Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Getting ready
• Part 2 of 3: Playing the game
• Part 3 of 3: Winning the game
• Tips
• Necessities

Thirty-one is a fun game for young and old. It can be played with a small or large group and it is very easy to learn. You can make the game as competitive as you want, depending on who you are playing against. The game is also ideal to play for a (small) bet. But of course you can also just play for the honor, which is actually just as much fun.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Getting ready

1. Meet up with friends to play the game. You play thirty-one with at least two people. There is no limit to the number of players that can participate, but it is advised not to play with more than nine players at the same time.
   • Experts say three players is the perfect number for thirty-one. But this totally depends on the friends with whom you play the game. For some people, competitiveness is the most important part of the game. Other people find it especially important to spend time with friends.
2. Grab a standard deck of 52 playing cards. Remove the jokers from play and shuffle the cards.
3. Find a flat surface to play on. A table is a good option for this. It is especially important that all players can sit around the dealer of the cards. The cards will have to be placed in such a way that all players can see them well and can easily reach them with their hands.
4. Explain the object of the game to all players. The object of the game is to collect exactly 31 points of the same color in your hand.
5. Agree on the rules of the game. In card games it sometimes happens that one group of friends applies slightly different rules than the other group of friends. To avoid misunderstandings, it is useful to fine-tune the rules before starting the game. Officially, for thirty-one, the ace is worth eleven points. Gentlemen, women and jacks are all worth ten points. The value of the other cards is equal to the number on the card. An eight of diamonds is therefore worth eight points.
   • Only cards of the same suit (hearts, spades, diamonds, clubs) may be added together. For example, suppose you have a Diamond Three, an Ace of Spades and a King of Spades in your hand, the spades in your hand are worth a total of 21 points. You cannot add the three diamond to the other two cards because this is a different suit.
   • A three-of-a-kind is worth 30.5 points. This is a combination of three of the same cards. For example three jacks, three kings or three eights.
6. Decide who starts the first round as the dealer. You do this by handing out a small stack of cards to everyone. When each player has a stack of cards in their hand, everyone shows the bottom card of his or her stack. Whoever has the card with the lowest value starts the game as dealer.
   • Each round there is a different dealer. Whoever sits to the left of the current dealer becomes the dealer the next turn.
7. Receive three "lives". While not required, some players enjoy playing thirty-one with "lives". If you choose this, each player receives three coins, marbles or candies. This can be something else as long as each player gets three of them. A loser is chosen at the end of each round. The loser has to put one of his or her lives away.
   • After a player has lost all his or her lives, he or she can no longer play. Play then continues with the remaining players. This continues until there is only one player left.

Part 2 of 3: Playing the game

1. Deal clockwise, starting with the player to the left of the dealer. When dealing, place the cards in front of the players on the table, face down. When all players have three cards in front of them, everyone can look at his or her cards. Do not show your cards to the other players!
2. Place three cards in the center of the table, face up. These are the trading cards with which any player can trade during his or her turn.
3. Rate your cards. Look at the three cards in your hand and the three cards on the table. Decide which combination of cards can help you reach 31 points.
   • Remember that you can only add cards of the same suit. Keep this in mind when choosing a strategy.
4. Place a bet. While a bet is not necessary, it can make the game exciting. If you choose to place a bet for the winnings, each player entering the bet must donate an equal amount of stake in the pot.
5. Begin the game with the player to the dealer's left. This player now has the option to exchange one or more cards from his or her hand with the cards on the table. You may exchange as many cards as you want.
6. Continue to play in a clockwise direction. The next player to act may now swap one or more cards in his or her hand with the cards on the table.
   • Always have three cards in your hand, no more, no less.
7. Pay close attention to the facial expressions of your opponents. While you do your best to reach 31 points, it is also smart to observe your opponents. They look and sound happy or perhaps a little frustrated. This way you may be able to determine how close they are to achieving the 31 points.
   • Getting exactly 31 points can be quite difficult. Sometimes one of the players will have to take the chance to still try to win with a score lower than 31. If you keep a close eye on what the other players put on the table and which cards they have in their hand, you can determine for yourself whether you can still win the round with a score below 31. Suppose you only have 23 points, but during the last few rounds the same cards come up again and again, then chances are that other players have even less points and you still win the round.

Part 3 of 3: Winning the game

1. Knock on the table when you think you have reached the maximum possible number of points. As soon as you think you've got the maximum number of points for yourself, knock on the table. All other players then have another turn to exchange the cards in their hand with the cards on the table.
   • If you have exactly 31 points in your hand, knock on the table and indicate that you have 31 points. You show your cards to your opponents. If you have indeed achieved 31 points, the round is over for the other players. They are then finished and all lose a life, if you have decided to play with that. This can happen at any time during the game, even if another player has already knocked on the table and the final round is in progress.
2. Put all your cards on the table face up. The player with the highest number of points up to 31 wins this round.
   • In case of a tie, the player with the highest card combination wins. Suppose there are two players with 25 points, where one player has the combination ace, jack and four and the other player the combination king, queen and a five. Then in this example the combination with the ace wins because this card is higher than the king of the other combination.
   • If both players with a tie also have the same highest card, compare the second highest cards of both players (in this example the jack and queen). If there is still a tie, the last cards are also compared with each other.
3. Designate the player with the lowest score as the loser of this round. The player with the lowest score loses the round and possibly loses a life. If a player has lost all his or her lives, they are out of the game. He or she can only participate again after a winner has been determined for this game.
   • If someone has knocked, but does not end up with the highest score, the knocker is automatically the loser of that round.
4. Designate the player with the highest score as the winner of the round. Whether playing for money, determining who does the dishes for the next week or just for fun, winning is always fun.
   • Collect all the cards back together, shuffle them, switch dealers and repeat all the above steps until there is only one player left.
5. Designate the last remaining player as the winner of the game. The number of rounds will differ per game. The more people participate, the longer the game will last.

Tips

• Cards with a picture, such as a king, queen or jack, are worth the most points together with the ten. It is wise to keep these.
• You can get 31 points with two pictures and an ace. The ten can also be used instead of a picture.
• Sometimes it is smarter to collect a three-of-a-kind instead of cards of the same suit.

Necessities

• Opponents
• Standard deck with 52 cards
• Table or other flat surface to play