. You're all welcome.

Remember, this is a partnership game. Two teams of two players each sit with partners facing each other. Game starts with the one who has the kingdom and moves counter-clockwise. No talking not sign-language-signalling to anyone anything at all should be allowed. Communicate only by watching and focusing on each card played.


Shuffle the deck well, make the person on your left cut the deck (replace a portion of the deck from top to bottom), and deal them counter-clockwise starting with the person on your right (and ending with you). Whoever gets the 7 of Hearts rules this kingdom. This person has the choice to play either one of the 2 games, or a reshuffle of the deck on their own (only this very first time) and continue normally till the end. While any player is choosing the kingdom, their partner must not pick up the cards until the game is chosen, to avoid cheating via team communication. 

You continue with whichever game this person chooses, note the scores, then this person again shuffles, cuts and deals the same way to play the other round. Once again, count the scores and the kingdom is over. The person on their right has the next kingdom and it's their turn to shuffle, cut, deal, and play their kingdom the same way.


TRIX:

The objective here is to finish the cards in your hand fastest, while playing one card down at each turn. The person who has the kingdom starts the game with a J, and if they don't have one they 'Pass', and the next person (on the right) has to play. You're trying to arrange all 4 suits in order, starting with the Jack. 

If a J is down, the next person has the option to play an immediate next/previous card, another Jack, or to Pass. You cannot Pass if there is any card in your hand that can be played. If you do, we usually wrap up the round and give your team minimum points and play the next round, so make sure you focus.

For example, if there is a J-10-9 down, you can play a Q or an 8, and continue like that till all the suits have been arranged fully.

If you have three 2's and the 3 of the last (other) suit, you can choose to reshuffle and repeat the round of Trix. You could do it with four 2's too, but you must have a 3.


When the person chooses to play Trix, or the round after a Complex is chosen, if you have any 2's you ask your opponents if they have any 2's as well. If both teams have 2's, you all put the four 2's face down in front of you, though it is still a part of your hand that you have to play normally. After the first player (kingdom owner) has completed two turns, you all flip the 2's in order to selectively play suits to help your team to finish before the opponents (as you'll block/not play their suit or the 2's that they have).

The 2 is most likely the last card of that suit (unless you're blocked from the top and you cannot play the Ace or King). It usually determines who will finish later so you must try to play your own suits before the opponents. If all the 2's are amongst one team, you don't need display it (as only your teammate will automatically know which 2's you have and try to help you).

The round ends when all the 4 suits are completely arranged down and the points are given in finishing order.


COMPLEX:

The objective here is to collect minimum negative points as a team. This is a trick-taking game, i.e. when a person plays down a card, the others must follow the same suit, and only if they don't have this suit they can play anything else. When the 4 cards are played, the one who played the highest card of the suit that was played first, collects that hand and plays the next card. This is done 13 times and then the points are counted for the team. Some cards have extra points, so try to avoid taking them.


When the person chooses to play Complex, or the round after a Trix is chosen, you get a chance to "double" cards before starting. The only five cards that are allowed to be doubled are the 4 Queens, and the King of Hearts. 

Everyone who has a card to double must put their doubled card(s) face down in front of them, without looking at anyone else's. This is done to avoid situations where a player looks at the doubled card (suit) of another player, and depending on that move, double a card from their own hand. This is deemed unfair therefore once everyone has doubled, you have to flip it so everyone can see, and it's still a part of your hand (if someone else opens this suit you cannot play anything else unless this one is played too). Whoever takes it will get double the negative value of the card and the opponents will get positive of the normal value in their round score.


For example, if you double the King (only of Hearts allowed) and Queen of Clubs and give both to the opponents team, you get a +75 and +25 = +100 bonus with the negative points that you take in this round. And the opponents don't get any positive, just doubled negative points, i.e. -150 for the King and -50 for the Queen.

GAME OVERVIEW

Trix itself is a very wide game, being able to be played in various different ways depending on how you want to. You can read up about it in any search result that comes up when you hit Trix Complex on Google. I'm only going to discuss about the Trix - Complex - Partner version, easily the most widely played and best. The other boring versions are for people who chose not think, count, and use their mind a little bit more to make it more interesting. And that is actually not a very bold statement to be making here, it really is that amazing!

"The best of card games are played by 4 players." - Me

I say 4 players because there are 4 suits, and here each player gets 13 shuffled cards so that uses the entire deck and gives you the most out of it. For those who are really new to this, let me brief you up. We use a standard 52 card deck (without extra Joker cards) which comprises of four suits, namely Spades, Hearts, Clubs, and Diamonds (as seen on your background). Each suit has 13 cards: A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2 (descending order).

The objective is to have total positive points at the end of the game (4th kingdom). Trix is played in kingdoms, each player gets one kingdom comprising of 2 rounds in it, namely Trix (yes, the in-game round is also called Trix which gives you positive points), and Complex (negative points). 

In the first round of the kingdom, the player gets to look at only their own hand and choose the game they want to play (Trix or Complex), and next they play the other and complete their kingdom. Repeat four times, or three, if the score of one team is too low to come back from in one kingdom.

POINTS - Each round contains an exact total of 500 points. Positive in Trix, and negative in Complex.

In Trix, the cards do not have individual points. It's just a matter of who finishes their hands first while following the rules of the game.
1st - 200 points
2nd - 150 points
3rd - 100 points
4th - 50 points

Breakdown: 200+150+100+50 = 500 no matter who gets which rank. You share 500 points between the 2 teams.

In Complex, the cards themselves have points as you collect them. They are as follows:
King of Hearts: -75 points
All the Queens: -25 points each
Every Diamond card: -10 points each
Every hand that you collect: -15 points each
In the end you count the total of all the hands collected by the team.

Breakdown: 
13 Collections x 15 points = 195
13 Diamonds x 10 points = 130
4 Queens x 25 points = 100
1 King of Hearts x 75 points = 75
195+130+100+75 = 500 Points in total


While counting, always count all the cards one team has taken (including the doubled values) and then only give positive points if the opponents have taken doubled cards in that round. 25 for each Q and 75 for the King of Hearts. It's important to not mess it up with the positive and negative points. Do not give yourself +50 for giving them a doubled Queen, or +150 for giving them the doubled King.

For example, if you took a doubled Q and a normal Q but gave them the other 2 Queens and a doubled King, you count for yourself the negatives first. Count -25 for the normal one and -50 for the doubled Q you took. Finally add a +75 only to your score because they took the doubled King. No other additions as counting both teams scores might get confusing.


I call it mathematically brilliant because of how it was designed to be always pivoted around 500 points. In each round you either get 500 positive or 500 negative points, making the total score sum of (both teams) each kingdom as Zero. Try to count the score of one team in a round, and the other team will automatically be the remaining amount from 500. Positive or negative, depending on Trix or Complex respectively.

INTRODUCTION

Hi! I'm a fanatic of mind games or anything that involves competitive skills in counting or logical deduction and it's a huge part of my being. I've been playing numerous card games, stepping up the type and complexity level of the game in the last few years.

Having started from the ordinary Bluff and Classic Hearts, I've moved on to more advanced games like Spades and Poker to Trix, Estimation, Hand, etc. None of these games ever caught my interest like the Complex/Partner version of Trix. I can safely say I had been addicted to it so much that people gave me a permanent nickname "Trix".

I have searched online for a long amount of time to learn more about this game, and playing tips and tricks, and also to play it on sites, apps, etc. and till date I've only found one proper place you can get the real experience to learn and enjoy this brilliant invention. 

You can visit Jawaker (click link) to play it and other interesting card games to satisfy you for a lifetime. Nowhere on the internet have I found a website or a video that explains this game in full, and teaches how to play it like an expert so it's about time I step up and share this with you.

I call it brilliant because in no other game will you see the mathematics align and make sense so perfectly, it makes one feel magical (if you actually count all the little details to compare the numbers). There was a phase where I played it daily for more than half of the time I was awake. There's big reason this game is the most popular smart card game of tricks.

I've mastered this game (arrogance aside) including its counting methods and all the little tips to follow during play, and adding your power of short-term memory to it, you can also play it like a professional and share my love for it. This is a written guide with complete introduction, tutorial and tips to playing one of the most popular card games in the world - Trix Complex (Partner).