In Batak, players bid the number of tricks they think they can win, and the highest bidder takes control of the hand. Bidding goes around the table, with each bid higher than the last, until no one wants to go higher. The player with the top bid then names the trump suit for that hand. That top bidder is committed: they must win at least as many tricks as they promised, or they go bust and are penalised. Bidding well means judging your hand's strength honestly, because an over-ambitious bid you cannot make is costly, while a timid bid simply hands control to an opponent.