Objective
Win tricks that hold the cards worth points. Each hand offers four points: High (the ace of trumps), Low (the two of trumps), Jack (the jack of trumps) and Game (the most counting cards). Because the whole deck is played out, all four are always up for grabs. The first player to reach 10 points wins.
Setup
Cut for the first deal; the deal then alternates. The dealer gives six cards to each player, one or three at a time, starting with the opponent.
Square up the rest of the deck and turn it face up in the middle of the table. This is the stock. Its top card sets the trump suit for the whole hand, and that card is also the first prize: whoever wins the first trick takes it.
How to play
The non-dealer leads the first trick. If a trump is led, you must play a trump if you have one. If a plain suit is led, you may either follow suit or play a trump, whichever you prefer. Only when you can do neither may you play any card you like. The higher card of the suit led wins, unless a trump is played, in which case the higher trump wins.
After each trick, the winner takes the face-up top card of the stock, and the loser takes the next card, which has just been revealed. Both hands go back to six cards, and the winner leads to the next trick.
When the stock runs out, play the last six cards from your hands with no more drawing. Then each player sorts through the tricks they took.
- 1Lead a card, or answer the lead
- 2Follow suit or trump; play anything only if you can do neither
- 3Trick winner takes the top stock card, loser takes the next
- 4Winner leads; play out the hands when the stock is gone
Scoring
Each of the four points goes to the player who wins it in a trick. To decide Game, both players count the counting cards in their tricks.
| Point | Who scores it |
|---|---|
| High | The player who captures the ace of trumps: 1 point |
| Low | The player who captures the two of trumps: 1 point |
| Jack | The player who captures the jack of trumps: 1 point |
| Game | The player with the higher count: 1 point |
For Game, each ten counts 10, each ace 4, each king 3, each queen 2 and each jack 1, in every suit. There are 80 in the deck. If the count is tied at 40 each, most tables score Game for nobody. If both players reach 10 in the same hand, count the points in order (High, Low, Jack, Game) and the first to 10 wins.
Variations
Shasta Sam: the same game with the stock face down, so you are drawing blind. It plays more like a gamble and less like a puzzle.
Shorter game: some players race to 7 instead of 10, the old All Fours target.
Strict following: some tables require you to follow suit when you can, and allow trumping only when you are out of the suit led.
Tips from the table
Look at the top two stock cards before every lead. If the top card is worth having and the next one is junk, play to win the trick. If the top card is junk and the next is good, losing on purpose can be the smart move.
Tens are the heart of Game. Twenty points sit in each suit, and half of them are in the ten. Do not throw tens away on tricks your opponent will take.
Keep a low trump in hand late in the deal. It lets you win a valuable stock card when you need to, and the two of trumps is a point in itself.
Video Guides Are on the Way
We’re filming Game Guides that walk through full hands at the table, from the deal to the score.
Frequently asked
How is California Jack different from Shasta Sam?
Only the stock. In California Jack the stock is face up, so both players see what each trick is worth. In Shasta Sam it is face down.
Can I trump even if I can follow suit?
At most tables, yes. When a plain suit is led you may follow or trump, your choice. When trumps are led, you must play a trump if you have one.
Who gets the point for Low?
Whoever wins the trick that contains the two of trumps, not the player who held it.
What decides trumps?
The top card of the face-up stock after the deal. Its suit is trumps for the whole hand.
New rules every month
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