How to Play Shasta Sam

Objective

Each deal is worth up to four points: High, Low, Jack and Game. Every card in the deck is played before the hand ends, so all four points are up for grabs every time, and you earn each one by capturing the right cards in tricks. The first player to reach 10 points wins.

The face-down stock is what makes Shasta Sam its own game. In California Jack you can see the card you will win, so every trick is a calculation. Here each draw is a surprise, and the game leans more on counting trumps and judging when a trick is worth taking.

Setup

Cut for the first deal; after that, the deal alternates. Before dealing, the non-dealer cuts the deck and the dealer shows the card at the cut. Its suit is trump for the hand.

Deal six cards to each player, then set the rest face down as the stock. Cards rank from ace (high) down to 2 in every suit.

How to play

The non-dealer leads any card. If a trump is led, the other player must follow with a trump if they have one. If a plain suit is led, they may follow suit or play a trump, whichever they prefer. Only when they can do neither may they play any other card.

The higher card of the suit led wins the trick, unless a trump was played, in which case the trump wins. The winner draws the top card of the stock, then the loser draws the next one. Both players are back to six cards, and the winner leads.

When the stock runs out, play the last six tricks without drawing. By the end, all 52 cards have been captured in tricks.

1. 1Lead any card
2. 2Follow a trump lead with a trump; on a plain lead, follow suit or trump
3. 3Higher card of the suit led wins, unless trumped
4. 4Winner draws first from the face-down stock, then the loser
5. 5Play out the last six cards with no draws

Scoring

Score at the end of every hand. Because every card is played, High, Low and Jack are always awarded. The Game point can be split only by a tie.

For the Game point, each 10 counts 10, each ace 4, each king 3, each queen 2 and each jack 1. That is 80 in the deck. If you each take 40, nobody scores Game. The first player to 10 points wins the match.

Variations

California Jack: the same game with the stock face up, so the winner of each trick knows exactly which card they are taking. Strategy shifts from guessing to planning.

Pitch and Cinch: bidding games from the same All Fours family, played with more players. In Pitch, the first card led sets trump.

Tips from the table

The 10s drive the Game point. Each one counts as much as the ace, king, queen and jack of a suit put together, so capture them when you can and do not throw them away cheaply.

If you hold the 2 of trump, look for a safe moment to trump a plain-suit lead with it. That wins the trick and keeps Low for you. The same goes for the jack.

Count trumps as they fall. There are 13, and once the ace is gone, the king may be the top trump left.

You cannot see the next stock card, so there is no point in spending a strong card just to win a draw. Win tricks for what is in them.

Frequently asked