Batak Strategy: How to Bid and Win at Batak
Good Batak starts with an honest trick count: give yourself a trick for each Ace, each King with an Ace or another card beside it, each high trump, and one more for every trump past the fifth. Bid only what you can count, and pick as trumps the suit with the most cards and the highest ones. When someone else wins the auction, work with the other players to make them go down: hold your Aces for their suits and trump their winners.
1. Count your tricks before you bid
Imagine your best suit as trumps and count the cards that will almost surely win:
| Holding | Tricks |
|---|---|
| An Ace outside trumps | 1 |
| A King with the Ace, or with one more card | 1 (with A), about ½ (guarded) |
| Ace, King, Queen of trumps | 1 each |
| Each trump past the fifth | 1 |
| A void (no cards) in a side suit | about 1, if you have trumps to spare |
Going down costs your whole bid, while a cautious bid that you beat still scores every trick you take. When in doubt, bid one less.
2. Choose trumps by length, then strength
Six small trumps usually beat four big ones: length means you keep trumping long after the others run out. If two suits are the same length, pick the one with the higher cards. And remember the other players must trump when they can't follow, so a long trump suit also forces them to waste their own trumps.
3. Use the 'play higher' rule
Because players must play higher when they can, leading a low card in a suit forces the others to spend their high cards. Leading your Ace first, on the other hand, lets everyone keep theirs. Lead low from long suits to pull out the opponents' honours, then cash your winners.
4. Draw trumps early when you're the bidder
Once trumps are broken, lead them to take the other players' trumps away. After that, your Aces and Kings in side suits are safe from being trumped. Count trumps as they fall: there are 13, and you should know when yours are the only ones left.
5. When you're not the bidder, gang up
In auction Batak, every player except the bidder gains when the bidder goes down. Keep your Aces for the bidder's side suits, trump their winners when you can, and avoid leading the suits they're strong in. Each trick you take is also a point for you.
6. Push the auction carefully
Raising someone's bid by one forces them to go higher or let you take it. It's a fine move when your own count is close, and a dangerous one when it isn't: the dealer who is forced to take it at the minimum often goes down. Late in a game, if you're far ahead, simply passing and collecting your own tricks is often enough.
7. Partners Batak: count both hands
In partners Batak your tricks and your partner's count together, so the minimum bid of 7 is a team target. Listen to your partner's bid: if Hops bids high, your Aces are part of his count. Don't win tricks your partner is already winning; throw a low card and keep your high ones for later.
Practise all of this in Batak on GameLake: Teach me suggests a bid, a trump or a card and says why. For the rules, see how to play Batak.
Frequently asked questions
How do you know how much to bid in Batak?
Count Aces, guarded Kings, high trumps and one trick for each trump beyond the fifth, then bid that number or one less.
Which suit should be trumps in Batak?
Your longest suit, and if two are equally long, the one with the higher cards.
How do you make the bidder go down in Batak?
Keep your Aces for the bidder's side suits, trump their winners when you're out of the suit, and don't lead into their strongest suit.
Is it better to lead high or low in Batak?
Often low: the play-higher rule makes the others use their big cards, and your own high cards win later.