Hand and Foot variants offer different ways to play the game, each with unique rules, strategies, and player counts. Here are the most popular variations and what makes each one distinct.

Standard Rules Recap

Before exploring variants, here’s the baseline that most groups start from:

Setting Standard
Players 4 (2 teams of 2)
Decks 5 (with jokers) = 270 cards
Cards per pile 11 each (hand + foot)
Books to go out 2 clean + 2 dirty
Target score 5,000
Wild cards Jokers + 2s

Nearly every element above has popular variants.

Player Count Variants

2-Player Hand and Foot

  • Each player plays solo (no teams)
  • Use 3-4 decks (162-216 cards)
  • Deal 15 cards per pile
  • Going-out requirement: 2 clean + 2 dirty books (same as standard)
  • More strategic — every decision is yours alone

3-Player Hand and Foot

Option A — Free-for-all:

  • Each player plays solo
  • Use 4 decks (216 cards)
  • Deal 13 cards per pile
  • Same going-out requirements

Option B — Rotating partnerships:

  • Each round, two players team up against one
  • The solo player earns double points for any position gains
  • Teams rotate each round

5-Player Hand and Foot

  • One team of 3, one team of 2
  • Use 6 decks (324 cards)
  • The team of 2 gets a going-out bonus of 200 (instead of 100) to offset the disadvantage
  • Alternatively: play 5-way free-for-all

6-Player Hand and Foot

  • Two teams of 3 or three teams of 2
  • Use 6-7 decks (324-378 cards)
  • Deal 11 cards per pile
  • Popular at family gatherings

Deck and Deal Variants

Triple Deck (3 Decks)

  • 162 cards (including 6 Jokers)
  • Best for 2-3 players
  • Games are faster; fewer natural cards means dirty books are more common
  • Increases the impact of wild card management

Quadruple Deck (4 Decks)

  • 216 cards (including 8 Jokers)
  • Works for 2-4 players
  • A good middle ground between speed and variety

Extended Deal (15 Cards Per Pile)

  • Players receive 15 cards in both hand and foot instead of 11
  • Makes for longer rounds with more melding opportunities
  • Common in casual home games where players want fewer, bigger rounds

Short Deal (9 Cards Per Pile)

  • 9 cards per pile for a faster game
  • Rounds end quickly; scoring is tighter
  • Good for learning or time-limited sessions

Book Requirement Variants

3-and-3 (Strict)

  • Must have 3 clean books and 3 dirty books to go out
  • Significantly harder to end the round
  • Games run longer; scoring is higher
  • Favors disciplined teams that plan book types early

Progressive Book Requirements

Each round has escalating requirements:

Round Clean Books Required Dirty Books Required
1 1 1
2 2 2
3 3 3
4 3 3 + 1 wild book

This forces teams to adapt strategy as the game progresses.

Wild Book Variant

  • Wild books (7 wild cards — all Jokers and/or 2s) are allowed
  • A wild book earns a 200-point bonus (less than dirty)
  • Some groups make a wild book a requirement to go out
  • Deeply changes wild card strategy — you must decide between using wilds in natural melds vs building a wild book

Scoring Variants

Escalating Round Scores

Instead of a single target, each round has its own scoring multiplier:

Round Point Multiplier
1 1x
2 2x
3 3x
4 4x

Later rounds are worth drastically more, creating comeback potential.

Fixed 4-Round Game

  • The game always lasts exactly 4 rounds (no target score)
  • Highest cumulative score after 4 rounds wins
  • Removes the “run away with it” problem when one team scores big early

No Negative Score

  • A team’s score cannot go below zero
  • If a round would put you negative, your score stays at 0
  • Makes the game friendlier for beginners

Discard Pile Variants

Frozen Pile

  • The discard pile is always “frozen” — you can only pick it up if the top card matches a natural pair in your hand (two natural cards of the same rank)
  • You must immediately meld the pair plus the top card
  • Dramatically reduces pile pickups; makes the game more draw-focused

Full Pile Pickup

  • Instead of taking only the top 7 cards, you take the entire discard pile
  • High risk, high reward — you might get 20+ cards but many may be useless
  • Common in regions influenced by Canasta rules

No Pile Pickup

  • The discard pile cannot be picked up at all
  • Players draw 2 cards from the stock every turn
  • Simplifies the game significantly; good for beginners

Going Out Variants

Concealed Going Out

  • If a player can go out on the same turn they enter their foot (playing all foot cards immediately), they earn a 200-point bonus instead of 100
  • Extremely rare but exciting when it happens

Team Agreement Required

  • Both partners must agree before going out (standard in most rule sets)
  • Some variants allow going out without asking — adds unpredictability

Must Discard to Go Out

  • In some variants, you must end by discarding your last card (can’t meld everything)
  • In others, you can go out by melding all remaining cards with no final discard

Regional Variants

West Coast (USA)

  • Typically uses 5 decks, 11 cards per pile
  • 2 clean + 2 dirty to go out
  • 5,000-point target
  • This is the most common “standard” version

Midwest (USA)

  • Often plays with escalating initial meld requirements
  • Some groups require 3+3 books
  • 7,500-point target is common

Canadian

  • Sometimes played with a “buy” rule — if the discard pile has a card you want but it’s not your turn, you can “buy” it by drawing 2 penalty cards from the stock
  • Adds an auction-like dynamic

Which Variant Should You Try?

If you want… Try this variant
Faster games Short deal (9 cards) or 2-player
Longer, deeper games 3+3 book requirement or extended deal
More strategy Frozen pile or wild book requirement
Easier for beginners No pile pickup or no negative score
Bigger groups 6-player (3 teams of 2)
Unique challenge Progressive book requirements

Explore different ways to play — try Hand and Foot for free on Rare Pike.