How to Play All Fours Card Game? | Rules, Scoring & Strategy

All Fours is a classic trick-taking card game that rewards both luck and careful counting. You can learn how to play All Fours card game in about ten minutes — the rules family is compact, but scoring across four categories keeps every hand interesting. Whether you’re teaching the game to friends or dusting off a family tradition, the version explained below is the most common starting point, with variations noted where they matter.

What You Need To Start

You only need a standard 52-card deck and at least two players. The game plays best with two players head-to-head or with four players in two partnerships, though some groups include three by rotating the dealer. Decide the first dealer with a cut or draw; the highest card wins the deal.

The dealer shuffles and gives each player six cards, usually in two packets of three. In a two-player game, the dealer places the next card face up on the table. That card proposes the trump suit for the hand.

Before play begins, agree on the scoring target — 7 points is the most common traditional target and works well for a quick game. Some modern guides use 11 or 14 points for a longer match. Whatever you choose, state it clearly before the first hand so everyone knows what they’re playing toward.

Trump, The Beg, And Playing Tricks

The nondealer, sometimes called the elder hand or pitcher, decides whether to accept the turned suit as trump. If they accept, play begins. If they decline, they “beg” — they can ask the dealer to accept the turned card as trump anyway, or the dealer deals three more cards to each player before turning a new trump card.

Whoever leads the first trick is the elder hand. On each trick, players must follow suit if they can. If a player cannot follow suit, they may play a trump card — and in most versions, they must play trump when they’re able. If they hold neither the led suit nor a trump, they discard any card. The highest trump played wins the trick; if no trump appears, the highest card of the led suit wins.

The winner of each trick leads the next one. Play continues until all six tricks are done. The hand then scores across four categories.

Scoring: High, Low, Jack, And Game

All Fours scores points in four ways, and a single hand can earn points for both players. The four categories are:

• High: One point to the player who captures the highest trump in play.
• Low: One point to the player who captures the lowest trump in play. Some versions award this to the player who held it, not the one who won it — decide before dealing.
• Jack: One point to the player who captures the jack of trumps. If the jack is never played, no one scores it.
• Game: One point to the player whose captured cards total the highest point value, using the rank scale below.

For Game, most modern rules assign card-points as follows: ten is worth 10 points, ace is 4, king is 3, queen is 2, and jack is 1. All other cards count zero. Total each player’s captured card values; the higher total wins the Game point. If both players tie, no one scores Game.

The first player or partnership to reach the agreed target wins. Because High, Low, Jack, and Game can each go to a different player, a hand might end with both sides scoring — that’s what makes All Fours satisfying to play.

All Fours belongs to a rules family that includes All Fives and Seven Up, and local traditions vary. The 7-point target and the card values above are the most documented convention, but your table’s rules are the ones that matter — just agree on them before you start. If you’re looking for a solid set of card games for a larger group, our tested roundup of the best 4-player card games covers plenty of alternatives that play well with four.

Common Variations To Know

You’ll run into a few rule differences depending on who taught you. Some sources call the nondealer the pitcher. Others allow a player who cannot follow suit to play any card rather than being forced to trump. The trump-beg option also varies — some groups let the dealer accept the beg and keep the turned trump, while others always deal three more cards.

The most important variation is the scoring target. The traditional and most widely documented target is 7 points, which keeps a match to roughly 30–45 minutes. Some modern guides and tutorials use 11 or 14 points for a longer session. Pick your target and stick with it.

Card rank for play is straightforward: ace is high, then king, queen, jack, and down to the two. The card-point scale for Game is separate and only counts tens, aces, kings, queens, and jacks as noted above.