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| The card currently known as the Jack was originally known as a Knave (marked with the letters Kn on the card). However, due to the similarity of this denomination marking with the King (marked with a K), there was sometimes confusion or mistaken identities between these two cards. A new indicator was thus adopted, the Jack (marked with a J). The Jack was named after one of the point scoring categories in the game of All Fours. This category was scored for capturing the Knave of Trumps in a trick. |
All Fours is the primary member of a family of a number of related games, many of which have been popular since the middle 1600's. Although this game was originally developed and played in England, it has spread throughout the world and is currently especially popular in the Caribbean island nations of Tobago and Trinidad (particularly the four player variation which will be described in the variations section below).
All Fours is a trick taking game where players attempt to win up to four points per hand.
This game is designed for two or three players with a four player partnership version to be described later. All Fours uses the standard 52 card deck with the cards ranking as follows (from high to low); Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. All Fours is also commonly known as Seven Up, Old Sledge, High-Low-Jack and Old Fours.
Determination of the first dealer is usually performed with all players cutting cards and the player cutting the highest card set as the first dealer. If there is any dispute as to seating arrangements, the players may also select seats in the precedence of their cut card. The deal rotates in a clockwise direction around the table after each hand.
Once the first dealer is determined, this dealer distributes the cards in face down three card packets in a clockwise rotation until each player has six cards. The top card of the remaining stock is then turned over to specify the trump suit for the hand. If this card is a Jack the dealer instantly scores 1 point.
After looking at his hand, the player to the dealer's immediate left has two options. He can either stand or beg. To "Stand" indicates he accepts the trump suit. To "Beg" indicates a preference to have additional cards dealt and another card turned to indicate trump.
If the player Begs, the dealer then has the option either to still use the turned up trump suit, saying "Take it", or to agree with the player and take a new trump suit (saying "Refuse"). If the dealer does accept this original trump suit, each opponent of the dealer earns one point, called gift. If any opponent has a score of 6 (meaning he would win if earning one more point), the dealer may never accept the trump suit. If the suit is accepted by player or dealer, play of the hand then begins.
However, if the opponent elected to "beg" and the dealer also refused the trump suit, the trump card is turned face down, three new face down cards are dealt to each player (called running the cards) and a new trump card is exposed from the stock. If this card is of the same suit as the rejected suit, another three cards are dealt to each player and a different trump card is exposed. This continues until the exposed trump card is a different suit than the originally exposed trump card. Each time a player receives three new cards, he must discard any three from his hand (which might include any of the three new ones) to the table which are out of play for the remainder of the hand. Play should begin with each player having six cards. If the new exposed trump card is a Jack of a different suit than the original exposed trump card, the dealer scores 1 point. If, in the rare circumstance the entire deck is exhausted before a new trump suit is turned, everyone throws in their cards and the same dealer deals a new hand from start. Any points that the dealer earned from upturned Jacks are retained by the dealer.
When a new trump suit is turned, any player may also call "Bunch". If all the other players agree, all the cards are also thrown in (bunched together), reshuffled, and a new deal begins with the same dealer. Any points the dealer may have earned from turning up Jacks are still retained by the dealer.
Play of the Hand: Once the trump has been determined play of the hand can begin. The player to the immediate left of the dealer leads the first card to the first trick. Each player in a clockwise rotation plays one card to the trick. A player who has any cards of the same suit as led to the trick must either play a card of that suit to the trick or may trump if he has a card of the trump suit. A player who has no cards of the suit led, may play any card to the trick including one of the trump suit. The highest trump card played to the trick wins the trick, but if no trump cards were played to the trick the highest card of the suit led wins the trick. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.
The following scores are then counted after completion of play of the hand.
| Name | Description | Score |
|---|
| High | The player being dealt the highest card of the trump suit in the hand. | 1 |
| Low | The player being dealt the lowest card of the trump suit in the hand. | 1 |
| Jack | The player winning in a trick the Jack of the trump suit. | 1 |
| Game | The player winning the most high-card points during play of the hand. The following cards captured in tricks each have the following indicated high-card point values for purposes of determining who wins the scoring category "Game":
| Card Denomination | High-Card Point Value |
|---|
| 10 | 10 |
| Ace | 4 |
| King | 3 |
| Queen | 2 |
| Jack | 1 |
| 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 | 0 |
Whichever player has the highest total in these captured high-card points earns the one point score for the Game category.
| 1 |
|
|
 |
| This diagram shows the four scoring categories used in All Fours; highest
trump dealt, lowest trump dealt, capturing the Jack of trump and most card points captured. |
|
Note that Low is scored by the lowest card dealt during the hand, and as such, may not necessarily be a Deuce. Similarly, the point for High, may not always correspond to an Ace.
If two or more players tie for the most high-card points in the hand, the non-dealer scores for the category. If more than one player who is not the dealer ties for the most high-card points, the first player to the left of the dealer scores the point for Game. If the Jack was not played during the hand, no one scores for Jack.
If any player has accumulated 7 or more points at the end of a hand, they are declared the winner. The point categories are scored in the following specific order: High, Low, Jack, Game. Thus, if more than one player reaches or exceeds 7 points at the end of a hand, the scores should be added in order, with the first player who actually reaches 7 in the scoring order declared the game winner.
The winner of each game deals the first hand for the next game.
Low Captured: In some games of All Fours, the point for Low is earned by the player winning the card in tricks rather than by the player to whom it was originally dealt. This can change a player's strategy in choice of discards as well as the selection of specific cards to be played to certain tricks.
Eleven Makes Game: Some players increase the scoring requirement from 7 to 11, which makes for a somewhat longer game. All other rules are identical to the standard version described above.
Running All Fours: This game is played identically to the standard game except with regards to potential scoring on the turned up trump card. In this game, the turned up trump card earns the following values for the dealer dependent on the specific card exposed:
| Card | Point Value |
|---|
| Ace | 4 |
| King | 3 |
| Queen | 2 |
| Jack | 1 |
Any other card turned up as the trump earns nothing. In addition, the score required to win is 31 points. This version is sometimes played on a Cribbage board with the first player to peg halfway around the board declared the game winner.
Running of the Cards: There are various methods used regarding how players might reduce their hand to six total cards each time the cards are run. In the standard game described above, each player discards any three cards of his choice each time he receives three more from a run. However, there are several other methods that are sometimes used:
In some games, the three new cards are dealt to each player but the player does not immediately pick them up or add them to his hand. If the turned up card is of the trump suit and the cards need to be run again, the three cards that were dealt are discarded, replaced with three new ones from the deck.
Another method sometimes used is that the players keep accumulating any additional cards added to his hand when the cards are run. Once a new trump suit is revealed, at that time the player discards enough cards of his choice from his hand to reduce his hand to six.
Some games even allow the players to keep all the additional cards dealt each time the cards are run and then play out the hand with the larger number of cards in the hand. Thus, if the initial trump suit is not accepted, the hand will consist of more than six tricks being played.
Another variation has the player discard three existing cards from his current hand before being dealt the three new ones each time the cards are run.
Partnership All Fours:
This variation of All Fours, is played by four players in two partnerships. This game is particularly popular in the nations of Trinidad and Tobago. In those locations it is also sometimes titled All Foes.
Determination of partnerships and first dealer can be determined using any of the normal methods, with the cutting of cards being most common. The two players cutting the two highest cards would be partners against the two cutting the two lowest. The player cutting the highest card of all would be designated as the first dealer. In case of a tie in the cut, any tying players would cut again to break the tie. The players should seat themselves at the table such that each player is sitting directly across from his partner.
The deck and ranking of the cards is the same as in the standard version as is the method of the deal, with each player getting six cards in packets of three. One difference however, is that unlike in standard All Fours, in this version the direction of play, deal, and rotation of the deal moves in a counter-clockwise direction.
After distributing the cards the dealer then turns over the top card of the remaining stock to determine the trump suit. If this card is an Ace, Six, Deuce or Jack the dealers partnership earns points as indicated in the following chart:
| Card | Point Value | Notes |
|---|
| Jack | 3 | - |
| Six | 2 | This card is only scored in the Trinidadian version. |
| Two | 2 | This card is only scored in the Tobago version of the game. |
| Ace | 1 | - |
Note that, depending on the specific version being played either the Two or the Six earns two points when exposed. Usually only one or the other of the two cards earns the bonus. Primarily, the Trinidad version of the game scores for the six and the Tobago version of the game scores for the two.
After the trump card is exposed, the player to the dealers immediate right then has the standard options to Stand or Beg. If that player wants to play the hand using the exposed trump, he would state "Stand" which would then allow play to begin. However, if that player would rather use another trump suit for the hand he would state "I Beg".
If the player Stands, the game would then begin with the player to the dealer's immediate right playing the first card to the first trick.
If the player, instead stated "Beg", the dealer has two options of his own. He can state "Take One" which earns the opponent team one point and retains the suit of the turned up card as trump for the hand and starting play of the hand. The dealer may never Take One, however, if the opposing partnership is within one point of winning the game. Besides declaring "Take One", the dealer can instead opt for another trump suit. He does this by dealing three more cards to each player and turning over a new trump card. If the new card is a Jack, Six or Ace, the dealer scores the appropriate number of points.
If the new exposed card is of the same trump as the first card exposed, three more cards are dealt to each player and another card is exposed for determining trump. The dealers partnership again earns points if the turned up card is a Jack, Six or Ace. The dealer continues to do this until a card of a different suit is exposed. Once any card of a different suit is exposed as the trump, this sets the new trump suit and play begins. If the entire deck is dealt out before a new trump suit is exposed, all cards are tossed in and the same dealer deals again, but any points his partnership has earned from exposure of the trump card are retained.
Once play begins, the player to the dealers immediate right plays the first card to the first trick. Each player, in a counterclockwise rotation then plays one card to the trick. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick. Play to the tricks continues until all the players cards have been played. Note that, unlike the original game, players do not discard any cards when cards are run.
On any trump lead, a player must play a trump card if he possesses one, however he is not required to attempt to win the trick if he does not want. If he has no cards of the trump suit, he may play a card of any suit.
If any other suit is led to the trick a player who has cards of the led suit must either play a card of the led suit or a card of the trump suit at his option. If he has no cards of the suit led, he may play any card to the trick, including a trump if he has one.
A trick is won by the highest card of the trump suit played to the trick. If the trick contains no cards of the trump suit, it is won by the highest card of the suit of the original card led to the trick.
After all tricks have been played and won, the partnerships may then score for the following scoring categories:
| Category Name | Description | Score Earned |
|---|
| High | The player's team who was dealt the highest trump in play | 1 |
| Low | The player's team who was dealt the lowest trump in play | 1 |
| Hang Jack | Jack of the trump suit if won by the opponents of the team to which it was originally dealt | 3 |
| Jack | Jack of the Trump suit if won by the same team to whom it was originally dealt | 1 |
| Game | The partnership which was able to capture the most high card points in tricks.
The following cards captured in tricks have the following high-card point values for purposes of determining this:
| Card Denomination | High-Card Point Value |
|---|
| 10 | 10 |
| Ace | 4 |
| King | 3 |
| Queen | 2 |
| Jack | 1 |
All other cards captured in tricks have a point value of 0.
| 1 |
If both partnerships tie for total high-card points captured during the hand, neither side scores for the Game category. If the Jack of trumps was not dealt to any player's hand, no score is earned for Hang Jack or Jack. The order of scoring the categories at the end of each hand is as follows; High, Low, Jack (or Hang Jack), Game.
The first partnership to win 14 points over any number of hands is declared the winning partnership of the game.
All Fives:
All Fives is a high scoring variation of the standard game All Fours. The game, designed for two or three players, is played identically to the standard game, except for the scoring. Instead of the standard four categories as used in All Fours, the following specific cards earn points for the player capturing them in tricks:
| Card | Scoring Value |
|---|
| Ten of Trump Suit | 10 |
| Five of Trump Suit | 5 |
| Ace of Trump Suit | 4 |
| King of Trump Suit | 2 |
| Queen of Trump Suit | 2 |
| Jack of Trump Suit | 1 |
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The player earns the score for the various cards as soon as he wins the trick. The first player to accumulate 61 or more points is declared the winner of the game, which can occur at any time during
actual play. This game is often scored on a Cribbage board with the first player to advance his peg around the board being the winner.
West Yorkshire All Fours: All fours is also popular in the West Yorkshire area of England, with several All Fours leagues being very active in the area. The rules as adopted in this area are similar to the standard game with a few key differences. The game is played by four players in two partnerships of two players each. The game uses one standard 52 card deck, with the same ranking as in standard All Fours.
If not preset before the game begins, determination of partnerships can be performed by having everyone take any seat around the table. One player then, after shuffling the deck, begins dealing the cards, one-at-a time to each player, face-up. He
continues dealing until the first player receives any Jack. The dealer continues dealing, but the player receiving the Jack receives no more cards. He continues this until all four Jacks have been dealt. Once any player receives a Jack, that player receives no more cards during this deal for determining partnerships. Once all four Jacks have been dealt, the players receiving the two red Jacks (the Jacks in the suit of diamonds and hearts) play as partners against the players receiving the two black Jacks (Jacks in the suit of clubs and spades). Each player should sit directly across the table from his partner.
Determination of the first dealer is usually performed by having any player begin dealing cards, one by one, and face-up to the players. The first player to receive any Jack is set as the player to have the first turn (Pitcher) and the player who is seated at his immediate right will be set as the first dealer. After each hand the role of dealer rotates in a clockwise direction around the table.
The dealer then thoroughly shuffles the deck and offers it to the player at his immediate right for the cut. This player may either cut or tap the deck indicating there is to be no cut. The dealer then begins dealing the cards in a clockwise rotation around the table starting with the player at his immediate left. He continues dealing until each player has a total of six cards.
After the deal, only the Pitcher (the player to the immediate left of the dealer) may pick up his hand. That player then plays any card from his hand to start the first trick. The suit of the card led sets the trump suit to be used for the remainder of the hand. Once the Picher has led his first card to the first trick, the other players are free to pick up their hands. Each other player, in a clockwise direction around the table then plays one card to that trick. The leader to each trick
may play any card remaining in his hand to start the trick. Each other player, if having a card of the suit originally led to the trick must either play a card of that suit or a card from the trump suit. If they have no cards in the suit originally led to the trick, they may play any card from their hand to the trick.
After each player in turn has played a card to the trick, it is determined who has won the trick. The trick is won by the player of the highest card in the trump suit to the trick. If the trick contains no cards in the trump suit, the trick is won by the highest card of the suit originally led to the trick. Cards won in tricks should be set aside and out of play. The first trick won is usually set face-up, near the player winning it, with the led card on top to help players recall the trump suit. Other tricks are usually stacked face-down near the winner of the trick. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.
If a player believes that he has no more useful cards left during play, he may throw in all his cards on his trick. In that event his partner simply plays alone against the other players for the remainder of that hand.
After all tricks have been played and won, game points for the hand are distributed as earned. The following are the available points during a game:
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| In this hand, the player of the Ace should win two points on this trick. |
- High - The team winning the trick with the highest trump in the hand earns one point.
- Low - The team dealt the lowest ranking card in the trump suit earns one point.
- Jack - The team which manages to win the trick containing the Jack of the trump suit earns one point. If the Jack is not in play, neither team scores the point for "Jack".
- Game - The team managing to capture the most total card points in tricks earns one point for "Game". The following chart shows the point scoring cards in the deck:
| Card | Card Point Scoring Value |
|---|
| Ace | 4 Points Each |
| King | 3 Points Each |
| Queen | 2 Points Each |
| Jack | 1 Point Each |
| Ten | 10 Points Each |
If both teams manage to capture the exact same number of Card Points during the hand, neither team scores the point for "Game" on that hand.
Although a score sheet and pen or pencil can be used for scoring, it is more common for the scores to be kept on a special wooden pegboard. The first team to score 11 game points (or advance their team's peg 11 holes) is declared the winner. If both teams manage to reach or exceed the 11 point total necessary to win, the points are earned in the following specific order: High, Low, Jack, Game.
Lancashire All Fours: A slightly different version of All Fours is also played in the Lancashire area of England (particularly in Blackburn). This variant is played similarly to the West Yorkshire version with the following differences:
- Instead of using the first player to receive a Jack set as the Pitcher for the first hand, a different method is used. In this method, one random player will cut the cards and look at the bottom card, ensuring no other player is able to see the cut card. His designated partner for the hand must then attempt to guess if the card is a red suited (hearts or
diamonds) or black suited (clubs or spades) card. If the player guesses correctly, one member of that partnership is set as the first pitcher for the first hand. if he guesses incorrectly, a member of the opposing team is set as the pitcher for the hand. The player to the immediate right of this first pitcher is then set as the first dealer. After the first hand, the normal rules apply, with the role of first pitcher and dealer rotating in a clockwise direction around the table for the next hand.
- The point for "Low" in the Lancashire version is awarded to the team which captures the lowest trump card in play.
- All cards captured in tricks are kept in a face-down pile near to the player winning that trick.
In all other respects All Fours, as played Lancashire is played identically to the West Yorkshire version.
Original All Fours: As All Fours is a very old game (dating from at the 17th century
at the very latest), it is not surprising that rules as played at many modern tables may have changed somewhat. The original, published rules as found in Charles Cotton's
The Compleat Gamester describe a slightly different version of the game, originating in Kent, which is rarely still played today.
This original version was played by two players and uses one standard 52 card deck. During play the normal expected ranking of the cards is used, as follows (from highest to lowest): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. However for purposes of determining the first dealer, a slightly different ranking was used. Thus, to determine the first dealer, each player cuts a card from the shuffled deck. Whichever player draws a higher ranking card is set as the first dealer. The ranking of the cards, only for purposes of this determination of first dealer is as follows (from high to low): 3, 2, Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4. After each hand, the role of dealer should alternate amongst the two players.
The dealer should then thoroughly shuffle the deck and his opponents cuts. After the cut, the dealer begins dealing the cards in face-down batches of three, starting with his opponent, alternating amongst his opponent and himself. Each player should receive a total of 6 cards. Each player should then pick up their hand for examination. The dealer then deals the next card from the top of the stack, face-up to the top of the table. If this card is any Jack, the dealer immediately scores one game point. The opponent of the dealer may then either accept the suit of the turned-up card as the trump suit for the hand or may elect to "beg one". In the case where the
opponent of the dealer opts to thus "beg one", the dealer then has two options. The first such option is for the dealer to allow the non-dealer to score one
game point and then throw in all the cards with a new hand being dealt by the same dealer.
Alternatively, for his second option in a request to "beg one", the
dealer may deal each player three additional cards and turn up a new card as the trump suit. If the exposed trump card is of the same suit, he must deal yet another three cards to each player and a new trump suit, until either the deck is exhausted or a different suit from the originally exposed trump suit is turned. In the rare event that the deck is exhausted, the cards are all thrown in and a new hand is dealt by the same dealer. Once the exposed card dealt is of a new suit, play of the hand can begin.
The opponent of the dealer leads the first card to the first trick. The leader to a trick may play any card of choice
remaining in his hand to start a trick. If his opponent has a card of the suit originally led to the trick he must play it, but may also play a card of the trump suit if he has one (called reneging). If he has no cards in the trump suit, he may play any card from his hand (also including a card from the trump suit if he has any). The highest card in the trump suit played to the trick wins it, or, if the trick contains no cards in the trump suit, the highest card of the suit originally led to the trick. The winner of each trick sets the cards from the won trick to the side and out of play (later used in scoring), and leads the first card to the next trick.
After every trick has been played and won, the players determine their scoring for the hand. The player who was dealt the highest card in the trump suit earns one
game point, the player dealt the lowest card in the trump suit earns one game
point, the player winning the Jack of the trump suit earns one game point, and the player earning the most high card points earns one
game point (called Game). For purposes of determining the winner of this Game point, each ten captured in tricks has a value of 10, each Ace 4, Each King 3, Each Queen 2, and each Jack 1. Whichever player has a higher total in these captured cards earns the point for Game.
The first player, over the course of multiple hands, to earn a pre-determined score is set as the winner. This target score can be anywhere from 7 to 15, but is most commonly played to 11.
Blind All Fours: Blind All Fours is a variant of All Fours which is described in some late 19th Century books describing card games. Blind All Fours is sometimes called Pitch, however, since Blind All Fours has more in common with the games listed on this page it is listed here instead of on the page detailing the rules for
Pitch. Blind All Fours can be played by 2 or more players and uses one standard 52 card deck. The ranking of the cards in this deck is as in standard All Fours.
Blind All Fours is a simplified version of the standard game. After each player is dealt the requisite six cards (in two batches of three cards), the players pick up their cards and play of the hand begins.
The player to the immediate left of the dealer leads the first card to the first trick. The suit of the card led sets the trump suit to be used during this hand. In a trick in which a card of the trump suit is led, each other player must play a card of the trump suit if they have one. If they have no such card, they may play a card from any suit. The leader to a trick can play any card of choice from their hand. Each other player, if they have a card of the suit originally led to the trick, must either play a card of that suit or a card in the trump suit. If they have no cards of the suit originally led to the trick, they may play a card of any suit to the trick.
The highest card of the trump suit played to the trick wins the trick. If the trick contains no cards in the trump suit, the highest card of the suit originally led to the trick wins it. Cards won in tricks should be set aside by the players, face-down and out of play. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick.
After every trick has been played and won, potential scoring for the hand occurs. The following are the possible scores (sometimes called pointy points, scoring points, or game points) for the hand:
- High - This point is won by the player who is dealt the highest card in the trump suit from that hand.
- Low - This point is awarded to the player who is dealt the lowest card in the trump suit during that hand.
- Jack - This point is won by the player who captures the Jack of the trump suit in play. If the Jack of the trump suit is not in play, no player will score for this point.
- Game - This point is awarded to the player who captures the mode card points during play. The following are the values of each card as found in the deck:
| Card | Card Point Scoring Value |
|---|
| Ace | 4 Points |
| King | 3 Points |
| Queen | 2 Points |
| Jack | 1 Point |
| Ten | 10 Points |
| 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 | 0 Points |
If there is a tie for the player taking the most card points, no player scores the point for game during that hand.
Thus, each player adds to his current, ongoing score any of the game points earned during that hand. If at the end of a hand, any player has managed to score 7 or more points, that player is declared the game winner. If multiple players manage to reach or exceed this value, the scoring points are added to the players ongoing scores in the following, strict order: High, Low, Jack, then Game.
Note that often, if this game is played by an even number of players, the game is played as a partnership game, with half the players forming one team and the other half forming the other. The players should be seated in such a manner that each player has a member of the opposing team sitting on his left and right. Each team keeps a general score for that team, and all captured cards are combined for each team and then that team scores any of the appropriate points.
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