Mendicot

Mendicot or Mendikot game is a four-player partnership game that is popular in India, particularly in the Western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The goal of the players is to win tricks containing tens. The word “mendi” is said to have derived from the Gujarati term (mindum), which means "zero" but refers to the 10 which is the only playing card with a zero. In numerous South Asian card games, the term "kot" refers to a victory in which the opponents earn no points. Other spellings are also used, as with many Indian names converted to English, such as Mendhi Coat, where mendhi is taken as the Marathi word for ‘sheep,' or even Mendhi Goat.

Cards and Players in Mendicot Game

There are four players in every two teams, with partners seated on opposite sides. Dealing and playing go in the opposite direction. Mendicot cards deck is a regular international 52-card deck with the cards A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2.

Making Trumps and the Deal

  • The first dealer in the mendicot game is chosen by drawing cards from a shuffled deck.
     
  • It is customary to have the player who draws the highest or lowest card deal first.
     
  • The players who draw the highest cards form a team against the players who draw the lowest cards, and the cards drawn can also be used to select pairings.
     
  • As a result, the dealer is always a member of the preceding deal's losing team.
     
  • The dealer shuffles the deck and distributes 13 cards to each player, starting with a batch of five cards and then in four-card increments.
     
  • There are numerous strategies for selecting the trump suit hukum.
     
  •  The players should decide which approach will be utilized before the start of a session.

Mendicot Rules for Making Trumps and the Deal

  1. After the dealer has shuffled the cards, the player to the right draws a card at random and shows it to the rest of the players. For the deal, suits such as hearts, spades, diamonds, or clubs is trump. The dealer deals with the cards after returning the randomly selected card to the pack.
     
  2. Band Hukum or Closed Trump: The player to the right of the dealer chooses a card from his or her hand and sets it face down on the table. This card's suit will be the trump suit.
     
  3. Cut Hukum: The game begins with no trump suit chosen. When a player is unable to follow suit for the first time, the suit of the card he or she chooses to play becomes trump for the deal. Cutting is when you play a trump on a plain suit lead.

You can play mendicot online or with a deck of physical cards. Let us see how to play the game below:

How to Play Mendicot Game?

Here are the details of how to play mendicot:

  1. To begin, the player to the dealer's right leads any card to the first trick.
     
  2. If feasible, players must follow suit; if they are unable to do so, they may play any card.
     
  3. The highest card of the suit led wins a trick that has no trumps.
     
  4. If there are any trumps, the highest trump wins.
     
  5. The trick winner collects the cards, adds them to his or her team's pile of tricks won, and then proceeds to the next trick.
     
  6. There are two variants of the rules if the game is played with a closed trump (band hukum), and players must agree on which to use before the game begins.
     
  7. When a player is unable to follow suit throughout the game, the card laid aside is revealed, and its suit becomes trump for the deal.
     
  8. The trump card that was revealed is restored to the owner's hand. Any card may be played to this trick by the player who was unable to follow suit; there is no requirement to play a trump.
     
  9. As per the mendicot rules, a player who is unable to follow suit has the option, but not the obligation, to ask for the trump to be revealed immediately before playing a card to the trick. There are no trumps if no one has requested them before the end of a trick, hence the trick is won by the highest card of the suit that was led.
     
  10. When a player requests for the trump, the card that has been set aside is shown, and its suit counts as trump from the moment it is revealed until the next trick. The trump card that was revealed is restored to the owner's hand.
     
  11. The player who asked for the trump suit must play a trump to the trick for the question that they ask unless he or she possesses no cards of the disclosed suit, in which case any card may be used. Even if they were played to the same trick as the trump, any cards of the trump suit played before the trump was revealed, do not count as trumps.

Scoring in Mendicot/Mendikot

  • The deal is won by the side with three or four tens in its tricks.
     
  • If each side possesses two tens, the team that wins seven or more tricks is the winner.
     
  • Mendikot refers to winning by grabbing all four tens. A 52-card mendikot or whitewash is achieved by taking all thirteen tricks.
     
  • There appears to be no formal scoring system in place. The goal is to win as often as possible, with a win by mendikot considered better than a regular win.
     
  • If the dealer's side loses, the same player deals until they lose a whitewash (all 13 tricks), at which point the deal is passed to the dealer's partner. The turn to deal passes to the right if the dealer's team wins.

You can play an online mendicot game that is available on the internet. Nowadays, all you need is a smartphone and internet connection if you want to play any games. There is no need for buying a card deck.

Poker Vs Mendicot

Mendicot Game: Mendicot game is an Indian game that is played mostly in Gujarat and Maharashtra. It is a fun game that is played with a deck of cards. Strategy is used to win the game.

Poker: Poker is a game of skills that is more popular in the West. You need strategy and skills to win a poker game. Luck is favorable but it is not what you can you win poker games consistently. Poker players must play games regularly and build, learn winning poker tips and tricks, and discover ways to beat all the opponents and win the game.

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FAQs

1.) What is called Mendicot in English?

The English meaning of Mendicot is collecting tens.

2.) How do you play the game Mendicot?

Mendicot is a card game in which players must win tricks that contain ten.