Objective
Empty your hand first. Each suit is built up one card at a time, and on your turn you either add the next card to the suit in play or pay a chip. The pot grows with every miss until one player plays their last card and collects it all.
Setup
Give everyone the same number of chips, around 20 each. Every player antes one chip into the pot before the deal.
Deal the whole deck one card at a time, face down, starting on the dealer’s left. With most numbers of players, some people get one card more than others. By custom, each player dealt fewer cards antes one extra chip, since a shorter hand is easier to empty.
How to play
The player to the dealer’s left starts by playing any card face up. The next player must play the next card up in the same suit. If the first card was the 8 of hearts, the next card needed is the 9 of hearts, then the 10, and so on.
The sequence goes around the corner: after the king comes the ace, then the two, and so on until all thirteen cards of the suit are on the table. If you cannot play the card needed, you pay one chip into the pot and the turn passes to the left. The same card is still needed by the next player.
Whoever plays the thirteenth card of a suit starts the next one by playing any card they choose. Lay each suit out in its own row so everyone can see what has been played.
- 1Play the next card up in the suit in play
- 2Can’t play? Pay one chip to the pot
- 3After the king, carry on with the ace and the two
- 4Finish a suit, then start a new one with any card
- 5Play your last card to win the pot
Winning
The first player to play their last card wins the whole pot. Gather the cards, pass the deal to the left, ante again and play another hand. Play for an agreed number of hands, or until someone runs out of chips.
Variations
Pay per card: when someone goes out, each other player also pays the winner one chip for every card still in their hand.
Fan Tan, also called Sevens or Parliament, is a close relative: every suit starts from its seven and builds both up and down.
Michigan uses the same idea of playing suits in sequence, with bonus cards in a layout that pay out chips.
Tips from the table
Start a suit from the bottom of a run you hold. If you have the 4, 5 and 6 of clubs, start with the 4. Everyone else pays a chip on the way around, and the turn comes back to you with the 5 still needed.
When you play the thirteenth card of a suit, start the next suit where you hold the most cards.
Keep track of what has been played. Because each suit is built in order, you can often work out who is holding a missing card.
Watch the player with the fewest cards. When they are down to one or two, start a suit they are unlikely to hold.
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
Does the sequence stop at the king?
No. It wraps around: after the king comes the ace, then the 2, until all thirteen cards of the suit are played.
What if I can play but would rather pay?
You can’t. If you hold the card that is needed, you must play it.
Why do some players ante extra?
The deck rarely divides evenly. Players dealt fewer cards have an easier hand, so by custom they put one more chip in the pot.
How is it different from Fan Tan?
In Fan Tan every suit starts at the seven and builds in both directions. In Play or Pay a suit can start anywhere and builds upward only, around the corner.
New rules every month
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