How to Play

Ireland's traditional trick-taking pool game, best at 5 or 6 players. Win 3 of 5 tricks to take the pool, or spoil the hand so nobody wins. Famous for its unique card ranking (5 of trumps and Jack of trumps at the top, Ace of Hearts always third-best trump) and the robbing, reneging, and jinking rules.

Spoil Five (in Irish 'Cúig Tréan' or simply 'Five Fingers') is the traditional Irish trick-taking pool game widely regarded as the national card game of Ireland, with roots stretching back to at least the 16th-century Irish game of Maw and the sister games Twenty-Five and Forty-Five. Two to ten players (best at 5 or 6) ante into a pool each hand; the dealer gives each player 5 cards (dealt in batches of 2 and then 3) and turns the next card face-up as the trump indicator. The first player to win 3 of the 5 tricks takes the entire pool; if no player reaches 3 tricks, the hand is spoilt and the pool carries over unclaimed to the next deal, growing larger each spoil. Spoil Five is famous for three distinctive rules: (1) an idiosyncratic card ranking where the 5 of trumps is the top card, Jack of trumps is second, and the Ace of Hearts is ALWAYS the third-ranked trump regardless of which suit is actually trump; (2) robbing the pack: a player holding the Ace of trumps may exchange any card from hand for the face-up trump indicator; (3) reneging: the three top trumps (5, Jack, A♥) have a privilege where their holder may refuse to play them even when obliged to follow suit, as long as a lower trump was led. A player who wins the first 3 tricks may jink by pledging to win all 5 for a bonus; failing the jink forfeits the pool. The game's combination of unusual rank, must-spoil politics, and jink gambling has made it a pub and kitchen fixture in Ireland and Atlantic Canada for centuries.

Players

2 to 10 players, optimally 5 or 6. Each plays for themselves; there are no partnerships. Play is clockwise; deal rotates one seat left each hand. A single hand takes 2 to 5 minutes; a session typically runs until one player goes broke or the group agrees to stop, usually 30 to 90 minutes. The pool is built by antes and spoiled carryovers; the player who wins a hand takes the entire pool.

Card Deck

One standard 52-card French-suited pack, jokers removed. The card-ranking system in Spoil Five is famously non-standard and colour-dependent. See 'Card Ranking' below for full details. The Ace of Hearts is a permanent super-trump whose position never changes regardless of the named trump suit.

Card Ranking (the famous Spoil Five system)

• Trump suit ranking (high to low): 5 of trumps, Jack of trumps, Ace of Hearts (always), Ace of trumps (if trumps are not hearts), King, Queen, then the numerical cards in REGULAR order if trump is RED (K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-A ordering from high to low below the 5/J) OR in REVERSE numerical order if trump is BLACK (so in a black trump suit, 2 is higher than 3, and 10 is lower than 9).A♥
• Trump hearts (special case): 5 of Hearts (top), Jack of Hearts, Ace of Hearts (same card as the permanent super-trump, so no extra card is inserted), King, Queen, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 4, 3, 2. (In hearts-trump, the normal Ace of trumps IS the A♥, which is why hearts-trump is slightly different.)5♥J♥A♥
• Non-trump red suits (Hearts when not trump, Diamonds when not trump): K (high), Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A (low). Ace of the non-trump red suit is always the LOWEST card of its suit.Q♠J♠10♠9♠8♠7♠6♠5♠4♠3♠2♠A♠
• Non-trump black suits (Clubs or Spades when not trump): K (high), Q, J, A (Ace is high for black non-trump suits!), 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 (low). 10 is the LOWEST card in a non-trump black suit.2♠3♠4♠5♠6♠7♠8♠9♠10♠
• Invariant super-trump: the Ace of Hearts is ALWAYS the third-highest trump, ranking just below the 5 and Jack of trumps, regardless of what suit the dealer turned up. If hearts is the actual trump suit, the A♥ simply fills its native Ace-of-trumps slot; otherwise the A♥ is an 'extra' trump added to the top of the trump suit.A♥
• Top three trumps: 5 of trumps, Jack of trumps, Ace of Hearts. These three are collectively the 'top trumps' with reneging privileges (see Gameplay).5♠J♠A♥

Objective

Win at least 3 of the 5 tricks in a hand to claim the entire pool. If you win 3 and can credibly attempt the remaining 2, you may 'jink' by declaring a go for all 5 tricks in exchange for a doubled pool bonus (but failing forfeits the pool). If no player wins 3 tricks, the hand is 'spoilt' and the pool carries over to the next deal; multiple consecutive spoils can build a pool that becomes the entire session's main prize.

Setup and Deal

1. Agree on an ante amount (historically pennies, now chips). Every player places their ante into the pool at the start of each hand.
2. Choose first dealer by any fair method (high cut, knave-drawer). Deal rotates one seat to the left after each hand.
3. The dealer shuffles; the player to the dealer's right cuts.
4. Deal 5 cards face down to each player in two packets: 2 cards first, then 3 cards (or 3 then 2; house rule).
5. Turn the next card of the stock face up and place it on top of the stock pile; this card's suit is the trump suit for the hand. The face-up card remains visible throughout the hand.
6. Each player examines their hand privately.

Robbing the Pack

1. Ace of trumps robbing (player): any player who holds the Ace of trumps may, BEFORE the first trick, announce 'rob' and exchange any card from their hand for the face-up trump card. The face-up card goes into their hand; their discarded card goes face-down under the stock.
2. Dealer robbing (Ace as turn-up): if the face-up trump card is itself an Ace (i.e., the dealer turned up the Ace of trumps), the DEALER may rob by discarding any card from hand for the face-up Ace; the dealer need not have robbed before play begins.
3. Robbing must be announced: the rob must be formally declared; silent substitution is not allowed.
4. Refusing to rob: a player holding the Ace of trumps is not obliged to rob; they may keep the Ace and leave the face-up trump card in place. However, most strategy favours robbing because it gains a second trump card.
5. Only one rob per hand: the Ace of trumps holder may rob once. A second player cannot rob the already-robbed face-up card.

Trick Play

1. Leading: the player to the dealer's left leads to the first trick.
2. Follow suit (non-trump led): if a non-trump suit is led, each player must EITHER follow suit OR play a trump. They may NOT discard from a third suit if they can follow or trump. This 'follow or trump' rule is distinctive.
3. Follow suit (trump led): if trump is led, each player must follow suit (play a trump) if they have one, subject to the reneging rule.
4. Reneging: the three top trumps (5 of trumps, Jack of trumps, Ace of Hearts) have a unique privilege: their holder may refuse to play them even when obliged to follow suit, PROVIDED that a lower trump was led. Example: if the 2 of trumps is led and you hold only the Jack of trumps and non-trump cards, you may play a non-trump and not the Jack; the Jack is protected. A reneged top-trump remains in hand. The reneging privilege is FORFEITED once a higher trump has already been played in the hand.A♥
5. Winning the trick: highest trump wins, or (if no trump played) the highest card of the led suit per the unique ranking. Winner leads the next trick.
6. All 5 tricks played unless a jink is declared and won early (see Jink).

Jinking

1. Declaring the jink: if a single player wins the FIRST 3 TRICKS of a hand, they have already won the pool (3-of-5 is the win condition) but may choose to declare a jink, meaning they will attempt to win the remaining 2 tricks as well.
2. Reward: a successful jink (winning all 5 tricks) pays the pool PLUS a bonus from each opponent (typically equal to the ante, or 1 chip per opponent).
3. Penalty: a failed jink (losing either trick 4 or trick 5) forfeits the ENTIRE POOL; it becomes a spoiled pool that carries over to the next deal. The jinker gets nothing.
4. Non-declared continuation: a player who has won 3 tricks may simply play out the remaining 2 tricks without jinking; they collect the pool regardless of what happens in tricks 4 and 5.
5. Jink timing: the declaration must be made BEFORE leading to trick 4 (or before playing to trick 4 if they did not win trick 3 decisively). Some house rules require the call 'Jink!' at the moment the 3rd trick is collected.

Scoring and Spoil

• Winning the pool: first player to win 3 tricks takes the entire pool. No further tricks need be played unless a jink is declared.
• Spoil: if all 5 tricks are played and no single player has won 3 tricks (e.g., 2-2-1 across three players), the hand is SPOILT. The pool is NOT awarded; it remains in the centre for the next deal, which is re-anted on top. Multiple spoils can grow the pool significantly.
• Jink success: the jinker takes the pool PLUS an agreed bonus (often equal to each opponent's ante).
• Jink failure: the pool is forfeited; it spoils and carries over.
• Match end: there is no fixed session score. Groups play until one player goes broke or all agree to stop. The session winner is whoever has the most chips or pence at that moment.

Winning

Each hand's pool is won by the first player to 3 tricks, or by a successful jinker for a double-pool plus bonus. Spoilt hands carry the pool forward. A session ends informally; the player with the largest chip stack wins the session. Historic Irish sessions could produce pools of considerable value when 4 or 5 consecutive spoils built the pot; modern social Spoil Five keeps stakes low and plays for the fun of the rule system.

Common Variations

• Twenty-Five: the closest relative, played as a partnership game (4 or 6 players) scored to 25 trick points (each trick worth 5). Same unique card ranking; adds partner play.
• Forty-Five: Canadian and Maritime variant scored to 45 points. Trick values are standardised (5 per trick, 5 for last trick); partnership play with 4 or 6 players. Extremely popular in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
• Auction Forty-Fives: adds an auction for the right to name trumps; bids from 15 to 30 in 5-point increments. Dominant tournament form in Atlantic Canada.
• Solo Spoil Five (cutthroat): played with 4 to 6 players as individuals (no partnerships), with the winner taking the pool exactly as in base Spoil Five.
• Maw (16th-17th century Irish progenitor): the older form, played with slightly different ranking and the addition of a 'sit-out' dummy hand. Favoured by King James VI of Scotland.
• No-jink variant: some casual groups disallow jinking, simplifying the game to a pure 3-of-5 pool contest.
• Forced rob: a strict rule variant requiring any player holding the Ace of trumps to rob (rather than optional). Reduces strategic choice.

Tips and Strategy

• Memorise the top three. The 5 of trumps, Jack of trumps, and Ace of Hearts are the three most powerful cards and nearly always settle the hand. If you hold 2 or 3 of them, bid for the pool aggressively.A♥
• Rob when possible. Picking up the face-up trump is almost always correct: it gives you an extra trump and a known-identity card you can plan around.
• Reneging is a time bomb. Holding a top trump in reserve while a lower trump is led is a powerful manoeuvre, but the privilege vanishes once any higher trump is played. Plan the hand so that your reneged card lands before the game's high trump emerges.
• Play to spoil if you are weak. If your hand has only 1 winnable trick, deliberately play to prevent ANY opponent from reaching 3 tricks. A spoiled pool carries forward and you may pick it up in a later stronger hand.
• Do not jink on a razor's edge. Jinking is only correct when you hold both remaining winners (typically the two remaining top trumps, or the last trump + another clearly dominant card). A coin-flip jink is strictly negative EV against the forfeited pool.
• Track played top-trumps. Once 2 of the top 3 trumps are played, the third becomes free to win any remaining trick; play to finesse it out of opponents.
• Watch the pool size. At 4 or 5 spoils deep, a stacked pool often draws several players into over-aggressive bidding; this is when patient play and solid hands pay huge.

Glossary

• Spoil: a hand in which no player wins 3 tricks. The pool carries over to the next deal.
• Jink: a player who has won 3 tricks declares an attempt to win all 5 for a bonus. Success = double pool; failure = pool forfeited.
• Rob / Robbing the Pack: a holder of the Ace of trumps exchanges any card from hand for the face-up trump indicator.
• Renege: the privilege held by the 5 of trumps, Jack of trumps, and Ace of Hearts to refuse to play them when a lower trump is led.A♥
• Top three trumps: 5 of trumps, Jack of trumps, Ace of Hearts. Permanent super-cards with reneging privilege.5♠J♠A♥
• Pool: the centre pile of ante chips, grown by each hand's antes and any spoiled carryovers.
• Turn-up / Trump indicator: the face-up card placed on top of the stock after the deal, showing the trump suit.
• Maw / Cúig Tréan: the older and Irish-language names of the game.
• Twenty-Five / Forty-Five: the partnership descendants played throughout Ireland and Atlantic Canada.