Speed
How to Play Speed
Speed is a real-time race for 2 people — 2 is this game — no teams. You share one 52. Each person has a 20-card stock and a 5-card hand. You play at once onto two center piles, one rank up or down. First to empty the hand and the stock wins.
This page is kitchen-table Speed. Also called Spit or Slam at some tables — CardPractice house name is Speed. Short enough to deal tonight. This is not Nertz. Nertz is one 52 per person, a 13-card Nertz pile, and a race onto shared aces. This is not Egyptian Rat Screw. ERS is slap doubles and sandwiches, face-card chances, deal the whole pack around. Not War. Not solitaire. Not Crazy Eights (turns, match suit or rank, 8s wild). Two is this game, not a leftover. Three is not this game. Pick it from tonight with 2 players.
What you need
- Two people. No partners. Two is this game. Not on chip 3, 4, or 5.
- One standard 52-card deck. No jokers. Deal 20 face-down each as a stock, 5 more as a hand, leftover 2 as the play piles.
- No score pad. First to empty hand and stock wins the hand. Optional rematch: first to 3 hands.
Sit, pick a dealer, agree on the house
Sit across from each other so each of you can reach both piles. Cut for the first deal, or point at someone. After each hand, swap the deal.
Say these out loud before the first card:
- One 52. 20 stock each. 5 in hand. Two piles in the middle. No partners. Play is simultaneous — no turns.
- Play onto either pile, one rank higher or one rank lower. Suits do not matter. Ace is high and low — on a king or a 2.
- Draw from your stock to keep 5 in hand. When the stock is gone, play out what is left in your hand.
- First to empty hand and stock wins. If you are both stuck, say “1, 2, 3, Speed” and each flip the top of your stock onto one pile. Not Nertz. Not Egyptian Rat Screw.
Deal: 20, 5, two piles
Shuffle. Deal 20 face-down to each person — that is their stock. Deal 5 more to each as a hand. Look at your 5. The leftover 2 cards go face-down in the middle. Flip both to start the two play piles. 20+20+5+5+2=52. If you have cards left over, you dealt wrong. Throw it in.
| Pile | How many | How it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Your stock | 20 | Face-down in front of you. Draw from here to refill your hand. |
| Your hand | 5 | Look at these. Play from here onto either center pile. |
| Play piles | 2 | Face-up in the middle. Either of you may play onto either pile. |
This is WikiHow Speed, not a five-tableau Spit layout. Two piles. Rank up or down. If your table already knows five-tableau Spit, agree before you deal; this page is the two-pile version.
Play at the same time, not turns
When you both have a hand, go. Play a card from your hand onto either pile if it is one rank higher or one rank lower than the card showing. Suits do not matter. A 8 of hearts plays on a 7 of clubs or a 9 of spades.
Ace is high and low. An ace plays on a king or a 2. A king plays on an ace or a queen. A 2 plays on an ace or a 3.
After you play, draw from your stock to keep 5 in hand — or fewer when the stock is gone. You may play as fast as you want. No taking turns. Hands off the other person's cards.
You may dump a run if the ranks line up: 8 then 9 then 10 on a 7, as fast as your hands go. The other person may steal the other pile, or the same pile if they get there first. The card that landed first stays.
Stuck: “1, 2, 3, Speed”
If neither of you can play onto either pile, stop. Say “1, 2, 3, Speed” together. Each of you flips the top of your stock onto one pile: left player the left pile, right player the right pile. Continue from those new tops.
If a stock is empty, that player skips the flip. The other still flips. If both stocks are empty and neither hand can play, the person with fewer cards in hand wins the hand tonight — or throw it in and deal again. Night one: you will usually empty a stock before that comes up.
Win the hand
First person with no cards in hand and none in stock wins the hand. Cards still in the other person's stock do not get played. Yell Speed if you want.
No pad. Optional rematch: first to 3 hands. You do not race a points sheet. That is Nertz-optional, not this.
This is not Nertz. One shared 52, not one 52 each. Two piles, not shared ace foundations. This is not Egyptian Rat Screw. No slap. No face-card chances. Not War. Not solitaire. Not Crazy Eights.
Walk through one first-night hand
You and a friend. 20 each as stock, 5 in hand, two piles showing a 7 and a queen.
You dump 8 then 9 on the 7 while they play jack then 10 on the queen. You each draw from stock to keep 5. Keep going. First empty wins.
Later both hands stall. The piles show a 4 and a king. Neither of you has a 3, 5, queen, or ace. You say “1, 2, 3, Speed.” You (left) flip your stock onto the left pile: a 6. They flip onto the right: a 2. You play 5 on the 6. They play ace on the 2. Race continues.
Your stock is gone. Three cards still in hand. You dump them as they match. Hand empty, stock empty. You yell Speed. Their leftover stock stays. Nobody compared this to Nertz. Nobody slapped a sandwich. Nobody waited for a turn or an 8.
Night-one habits
- Play is simultaneous. No turns. Either pile, one rank up or down.
- Ace is high and low. Suits do not matter.
- Draw to 5 after you play. When the stock is gone, play out the hand.
- Stuck: say “1, 2, 3, Speed” and each flip one stock card onto one pile.
- Two people is this game. Three is not Speed. Deal.
You know enough to deal. Keep this page beside the table. Two people is a tonight pick. There is no Speed trainer on CardPractice — this how-to is the product. If you wanted one 52 each and a 13-card race onto shared aces, that is Nertz. If you wanted a slap pile, that is Egyptian Rat Screw. If you wanted match suit or rank and 8s wild, that is Crazy Eights. Just me: Speed needs two. Open this how-to anyway — there is no solo trainer.