*No Trump Bids will double your point (win or lose the bid)
*Dealer is picked at Random
The Bidding
The turn to bid goes around the table only once starting with the player to the left of the dealer. Each bid consists of a number from 4 to 7, and a suffix "uptown", "downtown", or "no trump".
The number indicates the number of books above 6 that the bidder's team will contract to win - for example a bid of 5 is a promise to win at least 11 books (6 + 5). As there are 13 books in all, 7 is the highest possible bid.
Uptown (or "high") means you intend to name a trump suit, and that high cards will win.
Downtown (or "low") means that you intend to name a trump suit, and that low cards will win.
No Trump means that there will be no trump, and that if you win the bidding you will then determine whether high or low cards will have preference.