Going Out in Hand and Foot — Rules, Requirements & Timing

Going Out in Hand and Foot — Rules, Requirements & Timing: Here is everything you need to know, with practical tips you can apply in your next game.

Going Out Requirements

Going out ends the current round. Before you can go out, your team must meet these conditions:

Book Requirements (Standard)

Common variants:

• 3 clean + 3 dirty (strict version)
• 2 clean + 2 dirty + 1 wild book (wild book variant)
• Progressive requirements (increases each round)

Additional Conditions

1. You must be playing from your foot — You cannot go out while still holding your hand pile
2. You must ask your partner — “Can I go out?” Your partner must say yes
3. Your final play must leave you with 0 cards — Either meld everything, or meld all but one and discard it

Step-by-Step: How to Go Out

Step 1: Verify your team has the required books (2 clean + 2 dirty minimum)

Step 2: Confirm you are playing from your foot (hand pile is already exhausted)

Step 3: On your turn, draw your 2 cards (or pick up the pile)

Step 4: Ask your partner: “Can I go out?”

Step 5: If your partner agrees, meld all remaining cards and/or discard your last card

Step 6: The round ends immediately. Score both teams.

What If You Can’t Fully Go Out?

If after asking your partner, you realize you can’t actually play all your remaining cards (maybe one doesn’t fit any meld), you must:

• Play what you can
• Discard one card
• Continue play as normal (you wasted the “ask” but it’s not a penalty)

The Going Out Bonus

*Concealed going out: melding your entire foot in a single turn (the turn you pick it up). House rule — not used by all groups.

The bonus itself is modest. The real value of going out is forcing opponents to count their remaining cards as penalties.

When to Go Out: Timing Strategy

Go Out NOW When…

1. Opponents have big hands If the opposing team has 10+ cards between them, going out inflicts massive negative points. Every Ace is -20, every wild card is -20 to -50.

2. Your team has strong books but opponents are catching up If you’re ahead on books and the opponents are building toward their own, end it before they close the gap.

3. Your remaining cards are low-value If your foot has only a few low cards (5-pointers), going out costs you very little in lost meld potential.

4. The opponent is about to go out If you sense the other team is preparing to go out, beat them to it. Being caught with a full hand is devastating.

Wait to Go Out When…

1. Your partner has melding potential If your partner has melds at 5-6 cards, one more turn could complete a book worth 300-500 points. The 100-point going-out bonus doesn’t justify rushing.

2. You have clean melds close to book status A clean book (500) is worth much more than the going-out bonus. If you need 1-2 more cards to finish a clean book, wait.

3. Opponents’ hands are small If opponents have only 2-3 cards each, going out doesn’t hurt them much. Better to keep playing and build your own score.

4. You still have high-value wildcards to meld Playing a Joker into a meld earns +50 points. Holding it when the round ends costs -50. That’s a 100-point swing per Joker.

Going Out Math

Here’s how to evaluate whether going out is worth it:

Scenario: Should I go out?

My situation:

• Team has 2 clean + 2 dirty books ✓
• I’m in my foot with 3 remaining cards (two 5s and a 7 = 15 total points)
• Partner has 2 cards left

If I go out:

• Going out bonus: +100
• My cards melded or discarded: 0 penalty
• Partner’s remaining cards: ~-15 to -25

Net gain from going out: about +75 to +85

If I wait one turn:

• Partner might complete a book: +300 to +500
• But opponents also get one more turn to meld: maybe +50 to +100 for them
• Risk: opponent could go out first, stranding our remaining cards

Decision: If partner is close to a book, wait. If not, go out now.

Scenario: Heavy opponent hands

Opponents have ~20 cards between them (lots of high cards visible in their melds suggest more in hand).

Going out immediately:

• +100 going out bonus
• Opponents penalized ~200-400 points for remaining cards
• Total swing: +300 to +500

This is almost always worth doing immediately.

Partner Communication

The “Can I go out?” conversation is the most important moment of coordination in Hand and Foot.

What Your Partner Should Consider

When you ask, your partner should quickly evaluate:

• Do I have cards that would complete a book? → Say no
• Am I holding high-value cards that will hurt us? → Say yes
• Are my remaining cards playable on existing melds? → Say no (play them first)
• Do I have red threes stuck in my hand/foot? → Say YES immediately (red threes are -500 each)

Signals Before Asking

Good partnerships develop subtle signals:

• Small hand size — If your partner can see you have very few cards, they know going out is imminent
• Aggressive melding — Playing everything possible signals “I’m preparing to go out”
• Conservative play — Holding cards back signals “I’m not ready”

These aren’t formal signals (that would be cheating in competitive play), but awareness of your partner’s card count and playing style is legitimate table awareness.

Common Going Out Mistakes

Quick Reference

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