Pitch card game: rules and score keeper
Pitch, also called Setback, Auction Pitch or High-Low-Jack, is a six-card bidding game where you win points, not tricks. Every table seems to play a different version, so the keeper below has six of them as presets, each tied to the source that describes it. Pick yours, mark who won each point, and the keeper applies that version's setback, smudge and "who goes out first" rule.
Pitch in 30 seconds
- Two to four players on their own, or four in two partnerships. One 52-card deck, aces high, six cards each.
- Bid the number of points you will win. Each bid must beat the last; the dealer may often take it at the same number.
- The high bidder (the pitcher) leads. The suit of that first card is trumps.
- You must follow suit or trump; if you cannot follow, play anything.
- Score 1 each for High, Low, Jack and Game. Make your bid and keep what you won; miss it and lose the bid. The others always keep what they won.
Pitch score keeper
| Side | Score |
|---|
Hand by hand
The versions in the keeper
Each row comes from the same code as the keeper. The total is what one hand can be worth, and the bids run up to it.
| Version (source) | Points | Total | Bids | Game to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auction Pitch to 7 (Bicycle) | High, Low, Jack, Game | 4 | 2 to 4 | 7 |
| Setback to 11 (Wikipedia) | High, Low, Jack, Game | 4 | 1 to 4 | 11 |
| Partnership Pitch to 21 (Pagat) | High, Low, Jack, Game | 4 | 2 to 5 | 21 |
| Five Point Set Back to 12 (Pagat) | High, Low, Right (jack of trumps), Left (off-jack), Game | 5 | 1 to 5 | 12 |
| Oklahoma Ten-Point Pitch to 21 (Pagat) | High, Low, Jack, Off-jack, High joker, Low joker, Trey (3 of trumps) 3, Game | 10 | 2 to 10 | 21 |
| Pedro (Cinch) to 62 (Pagat) | High (ace of trumps), Low (two of trumps), Jack, Game (ten of trumps), Pedro (five of trumps) 5, Low pedro (other five of that colour) 5 | 14 | 7 to 14 | 62 |
Pagat's Oklahoma game makes the trey optional; without it there are 7 points and bids stop at 7. In Pagat's Partnership Pitch the top bid, smudge, is worth 5 and needs all six tricks too. Bicycle's smudge is a bid of 4.
How to play Pitch
Deal
Deal six cards to each player, three at a time, clockwise from the dealer's left. The deal passes left after each hand. Bigger versions deal more: Pagat's Oklahoma Ten-Point and Pedro deal nine each to four players, then players discard (and in Pedro draw again) to play six-card hands.
Bidding
Starting left of the dealer, each player gets one chance to bid or pass. A bid is the number of points you promise to win. It must be higher than the last bid, except that in Bicycle's game and Pagat's Partnership Pitch the dealer may take it at the same number. Pagat's partnership game makes the dealer bid two if everyone else passes.
Play
The winning bidder, the pitcher, leads to the first trick, and that card's suit is trumps. If you hold the suit led, follow it or play a trump; you may trump even when you could follow. If you cannot follow, play any card. The highest trump wins the trick, or the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads next.
Scoring a hand
After six tricks, award each point. The pitcher's side keeps what it won if that reaches the bid; if not, it loses the amount of the bid, which can take a score below zero ("in the hole"). Every other side keeps what it won either way.
The points
- High: the highest trump in play. The side that held it gets the point.
- Low: the lowest trump in play. Either the player dealt it or the side that wins it in a trick, depending on the version (see below).
- Jack: the jack of trumps, to whoever wins it in a trick. If nobody was dealt it, nobody scores it.
- Game: count the cards in your tricks: ten 10, ace 4, king 3, queen 2, jack 1. Most wins the point; Pagat and Wikipedia give it to no one on a tie.
Bigger versions add trumps. The off-jack (the other jack of the trump colour, called the left bower in Euchre) is a trump worth 1. Jokers can be worth 1 each, and the trey (3 of trumps) 3 in Oklahoma Ten-Point. In Pedro, both fives of the trump colour are worth 5 each, the ten of trumps takes the place of the Game count, and High is the ace of trumps, scored by whoever wins it.
Where the sources differ
- Who gets Low. Wikipedia: the original holder, though it notes many give it to the trick winner. Pagat's Partnership Pitch: the side that wins the trick with it. Pagat's Oklahoma Ten-Point: the holder. Pagat's Pedro: the team dealt the two. Bicycle does not say. The keeper just asks who got it.
- Minimum bid. Wikipedia 1, Bicycle 2, Pagat's Partnership and Oklahoma games 2, its Five Point Set Back 1, Pedro 7.
- Smudge. Bicycle: a bid of 4 that wins the game outright if made, unless you are in the hole. Pagat's Partnership Pitch: a separate bid worth 5 that also needs all six tricks. Wikipedia lists both ideas. Oklahoma Ten-Point and Pedro have none.
- Game target. Bicycle 7, Wikipedia 11 as its base (also 7, 9, 15, 21), Pagat's partnership game 21, Five Point Set Back 12, Pedro 62. The keeper lets you change the target; a target other than the version's own is a house rule.
- When several reach the target. Bicycle and Wikipedia: the pitcher's points count first, then the rest in the order High, Low, Jack, Game. Pagat's Partnership Pitch and Oklahoma Ten-Point: only the bidding side can win, at the end of a hand where it made its bid. Pedro: "bidder goes out" once both teams have 55.
- House rule (our reading). Pagat's Five Point Set Back says only "first team to 12". If both teams pass 12 on one hand, the keeper counts the bidder first, then the points in Pagat's order (high, low, right, left, game), as Bicycle does for the 4-point game.
Tips
- Bid on trumps you hold. The ace of the suit you pitch is a sure High. The jack is a good bet only if you also hold cards above it.
- Lead high trumps early. Pulling trumps out early makes it more likely the jack and the low trump fall into your tricks.
- Feed tens to your side. A ten counts 10 for Game. Throw it on a trick your partner is already winning.
- Mind the score before bidding. When only the bidder can win, a cheap bid you can surely make may end the game. The keeper's status line says who can go out.
Play Pitch online or at home
Play at home: one 52-card deck (add two jokers for Ten-Point), two to four players or two teams, and the score keeper above.
Pitch questions
How do you play Pitch?
Deal six cards each. Players bid how many points they will win, from two to four in most games. The high bidder leads the first card, and its suit becomes trumps. Play six tricks. Points go for High (top trump), Low (bottom trump), Jack (jack of trumps) and Game (most counting cards). If the bidder falls short, the bid is taken off their score.
How do you count Game in Pitch?
Count the cards in your tricks: each ten is 10, ace 4, king 3, queen 2, jack 1. The side with the most gets the Game point. A full deck holds 80. Pagat and Wikipedia give no one the point on a tie. Our keeper has a counter for this.
Who gets the Low point in Pitch?
It depends on the version. Wikipedia gives Low to the player originally dealt the lowest trump, and Oklahoma Ten-Point Pitch on Pagat does the same. Pagat's Partnership Pitch gives it to the side that wins the trick it falls in. In Pedro the team dealt the two of trumps gets it.
What do you play Pitch to?
Bicycle plays to 7. Wikipedia takes 11 as the base game and lists 7, 9, 15 and 21 as other targets, with 21 typical for partners. Pagat's Partnership Pitch is 21, Five Point Set Back 12, and Pedro 62.
What is a smudge in Pitch?
For Bicycle, a smudge is a bid of four; make all four points and you win the game on the spot unless your score is below zero. In Pagat's Partnership Pitch, smudge is a separate bid worth five that needs all six tricks as well as all four points.
Can the other team win Pitch on my bid?
In Pagat's Partnership Pitch, no: a team can only win at 21 or more at the end of a hand in which it made its own bid. In Bicycle's version anyone can reach 7, but the pitcher's points count first, so the pitcher wins a tie.