Kontra (cards)

Kontra or Contra is a term used in certain card games of Central European origin that is called by players to raise the stakes. It is the equivalent of "double" in other games. The term comes from the Latin word, contra, which means "against". In German there is also a verb, kontrieren, which means "to double" or "to announce 'Kontra'".

Use in card games

Tarock

If a player is given the right to bid in Tarock games, an opponent may announce Kontra if he thinks the soloist is unlikely to win. This doubles the value of the game.

If the soloist believes that he can still win the game, he may reply with Rekontra (or Re for short), which doubles the game value again.

In Tarock, a further doubling is allowed by saying Subkontra (or Sub for short) or, occasionally Hirsch ("stag"), a joking reference to the German word, Re(h), which means "doe", and results in the original game value increasing by a factor of 8.

Skat

Announcing Kontra in Skat is very common, but is not part of the official rules. Players often say Supra instead of Subkontra.

In many game rounds the stakes may be doubled again and the game value upped sixteenfold, but this is rather rare in practice. These announcements vary widely, for example, in some circles the announcement Hirsch follows Bock which is used to mean "Supra".

Doppelkopf

In Doppelkopf the side that has the Queen of Clubs announces a "double" with Re, while their opponents say Kontra. This makes it clear which side is bidding.

Schafkopf

In Schafkopf, the regional term, Spritz and the verb, spritzen, are used.

Watten

In Watten, the term Kontra is not used, but a similar practice is very common. It is known as ausschaffen. So the announcements, "you going?" ("geht ihr?") or "three" ("drei") raise the game value from the normal two points to three points. Other increments such as "four" or "five" may be announced alternately (until the number of points need for a win is reached, i.e. in the first game at a theoretical 15). However, the game value is not doubled each time.

Backgammon and chess

The concept of Kontra is found in the sense of doubling in Backgammon: if a player believes during the course of a game, that his opponent can no longer win. he can bid a "double". The opponent can either accept it or resign and take the points gained so far.

The doubling rule in backgammon was invented in a New York club in the 1920s[1] and enriched the game in a very important way. Less well known is that doubling (in exactly the same way as in backgammon) is occasionally used as a "coffee house rule" today in chess when it is played for money. If a play wants to double the stake, he may say Kontra.[2]

Many backgammon players also allow the so-called Beaver, which corresponds to the German Rekontra: if the player who has had a double bid against him is sure of winning he can use this announcement to double the stakes again without giving up his right to use the doubling cube. In many circles the opponent may respond with Raccoon raising the game value eight times, and the player may double a final time by saying Skunk or Otter; then however the dice must be thrown. This simple doubling is not part of the official rules of backgammon and is explicitly banned in tournaments.

Kontraschnapser

In the card game of Bauernschnapsen there are special contracts of Kontraschnapser and Kontrabauer. Unlike other card games, Kontra in this case means that the opponents of the side that chose the trumps, want to announced a contract with this trump suit.

References
  1. c.f. e.g. John R. Crawford, Oswald Jacoby: The Backgammon Book, The Viking Press Inc., New York, 1970
  2. c.f. e.g. Ab und zu wurde eine Zweierblitzpartie mit ATS fünf und "Kontra" gespielt, da konnte man sich an guten Tagen durchaus das Geld für eine ganze Studienwoche verdienen. "Schach und der schnöde Mammon" (in German). Archived from the original on 2014-02-03. Retrieved 2016-02-01.
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