Sixty-Six Strategy: 6 Tips

Sixty-Six is about counting to 66 before your opponent does, and the marriages and the close are how you get there in big steps. New here? Read the rules first.

1. Win one trick early

Marriages and the exchange need a trick first. Take a cheap one as soon as you can, even with a trump, to unlock them.

2. Keep marriages together

A king and queen of one suit are worth 20 or 40 as a pair but almost nothing apart. Don't break one up to win a small trick.

3. Save trumps in the open phase

While the stock is open you needn't follow suit, so dump low cards and keep trumps and aces. Spend a trump only on a trick worth ten or more.

4. Count

Every trick, add your points and the opponent's. Know how far each of you is from 66; it decides whether to close, to grab the ten, or to let a trick go.

5. Close with the points in hand

Closing turns the hand into open-card whist where you know the rules force the opponent's replies. Do it when your sure winners reach 66; a failed close costs 2 or 3.

6. Claim immediately

The hand ends the moment you claim 66; waiting for a bigger margin only risks the opponent getting there first or your running out of claims.

Last updated 2026-10-21