Pitch is a fun, social trick-taking game with a few different variations.
Find the video tutorial and written explanation for how to play ten point pitch, five point pitch, and individual pitch below.
Ten Point Pitch Tutorial
Needed
54 card deck (two jokers included); four players; pen and paper for scorekeeping.
Deal
Each player is dealt nine cards in sets of three cards at a time.
Objective
Teams score points by winning tricks with point cards in them. The first team to 52 points wins the game.
Card Rank
Highest to lowest – Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Jick, High Joker, Low Joker, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
Bidding
The player left of the dealer is the first to make a bid or pass on bidding. The minimum bid is four. Bidding continues clockwise, with players having to bid higher than any previous bid or pass on bidding. The highest bidder gets to determine the trump suit. If no player bids, the dealer has to take the bid for four.
Redraw
When the trump is determined, each non-bidding player discards any non-trump suited cards, and the dealer gives each player the number of cards to get each player back to six cards. The dealer starts with the player on his/her left and skips over the bid winner.
Once each non-bidder is back to six cards, the bid winner receives any remaining cards in the deck. The bid winner looks at the cards and keeps six cards for his/her hand. The bid winner needs to announce any trump suited cards that are discarded.
Game Play
The player that won the bid plays the first card. Only trump cards can be played. The player with the highest ranking card wins the trick. The player that wins the trick leads the next trick. Once a player is out of trump suited cards, the rest of the player’s cards are folded.
Scoring
Points are awarded for the following cards: one point each for the Ace, Jack, Jick, High Joker, Low Joker, 10, and 2. Three points for the 3.
Rules
If a team does not make their bid, their score goes negative by the amount that was bid.
If both teams get to 52 or more points after the same round, the team that bid wins, even if the other team has more points.
Five Point Pitch Tutorial
Needed
52 card deck; four players; Pen and paper for scorekeeping.
Deal
Each player is dealt six cards in sets of two or three cards at a time.
Objective
Teams score points by winning tricks with point cards in them. The first team to ten points wins the game.
Card Rank
Highest to lowest – Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Jick, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Trump suited cards outrank all other suited cards.
Bidding
The player left of the dealer is the first to make a bid or pass on bidding. The minimum bid is two. Bidding continues clockwise, with players having to bid higher than any previous bid or pass on bidding.
The exception being, the dealer has the option of taking the bid equal to the highest bid. The highest bidder gets to determine the trump suit. If no player bids, the dealer has to take the bid for two.
Game Play
The player that won the bid determines the trump suit and plays the first card. Players must follow suit or play a trump suited card whenever possible. The player with the highest ranking card wins the trick. The player that wins the trick leads the next trick.
Scoring
One point is awarded for the highest trump card, lowest trump card (kept by the player who played it), jack of trump, jick, and game. The game point is determined by the team that won the highest card value during game play. Card values are as follows:
10s = 10 points
Aces = 4 points
Kings = 3 points
Queens = 2 points
Jacks = 1 point
Rules
If a team does not make their bid, their score goes negative by the amount that was bid.
If both teams get to ten or more points after the same round, the team that bid wins, even if the other team has more points.
Individual Pitch Tutorial
Needed
52 card deck; four players; pen and paper for scorekeeping.
Deal
Each player is dealt six cards in sets of two or three cards at a time.
Objective
Score points by winning tricks with point cards in them. The first player to an agreed upon amount, such as 10, wins the game.
Card Rank
Highest to lowest – Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Trump suited cards outrank all other suited cards.
Bidding
The player left of the dealer is the first to make a bid or pass on bidding. The minimum bid is two. Bidding continues clockwise, with players having to bid higher than any previous bid or pass on bidding.
The highest bidder gets to determine the trump suit. If no player bids, the dealer has to take the bid for two.
Game Play
The player that won the bid plays the first card. The suit of the first card played is the trump suit for the round. Players must follow suit or play a trump suited card whenever possible. The player with the highest ranking card wins the trick. The player that wins the trick leads the next trick.
Scoring
One point is awarded for the highest trump card, lowest trump card, jack of trump, and game. The game point is determined by the player that won the highest card value during game play. Card values are as follows:
10s = 10 points
Aces = 4 points
Kings = 3 points
Queens = 2 points
Jacks = 1 point
Rules
If a player does not make his/her bid, his/her score goes negative by the amount that was bid.
If multiple players get to the agreed upon amount of points or more after the same round, the player that bid wins, even if another player has more points.