Pitch (card game)
| Origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Pitch, Setback, Auction Pitch, Bid Pitch, High Low Jack Smear |
| Type | Trick-taking |
| Players | even numbers 2-8 (8 best) |
| Cards | 54 |
| Deck | Anglo-American |
| Play | Clockwise |
| Card rank (highest to lowest) | A K Q J JOKER 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 |
| Related games | |
| All Fours, Pedro, Cinch, Phat | |
| Origin | Carthage, MO |
|---|---|
| Players | 4-6 |
| Cards | 54 |
| Play | Clockwise |
Pitch (or "High Low Jack") is an American trick-taking card game derived from the English game of All Fours (Seven Up). Historically, Pitch started as "Blind All Fours", a very simple All Fours variant that is still played in England as a pub game. The modern game involving a bidding phase and setting back a party's score if the bid is not reached came up in the middle of the 19th century and is more precisely known as Auction Pitch or Setback. Whereas All Fours started as a two-player game, Pitch is most popular for three to five players. Four can play individually or in fixed partnerships, depending in part on regional preferences. Auction Pitch is played in numerous variations that vary the deck used, provide methods for improving players' hands, or expand the scoring system. Some of these variants gave rise to a new game known as Pedro or Cinch.
Two or more players play individually or in equal-sized teams, seated alternatingly. Normal play rotation is clockwise. Players cut for first deal. Cards rank as in Whist and have certain numerical values called pips as shown in the table. In each deal up to 4 scoring points are distributed among the parties. The game is won by the party that first reaches a previously specified target score over several deals.
The dealer shuffles and the pone cuts. The dealer hands out 6 cards to each player in batches of 3. Trump is determined by the suit of the first card played in trick-play. Eldest hand leads to the first trick, and the winner of each trick leads to the next. Standard trick-play rules are in effect with the exception that a player who can follow suit to a plain suit lead is nevertheless allowed to play a trump.
At the end of the deal, scoring points, also referred to as pointy points in some circles, are awarded as described in the table. The Jack point is not awarded if no player held the Jack of trumps. The Game point is only awarded if one party has won more pips in tricks than any other. The scoring points accrue strictly in the order given in the table, preventing ties in case more than one team reaches the target score at the end of the deal.
The pub game played nowadays in northern England under the name All Fours is a four-player partnership version of Pitch, played for 11 points. Side payments are made for winning all four points in a single hand. In some areas the point for Low is awarded to the eventual owner.
Choosing the trump suit by leading to the first trick is known as pitching. That trump is determined by pitching rather than by turning up a card from the stock is the key difference between Pitch and classical All Fours/Seven Up.
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