Pitch Card Game

A pack of cards is what you just might need to add some brightness to a dull and boring day. These playing card games are an awesome way for passing time! Be it Pinochle or Poker or Solitaire or even 'Pitch', there is no single dull moment playing these cards. Let's take Pitch, for instance. There are so many aspects enmeshed in this game that you always have to be alert and thinking while playing Pitch. In case this interests you, here is more.

Playing Pitch Card Games

Basic Game Play
Also called Setback, Pitch is a trick taking card game. It basically involves bidding and is inspired from the 17th century game called All Fours. To begin playing, each player gets 6 cards, dealt 3 at one go. After that, players are supposed to bid 2 to 4 tricks with the winning bidder names which suit is trump. In case all the players pass, a minimum number must be bid by the person on the left of the person who is dealing. The trump in such a case is the first card played. Players can put down their trump card if they do not have any. The winner of the first trick leads to the second trick. Moreover, he can play any suit, and the trump can be thrown any time. The most basic and commonly played version is played best with 2 or 3 two player teams.

Betting
For the Betting, it is normally done according to the game, more than hand. The norm is that the players bet a certain amount prior to every game. An amount has to be bet again by any player who is set. The whole pot is won by the person or team winning.

Scoring
Scoring depends on what kind of game you are playing, as there are a quite a few variants of Pitch. Fundamentally, points are scored for high, low, jack and game. To the person playing the card, the high trump is worth a point and so is the case with low trump. For a person who wins a trick where jack was played, one point is rewarded. The player earning the highest number of points wins the game point, that is one. Tens are worth 10 apiece, aces equal four points each, kings are worth 3 points, queens earn 2 points and finally jacks are worth one point. Similarly if a player does not win enough points but wins the bid, he is said to be set, losing the amount of points they bid from their total number of points.

Pitch Card Game Strategy
One of the strategies to win is that a player should try to make a mental calculation of his hand and points and then bid depending on that. In case you have a partner, adding a point to a bid is a good idea. Another trademark strategy is to get other players to give out their valuable cards. All said and done, the aim of the strategy is to set the player or even the team winning the bid. This may also culminate into giving the opponent a valuable card only to set the bidder by not letting that player have it.

Apart from all this there are several variations of this card game, which determines the scoring as well as the strategies and the flow of the play. For instance, in some variants of Pitch, 9 cards are dealt to the players.

Any version of this game can be won, only if you have a strategic frame of mind!