Objective
Take three of the five tricks in a hand, or stop anyone else from doing it. Only one player can take three tricks, so the whole table quietly gangs up on whoever looks strongest. Spoiling the hand is a perfectly good result when you can’t win it yourself.
What makes the game hard is the order of the cards, which depends on the suit and on whether that suit is trump. It takes a few hands to learn, and it is worth it.
Setup
Each player puts one chip into the pool before every deal. Deal five cards to each player, in a batch of three and then a batch of two (or two then three), starting on the dealer’s left. Turn the next card face up on the stock to set the trump suit.
Robbing the trump: a player dealt the ace of trumps may swap any card from their hand for the turned-up card before playing to the first trick. If you hold the ace and do not want to swap, you must say so by asking the dealer to turn the trump card down. Stay quiet and your ace becomes the lowest trump. If the turned card is itself an ace, the dealer may discard a card and take the ace in its place.
How to play
The player to the dealer’s left leads any card. When a plain (non-trump) suit is led, you must either follow suit or play a trump. You may trump even if you could follow. If you have neither, play any card.
When trump is led, you must play a trump if you can. The three top trumps, the five of trumps, the jack of trumps and the ace of hearts, carry a privilege called reneging: you don’t have to play one of them when a lower trump is led. If a higher trump is led, the privilege is gone.
The highest trump wins the trick. If there is no trump in it, the highest card of the suit led wins. The winner leads next.
The jinx: if you win the first three tricks, you can take the pool right away or play on for all five. Take all five and you win the pool plus one chip from every player. Lose a trick and you win nothing, and the pool carries over.
- 1Rob the trump if you hold the ace of trumps
- 2Follow suit or trump; otherwise play anything
- 3Hold back a top trump when a lower trump is led
- 4Highest trump, or highest card of the suit led, wins
- 5Win three tricks to take the pool
Scoring
There are no points. The first player to win three tricks takes the pool. If nobody wins three, the hand is spoiled and the pool stays on the table, growing with the next deal’s antes. The part to learn is the card order, which changes with the suit and with trumps.
| Suit | Order, highest to lowest |
|---|---|
| Hearts as trump | 5, J, A, K, Q, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 4, 3, 2 |
| Diamonds as trump | 5, J, A♥, A, K, Q, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 4, 3, 2 |
| Clubs or spades as trump | 5, J, A♥, A, K, Q, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 |
| Diamonds, not trump | K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A |
| Hearts, not trump | K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 |
| Clubs or spades, not trump | K, Q, J, A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 |
The short version: the five, the jack and the ace of hearts are always the top three trumps. Among the number cards, high ones win in red suits and low ones win in black suits. Players remember it as “highest in red, lowest in black.”
Variations
Slower pool: some tables have only the next dealer add a chip after a spoiled hand, instead of everyone anteing again.
No jinx: many players skip the jinx and simply pay the pool as soon as someone wins three tricks.
Twenty-Five: the same card order and play, but each trick is worth 5 points and the first to 25 wins. There is no pool and no spoiling.
Forty-Five: the same card order in a scoring game played to 45, often in partnerships.
Tips from the table
Keep track of the top three trumps. Knowing where the five, the jack and the ace of hearts are is half the game.
Spoil on purpose. When another player has two tricks, play your best card to stop the third, even if it costs you your own chance.
Rob when it helps. Taking the turned-up card gives you another trump, but it also tells the table you hold the ace.
Do not waste a reneging trump on a low lead. Holding the five or the jack back until it can take a trick that matters is often what wins the pool.
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
Why is the ace of hearts always a trump?
It is a tradition of the whole Spoil Five family. Whatever suit is trump, the ace of hearts ranks third, behind the five and jack of trumps.
Can I trump when I could follow suit?
Yes, when a plain suit is led. When trump is led, though, you must follow with a trump if you can, unless your only trumps are top trumps you are allowed to hold back.
What happens to the pool when a hand is spoiled?
It stays in the middle. Everyone antes again for the next deal, so the pool keeps growing until someone takes three tricks.
What is a jinx?
Winning the first three tricks and choosing to play on for all five. Succeed and you get the pool plus a chip from everyone; fail and you get nothing.
New rules every month
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