President card game: rules, roles and card swap helper

How to play President

Deal

Use one 52-card deck for up to six players; CatsAtCards suggests shuffling two decks together from seven. Deal one card at a time, starting left of the dealer, until the deck runs out. Some players end up with one card more, which is fine: with five players that is 10 each and 2 players with 11.

Card order

2s are the highest cards, then Aces, Kings and so on down to 3s, the lowest. Suits do not matter. If you add jokers, CatsAtCards ranks them above the 2s or uses them as wild cards. Daifugo, Pagat notes, normally adds one joker as the top card.

Leading and beating

Bicycle has the player left of the dealer lead first; CatsAtCards has the holder of the 3 of clubs start the first hand with it. The leader plays any single card, or a set of cards of the same rank: a pair, three of a kind or four of a kind. Going left, each player either beats it or passes. To beat a play you must use the same number of cards, of a higher rank. Two 6s are beaten by two 9s or two Kings, but not by one King and not by three 7s. You may pass even when you could play.

End of a trick

When a play is passed by everyone else, the pile is turned face down and set aside. Whoever made that last play leads again, with anything they like. If that player has just gone out, the lead passes to the next player still holding cards, as Pagat's Daifugo rules put it.

Going out

Play continues until only one player has cards. The order in which players ran out is the result of the hand.

Roles and the card swap

Finishing order sets everyone's role for the next hand. With five players the roles run President, Vice President, Citizen, Vice Scum, Scum. In some groups the President picks the best chair and everyone sits in order of rank, as CatsAtCards describes.

How the swap works

After the deal and before anyone plays, the bottom player must give their best cards to the President. The President then gives back the same number of cards, any they choose, usually their worst. The swap depends on your group:

• Two and one. The swap CatsAtCards gives: the Scum hands over their two highest cards and the President gives any two back. The Vice Scum gives their best card to the Vice President and gets one back. Daifugo, the Japanese form, swaps the same counts with five or more players.
• One card. In Pagat's Daifugo rules for three or four players, the last player gives their single highest card to the winner, who gives one back. The helper offers it as an option for any table.

Points (optional)

Bicycle's rules give no points, and Pagat says Daifugo is usually played without a score. To keep score, CatsAtCards gives the President 2 points, the Vice President 1, the Vice Scum -1, the Scum -2 and everyone else 0, and the first player to 11 wins. With five players that is 2, 1, 0, -1, -2; with three, the helper uses 2, 0, -2 (our reading).

Clearing rules: 2s, four of a kind and revolution

This is where tables differ most, so agree before the first deal.

• Everyone passes. The basic rule in Bicycle and CatsAtCards. The pile clears only when nobody will beat the last play.
• 2s clear the pile. CatsAtCards lists an optional rule where a single 2 beats any play, however many cards it has, and the player who played it starts a new round.
• Revolution. In the optional rule CatsAtCards gives, a player who leads four of a kind reverses the card ranking from the next play, so 3s are high and 2s are low, until another revolution flips it back. Pagat says many Daifugo players have any four of a kind cause a revolution.
• Eight stop. Pagat describes a Daifugo rule where any play with an 8 in it clears the table at once, and that player leads next.

Where the sources differ

• Passing. Bicycle says passing does not stop you playing on your next turn. Pagat lists a rarely played Daifugo variant where a player who passes must wait until the table is cleared.
• The first lead. Bicycle starts with the player left of the dealer. CatsAtCards starts the first hand with whoever holds the 3 of clubs.
• Who leads the next hand. CatsAtCards has the President lead. In Pagat's basic Daifugo rules the loser of the last hand leads. The helper has a switch.
• Number of players. Bicycle says 3, 4, 5 or more, CatsAtCards 4 to 10 (two decks from seven), and Pagat 3 to 6 for Daifugo, with up to 8 possible.
• Names. CatsAtCards lists Scum, Capitalism, Rich Man Poor Man, Landlord, Donkey and Dai Hin Min. Bicycle says the game is often called by a less appropriate name; we do not print it. Pagat and CatsAtCards both say an early Dai Hin Min (Daifugo) was probably the direct ancestor of President.
• Points. Bicycle gives no points, and Pagat says Daifugo is usually played without them. The helper's points come from CatsAtCards.

Tips

1. Get rid of low cards early. A lone 3 or 4 is hard to unload later. Lead it while you have the lead.
2. Keep sets together. Breaking a pair of Queens to beat a single card can leave you with an odd Queen nobody lets you play.
3. Save a 2 for the lead. Winning a trick with your last 2 gives you the lead when you most need it, to dump a pair or triple.
4. As President, give back your worst. The cards you return should be lone low cards that would be hard to get rid of.

President questions

How do you play President?

Deal out the whole deck. The player left of the dealer leads a single card or a set of equal cards, such as a pair. Going round, each player beats it with a higher card or set of the same size, or passes. When everyone passes, the pile is cleared and the last player to play leads again. The first player out of cards becomes President.

What are the roles in President?

The first player out is President and the second is Vice President. The last player out is the Scum, the name Bicycle and CatsAtCards both use, and CatsAtCards calls the second-to-last the Vice Scum. Players in between have no swap to make; the helper calls them Citizens. The helper can also use the Japanese Daifugo titles instead.

How does the card swap work in President?

Before the next hand is played, the Scum gives their two best cards to the President, and the President gives back any two cards they choose. The Vice Scum gives their best card to the Vice President and gets one back. That is the swap CatsAtCards gives, and Daifugo uses the same counts. A one-card swap between first and last is the Daifugo rule Pagat gives for three or four players.

Do 2s clear the pile in President?

Only if your group plays that way. 2s are the highest cards. CatsAtCards lists an optional rule where a single 2 beats any play, even a set, and the player who played it starts a new round. In the basic game, as Bicycle describes it, the pile only clears when everyone passes. Agree before you start.

What else is President called?

CatsAtCards lists Scum, Capitalism, Rich Man Poor Man, Landlord and Donkey among its other names. Bicycle notes it is often called by a less appropriate name, which we leave out. The Japanese game Daifugo, also called Dai Hin Min, works almost the same way.

How many players can play President?

Bicycle lists 3, 4, 5 or more players. CatsAtCards says 4 to 10, with two 52-card decks shuffled together from seven players. Our keeper handles 3 to 12.