How to Play 31-Point Pitch: Complete Rules Guide
How to Play 31-Point Pitch: Complete Rules Guide
If you’ve been playing Pitch your whole life but can never find the right rules online, you’re not alone. Most sites cover basic 4-point Pitch or some stripped-down version that doesn’t match what you actually play at the kitchen table. This guide covers 31-point partnership Pitch — the full 54-card variant with Jokers, the Off-Jack, a widow, and the 3 of trump worth 3 points. Every rule, every edge case, all in one place.
Whether you learned this game from your grandparents or you’re picking it up for the first time, this is the reference you’ve been looking for. Let’s walk through it from the top.
Last updated: April 2026
The Deck: 54 Cards, Not 52
31-point Pitch uses a 54-card deck — the standard 52 cards plus two Jokers. The High Joker (typically red) and Low Joker (typically black) don’t belong to any suit. They’re always trump, no matter what suit is called. If you’re playing with a deck that only has one Joker, you need a different deck.
Those two extra cards change everything about the game. They add two more point cards, expand the trump suit to 16 cards, and create situations you’d never see in basic Pitch.
Players and Teams
Four players sit in two fixed partnerships. Partners sit across from each other — not next to each other. If you’re sitting at a square table, you and the person directly across from you are a team.
The dealer rotates clockwise after every hand. This matters more than you’d think, because the dealer has special privileges during bidding.
How Is a Hand of Pitch Dealt?
Each player receives 9 cards, dealt 3 at a time going clockwise. After all four players have their 9 cards, the remaining 18 cards form the widow (some groups call it the kitty). Nobody looks at the widow yet — it comes into play after bidding.
There’s one important wrinkle: if any player’s 9-card hand has zero point cards and zero face cards (no Kings or Queens either), the entire hand gets redealt by the same dealer. You can’t be expected to bid or play with complete junk.
How Does Bidding Work in Pitch?
Bidding starts with the player to the dealer’s left and goes clockwise. Every player gets exactly one chance to bid or pass — there’s no going back around the table for a second round.
Valid bids range from 4 to 10, and each bid must be strictly higher than the current high bid. You can’t match someone’s bid of 6 with your own 6 — you’d need at least 7. Your bid represents the number of points (out of 10) your team commits to winning that hand.
There’s also Shoot the Moon, a special bid where your team commits to capturing all 10 points. Land it and your team gets +20 points. Miss even a single point and you take -20. You can only bid Moon if your team’s score is above zero.
For a deeper dive into when to bid aggressively and when to lay low, check out our bidding strategy guide.
Stick the Dealer
If all three non-dealer players pass, the dealer must bid at least 4. No passing out of it. This is called “stick the dealer,” and it prevents dead hands where nobody bids.
The Dealer Steal
The dealer has one special privilege: when someone bids 10 or Shoot the Moon, the dealer can match that bid and steal it. The dealer says “bid ten over you” or “shoot the moon over you.” For any bid of 4 through 9, though, the dealer follows the same rules as everyone else and must bid at least one higher.
The highest bidder wins the bid, names the trump suit, and becomes the Pitcher. The Pitcher leads the first trick.
What Is the Trump Ranking in 31-Point Pitch?
This is where 31-point Pitch really separates itself from simpler variants. Once trump is named, there are 16 trump cards, ranked from highest to lowest:
- Ace of trump (1 point)
- King of trump (0 points)
- Queen of trump (0 points)
- Jack of trump — the Right Jack (1 point)
- Off-Jack — Jack of the same-color suit (1 point)
- High Joker (1 point)
- Low Joker (1 point)
- 10 of trump (1 point)
- 9 of trump (0 points)
- 8 of trump (0 points)
- 7 of trump (0 points)
- 6 of trump (0 points)
- 5 of trump (0 points)
- 4 of trump (0 points)
- 3 of trump (3 points)
- 2 of trump (1 point)
Notice how the 3 of trump sits near the bottom of the ranking but is worth 3 points. And the 2 of trump is dead last but still worth a point. That tension between power and value is what makes the game strategic. See the complete trump ranking chart for a printable reference.
What Is the Off-Jack?
The Off-Jack is the Jack of the same color as trump. If Hearts is trump, the Off-Jack is the Jack of Diamonds. If Spades is trump, it’s the Jack of Clubs. Once trump is named, the Off-Jack leaves its original suit entirely and becomes a trump card in every respect. It ranks just below the Right Jack and just above the High Joker.
This trips people up all the time. If you’re holding the Jack of Diamonds and someone calls Hearts as trump, that Jack is now a trump card — you must play it when trump is led.
Want to practice counting trump? Try a hand in Pitch31 — download on the App Store.
How Many Points Are in Each Hand?
Every hand has exactly 10 points, distributed across 8 cards:
| Card | Points |
|---|---|
| Ace of trump | 1 |
| Jack of trump (Right Jack) | 1 |
| Off-Jack | 1 |
| High Joker | 1 |
| Low Joker | 1 |
| 10 of trump | 1 |
| 2 of trump | 1 |
| 3 of trump | 3 |
Seven cards worth 1 point each, plus the 3 of trump worth 3 points. That’s always 10, every hand. The King and Queen of trump are worth zero — they’re powerful but not point cards.
Understanding which cards carry points is essential for both bidding and play. Our scoring guide breaks this down with examples.
How Does the Widow Work in Pitch?
After trump is named, the 18-card widow gets distributed. This is one of the most misunderstood parts of the game, so pay attention.
Non-bid-winners go first, clockwise from the dealer’s left, skipping the bid winner:
- Throw away all non-trump cards from your hand
- Draw from the widow until you’re holding 6 cards total
- Keep everything you draw, even if some drawn cards aren’t trump — this conceals your hand strength
- If you started with more than 6 trumps, you’ll need to discard down (see Over-Trump below)
- If you end up with zero trump after drawing, you’re “pitched” and sit out the hand
The bid winner goes last and gets a much better deal:
- Keep all 9 original cards
- Receive every remaining widow card that wasn’t drawn by other players
- Pick the best 6 cards to keep, discarding the rest
The Over-Trump Penalty
If any player ends up with more than 6 trump cards, they must discard the excess. Here’s the catch: those discarded trump cards go to the opposing team’s captured pile. If any of them are point cards, the other team gets those points. This is rare, but when it happens, it can swing a hand.
The widow is one of the trickiest parts of Pitch. Pitch31’s AI handles it correctly — Off-Jacks, Jokers, over-trump penalties, all of it. Try a practice hand.
How Do You Play Tricks in Pitch?
Once everyone has their 6-card hands, the Pitcher leads the first trick with a trump card. From there, play follows standard trick-taking rules with one major distinction: only trump cards are played. Non-trump cards sitting in someone’s hand are worthless — they get discarded when that player has no trump left.
Every player must play trump if they have it. The highest-ranking trump card wins the trick. Among the low trumps (2 through 9, which share the same base power level), higher rank beats lower rank — so a 9 beats an 8, and an 8 beats a 3.
The trick winner collects the cards for their team and leads the next trick. Play continues until everyone is out of trump.
The 2 of Trump: A Protected Point
The 2 of trump has a special rule that catches newcomers off guard: it always returns to the player who played it, no matter who wins the trick. That 1 point is protected — the opposing team cannot capture it through normal play. You play your 2, you get your point. Period.
How Is Scoring Calculated?
After all tricks are played, each team counts up their points from three sources:
- Trick points — point cards captured in tricks won (excluding the 2 of trump)
- The protected 2 — 1 point to the team of whoever played the 2 of trump
- Over-trump penalties — any points from the opponent’s excess trump discards
Both teams’ totals must add up to exactly 10.
Then the bid is evaluated:
- Bid made (your points meet or exceed your bid): Your team adds your hand points to your game score. The other team adds their hand points too.
- Set (your points fall short of your bid): Your team subtracts the bid amount from your game score. The other team still gets their points.
- Shoot the Moon — success (all 10 points): Your team gets +20. The opponents get nothing.
- Shoot the Moon — failure (anything less than 10): Your team takes -20. The opponents still get whatever they earned.
Scores can absolutely go negative. A team that gets set a few times in a row can dig themselves into a deep hole. That’s part of the drama. For worked examples of every scoring scenario, see the full scoring guide.
How Do You Win a Game of Pitch?
First team to reach 31 points wins. If both teams cross 31 in the same hand, the bidding team wins — which gives the bid winner a built-in tiebreaker advantage.
Games can take anywhere from 4 hands to 15 or more, depending on how aggressive the bidding is and how often teams get set. A team that plays it safe with low bids will grind toward 31 slowly. A team that bids 10 or shoots the moon can get there fast — or crater trying.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between Pitch, Setback, and Smear?
These are all related trick-taking games in the same family, but they differ in deck size, point structure, and specific rules. 31-point Pitch uses the 54-card deck with Jokers, the Off-Jack, and a 3-of-trump worth 3 points. Some Setback variants use fewer cards and have no widow. We break down all the differences in Setback vs Pitch vs Smear.
Can you bid Shoot the Moon when your score is zero?
No. A team must have a game score greater than zero to bid Shoot the Moon. If you’re at 0 or negative, the Moon bid is off the table.
What happens if the 3 of trump is in the widow and nobody draws it?
The bid winner gets all remaining widow cards, so they’ll end up with the 3 of trump. It can never be lost in the widow — someone always gets it.
Does the Off-Jack count as its original suit?
No. Once trump is named, the Off-Jack leaves its original suit and is treated as trump in every way — for following suit, for trick evaluation, and for point counting.
Can scores go below zero?
Absolutely. Getting set subtracts the full bid amount from your score, and a failed Shoot the Moon costs 20 points. Teams can go well into negative territory and have to fight their way back.
Whether you’re teaching someone new or settling a rules debate, Pitch31 plays 31-point partnership Pitch with every rule correct. Free on iPhone.
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