How to Play

Golf is a modern North American 'low score wins' card game played as 9 holes (deals). Each player manages a face-down grid (usually 6 cards in a 2x3 grid), replacing high cards with lower ones and arranging matching ranks in the same column to cancel to zero. Kings are 0; Jokers are -2.

Golf is a modern North American card game named for its low-score-wins scoring, mimicking the sport: lower is better, and a match is typically 9 'holes' (deals). The most popular version is 6-Card Golf, played by 2 to 6 players with one or two standard 52-card packs. Each player is dealt 6 cards face-down and arranges them in a 2-row, 3-column grid; at the start of the hole, each player flips any 2 cards face-up and the others remain face-down. On each turn a player either draws from the face-down stock or takes the top of the face-up discard pile, and either REPLACES one grid card with the new card (placing the old one face-up on the discard pile) or DISCARDS the new card and flips over one face-down grid card. A hole ends when one player's entire grid is face-up; every other player takes one final turn and then scores. Card values are Ace=1, 2-9=face value, 10=10, Jack=10, Queen=10, King=0, Joker=-2; the critical scoring twist is that any two matching-rank cards in the same COLUMN cancel out to zero combined. A match is typically 9 holes; the player with the lowest cumulative score wins.

Players

2 to 6 players for 6-Card Golf with one 52-card pack (use 2 packs for 5-6 players if you want to reduce stock exhaustion). Variants range from 2-Card to 9-Card. A typical 9-hole match runs 30 to 60 minutes. Turn order is clockwise; the first dealer is chosen by cut (low card deals), and the deal rotates clockwise after each hole.

Card Deck

• Standard 52-card pack, usually with 2 Jokers added (54 cards); for 5 or 6 players add a second pack.
• Card values for scoring: Ace = 1, 2 through 9 = face value, 10 = 10, Jack = 10, Queen = 10, King = 0, Joker = -2.A♠K♠Q♠J♠
• Column-pair cancellation: any two cards of the same rank occupying the SAME column of your 2x3 grid cancel each other out and score 0 combined (regardless of their individual values).
• Suits are irrelevant for scoring; only rank matters.

Objective

Achieve the lowest total score across the agreed number of holes (typically 9, like a round of golf). At each hole, reduce your 6-card grid to low values by replacing high cards with lower ones and by arranging matching ranks into the same column (where they cancel to zero). Negative scores (from Jokers and Kings) are the holy grail.

Setup and Deal

1. Shuffle the pack(s). The player to the dealer's right cuts.
2. Deal 6 cards face-down to each player, one at a time, clockwise.
3. Each player arranges their 6 cards in a 2-row, 3-column grid face-down in front of them without looking.
4. Place the remaining cards face-down in the centre as the stock. Flip the top card face-up beside it to start the discard pile.
5. Each player simultaneously flips ANY 2 cards in their grid face-up (by convention, the two they flip become common knowledge).
6. The player to the dealer's left takes the first turn.

Turn Flow (6-Card Golf)

1. Draw: take the top card of the stock (face-down) OR the top of the discard pile (face-up). You must draw before any other action.
2. Decide: you must now either REPLACE one grid card with the drawn card, or DISCARD the drawn card and instead FLIP one of your face-down grid cards face-up.
3. Replace: take any card from your grid (face-up or face-down), place it face-up on the discard pile, and put the drawn card face-up in its slot. The grid slot is now face-up for the rest of the hole.
4. Discard and flip: if you took from the stock, you may choose to discard it and instead flip one face-down card in your grid face-up. You may NOT immediately discard a card taken from the discard pile without doing a replace (the anti-stall rule).
5. Turn passes clockwise.

Ending a Hole

1. The hole ends the moment a player flips over or replaces their LAST face-down card, so that all 6 of their cards are face-up.
2. Play continues clockwise; every other player receives ONE FINAL TURN to respond.
3. After the final turns, every player flips the remaining face-down cards in their grid face-up and scores the hole.
4. The player who ended the hole does NOT get a bonus or penalty by default; however, in the 'knock' variant (optional), they score a penalty of +10 if they do not have the lowest score for the hole.

Scoring a Hole

• For each column in your grid (top row card + bottom row card), check for column pairs: if the two cards in a column share a rank, they BOTH count as 0 points for the column.
• Otherwise, sum the face values of both cards in the column: Ace=1, 2-9=face value, 10/J/Q=10, King=0, Joker=-2.A♠K♠
• Total your three column scores for the hole's final score.
• Lowest total is the hole's best; negative totals are possible if your grid has Kings (0), column pairs (0), and Jokers (-2).
• Record each player's hole score on a 9-hole scorecard.

Winning the Match

After the agreed number of holes (9 is standard, though 18 is popular for a longer match), sum each player's hole scores. The lowest cumulative score wins the match. Ties can be broken by a sudden-death extra hole, or settled amicably.

Common Variations

• 4-Card Golf (Polish Polka / Polish Poker): 4 cards in a 2x2 grid. Faster rounds; fewer cancel opportunities. 3-7 players.
• 9-Card Golf: 9 cards in a 3x3 grid. Column pairs apply to the three cards in each column. Hole ends when any player exposes all 9. Longer, richer version for 3-6 players.
• Peek version (4-Card): players secretly peek at any 2 cards in their grid at the start of the hole (instead of flipping them face-up).
• Knock variant: any player may signal the end of the hole by knocking; others get one final turn. The knocker is penalised +10 if they do not have the lowest score.
• No-Jokers variant: omit Jokers; pure 52-card play, slightly higher average scores per hole.
• Double-deck variant: use two 52-card packs (plus Jokers) for 5 or more players, reducing stock exhaustion and allowing column pairs more often.
• Wild Twos: 2s count as -2 instead of +2 (turning them into semi-Jokers); sometimes used in family games.
• Multi-column cancellation: a house rule where matching ranks in the same ROW (not column) also cancel; more forgiving but changes positional strategy.

Tips and Strategy

• Prioritise column pairs. Two Jacks in one column is 0 points; two Jacks in different columns is 20 points.
• Keep Kings. A King on its own is 0; a King paired with a King is still 0 but also blocks the column. Kings are safe keeps.
• Jokers are gold. -2 each, or -4 for a matching Joker pair in a column (some rules zero that out; others keep -4). Always grab a Joker from the discard pile.
• Replace high cards first. A 10 or face card in your grid is 10 points of dead weight unless you can pair it.
• Keep the risk of unknown cards in mind. A face-down card could be anything; on average it is ~6 points, but could be 10 or a Joker. Flip deliberately.
• Track opponents' visible grids. If they already have two Queens showing, the remaining Queens are more likely in the stock or their own face-down cards.
• End the hole when you are confident your lowest-so-far grid is hard to beat in a single final turn; do not end early with a bad score.
• Remember the anti-stall rule: a card taken from the discard pile MUST be placed into your grid; you cannot immediately re-discard it.

Glossary

• Grid: your personal layout of face-down (then face-up) cards, typically 2 rows by 3 columns (6-Card Golf).
• Hole: one complete deal and round; a match is usually 9 holes.
• Column pair: two cards of the same rank in the same column of your grid; they cancel to 0.
• Stock: the face-down shared draw pile.
• Discard pile: the face-up shared pile where replaced or discarded cards go.
• Knock: in the optional knock variant, a player's signal to end the hole after one more round of play.
• Replace: swap a drawn card into your grid, sending the existing card to the discard pile.
• Flip: turn a face-down grid card face-up without using a drawn card (only after discarding a stock draw).
• Polish Polka / Polish Poker: regional names for 4-Card Golf.