What a great year 2025 has been for Cards 500.  This round up of the highlights it has provided what U3A is all about: fun, socialization and learning in a friendly environment.
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In 2025 we started our third year of cards with me as convenor, welcoming a number of new comers who all said “I loved playing 500 but I have not played in many years”. They were sat at a table with our regulars and within weeks they were up to speed, playing as if they had never stopped.

We also saw our twice monthly sessions increase in numbers regularly attending. This to me represented how stimulating the game is that people made it a habit of enjoyment.

We also saw people becoming more adventurous with their bidding, including calling “Misere hands” (bidder must lose all tricks – for 250 score) and others regularly achieving “Slams", which is where a team takes all ten tricks for a score of 250.

I would also thank our members for setting up the room and then rearranging the tables after the finish.

Age is no barrier as we have at least three players over 90 and boy, they are very good players, with skills developed in earlier days before the advent of television, when cards was a popular pastime played by families.

Cards 500 will reconvene in February 2026, but with increasing numbers and limited venue space, people will need to register early to avoid going onto a waiting list.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Keep Shuffling!

​Doug Smith
Convenor

​Cards ‘500’ is held in Room 1 on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays from 2 to 4pm.  Please contact Convenor Doug Smith on 0417 527 171 if you are going to be absent.  This assists with the setting up of tables.  

It is great to see our players enjoying themselves. and an increase in numbers as we
settle into 2025.

Cards 500 is a very social game which provides stimulation and friendship through a
competitive team environment.

We normally set up four tables of 2 pairs. Room 1 is too noisy for more than 4 tables,
but of late we have been fortunate to be able to run our overflow into Room 2.

In March we placed a 5 th player on 2 tables to match up numbers. This alters the game
dynamic and requires the player who has won the final bid to call for a partner. That
partner is only revealed once the called card is played.

I ask you all too please advise me if you will be an apology to any of our two monthly
games. As you can see, knowing the numbers affects how the room/s are set up.

Keep shuffling!


Doug Smith

We welcomed back for our first game in February our players from the 2024 cohort and the new players joining us for 2025. We have increased our members number now to 32 players.

We have been fortunate to have been allocated Room 2 to accommodate any overflow. My thanks to Len Jeffers for that.

The game is traditionally played with 4 players, but can accommodate combinations up to 6 players.

Room 1 gets a little squashy and noisy with five tables of 4 players. I am conscious of the Bridge players playing in the auditorium next door, so ask all our players to please keep the door closed and contain our excitement within Room 1.

Talking of excitement there was plenty of it at both our February meetings. Cards is all about fun and edging out that competitive spirit that resides in all of us. We have welcomed 11 new members this year including several husband/wife couples. I thank those members who have helped new members to understand the rules and how to play the game.

I ask you all to please advise me if you will be an apology to any of our two monthly games. As you can see, knowing the numbers affects how the room/s are set up.

Keep shuffling!

​Doug Smith
Convenor

There is a lot of laughter, gasps and excitement emanating from Room 1 on Wednesday afternoons twice a month.

It’s the card players getting into the mood of the game of Five Hundred. We have welcomed a number of new members in the last few months who have discovered they haven't forgotten how to play Five Hundred, even though it was a long time ago when they last played. New friendships also develop from playing with a partner in a competitive environment.

Our last game for 2024 will be on Wednesday 4th December. Cards will reconvene in February 2025.

My thanks to those many players who apologise when they are unable to come on the dates when we play. It does make the setup of tables and card packs easier.

“Mix it up and see what happens.”

This has been our theme for September/Octoberrelated to players sitting at random tables playing with different people and perhaps different partners.

This approach seems to have achieved the objective with players partnering different
people lifting the experience level and making the sessions more interesting as well as
providing real time mentoring and social interaction.

Team sizes. We often have uneven numbers attending our twice monthly sessions
meaning the ideal team of two pairs each table is not able to be met. Five Hundred
rules do have the flexibility to allow for various player numbers in a game. Recently we
have had 14 players attending, who were split into two teams of 4 and two teams of 3.
A three player team plays with three hands dealt or the option of a fourth dead hand.
Both were played recently where it was noted that with only three hands dealt, players
who counted cards had an advantage, over the dead hand option. The lesson “play
three handed games without a dead hand at your peril, or learn how to count cards
which will improve your chances of winning”

Keep shuffling!


Doug Smith

"Mix it up and see what happens..."

This suggestion had been made by one of our group that we mix up where people sit, so players are playing with different people and perhaps different partners at each session.

The advantage of this is that by players playing with and partnering different people it lifts the experience level and makes the sessions more interesting as well as providing real time mentoring.

This suggestion has been applied to our September sessions and seems to have been embraced by most players.

Our player numbers continue to grow with a new member joining us in September.

As I have said a number of times that cards is so much fun and this is self-evident by the laughter emanating from Room 1 on Wednesday afternoons.

Bring along your friends who might be interested as there is no charge for new members for the remainder of 2024.Give me a ring/text beforehand though so we can accommodate the group numbers on the day.

Keep shuffling!

​Doug Smith
M: 0417527171
Convenor

Our twice monthly five hundred cards sessions are ticking along nicely, with some of our less experienced players learning to make bold and winning bids.

Our player numbers keep growing with a new member joining in August.

A suggestion has been made by one of our group that we mix up where people sit, so players are playing with different people at each session.

The advantage of this is that by players playing with and partnering different people it lifts the experience level and makes the sessions more interesting as well as providing real time mentoring.

The downside is that part of the reason why people come to play cards is the companionship they enjoy with their regular partners and team. Socialization is such an important factor to the success of the Benalla U3a programs.

The members views will be sought before we trial this change.

Keep shuffling
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Doug Smith

Over the month of July both these games were trialled amongst our group. The feedback generally was “thanks but no thanks”
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The consensus was people wanted to keep exclusively playing Five Hundred at our fortnightly sessions. Introducing something new into an established routine is always difficult but the masses have spoken. Five Hundred (only) stays on the menu.

Keep shuffling


​Doug Smith

Our Cards '500' group continues to attract a healthy number of players even in this cold and unwelcoming Benalla winter.

I am proposing to introduce some card game options to our regular five hundred sessions. Some of you will have heard of the card game Five Crowns.  It is a five suited card game, played individually with up to 7 players. It is a little more strategic than five hundred, but very enjoyable.

In addition, Hans Bruitzman, a regular in our group, has a traditional Dutch card game called Klaverjas which I have agreed, at his request, to trial with our group. Klaverjas or Klaverjassen is a Dutch four-player trick-taking card game that uses a Piquet pack of 32 playing cards. It is closely related to the game of Klaberjass and is one of the most popular card games in the Netherlands, traditionally played in cafes and social clubs. We will trial the above new games at our July meeting. If you don’t want to do this there will still be five hundred available on both Wednesdays.

Keep shuffling

Doug Smith

The Five Hundred card playing cohort seem to sit in the same place each time enjoying the company of their partners and random opposition.

Room 2 is being used to accommodate the overflow from Room 1 if we have 5 tables or more, although this only happened once in April.

My thanks to Pat Menzies for running the March sessions while I was away on holidays.

For those with a mobile phone, that’s just about everybody now, there is a handy and free app (see below) where you can play a variety of card games including Five Hundred, Bridge and Euchre. My thanks to Bev Lee for letting me know about this app.

https://www.neuralplay.com/fivehundred.html 

If you can’t make a session please let me know to avoid the unnecessary set up of tables.

Keep shuffling.


Doug Smith

Cards 500 has again grown significantly compared to our 2023 numbers with 31 registrations for 2024.

It was a very popular family game with some of our older players recalling it was their “go to entertainment” in the era before television.

It seems that 500 brings out the competitive nature in us all but in a friendly social environment.

We had 4 tables set up which makes Room 1 quite “squeezy”. Cards 500 is best played with 4 players but to accommodate the larger numbers some tables have had 5 players. From March we will now have the opportunity to overflow into Room 2 if needed while keeping 4 players per table.

Please let me know by email if you cannot make it to either of our twice monthly sessions.  This will avoid any unnecessary set up of extra tables.

Keep shuffling!
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Doug Smith
Convenor

Good afternoon everyone,

Thank you for registering for Cards 500. We have 24 to date.

Our first session for 2024 will be this Wednesday 7th February commencing at 2.00pm to 4.00pm.

Please do not arrive late as the cards have to be set based on the numbers attending so games can commence at the designated start time of 2.00pm.

If you are an apology please respond to this email.

Doug Smith
Convenor

The Cards 500 group 'wind down' after an active 2023!

Cards 500 has continued to be well supported throughout 2023 with good attendances at both of our monthly sessions.

My thanks goes to Gordon Bluck for organizing the November sessions while I recovered from spinal fusion back surgery.

Our last cards 500 meeting for 2023 will be on Wednesday 6th December. We will have an afternoon cuppa after playing, to celebrate the coming Christmas festive season and the 2023 end to a very enjoyable year playing cards.

Merry Christmas to you and your families and I look forward to welcoming you back and new members to our group for the 2024 year.

Keep shuffling!

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Doug Smith

Our cards sessions continue to be popular and are well attended.

Our numbers over the October sessions have generally seen 10 players of varying skill levels competing.

The members self-select how they play, including in teams of five players calling a partner, three teams of two people or two teams of two people. The great thing about 500 is the flexibility it has to accommodate different player numbers.

There is some contention about the rules for playing misere, with a number of official sources giving varied advice, however our player groups choose their own rules which seems to work.

Keep shuffling.
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Doug Smith
Convenor

Our Cards 500 sessions continue to attract U3A members due in part to the flexibility that two sessions per month allow.

We are proud to say that some of our regulars are aged 93 and 92. What an achievement to be able to play at that age.

Our sessions are sometimes noisy but with much laughter. A number of the games we play, particularly 5-handed, include calling a partner when finalizing the bid. This has brought into question what rules apply viz. do you have to call a partner and does the bidding have to start at 6 or can you bid at any level? I will clarify the answers to these queries and issue a clarification note.

I have purchased new packs of playing cards that have been well received and are a joy to shuffle and play with. The old cards do seem to get sticky quickly.

​Keep shuffling.


Doug Smith

​The change to running two sessions per month, commencing in July, is proving popular with good attendances of around 10 players.  We have had two new players join us recently which is great to see.

The cards are getting a bit sticky so I will arrange the purchase of some new packs.

​Players have been querying the rules in recent games particularly those applying to when misere and open misere are played. I have done some research on this and will add some updates to the printed rules we currently use.

To all our players please try and get to the sessions so play can commence promptly at 2.00pm. Recently people arriving late has meant the games had to be stopped and teams reconfigured to include the late arrivals. If you are going to be an apology and you regularly play, a brief text/email would be appreciated.

Keep shuffling.

Doug Smith

Cards 500 continues to attract new and experienced players to the baby boomers game of choice, before TV and those thingy jigs called computers came onto the scene. Our game very much suits many of us and brings back fond memories of family and friends getting together for some cheap entertainment around the kitchen table.

We again had a good roll up of 8 players (2 tables) in June where there were many laughs as great skills were displayed and cries of “who dealt this rubbish” echoed around the room and I hope did not disturb our fellow bridge players in the big room outside.

While our players vary in experience the score of 500 signalling the winning of a game seemed to be evenly achieved amongst the group of 4 teams.

In July we will be moving to two games per month played on the first and third Wednesdays of the month. We will not be continuing with a game on the fifth Wednesday of the month.

Keep shuffling.

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Doug Smith

The response to U3A offering a second monthly session for Cards 500 has been strongly supported and will now be adopted..
 
Starting July 2023, we will have Cards 500 on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays each month. The sessions on the 5th Wednesday will be dropped.
 
 
Doug Smith
Convenor 

May has been a good month for our Cards 500 group. The reason being we were fortunate to have five Wednesdays in the month of May, which meant we played twice in the month on the third and fifth Wednesdays.

Our numbers vary from month to month usually seeing around 6 to 13 people coming along and enjoying the game. We had a total of 16 people attend the May sessions.

What is so good about the game of 500 is that it is flexible and can accommodate any number of players. While 2 pairs might seem an optimal team we have recently been playing with 5 people in a team. This concept introduced by Shirley K makes the game more exciting. The person who makes the final bid and picks up kitty calls on a particular card that will assist them to take a trick. The person holding that card plays it during the course of the gang thus identifying themselves as the partner. If the nominated tricks are won/loss the partner gets half the points.

Keep shuffling.
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Doug Smith
Convenor
Cards 500

If you want to laugh, have a good time and play cards then come along to Cards 500.

We had 8 players at our April meeting, a little down on our March meeting of 13 players; probably affected by the school holidays and visiting grandchildren.

A new player joined our session and like so many of our group renewed her interest in cards, which she had played in her younger years.

Cards is so interactive and provides a social medium for many who are perhaps not able to be as involved in other activities as they would like.

If you have played previously or never played, we invite you to come along and join in as we dispense the fun and enjoyment as we shuffle the plastic.

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Doug Smith

Cards 500 has rebounded with new energy in 2023. My thanks goes to Heather Wallace who started off our Cards 500 segment with a small but enthusiastic group on Saturday afternoons.

The shift of our sessions from Saturdays to Wednesdays has proved popular and increased numbers attending. Sessions run on the third and fifth Wednesdays of the month with us enjoying two sessions in March.

Our numbers for 15/3 session saw 13 people attending and 10 for the 29/3 session. 

​The card game of 500 is an enjoyable game that is flexible enough to accommodate any number of multiple players and not necessarily limited to pairs. If people want to join us just come along before the 2.00pm start time and we will assemble teams based on the numbers present.

Our group is often noisy and bubbles with laughter that shows very clearly the fun we have and the therapeutic benefits cards offers to players of all skill levels. We welcome new players and guarantee a fun time.

I would like to thank Shirley Kelly for her assistance with running our sessions.

​Doug Smith
Convenor

It was encouraging to see newcomers at ‘Cards 500’ following the change of day from Saturday afternoon to Wednesday afternoon this year.  Some exciting games were played, with one pair reportedly ‘thumping’ their opponents three times in hard fought games (all in good fun!).  Marjorie came along from Cooinda on her scooter as an observer to see if she would like to play, with Jim explaining the rules to her during the games. 

We will have two sessions in March – Wednesday 15th and Wednesday 29th March from 2 to 4 pm in the U3A Meeting Room.
 
Shirley Kelly