How to Play the Card Game 1234

1234 is a Thai card game in which the players attempt to be the last players holding cards. The game is sometimes also written as One-Two-Three-Four. The game's name comes from a player's specific requirement during the game, in order to beat a previous play.

Examples of some valid plays in 1 2 3 4, as well as legal pass plays

Several examples of legal plays if the current count was at 10, as well as examples of the various legal pass plays to any count total.

The game can be played by 2 to 5 participants and uses one standard 52 card deck. As 1234 is a counting type game, each card in the deck has a relative counting value. The values of each card in the deck is shown in the following chart:

Card	Count Value
Ace	1 Each
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10	Value as Marked on Card
Jack	11 Each
Queen	12 Each
King	13 Each

Determination of first dealer and seating positions can be performed using any method, with draw for high cards a common method. Using this method, each player should draw one card from the shuffled deck. Any players drawing equal cards should replace those cards, drawing a new card from the deck, until each player has a card of a unique rank. The players would then, in order from highest (as per the count value of the card) to lowest, select a seat of choice at the table. The player drawing the highest ranked card of all is set as the first dealer. After the first hand, the winner of the previous hand is set as the dealer for the next hand.

To start each hand, the dealer then thoroughly shuffles the deck and offers the deck to the player at his immediate left to cut. After the cut, the dealer then begins dealing the cards, one by one and face-down, starting with the player at his immediate left. He continues dealing in a counter-clockwise direction around the table until each player has a total of five cards. He then places the remainder of the deck in a face-down pile near the center of the pile as the stock and turns over the top card of this stock, placing it face-up next to the stock pile to begin the play pile. The player at the immediate right of the dealer has the first turn and the turns continue in a counter-clockwise direction around the table.

On a turn, a player attempts to play one or more cards from his hand onto the play pile which is exactly 1, 2, 3, or 4 higher (in total count value) than the last legal play. The suits of these cards can be from any suit, as suits are, except for in special pass plays mentioned below, irrelevant in this game. Thus, each player attempts to play such a card or combination of cards that is from 1 to 4 points higher than the previous play. In addition, a player may also make a pass play, if they have in hand, and opt to play, one of the following special combinations to the table:

Any one Ace.
Any two cards (pair) of the same rank (and both being of a denomination between Ace and ten, inclusive), and a third card of rank Jack, Queen, or King.
Any three cards, of any rank, but all of the same suit.
Any three cards, all of the same exact rank (counting value).
Two different pairs, with each pair being of rank 10 or less (for example two fives, and two eights).

If a player makes a pass play (and playing the designated cards to the table), the previous total (before the pass play) remains and thus subsequent players must attempt to beat that previous high total.

After a player makes a legal play (beating the previous total by a maximum count of four, or playing one of the five pass plays), that player then draws from the stock pile, adding the drawn cards to his current hand. He may draw from zero to three cards from the stock pile (as many as preferred), but he may never draw such that his current hand contains more than five total cards.

If a player, on his turn, with the cards from his hand, is unable to beat the previous card, or play one of the legal pass plays, he must then drop from the hand, placing any remaining cards from his hand to the side, out of play. The turn then advances to the next, still active player, who must then attempt to beat the current high count (or make one of the legal pass plays). The game continues until all but one player are forced to drop from the hand, with that player declared the game winner.

If the stock pile runs out, and there are still more than one active player, these remaining players all reveal their hands, and the player with the single highest ranking card (as per the count values of the cards given in the chart above), is declared the winner. If two or more players tie for this highest ranked card, the game is considered a tie amongst those players.