How to Play Pitch — Complete Rules for the Classic American Card Game
America's favorite rural trick-taking game — bid for the right to name trump and chase High, Low, Jack, and Game.
How to play Pitch: Complete rules, setup, gameplay, and strategy tips for beginners.
Pitch (also called Setback or High-Low-Jack) is a classic American trick-taking card game that’s been a staple of small-town game nights for generations. It’s especially popular in the Midwest, South, and rural communities across the United States.
What You Need
- Players: 2-7 (best with 4 in partnerships)
- Deck: Standard 52-card deck
- Objective: Be the first player/team to reach 11 points (or 21 in some variants)
- Time per hand: 5-10 minutes
- Skill required: Medium
Card Ranking in Trump
From highest to lowest: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
Non-trump cards only matter for winning tricks — they don’t score points directly. The Ace is always high.
How to Deal
- Deal 6 cards to each player (in two batches of 3)
- Leave the remaining cards face-down — they’re out of play for this hand
- Dealer rotates clockwise each hand
With fewer players, more cards are out of play, which adds uncertainty about which trump cards are in anyone’s hand.
Bidding
Starting with the player left of the dealer, each player bids or passes:
- Bid 1, 2, 3, or 4 — the number of the four points (High, Low, Jack, Game) you expect your team to win
- Each bid must be higher than the previous
- The dealer may steal the bid by matching (not raising) the highest bid — this is called “dealer’s privilege”
- A player who passes cannot bid again
If all players pass before the dealer, the dealer must bid 1 (forced bid).
The highest bidder wins the contract and names the trump suit.
The Pitch
The bid winner “pitches” — they lead the first trick with a card of their chosen trump suit. This card simultaneously declares trump and starts play.
Playing Tricks
- The bid winner leads a trump card (the pitch)
- Players must follow suit if they can
- If unable to follow suit, play any card
- Highest trump wins the trick. If no trump is played, highest card of the led suit wins
- Trick winner leads the next trick
Continue until all 6 tricks are played.
The Four Scoring Points
After all tricks are played, award up to 4 points:
| Point | Awarded To | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| High | Player/team who played the highest trump card | Best trump in play |
| Low | Player/team who played the lowest trump card | Lowest trump in play |
| Jack | Player/team who captured the Jack of trump in a trick | Won the trick containing it |
| Game | Player/team whose captured cards have the highest total face value | See card values below |
Card Values for the “Game” Point
| Card | Value |
|---|---|
| Ace | 4 |
| King | 3 |
| Queen | 2 |
| Jack | 1 |
| 10 | 10 |
| 9 and below | 0 |
Add up the values of all cards you captured in tricks. The highest total wins the Game point. If tied, the Game point is not awarded.
Special Cases
- If the Jack of trump wasn’t dealt to any player, the Jack point is not awarded (only 3 points available)
- If only one trump was played all hand, the same player/team earns both High and Low
Scoring
- Bid winner’s team: If they captured at least as many points as their bid, they score all points they won. If they failed, they are set back — subtract their bid from their score.
- Other players/teams: Score whatever points they captured, regardless of the bid.
First to 11 points wins (some groups play to 7, 15, or 21).
If the bidding team and opponents both cross the target on the same hand, the bidding team wins — they have priority.
Strategy Tips
Bidding
- Ace of trump is two guaranteed points (High + contributes to Game) — bid at least 2 with it
- Bid 4 cautiously — you need everything to go right
- Count your trump length — multiple trump cards increase your chances of capturing Low and Jack
- Remember: cards may not be in play — the Jack of trump might be buried in the undealt cards
Playing
- Lead your highest trump early — capture the High point and flush out opponents’ trump
- Save low trump — the lowest trump played wins the Low point, so don’t play your 2 or 3 unless forced
- Protect the Jack — if you hold the Jack of trump, play it when your team controls the trick
- Chase 10s — the 10 is worth 10 points toward Game, making it the most valuable card for that point
- Count point cards — track which Aces, 10s, Kings you’ve captured to estimate the Game point
Popular Variations
10-Point Pitch
Add extra scoring points: High, Low, Jack, Off-Jack (Jack of same color), Joker(s), 10, 3, 2, and Game. Deal 9 cards instead of 6. Much more complex and dramatically more bidding options.
Partnership Pitch (4 Players)
Players across from each other are partners. Partners combine their captured cards for scoring. This is the most popular format.
Cutthroat Pitch (3 Players)
Everyone plays for themselves. Same rules but more competitive since there’s no partner to help.
Smear
A regional variant (popular in Minnesota/Wisconsin) that often includes Jokers as additional trump and more scoring categories.
Ready for More Trick-Taking?
If Pitch appeals to you, try these free games at Rare Pike:
- Spades — Fixed-trump partnership game with nil bids
- Euchre — Quick partnership tricks with Bowers
- Hearts — Trick avoidance (dodge the Queen of Spades)
- Pinochle — Melding + bidding + trick-taking
- Bridge — The ultimate partnership trick-taker
Browse all free card games.
Love Trick-Taking Games?
Play Spades, Euchre, Hearts, Pinochle, and more — all free.
Browse Card Games