How to Play

Pitch is a classic American trick-taking game descended from All Fours. Players bid to become the pitcher, lead a trump card, and compete to win four point-cards: High, Low, Jack, and Game.

Pitch, also known as Auction Pitch, High-Low-Jack, or Setback, is a 19th-century American trick-taking game descended from the English game All Fours. Each player receives six cards, bids for the right to pick trumps, and then races to capture four specific point cards: the highest trump (High), the lowest trump (Low), the Jack of trumps (Jack), and the most card-pip value in tricks (Game). Miss your bid and you are 'set back' by the bid amount, potentially into negative numbers. First to 11 points (solo) or 21 points (partnerships) wins.

Players

Pitch works for 2 to 9 players and is most enjoyable with 3 to 5. Four players almost always form fixed partnerships, partners sitting opposite each other; other counts normally play individually. This guide covers the four-handed partnership version, noting solo adjustments where they differ.

Card Deck

• Use one standard 52-card deck. No jokers for the basic game.
• Within each suit, cards rank A (high), K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 (low) for trick-taking.A♠K♠Q♠J♠10♠
• For scoring the Game point only, cards carry pip values: Ten = 10, Ace = 4, King = 3, Queen = 2, Jack = 1. All other cards score 0 pips. These pips are used only at the end of the hand to decide who wins Game; they do not affect which card wins a trick.A♠K♠Q♠J♠10♠

Objective

Be the first side to reach the match target: 11 points in cutthroat (every-player-for-themselves) play, or 21 points in partnership play. Each hand offers only four points to win: High, Low, Jack, and Game. You score by winning tricks that contain those specific cards, but the bidder must fulfil their bid or lose points instead.

Setup and Deal

1. Choose a dealer by any fair method, for example cutting for the highest card.
2. The dealer shuffles; the player to the dealer's right cuts the deck.
3. Deal six cards to each player clockwise in two passes of three.
4. Place the rest of the deck face-down to the side. It is not used this hand; the stock stays untouched.
5. The player to the dealer's left is the eldest hand and bids first. The deal passes one seat clockwise after each hand.

Bidding

1. Bids run 1 to 4. Each bid is the number of the four available points (High, Low, Jack, Game) the bidder promises their side will capture.
2. Bidding order: Starting with eldest hand and going clockwise, each player either passes or names a bid higher than any bid so far. Each player gets exactly one chance to bid.
3. Dealer privilege: The dealer may 'take the bid' at the current high bid without raising it, a tradition known as 'holding the bid'.
4. Smudge / Shoot the Moon: A bid of 4 (all four points) is called a Smudge. Making it typically wins the entire match outright, not just 4 points (house rules vary; agree before play).
5. Everyone passes: If all players pass, cards are thrown in and the same dealer re-deals. Some groups instead force the dealer to accept a minimum bid of 2; agree before play.
6. The highest bidder is now the pitcher and their side is the declaring side. The other side becomes the defenders.

Gameplay

1. Trump set by the lead: The pitcher leads any card to the first trick. The suit of that card is the trump suit for the whole hand; there is no separate trump announcement.
2. Following suit: Each player in turn, clockwise, plays one card to the trick. You must follow suit if you can, except you may always play a trump instead of following suit on any trick (this is the distinctive Pitch rule). If you cannot follow suit and choose not to trump, play any card.
3. Winning the trick: The highest trump in the trick wins it. If no trump is played, the highest card of the suit led wins. The winner leads the next trick.
4. Play continues for six tricks until every hand is empty. The stock is never drawn from.

Scoring the Four Points

• High (1 point): The highest trump dealt in the hand, awarded to the side originally dealt that card even if an opponent captures it. (In older rule sets, High goes to whoever wins the trick containing it; agree before play.)
• Low (1 point): The lowest trump dealt in the hand. This point always goes to the original holder, not to the trick winner. The 2 of trumps, say, is yours the moment you are dealt it.
• Jack (1 point): The Jack of trumps. Scores only if actually dealt and goes to the side winning the trick that contains it.J♠
• Game (1 point): After all six tricks, each side totals the pips in the cards they captured (Ten = 10, Ace = 4, King = 3, Queen = 2, Jack = 1). The higher total wins Game. If tied, the Game point is not awarded (or goes to the defenders, per agreed house rule).A♠K♠Q♠J♠10♠

Settlement and Set-Back

• Count the pitcher's side first. Add up the points they earned from High, Low, Jack, and Game. If that total equals or exceeds their bid, they score exactly the points they earned (not the bid).
• Failing the bid is called being 'set back'. If the pitcher's side scores fewer points than the bid, they score zero for the hand and subtract the full bid amount from their running total. Scores can go negative; a side in the hole is said to be 'in the bog'.
• The defenders always score. The non-declaring side adds whatever of the four points they captured to their running total, regardless of whether the bidder made or missed.

Winning

Partnership Pitch is played to 21 points; cutthroat Pitch to 11. The first side to reach the target during the scoring of a hand wins immediately. If both sides reach the target in the same hand, the declaring (bidding) side wins the tie. A successful Smudge (winning all four points on a bid of 4) usually ends the match outright in the bidder's favour. If no side reaches the target, shuffle, re-deal, and play another hand.

Common Variations

• Partnership Pitch (four players, partners): Partners pool their trick captures when totaling pips for Game. The most widely played form in North America.
• Cutthroat Pitch: Every player for themselves, usually to 11 points. Swingier because there is no partner to rescue a poor hand.
• 10-Point Pitch: Adds two scoring cards to the four classics: the 10 of trumps (10 points in Game) is worth an extra point, and sometimes the 3 of trumps too. Bidding scales up to match.
• Pedro and Cinch: Popular five-point descendants in which the 5 of trumps is worth 5 points. See the separate Pedro entry.
• No Junk Points: Defenders cannot score any of the four points; only the bidder's side can. Makes set-backs more painful and rewards cautious bidding.
• Coke Hand: A player dealt only non-pointing cards (nothing above a 9, say) may demand a redeal. Optional house rule.

Tips and Strategy

• Count your likely points before bidding. A reasonable guide: bid 2 with Ace plus one other trump, or Ace-King. Add one more for each extra high trump or for strong partner support.
• Lead your highest trump early. Once opponents have spent their trumps, your lesser trumps become unbeatable and can safely hunt the Jack and Tens for Game.
• Save the Jack's side. If you hold the Jack of trumps, play it on a trick you expect your partner or yourself to win, not a trick an opponent already leads with a higher trump.
• The 10s are Game magnets. With 40 pips in the four Tens versus 40 pips in all the honours combined, capturing Tens is usually the decisive act for the Game point.
• Defenders: dump high off-suit cards on the bidder's leads. Every face card you discard onto an opponent's winning trick donates pips to their Game total; let a partner win it if possible.

Glossary

• Pitcher: The highest bidder, who leads the first trick and thereby sets the trump suit.
• Pitch: The opening lead, which sets trumps.
• Trump: The suit led by the pitcher on trick one; beats any non-trump card.
• Trick: One round of play, one card per player, won by the highest trump or the highest card of the suit led.
• High, Low, Jack, Game: The four scoring categories, worth one point each.
• Set, or set-back: Failing a bid; the bid amount is subtracted from your score.
• Smudge: A bid of 4 (all four points). Typically wins the match if successful.
• Eldest hand: The player immediately left of the dealer, who bids first.
• In the bog: Having a negative running score from one or more set-backs.