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| In Auction Pitch, the first card led by the high bidder indicates the trump suit to be used for the hand. Thus, in this hand, leading of this Queen sets clubs as the trump suit. |
As in most games from the All Fours family, the dealer deals out three card packets face-down to each player in rotation until each player has a total of six cards. Rotation of play, the deal of the cards, and movement of the role of dealer all proceed in a clockwise direction around the table. After the each player has the requisite number of cards, the undealt remainder of the cards are set aside, out of play until the next hand.
Once the deal is complete, all players having received the requisite number of cards, there is one round of bidding, starting with the first player to the dealer's left and continuing in a clockwise rotation around the table. Each player in turn may either make a bid higher than any previous bid or pass. The lowest allowable bid is two and the highest bid is four. Although a player's bid must be higher than any other bid, the dealer has the option to tie the current highest bid and still win the bid, unless the high bid was four (called Smudge), with the player making this bid of "Smudge" instantly the winner of the bidding. A player's bid is his estimation of the minimum number of points he intends to win during the hand. A player who intends to bid Smudge, sometimes indicates this high bid simply by playing his first card to the middle of the table to immediately start the play of that hand. If the first three players elect to pass, the bidder must make a minimum bid of two (called a forced bid).
Once a high bidder is found (with this player called the "Pitcher"), the player making that bid leads the first card to start the first trick. The suit of the card he leads (pitches) to this first trick sets the trump suit for that hand. Each other player in a clockwise rotation then plays a card from their hand to that same trick.
The leader to a trick may lead any card of choice from his hand to start the trick. If the leader leads the trick with a card of the trump suit all other players must play a card of the trump suit if they so have one. On a lead of any other suit, the other players must follow suit to that of the card led, or also have the option to play a card of the trump suit if they have a card of that suit. If the player has no cards of the suit led to the trick, he may also trump or may play a card of any other suit. Each trick is won by the highest trump card played to the trick. If the trick contains no cards of the trump suit, the trick is won by the highest card of the suit originally led to the trick. The cards from the trick should be set aside, face-down and out of play, near the player winning the trick, for later review during for scoring. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick during the hand.
After every trick has been played and won, the score for each player is determined. The scoring categories in Auction Pitch are as per the following list:
- High - One point for being dealt the highest trump card in play.
- Low - One point for being dealt the lowest trump card in play.
- Jack - One point for winning the Jack of the trump suit in a trick. If the Jack of the trump suit is not in play (being in the undealt cards), this point is not scored on that particular hand.
- Game - One point for capturing the most high-card points in tricks. The following cards have the indicated Card Point value:
Card Card Point Value Ten 10 Each Ace 4 Each King 3 Each Queen 2 Each Jack 1 Each 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 0
Whichever player manages to capture the highest total in such Card Points would thus be entitled to earn this point for "Game". If two or more players tie for the highest number of Card Points captured during the hand, no player earns the score for "Game"
on that hand.
If a player bids Smudge and that player does manage to earn all four points for the hand, they immediately win the entire game unless they previously had a negative score. In that case, their score is set to a value of 4. This only applies to the designated Pitcher. If any player other than the Pitcher wins all four points during the game, they simply win four additional points (which may often be enough to win the game in any event).
Variations and Optional Rules
Minimum Bid: Some players allow a minimum bid of one instead of two. In this case, in the event of a forced-bid by the dealer, this player is only required to make a minimum bid of one if the first three players all pass.
Point for "Low": Some players modify the rules slightly in that the point for low, which is traditionally awarded to the team which that card had been dealt, instead is awarded to the team that eventually captures it in a trick during play.
Smudge: Smudge is a very popular variant of Auction Pitch and it too is sometimes also called simply "Pitch". This game is played identically to Auction Pitch with a few changes:
In this version, any player (not just the Pitcher) who wins all four points during a hand instantly wins the game, even if that player currently has a negative score.
The dealer must bid higher than any other bid in order to become the Pitcher for the hand.
The point for Low is scored by the player winning the lowest trump card in play rather than who it was initially dealt to.
In Smudge, each player usually begins the game with 7 points. Each time they earn points at the end of a hand, the appropriate number of points are subtracted from their current score. If a player is set back, he must add the points of his unsuccessful bid to his score. The first player to reach or go below zero is the winner of the game.
Set Back: Set Back is another commonly found variation of Pitch but designed for three players. The game is played identically to standard Auction Pitch, with the following differences: One Joker is added to the deck used for this game. With this Joker, the ranking of the cards in the trump suit in Set Back is somewhat different, as follows:
In whichever suit ends up being set as the trump suit by the bidder, the rank of cards is as follows: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Joker. The Joker is considered, during play of the hand, to be a member of the trump suit and thus may be played at any time a card of the trump suit could legally be played.
The ranking of all non-trump suits is the expected ranking from Ace down to two (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2).
The scoring categories in this game are also slightly different than in standard Auction Pitch due to the addition of the Joker. The following table shows the complete set of scoring categories used:
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The value of high-card points for determining the player who earns the point for game is the same as in standard Auction Pitch. If two players tie in high card points at the end of the hand, no one earns the point for Game. If the Jack is not in play for the hand, no player scores the point for "Jack", and similarly if the Joker is not found in play, the point for "Joker" is not awarded to any player.
Although, from the card ranking, the Joker is considered the lowest card of the trump suit for play purposes, it can never win for the Low scoring category, with that score going to the player dealt the actual lowest card in the trump suit other than the Joker.
Since it is possible in this game to earn up to five points per hand, the maximum bid allowed is five. A player must bid and make all five points to be considered a smudge and winning the game outright. Similar to the standard game, however, if the player currently has a negative score that player does not instantly win the game, but their score becomes 5. The first player to score 10 or more points at the end of the hand is considered the winner. The order of scoring at the end of each hand is as follows: High, Low, Jack, Joker, Game. This may be important if multiple players exceed the target score of 10 at the end of the same hand.
29 Card Arizona Pitch: This game is thought to be a game which was reportedly played during the days of the old west in the area of Eastern Arizona. 29 Card Arizona Pitch uses a reduced standard deck consisting of, as per the name, 29 cards. Thus, the deck used for this game consists of all cards in the denominations of Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, and 6. In addition, one Joker is added to this deck. The Joker is considered a permanent part of the trump suit and would thus be played any time a card from the trump suit could be played. The ranking of the cards in the designated trump suit for the game are as follows (from high to low): Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Joker, 10, 9, 6. In the non-trump suits, the ranking of the cards is the same: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 6. This game is designed for play by four players playing in two teams of two players each.
As in standard Pitch, after the deal in which each player receives 6 total cards, there is one round of bidding. The remaining five cards from the deck are not dealt, and are thus out of play for that hand. The lowest bid is two and the highest bid is five. Each bid must be higher than any previous bid to be a legal bid. If a player prefers not to make a higher bid they may simply pass. Also similar to other forms of Pitch, the dealer need only make a bid equal to the current highest bid if he wants to become the Pitcher for that hand. The winner of the bidding is entitled to play the first card to the first trick, and the suit of the card led sets the trump suit to be used for the hand. The rules for play to the tricks are the same as in standard Pitch and it's other variants.
The total available points during the game are as follows:
| Category | Description | Scoring Value |
|---|---|---|
| High | Being dealt the highest trump card in play. | 1 |
| Low | Being dealt the lowest trump card in play. | 1 |
| Joker | Winning the Joker in a trick during play. | 1 |
| Jack | Capturing the Jack of the trump suit in tricks during the hand. | 1 |
| Game | Capturing the most high card points in play. | 1 |
For purposes of the point for Game, the scoring cards are the same as in standard Pitch. If the Joker or the Jack of the trump suit is not found in play during a particular hand, no team scores for these categories. Similarly, if both teams earn the exact same number of card points, neither team scores the point in the "Game" category.
If the high bidder's team manages to score at least as many of the various points as per his bid, that team adds a number of points to their score equal to those earned by that team during the hand. However, if that team does not manage to capture as many points as bid, they must instead subtract the amount of their high bid from their current score. The opposing team scores the number of points earned during the hand.
The first partnership to reach seven or more points at the end of a hand is declared the winner. If both teams manage to do this on the same hand, the team which was the declaring team on that last hand is set as the game winner.
Nine Card Pitch: Nine Card Pitch is a variant of Pitch in which, as the name of the game implies, each player receives a total of nine cards. As in most other variants of Pitch, this variant is designed for four players playing in two partnerships consisting of two players each. It uses the standard 52 card deck using the same ranking as in standard Pitch.
During the deal each player receives a total of nine cards. After this deal, there is one round of bidding. The allowable bids are 3, 4, 5, and 6. Each bid must be higher than any previous bid, however if a player does not prefer to make a higher bid they may also elect to pass. The dealer, however, may become the Pitcher for the hand by making a bid equal to the current high bid.
After the high bidder (the Pitcher) has declared the trump suit for the hand, each player, starting with the player at the dealer's left and continuing in a clockwise rotation around the table, may elect to discard up to four cards from their hands. These cards are set-aside out of play and the dealer then deals out a number of cards to that player from the deck to replenish their hand to nine total cards.
The pitcher is not required to lead a card of his declared trump suit on the first hand. Other than this rule, trick play during the hand is exactly the same as in standard Pitch. As in most other games related to Pitch, the players (particularly the Pitcher) attempts to earn as many points during the hand as possible. The points available during the hand are as follows:
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For the purposes of winning the point for game, the point scoring cards and their values are the same as in standard Pitch. If both teams tie for card points, neither team earns the point for Game on this hand.
At the start of the game, each team is set with a score of 21. If the Pitcher's team manages to earn at least as many points as their high bid, they are entitled to subtract from their current ongoing score the number of points earned during that hand. However, if they fail to make, during that hand, at least as many points as bid, they instead must add to their ongoing score, the amount of their bid. The opposing team subtracts from their current ongoing score, the number of points they earned during that hand.
The first team to manage to reduce their score to 0 or less is declared the game winner. However, in order to be declared the game winner, a team must either be the declarer or the opposing team must have failed their bid. If a team which is not the high bidding team brings their score to zero or less on a hand in which the opponents are able to make their bid, the team which had reached zero must set their score to a value of 1.
Fish Pitch: Fish Pitch is a unique variant of Pitch which can be great fun. Fish Pitch uses one standard 52 card deck and is designed for four players playing in two partnerships of two players each. The ranking of the cards in the deck is the same as in standard Pitch. Each player should sit directly across the table from his partner.
After thoroughly shuffling the deck the dealer passes the deck to the player at his right for the cut. After the cut, the dealer begins the deal of the cards, dealing in a clockwise rotation around the table, starting with the player at his immediate left. The dealer first deals a row of 6 face-down cards in front of each player. Although these cards are considered part of the players hand to which they are dealt, they do not pick up or add these cards directly to the hand. After this, the dealer then deals an
additional six cards to each player as their hand. Each player will thus have been dealt a total of 12 cards. After the deal the players may pick up the hand cards as dealt, but must leave the original row of cards face-down on the table, with the rank and suit of those cards unknown to all,
including the player to whom those cards were dealt. The remaining four cards are set aside, out of play.
After the players pick up these cards, a round of bidding occurs, just as in normal pitch. The player to the left of the dealer has the first opportunity to bid, and the bidding rotates in a clockwise rotation around the table. A player must either make a higher bid than any previous bid or may pass. The allowable bids are 2, 3, 4, and "Smudge". A bid of "Smudge" is a bid to win not only all four available points during the hand, but also for that player's partnership to win every trick during that hand. If every player passes, the dealer must make a minimum bid of 2. Except in the case of a bid of Smudge, the dealer is not required to make a higher bid, but need only make a bid equal to the current high bid to be considered the high bidder (or Pitcher) for that hand.
Once the high bidder for the hand has been determined, play of the hand begins. The high bidder leads the first card to the first trick, which must be one of the cards from his hand. The suit of the card led sets the trump suit to be used for the remainder of that hand. Each other player, in a clockwise rotation then must play a card to this first trick, using a card from the hand. If the player has a card of the suit originally played to this first trick they may play a card of that suit, or a card from the trump suit if they have any. If they have no card in the suit originally led to the trick, they may play any card from their hand, including a card of the trump suit.
After the first trick of the hand, the rules for trick play change somewhat. On the second and every subsequent trick, the same rules apply to playing to a trick, however a player also has an additional option. A player may, on any trick, and providing he still has face-down cards remaining on the table, instead of playing a card from his hand, play any one of his face-down, unknown cards to the trick.
After each player in turn has played one card to the trick, it is determined who has won the trick. If the trick contains any cards in the trump suit, the highest card in that trump suit 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 trick are set aside out of play, near the player who won that trick. The winner of each trick leads the first card to the next trick, which may be led from the hand or that player's face-down cards.
After every trick in the hand has been played and won, both players in each partnership combine the cards won in tricks to determine the points earned. If that partnership bid Smudge and the partnership manages to win all four points in play as well as all 12 tricks in the hand, that team immediately wins the entire game. If the high bidding team did not bid Smudge but managed to earn at least as many points as bid, they earn a number of points equal to the number of points won during the hand. If they fail to earn at least as many points as bid during the hand, they must instead subtract the amount of their bid from their current score. The opposing team is entitled to add the total number of points earned to their current score. The points available during the hand are as follows:
| Category | Description | Scoring Value |
|---|---|---|
| High | Being dealt the highest trump card in play. | 1 |
| Low | Being dealt the lowest trump card in play. | 1 |
| Jack | Capturing the Jack of the trump suit in tricks during the hand. | 1 |
| Game | Capturing the most high card points in play. | 1 |
For purposes of winning the point for Game, certain high cards in the deck have equivalent card point values: Ten = 10, Ace = 4, King = 3, Queen = 2, Jack = 1. If both teams tie for number of card points captured during the hand in tricks, neither team is entitled to score the point for Game.
The first team, at the end of a hand to reach or exceed 21 points is declared the winner. If both teams manager, on the same hand to reach or exceed this number, the team containing the high bidder for the hand is the winning team.