A K Q then "highest in red, lowest in black"
The basic game described here is a 4-player game, with 2 opposing pairs of partners seated diagonally opposite each other.
Precedence for trumps:
5 J A
A K Q then "highest in red, lowest in black"
Precedence for non-trumps:
(Note: Some people treat the ace as a card with value 1.)
Deal:
5 cards to each player, and 3 for the "kitty."
Value of a trick:
Each trick is worth 5 points, with the best trump card played in a round getting a bonus of 5 points. Therefore, each round is worth a total of 30 points, normally.
Bid:
Players bid on the number of points they expect to gain from their hand. Bidding proceeds clockwise, starting with the player next to the dealer. The minimum bid is 20, and successive bidders can only raise the bid, except that the dealer can "take" a bid without raising it. The bidder then can raise the bid again, and the dealer again has the option to take the bid again. The successful bidder names the trump suit, then picks up the kitty and retains any useful cards from it. Possible bids are 20, 25, and 30. A bid of 30 (winning all tricks) allows the bidder, if successful, to increase their score by 60, hence this bid is called "30 for 60".
Play:
After the bidding, players may discard any cards from their hands and receive replacements from the dealer. This is done in clockwise order from the dealer. Normally, non-trumps are discarded, in the hope of receiving better cards. Actual play of cards starts with the player to the left (clockwise) of the bidder. A trump can be played any time. (The rules I originally learned required a player to follow suit, if they didn't play a trump, but most people don't seem to follow that rule.) However, if a trump is laid as the first card in a round, (a "whist"), all following players must also play a trump, except that the 5, J, and AH can be withheld ("reneged") from a lower card, but not a higher one. The player who wins a trick plays the first card for the next round.
Scoring:
5 points are scored for each trick, and 5 "bonus" points for the "best trump". A failed bid reduces the score by the amount of the bid, and the players score no value for the tricks they win. (For example, on a bid of 20, if the bidder scores 15, then the bidder's score is reduced by 20, and the opponents score is increased by 30 -15 = 15.)
Other rules:
A bid of 30 scores 60 if successful, but the loss is only 30 points. When 30 is bid, the first card played by the opponent must be a trump (a whist.)
A player must "bid and make it" to win (score 120 or more) if their score is 100 or more.
A variant of the previous, to prevent opponents running too far below 0 ("in the hole"), is that the above rule does not apply when the other players are below 0.