Court Piece Scoring Explained
Court Piece scoring at the table goes by the hand, and each score is named after its number: 0 for a lost hand, 7 for seven tricks to six, 13 for a Court (all thirteen on your own call), 52 for a Bavan (all thirteen when the other side called) and 82 for bayasi, the open-hand challenge. Bavan means fifty-two and bayasi means eighty-two, so once you know the words you know the table.
One hand, three endings
Your side calls hearts. Take seven tricks to their six and you score 7. Take all thirteen and it is a Court: 13. Now turn it round. The other side called hearts and you took all thirteen against them. That is a Bavan, worth 52, four times a Court, because you swept a hand in which you had no say over the trump.
Court, kot and coat
Court, kot and coat are regional pronunciations of one word, and you will hear all three at the same table. Tables do not all agree on what earns it, though. Published summaries often call the first seven tricks a kot; in urban Sindh, and in Karachi in particular, a Court means all thirteen tricks on your own call and nothing less.
Bavan (52), the Goon Court
Sweeping all thirteen tricks when the opposing side called the trump is the Goon Court, also called a Bavan: fifty-two. It scores far above an ordinary Court for a simple reason. You did it without the advantage of choosing the trump suit, and it is the result every table remembers.
Goon Court and Bavan: how defenders sweep all 13
Bayasi (82), the open-hand challenge
The rarest call in the game. The challenger shows their cards to the opponents and declares that they will still sweep all thirteen tricks. Winning it open-handed, with everyone able to see exactly what you hold and play against it, scores 82: a bayasi court. Lose it and you take nothing.
Other ways tables keep score
Not every table writes down 7, 13 and 52. Pagat.com describes sessions counted in courts: a side scores a court for winning seven deals in a row, or for taking the first seven tricks of one deal, and whoever has the most courts when the agreed time is up wins. It also gives a points version, where the calling side gets 1 for seven or more tricks and 3 for a court, the other side 2 and 4, playing to an agreed total such as 10.
How our app keeps score
Our tables use match points, closer to that points version than to the ladder. The side that called the trump gets 1 point for winning the hand and 3 for a Court (all thirteen). The defending side gets 3 for beating the call and 4 for a Goon Court, their own sweep. In Single Sir the first seven tricks in a row also count as a Court. Hidden Rung has no caller, so a win is 1 point to either side. A match runs to 3, 5, 7 or 10 points, 5 by default. The bayasi challenge is not in the app.
Why the defender is paid more
Calling the trump is an advantage, so the scoring pays you less for using it. Winning a hand you called scores less than taking one you defended, which is why a strong defending hand is worth playing hard rather than conceding, and why the biggest score in normal play, the Bavan, belongs to the side that never picked the suit.
Court Piece scoring terms
What is a Court (Kot) in Court Piece?
A Court, also spelt Kot or Coat, is winning all thirteen tricks in a hand where your side called the trump. It scores 13. Winning seven tricks to six is not a Court; that is an ordinary win worth 7.
What is a Goon Court or Bavan?
They are the same thing, also written bavney or baunie, and not separate results: winning all thirteen tricks when the other side called the trump. It scores 52, and bavan is simply the word for fifty-two. It outscores a Court because you swept the hand without the advantage of choosing the trump suit.
What is a bayasi or 82 court?
The open-hand challenge. The challenger shows their cards to the opponents and declares they will sweep all thirteen tricks anyway. Winning it scores 82, and bayasi means eighty-two. It is the rarest result in the game.
How is Court Piece scored overall?
By the hand: 0 if you lose it, 7 for a seven-to-six win, 13 for a Court (you called the trump and took all thirteen), 52 for a Bavan or Goon Court (you took all thirteen without calling the trump), and 82 for a won bayasi open-hand challenge. A match runs to an agreed total, set before you start.
Does the app score 7, 13 and 52?
No. The app keeps match points: 1 for the calling side winning a hand, 3 for its Court, 3 for the defenders beating the call and 4 for their Goon Court. Hidden Rung scores 1 for either side. Matches run to 3, 5, 7 or 10 points.
Why does a Bavan score more than a Court?
Because the trump caller has the advantage. Sweeping all thirteen tricks is far harder when the opposing side chose the trump suit, so it pays 52 rather than 13.
Also known as Court Piece · Coat Pees · Hukum · حکم · Rung · رنگ · Troeff Call · Trump