How Pepper scoring works
Pepper is a euchre-family bidding game for four players in two partnerships, played with 24 cards, where every bid is a number of tricks out of six and little pepper or big pepper promises all of them.
Deck and deal
Pepper uses 24 cards, the nines through the aces. Each of the four players gets six cards, so a hand is six tricks. As in euchre, the jack of trump is the highest card and the other jack of the same color is next.
Bidding
Players bid the number of tricks their team will take, 1 through 5 (some tables allow 6), with little pepper and big pepper above that. Both peppers are promises to take all six tricks, and big pepper doubles the stakes. The high bidder names trump; on a pepper the bidder usually trades a card with their partner, or plays without them.
Scoring in Ohio and Iowa
In the rules Bicycle publishes, a team that makes its bid scores a point for every trick it took, and a team that falls short loses 6, whatever it bid. The defenders always score a point a trick. Little pepper wins or loses 6, big pepper 12. The first team to 30 wins.
Scoring in the Midwest
In the Midwest version the bidders score their bid when they make it and lose it when they are set. The defenders decide to play or fold: folding scores nothing, playing scores a point a trick, or minus the bid if they take none. Little pepper is worth 7 and big pepper 14, plus to the winners and minus to the losers when the defenders play. The game goes to 42, and if both teams pass it on the same hand the bidders win.
Dirty clubs and other house rules
With dirty clubs, the defenders may not fold when clubs are trump. Tables also vary the lowest bid (often 3 or 4, with the dealer stuck), the target (30, 31, 42 or 43), and whether a team that falls far enough below zero goes out the back door.
What Score All does with these rules
The bid and the tricks
Pepper is played with 24 cards, nines through aces, so a hand is six tricks. Pick the team that won the bid and the bid: 1 to 5 (or 6), little pepper or big pepper. After the hand, enter the tricks the bidding team took; the defenders have the rest.
Ohio and Iowa scoring
In the game most rule books print, a team that makes its bid scores a point for every trick it took, and a team that goes set loses 6, whatever it bid. The defenders always score a point a trick. Little pepper is worth 6 and big pepper 12, won or lost. First to 30 wins.
Midwest scoring
In the Midwest game the bidders score just their bid and lose their bid when set. The defenders choose to play or fold: folding scores them nothing, playing scores a point a trick, or minus the bid if they take none. Little pepper is 7 and big pepper 14. The game goes to 42, and the bidders go out first.
House rules
Dirty clubs (no folding when clubs are trump), a plain bid of 6 below the peppers, the lowest bid, the pepper value, bidders going out first and a back door that loses the game at a negative score are all settings.
Pepper scoring FAQ
How many points is a pepper bid?
Little pepper is worth 6 in the Ohio and Iowa game and 7 in the Midwest game; big pepper is double, 12 or 14. A failed pepper costs the same amount.
What happens when you get set in Pepper?
In the Ohio and Iowa game the bidding team loses 6, whatever it bid. In the Midwest game it loses the amount of its bid.
Can the defenders fold in Pepper?
In the Midwest game, yes: they score nothing that hand instead of risking minus the bid. With dirty clubs they may not fold when clubs are trump.
What do you play to in Pepper?
Usually 30, or 42 in the Midwest game. Score All lets you set any target.
Is there a free Pepper score keeper?
Yes. Score All keeps Pepper score for free on any phone, with little and big pepper, folds and sets worked out, and a live link for the table.
What is the difference between little pepper and big pepper?
Both are bids to take all six tricks. Big pepper doubles the stakes: 12 instead of 6 in the Ohio and Iowa game, 14 instead of 7 in the Midwest game, where the big pepper bidder also plays without any help from their partner.
Can I play Pepper to 42?
Yes. The Midwest preset plays to 42, and the target is a setting with 30, 32 and 42 one tap away.