Keeping score of Hand Saudi

The Saudi way of playing Hand — same scoring shape, different play. The app's flow is identical to standard Hand.

Hand Saudi is Hand with one rule changed, and the shape of a round changed with it. Only the first player to open is held to 51 points; everyone after them has to beat the previous opener’s total, so the bar climbs all round and opening late can mean not opening at all.

The scoring, though, is standard Hand to the point — −30 for going out, −60 for a declared Hand, 100 for never laying down — which is why the app’s flow here is identical to the standard game. This guide covers scoring a Hand Saudi match in ScoresDeck; for what the rising threshold means at the table rather than on screen, read the rules of Hand Saudi.

Hand Saudi Partners works the same way, with the opening threshold applying per team rather than per player.

Before you start

Agree the variant before the first deal. Hand and Hand Saudi score identically round by round but play very differently, and they keep separate stat lines — a match opened in the wrong calculator cannot be moved afterwards.

Seats come from your mutual followers: two to four of them, filled with the + control on each empty seat.

The “only last place loses” option is available here too for tables of three or four, and like every house rule it is chosen when the match is created.

Lowest total wins, the same as standard Hand, so the standings read smallest-first.

Step by step

1. 1

   Open the Hand Saudi calculator

   Choose Hand Saudi from the Calculators tab, or Hand Saudi Partners for two teams of two.

   

2. 2

   Set the table

   The Hand House setup applies here too: two to four players, and the "only last place loses" option for tables of three or four.

   

3. 3

   Seat the players

   Fill the seats from your mutual followers with the + control, searching by username if the list is long.

   

4. 4

   Choose how the loss is counted

   The same “Only last place loses” switch appears here once a third player is seated, and it does the same thing: one winner, one loser, and anyone in between recorded as neutral - counted as a game played, excluded from win rate. It is fixed when the match is created.

   

5. 5

   Enter each round

   Round entry matches standard Hand — who went out, what each player was caught with, and the Hand declaration when someone lays everything in one turn.

   

6. 6

   Follow the running score

   Lowest total leads, and the standings update as soon as you confirm a round.

   

7. 7

   Finish the match

   The lowest total at the end takes the match, and the result is written to everyone's stats.

   

8. 8

   Leaving a match early

   Exit offers two very different things. Forfeit records the match - you lose, the opponents win, and it counts. Cancel voids it for everyone with no result recorded. Neither can be undone.

   

What ScoresDeck works out for you

Round entry is exactly standard Hand: who went out, what each remaining player was caught with, and the Hand declaration when someone lays the lot in a single turn. The rising opening threshold is a rule about play, not about scoring, so there is nothing extra to enter for it.

The declaration still scores −60 and doubles every other player’s total for the round, the 100-point no-sets penalty included.

Totals and standings update the moment you confirm a round, sorted lowest-first, so the table can see where it stands without anyone adding up.

Hand Saudi is recorded under its own stat line. Your standard Hand record is untouched by it, and the two are reported separately on your profile.

The lowest total after the ninth round takes the match, and the result is written to everyone’s stats and their followers’ feeds.

Worth knowing

• Hand Saudi keeps its own stat line, separate from standard Hand.
• If your table disagrees about which variant it is playing, settle it before the first round — the two score differently over a full match.

Frequently asked questions

Stop keeping score on paper

ScoresDeck handles every point of Hand Saudi for you — running totals, the live leader, and the winner the moment the match ends.

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