How to Play Liverpool

What you need

• 3–8 players. Everyone for themselves. No partners. Two is not this game. Three is a real table. Four is typical.
• Two standard 52s shuffled together plus 4 jokers (the jokers from both packs). 3–5 people tonight. 6–8 add a third 52, still 4 jokers. Deal 10 each every deal. The rest is the stock.
• Paper with a column per person. Seven deals. Write leftover as a plus. Lowest total after deal 7 wins.

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 deal, the deal moves clockwise.

Say these out loud before the first card:

1. Two 52s plus 4 jokers. 10 each. Seven deals. No partners. 6–8 add a third 52, still 4 jokers. Two is not this game.
2. First meld of the deal must be exactly that contract. Extra cards wait. After you have tabled it, you may play onto any tabled sets or runs — yours or anyone's.
3. Buy the discard. Next player has first right. If they pass, anyone else may call Buy: take the discard and one extra stock card. Only one buy per discard. Night one: allow buys.
4. Lowest leftover after deal 7 wins. Write leftover as a plus. Not Rummy 500 (fish the pile, race to 500). Not gin (knock at 10). Not Canasta. Not Hand and Foot.

Deal 10 each, then a stock

Shuffle the two 52s plus 4 jokers. Deal clockwise: 10 each every deal. 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 first discard.

Four people: 40 dealt, plenty of stock. Three people: 30 dealt. At six or more, shuffle a third 52 in first — still only 4 jokers. If someone has the wrong count, throw it in and deal again.

Left of the dealer plays first.

Seven contracts

Say them out loud. Write them on the pad. One contract per deal, in this order:

The first meld of the deal must be exactly that contract. Extra cards wait in hand until after you have tabled it. Then you may add on.

Sets, runs, and jokers

• Set: three or more of the same rank. Suits can mix. Three kings. Four 8s. A pair is not a set. A set may not be all jokers.
• Run: four or more in the same suit, in sequence. 5-6-7-8 of clubs. 9-10-jack-queen of hearts. A three-card sequence is not a run tonight.

Ace is high or low, not wrapping. A-2-3 of diamonds can start a run (you still need four cards). Queen-king-ace of diamonds is a run. King-ace-2 is not.

Jokers are wild in sets and runs. A set may not be all jokers. After you have tabled the contract, you may play onto any tabled sets or runs — yours or anyone's.

Your turn: draw, meld, discard

Play goes clockwise. On your turn:

1. Draw one from the stock, or take the top discard. You do not fish buried cards. That is Rummy 500.
2. Meld if you have the contract — first spread of the deal must be exactly that contract. After you have melded, you may play onto any tabled sets or runs.
3. Discard one card face-up, unless you went out. Deal 7 going out: no discard — the last card must play onto a run or set.

Buy the discard

This is the house difference. When a card is discarded, the next player has first right to take it as their draw. If they pass, anyone else may call Buy.

The buyer takes the discard and one extra card from the stock — that extra card is the penalty. Then the next player still takes their normal turn. Only one buy per discard. Night one: allow buys.

You do not take the whole pile. You do not look through buried cards. One discard, one buy, then play continues.

Going out

After you have tabled the contract, play your last card as a discard (or onto the table). The deal is over. Everyone else counts leftover.

Deal 7 is stricter: you may not discard when going out. The last card must play onto a run or set already on the table.

This is not gin. You do not knock with deadwood. You table the contract, then empty the hand.

Leftover scores, lowest after 7 wins

Write leftover as a plus. Lowest total after seven deals wins.

Example: East goes out on deal 1. You still hold a king and a 7. That is 10 + 7 = 17. Write +17 in your column. Do not subtract. Do not race to 500.

This pad is not Rummy 500. That game scores tabled melds and races to 500. This pad only counts leftover, and the low score wins after seven contracts.

Walk through one first-night deal

Four people. Deal 1 is two sets. You are West. South dealt. Ten cards each. South discards a king.

You are next. You could take that king as your draw. You already hold two kings and three queens. You take the discarded king, table two sets — kings and queens — that is the contract. Extra cards wait. Discard. Turn ends.

If you had passed that king, anyone else could have called Buy: take the king plus one extra from the stock, then you would still take your normal turn.

Play on until someone who has tabled two sets plays their last card. Everyone else counts leftover as a plus. Then deal 2: one set and one run. After deal 7, lowest total wins. Nobody fished the pile. Nobody knocked at 10. Nobody built a canasta.

Night-one habits

• Say the seven contracts out loud. Write them on the pad.
• First meld of the deal must be exactly that contract. Extra cards wait.
• Allow buys. Next player first; if they pass, one Buy, plus a penalty stock card.
• Deal 7: no discard when going out. Last card plays onto a run or set.
• Three people is a real Liverpool table. Four is typical. Two is not this game — deal gin or Rummy 500.

You know enough to deal. Keep this page beside the pad. Four people is a tonight pick. Three people is a tonight pick. Five people is a tonight pick. There is no Liverpool trainer on CardPractice — this how-to is the product. If you wanted to meld anytime, fish the discard, and race to 500, that is Rummy 500. If you wanted two people and a knock at 10, that is gin rummy. Just me: Liverpool needs at least three. Open this how-to anyway — there is no solo trainer.