Gusarik: preferans for two players
Gusarik is a version of preferans for two players. The third hand becomes a dummy: it always passes in the trade, and when a contract is played, the defender plays the dummy's cards.
The dummy
The deal stays the same: 10 cards to each of three hands and 2 cards to the talon. The dummy takes no part in the trade and makes no decisions of its own.
When a contract is played, the defender plays both defending hands at once. In gusarik the defence is always played open: the cards of the defender and the dummy are face up, while the declarer's cards stay closed.
Trade and whist
The trade runs between the two live players, and the dummy passes automatically. Stalingrad and half-whist are not used in gusarik.
The defender sees the whole defence and makes every decision for both hands, exactly as in an open whist in a normal game for three or four.
All-pass
When both players pass, an all-pass begins, but the dummy does not take part. Tricks are played between the two players only.
The talon stays closed until the end of the all-pass too. The dummy's cards are not played and are put away face down. So you have to read the layout from your own hand and your opponent's leads, which adds a good deal of luck to all-pass. Some players agree not to play all-pass at all, and then the cards are simply dealt again.
Trick values, progression and the exit from all-pass depend on the chosen convention. You can play gusarik by Sochi, Leningrad or Rostov rules, or agree on any other rules and conventions.
How is gusarik different from a normal game?
| Rule | Gusarik |
|---|---|
| Third hand | dummy |
| Trade | the dummy always passes |
| Whist | always open; the defender plays both hands |
| Stalingrad and half-whist | not used |
| All-pass | played between two players or not played at all |
| Talon in all-pass | stays closed |
| Scoring and contract values | by the chosen convention |
House variations
As in normal preferans, gusarik rules vary from one group of players to another. You can agree in advance what to do when both players pass, how to score all-pass and which extra rules to use.
These are house choices, not required gusarik rules. So it is best to settle the points people tend to argue about before the game starts.
Where the name comes from
Nobody knows for sure. A popular story says that when hussars, the keenest preferans players of their day, could not find a third player, they made do with a game for two, and the habit then spread to everyone else. ("Gusar" is Russian for hussar.) No documents back this story up.
Either way, the name stuck to the two-player format of preferans where a dummy takes the third hand.