Pitch Card Game Scoring Explained (With Examples)

The 3 of trump is worth 3 points? Wait, the 2 always goes back? If scoring in Pitch has ever confused you, this guide clears it all up. We will walk through every point card, show you how bids affect the score, and work through real hand examples so there is no room for debate at the table.

The 10 Points — Where They Come From

Every single hand of Pitch contains exactly 10 points. No more, no less. Those 10 points are split across eight specific trump cards. Seven of them are worth 1 point each, and one card — the 3 of trump — is worth 3 points all by itself.

Here are the eight point cards and their values:

• Ace of trump — 1 point
• Jack of trump (Right Jack) — 1 point
• Off-Jack (Jack of the same color as trump) — 1 point
• High Joker — 1 point
• Low Joker — 1 point
• 10 of trump — 1 point
• 2 of trump — 1 point (protected)
• 3 of trump — 3 points

Add those up: seven cards at 1 point plus one card at 3 points equals 10. Every hand, every time. Both teams’ points must always total exactly 10 after a hand is played. If your table comes up with 9 or 11, somebody miscounted.

The King, Queen, and low trumps (4 through 9) are worth zero points. They are useful for winning tricks and following suit, but carry no scoring value.

How Does the 3 of Trump Work?

The 3 of trump is the most valuable single card in the game, worth 3 of the 10 available points. But here is what makes it so interesting: it is also one of the weakest trump cards on the table.

In the trump power rankings, the 3 sits near the very bottom. It only beats the 2 of trump. Every other trump card — from the 4 all the way up to the Ace — beats the 3. A player holding the 3 cannot simply play it and expect to keep it.

This creates the central tension of Pitch strategy. The 3 is worth nearly a third of all available points, but it is extremely vulnerable. Teams that capture the 3 have a massive scoring advantage. Teams that lose it often fall short of their bid. See our complete rules guide for the full trump power order, or read about how to protect the 3 of trump during play.

The Protected 2 — A Guaranteed Point

The 2 of trump has a special rule that no other card shares: it always returns to the player who played it, regardless of who wins the trick. If you play the 2, that 1 point is yours. Period.

This makes the 2 of trump a “protected point.” The opposing team cannot capture it through normal play. It does not matter if they play the Ace of trump on the same trick — the 2 still goes back to its owner’s team.

Because the 2 is protected, it is handled separately during scoring. The 1 point is automatically credited to the team of the player who played it, and it is excluded from normal trick-point totals to prevent double-counting.

The one exception: if a player must discard the 2 during the over-trump penalty (more than 6 trump after widow distribution), that 1 point goes to the opposing team instead.

How Bidding Affects Your Score

In Pitch, you do not just collect points — you commit to collecting a certain number before the hand starts. The minimum bid is 4, and you can bid up to 10 (or Shoot the Moon as a special bid). Your bid is a promise: “My team will win at least this many points.”

If your team meets or exceeds the bid, you score all the points you actually captured — not just the bid amount. This is a detail many players miss.

Example 1: Making your bid with extra points.

Team A bids 6. After the hand, Team A captured 7 points and Team B captured 3 points. Result:

• Team A: +7 to their game score (they bid 6 and won 7, so they earn all 7)
• Team B: +3 to their game score (non-bidding team always gets their points)

Both teams gain points. The non-bidding team always adds whatever they captured, regardless of what happened with the bid.

Want to see scoring in action? Pitch31 tracks every point automatically. Try a hand.

What Happens When You Get Set?

Getting “set” is the worst-case scenario for the bidding team. If your team bids a number and fails to capture that many points, you do not just miss out on points — you lose points equal to your bid.

Example 2: Getting set.

Team A bids 7. After the hand, Team A only captured 5 points and Team B captured 5. Result:

• Team A: -7 from their game score (they bid 7 but only won 5, so they are set)
• Team B: +5 to their game score

Notice that Team A does not lose 5 (the points they missed by). They lose 7 — the full amount of their bid. A team that bids 4 and gets set loses only 4 points. A team that bids 10 and gets set loses 10. This is why overbidding is dangerous and why learning bidding strategy matters so much.

Meanwhile, Team B still collects their 5 points no matter what. The non-bidding team is never penalized.

Shoot the Moon Scoring

Shoot the Moon is the ultimate high-risk, high-reward bid. When you bid Shoot the Moon, you are claiming your team will capture all 10 points in the hand — every single one.

Example 3: Successful Shoot the Moon.

Team A bids Shoot the Moon. They capture all 10 points. Team B gets 0. Result:

• Team A: +20 to their game score (the Shoot the Moon bonus is 2x the 10 available points)
• Team B: +0 (they captured nothing)

That is a 20-point swing in a game where you need 31 to win. A successful Moon shot can turn a losing position into a winning one in a single hand.

But if you fail? The penalty is just as severe. If Team A bids Shoot the Moon and captures only 8 of the 10 points:

• Team A: -20 from their game score
• Team B: +2 (the points they captured)

A 22-point swing in the wrong direction. Because the stakes are so high, teams can only bid Shoot the Moon when their current game score is above 0. A team already at 0 or in the negative cannot attempt it.

Score Can Go Negative?

Yes. Game scores in 31-Point Partnership Pitch can absolutely go negative, and it happens more often than new players expect. There is no floor.

Consider a team sitting at 3 points on the game scoreboard. They bid 7 and get set. They drop to -4. Next hand, their opponents bid and make their points while this team picks up only 1 or 2. It can take several hands to climb back to positive territory.

A failed Shoot the Moon is the fastest path to deep negative scores. A team at 5 points that fails a Moon shot drops to -15. That is 46 points away from winning — at least five strong hands of digging out.

This creates a tough dynamic. The team in the hole needs to bid aggressively to catch up, but aggressive bids carry more set risk. The team ahead can play conservatively, picking up easy non-bidding-team points each hand.

The Over-Trump Penalty

After the bid winner names trump, the 18-card widow is dealt out and each player keeps up to 6 cards. But sometimes a player ends up with more than 6 trump cards.

When that happens, the player must discard the excess down to 6. The catch: those discarded trump cards go to the opposing team’s captured pile. If any of the discards are point cards, those points count for the opponents — free points before a single trick is played.

Quick Reference Table

Card	Points	Notes
Ace of trump	1	Highest trump
Jack of trump	1	Right Jack
Off-Jack	1	Jack of same color as trump
High Joker	1	Always trump
Low Joker	1	Always trump
10 of trump	1
2 of trump	1	Protected — always returns to the player who played it
3 of trump	3	Most valuable card, but very low power
King of trump	0	Strong card, no points
Queen of trump	0	Strong card, no points
4-9 of trump	0	Low trumps, no points
Total per hand	10

Bid outcomes:

Situation	Bidding team	Non-bidding team
Bid made	+hand points	+their hand points
Bid failed (set)	-bid amount	+their hand points
Moon success	+20	+0
Moon failure	-20	+their hand points

Winning: First team to 31 points. If both reach 31 in the same hand, the bidding team wins.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the non-bidding team lose points if the bidding team makes their bid?

No. The non-bidding team always adds whatever points they captured during the hand. They are never penalized, no matter what happens with the bid. If they captured 4 points, they get +4 whether the other team made their bid or got set.

Can a team win by going from 25 to 31 without bidding?

Yes. A team does not need to be the bidding team to win the game. If Team B is at 25 points and picks up 6 points as the non-bidding team, they reach 31 and win — unless Team A is also the bidding team and also reaches 31 on the same hand. In that tie scenario, the bidding team always wins.

What happens if you bid 4 and win all 10 points?

You score all 10 points, not just 4. You always earn the full amount you captured, as long as you met your bid. Bidding low and winning big is perfectly valid — you just gave the other team a chance to outbid you and name trump themselves.

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