31
How to Play 31
31 is a three-card comparing game for 2–8 people typical — 3 is the usual table — everyone for themselves. You deal one 52, three cards each. Make 31 in one suit. Knock, or hit 31 and show now. Lives, not a pad race. Last with a life wins.
This page is kitchen-table 31. Short enough to deal tonight. Also called Blitz at some tables — CardPractice house name is 31. This is not blackjack. No dealer, no hitting to 21, no bust. You always hold three cards. This is not cribbage. No pegging, no board, no 15s. Not Crazy Eights (match suit or rank, 8s wild). Not Palace (three down, three up). Not Golf (3×3 grid). Three is a real table — it is the usual table. Two is a real table too. Pick it from tonight with 3 or tonight with 4 players.
What you need
- 2–8 players typical. Three is the usual table. Everyone for themselves. No partners. Two is a real table. Four and five are fine.
- One standard 52-card deck. No jokers. Three cards each. The rest is the stock. Turn one discard face-up. Always three in hand.
- Three lives each — pennies, chips, or hash marks on paper. Counting tokens, not a cash game. Last with a life wins. No score pad race.
Sit, pick a dealer, agree on the house
Sit where you can see the discard and reach the stock. Cut for the first deal, or point at someone. After each hand, the deal moves clockwise.
Give each person three lives before the first deal. Say these out loud:
- Three cards each. Always three in hand. Draw one from the stock or take the discard, then discard one.
- Score one suit only. Ace = 11, king/queen/jack = 10, pip = face value. Best is 31: ace plus two tens of that suit. Three of a kind is 30.5 tonight.
- Hit 31: show immediately. Everyone else loses a life. Hand over.
- After you discard you may knock. Everyone else gets one more turn, then all show. Lowest one-suit total loses a life. If the knocker is lowest, the knocker loses two (caught). Ties for low: all tied lose one.
- Out of lives, sit out. Last with a life wins the table. Not a pad race to 100. Not blackjack. Not cribbage.
Deal 3 each, a stock, and one discard
Shuffle the 52. Deal clockwise: three cards each. Put the rest of the pack face-down in the middle. That is the stock. Turn the next card face-up beside it. That is the discard.
Three people: 9 cards dealt, 43 in the stock, one of those turned up. Four people: 12 dealt. Two people: 6 dealt. At eight, 24 dealt — still a stock. If someone has the wrong count, throw it in and deal again.
Left of the dealer plays first. You always hold three. You never hit a fourth and you never stand on two. That is blackjack, and this is not blackjack.
Score one suit only
Your hand is worth the best single-suit total among the three cards. Mixed suits do not add. A heart does not help a spade total.
| What | Value |
|---|---|
| Ace | 11 in its suit |
| King, queen, jack | 10 in its suit |
| Pip 2–10 | Face value in its suit |
| Best hand | 31 — ace + two tens of one suit (A, K, Q or A, K, 10 or A, Q, 10 or A, Q, J, same suit) |
| Three of a kind | 30.5 tonight. Better than 30, under 31. |
| Off-suit cards | Count 0 toward that suit total |
Examples: A♥ K♥ 7♠ is 21 in hearts — the 7 of spades is nothing. 9♦ 8♦ 5♦ is 22 in diamonds. Three kings is 30.5. A♠ 10♠ K♠ is 31.
Draw, discard, knock, or show 31
Play goes clockwise. On your turn:
- Draw one from the stock, or take the discard.
- Discard one card face-up. You are back to three.
- If those three make 31 in one suit, show now. Everyone else loses a life. Hand over.
- Else, after you discard, you may knock. If you knock, everyone else gets one more turn — draw and discard, no second knock — then all show.
When the stock is gone, reshape the discard under the top card into a new stock. Keep the up-card as the discard.
Show, lives, and caught
| What happened | Who loses a life |
|---|---|
| Someone shows 31 | Everyone else loses one. Hand over. |
| After a knock, lowest one-suit total | That person loses one. |
| Knocker is lowest (caught) | Knocker loses two. |
| Tie for low | All tied lose one. |
| Out of lives | Sit out. Last with a life wins the table. |
Lives are pennies, chips, or hash marks — a count, not a cash stake. Put three in front of each person. Lose a life: one token to the middle, or one hash mark. Out of tokens, you sit. Keep dealing to the people who still have a life. Last with a life wins. You do not race a pad to 100. You do not peg a board. That is cribbage.
Walk through one first-night hand
Three people — the usual table. You are West. East dealt. Three pennies each. The discard is 10♥.
You hold A♥, 9♥, 4♣. Hearts = 11+9 = 20. North holds K♦, 7♦, 2♠. Diamonds = 17. East holds Q♠, J♠, 6♠. Spades = 26.
You take the 10♥, discard 4♣. Now A♥ 9♥ 10♥ = 30. You knock.
North gets one more turn. Draws 10♦ from the stock, discards 2♠. Diamonds now K♦ 7♦ 10♦ = 27. East draws, cannot beat 26 in spades, discards junk, stays 26.
Show: you 30, North 27, East 26. East is lowest and loses one life — one penny to the middle. You were not caught. Deal again.
If you had shown A♥ K♥ 10♥ — that is 31. Show immediately. North and East each lose a life. No extra turn. Hand over.
If you had knocked at 18 and East showed 16, you would be caught: two lives. Knock when you think you are not lowest.
Night-one habits
- Build one suit. Off-suit cards are discards.
- 31 in one suit — show now. Do not wait for a knock.
- Knock when you think you are not lowest. Caught costs two lives.
- Three of a kind is 30.5 tonight — almost 31.
- Three people is the usual 31 table. Two is a real table. Deal.
You know enough to deal. Keep this page beside the table. Three people is the tonight pick. Four people is a tonight pick. There is no 31 trainer on CardPractice — this how-to is the product. If you wanted 21, a dealer, and hit, that is blackjack, not this. If you wanted pegging to a board, that is cribbage.