Reneging in 45s
Normally you must play a trump when trump is led. Reneging lets you keep your best trumps for later.
The rule
The three top trumps — the 5, the jack and the ace of hearts — can be reneged: held back instead of played, even when trump is led. But only when the trump that was led is lower than the card you're holding back.
- The 5 of trumps can always be held back, because no trump is higher.
- The jack can be held back unless the 5 was led.
- The ace of hearts can be held back unless the 5 or the jack was led.
Reneging only applies when a trump is led. It has nothing to do with following a plain suit.
What you must play
- If you have any other trump, one that can't be reneged, you must play a trump. It can be that one or one of your top trumps; your choice.
- If your only trumps are ones you're allowed to renege, you can play any card you like.
Examples
Diamonds are trump in every example.
Why renege?
Opponents often lead a middling trump to "pull" your top ones. Reneging lets you hold the 5 until it can take a trick that matters, or until the trick with the most points is in play. It also makes it harder for the other team to count which big trumps are still out.
Reneging vs. "reneging"
In many card games, "reneging" means illegally failing to follow suit. In 45s it's a legal move with the top three trumps. Holding back any other trump when trump is led, or not following suit when you're required to, is still against the rules. Tables handle that misplay in different ways. A common penalty is that the offending team loses the hand as if it had been set.