Pitch Card Game Rules: How to Play, Bid and Score
Nov 11, 2026 · The Editors
Pitch card game rules for 4 players (and 2, 3 or 6): dealing six cards, bidding, pitching trump, high, low, jack and game, scoring to 11, and the 10-point variant.
Pitch is a trick-taking game in which players bid for the right to choose trumps, then try to win four points: high, low, jack and game. The bidder leads first, and the card they lead — the "pitch" — sets the trump suit. It is played with one standard deck by two to seven people, and is best with four in two partnerships. The version below is auction pitch, also called setback; many regions have their own variations.
What you need
- Players: 2 to 7. Four players in partnerships (partners opposite) is the most common game.
- Cards: one standard 52-card deck, no jokers. Aces are high, twos low.
- Score sheet or pegs.
The deal
Deal six cards to each player, three at a time. There is no turn-up card; nobody knows the trump suit until the first lead.
Bidding
Starting left of the dealer, each player has one chance to bid or pass. Bids are 2, 3 or 4, each bid higher than the last. A bid is the number of points the bidder promises to win. (Some groups allow a bid of "shoot the moon" or "smudge" — winning all four points and every trick — as a top bid.) If everyone passes, the dealer must usually bid 2.
Play: pitching trump
The highest bidder leads any card, and that card's suit becomes trumps. Then:
- If a trump is led, you must follow with a trump if you can.
- If another suit is led, you may follow suit or play a trump, even when you could follow suit. If you can do neither, play any card.
- The highest trump wins the trick; otherwise, the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads next.
All six tricks are played.
The four points
| Point | Who wins it |
|---|---|
| High | The player who played the highest trump in play |
| Low | The player who was dealt the lowest trump in play (in many groups, the player who wins it in a trick) |
| Jack | Whoever wins the trick containing the jack of trumps (if it was dealt) |
| Game | The side with the most game points in the tricks it won |
Game points: each 10 = 10, ace = 4, king = 3, queen = 2, jack = 1. If game points tie, nobody scores game.
Scoring pitch
- If the bidder's side makes at least its bid, it scores every point it won.
- If not, it is set back: the amount of the bid is subtracted from its score.
- The other side always scores the points it won.
The first side to 11 points wins (some play to 7, 15 or 21). If both reach it on the same hand, the bidder's points count first.
10-point pitch and other variants
Many groups play extended pitch, adding more scoring cards — such as the off-jack (the other jack of the same colour, which counts as a trump), the joker, and the three of trumps — so that 9 or 10 points are available each hand, with bids to match. Rules differ a lot by region; agree them, and write them on the score sheet, before you start.
Pitch with 2, 3 or 6 players
The rules hardly change: everyone plays for themselves with 2 or 3, and with 6 you can play three teams of two. With fewer players, more trumps stay in the undealt deck, so bids are riskier.
Tips
- Count trumps before you bid. Ace and jack of a suit is often a safe bid of 2.
- Lead your high trump first to pull out the opponents' trumps and protect your jack.
- Tens win game. Saving a ten to drop on your partner's winning trick is often the play.
Pitch is a close cousin of other bidding games like spades and euchre.
Frequently asked questions
What are the four points in pitch?
High (highest trump), low (lowest trump), jack (the jack of trumps) and game (the most game points in tricks won).
Do you have to follow suit in pitch?
You must follow trump if trump is led and you can. If another suit is led, you may follow suit or play a trump.
What does it mean to be set in pitch?
If the bidding side fails to win as many points as it bid, its score goes down by the amount of the bid.
What do you play pitch to?
Most groups play to 11 points, though 7, 15 and 21 are also common.
