Big TwoBeta

Goal

Be the first to play all your cards. When a player goes out, everyone else takes penalty points for the cards left in their hand. After 4 or 8 deals, the player with the lowest total wins. Players tied for the lowest total share the win.

Cards

Use a standard 52-card deck without the Jokers.

Ranking

Cards rank from the 2, highest, down to the 3, lowest: 2, A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3. Between two cards of the same rank the suit decides, from ♠, highest, down to ♥, ♣, and ♦, lowest. So the 3♦ is the lowest card in the deck and the 2♠ the highest.

Starting hand

Deal all the cards out, 13 to each of the 4 players.

Play

1. The 3♦ leads. Whoever holds the 3♦ leads the first trick of every deal, and that first play must include it, alone or in any combination that holds it (see Hand rankings).
2. Beat it or pass. Play goes to the left. On your turn, play a higher combination with the same number of cards as the one on the table, or pass.
3. Passing doesn’t stop you. A player who passed can still play later in the same trick.
4. Three passes end the trick. When the other 3 players pass in a row, whoever played last leads the next trick with any combination. The player who leads can’t pass.
5. The deal ends the moment a player plays their last card, even in the middle of a trick. Nobody beats that play.

Scoring

When a player goes out, every other player scores penalty points for the cards left in their hand:

• 9 cards or fewer: 1 point a card.
• 10 to 12 cards: 2 points a card.
• All 13 cards: 3 points a card.

The player who went out scores 0. After 4 deals (Short) or 8 deals (Standard), the lowest total wins, and players tied for the lowest total share the win.

Hand rankings

Every play is a single, a pair, a triple, or a five-card hand. A play can be beaten only by a higher play with the same number of cards. Four cards on their own aren’t a combination.

• Triple 3 cards of one rank, compared by rank
• Pair 2 cards of one rank, compared by rank, then by the higher suit
• Single 1 card, compared by rank, then suit

Five-card hands, strongest first. Any hand of a higher type beats any hand of a lower type.

1. Straight flush 5 cards in sequence, all one suit, compared by the highest card’s rank, then its suit
2. Four of a kind 4 cards of one rank plus any fifth card, compared by the four’s rank
3. Full house 3 cards of one rank and 2 of another, compared by the triple’s rank
4. Flush 5 cards of one suit, compared by the suit, then by the highest card, then the next, and so on
5. Straight 5 cards in sequence, not all one suit, compared by the highest card’s rank, then its suit

In a straight the Ace is high or low and the 2 counts below the 3, so there are ten sequences. A, 2, 3, 4, 5 is the lowest, with the 5 as its highest card , and 10, J, Q, K, A is the highest . An Ace can only be at one end of a sequence, so K, A, 2, 3, 4 isn’t a straight .

Playing with your own deck

You need paper and a pencil to keep the penalty totals. Write one line for each deal, with every player’s points for that deal and their new total.

How this version differs

• Play goes to the left. The published rules play to the right.
• The cards are simply shuffled and dealt. Nobody is the dealer and no card is turned up, so the 3♦ decides who leads every deal.
• A match is 4 or 8 deals, and the lowest penalty total wins, with ties shared. The published rules score each deal for money.

Open the rules page