Pitch is a popular trick-taking card game like Hearts and Whist. The classical name of the pitch is Auction Pitch. Auction pitch is more than a 4-century old card game. It is evolved very much during this period. Here is the guide on How to Play Pitch.
Important Information about Pitch Card Game
What are the requirements to play Pitch Card Game?
The 52 cards standard deck and four players required to play this game.
The ranking of cards in Pitch:
The ranks of The Cards from Highest to Lowest: Ace (A), King (K), Queen (Q), Jack (J), 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
The Object in Pitch
The main object in Pitch is to score points by winning tricks. The first player to reach the decided score wins the game. The score limit is decided by the players before starting the game. Players may set the limit of 5 or 10 points.
Determining the Dealer and Dealing the Cards
The first dealer is selected randomly. A player may accept the dealership voluntarily for the first round. After that, the dealership transfers to the player on the left of the dealer. The dealer deals six cards to each player in the groups of 2 or 3 cards, face-down.
The Bidding
The player on the left of the dealer starts bidding. The players bid the number of tricks that they expect to win at the end of the game. Each player has two options, either bid or pass. A player has to make a bid of two or more.
The next player has to bid more than the previous bid. If a player doesn’t want to bid then he can pass. The highest bidder is called the “Pitcher” and the bid becomes the contract.
The chance to bid moves in a clockwise manner. The pitcher selects the Trump suit. If a situation arises where no player makes a bid then the dealer has to accept the bid for two.
How to Play Pitch
The pitcher leads the first trick by playing a trump suited card. Then, the player on the left of the pitcher takes his turn by playing a card. The players take their turns in a clockwise manner. All players have to follow the suit of the led card. However, if a player cannot follow the suit, he can play a card of another suit.
During the game, if Trump suited cards are played, then the player who played the highest-ranking Trump suited card, wins the trick. If no Trump suited cards are played during the game, then the player who played the highest-ranking card of the led suit wins the trick.
Score
At the end of the game(After completing six tricks), the players having the highest Trump card, the Lowest Trump card, and Jack (J) of Trump wins one point. Also, the player having the highest card value at the end of the game wins one point.
Card Values
| Card | Value |
|---|---|
| 10 | 10 Points |
| Ace (A) | 4 Points |
| King (K) | 3 Points |
| Queen (Q) | 2 Points |
| Jack (J) | 1 Point |
A player scores the same number of points as the number of tricks won by that player. Example: If a player had won 2 tricks out of six, he scores 2 points. This rule is applicable to all the players except the pitcher.
If the pitcher wins equal or more tricks than the tricks mentioned in the contract, then he also scores the same number of points as the number of tricks won by him. But if he does not win the number of tricks mentioned in the contract, he loses the same number of points as the number of tricks mentioned in the contract.
Example: If the contract was for 3 tricks and the pitcher has 4 points at the beginning of the round, and during the round, he couldn’t win 3 tricks, then the pitcher loses 3 points and ends up having 1 point at the end of the round.
A player may have a negative score. The players who do not bid at the starting of the round lose 1 point. The player who reaches the decided score first wins the game. If two or more players reach the limit in the same round, then the highest bidder among that players wins the game.
This is how to play pitch. Play with friends and family.
Thank you.