How to Play California Jack

California Jack is a card game for two players. A fast-paced game, California Jack uses a standard 52-card deck where the ace is high and the deuce is low. Learn the rules of California Jack, how to score points in the game and how to strategize to win.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Standard deck of cards

1. Use a standard 52-card deck to play a game of California Jack. Shuffle the cards and offer the opposing player the chance to cut the deck. Deal 3 cards to the opponent and 3 to yourself and repeat until each player has 6 cards.
2. Place the remaining cards from the shuffled deck in a neat stack face up. The top card, with the suit exposed, becomes the trump for that round. The suit (hearts, diamonds, spades or clubs) of the "trump" is the suit that beats all other cards. For example, if hearts were trump and a player laid down a spade--and you had no spade to play--you could play a heart (trump, in this instance) and win the trick.
3. Start the game by taking turns playing one card. After each person plays a card, the highest card wins, if everyone follows suit. If a card is trumped, the person who used the trump wins the trick. The winner takes the top exposed card from the stack; the loser gets the next card. Repeat this process until the deck is exhausted. Strategize appropriately and decide if you want the top card or prefer to take your chances with the card underneath.
4. Follow suit when playing cards if you can do so. If you can't follow suit and have trump cards, you must trump. If you can't follow suit and have no trump cards, you can play the card of your choosing. For example, if a heart was led and you have a heart in your hand, you must play the heart. If you have no hearts but have trump--spades, for instance--play a spade and win the trick. If you have no heart or spades, the wise move is to play a small club or diamond.
5. Understand that the winner of California Jack is the person who reaches 10 points first. Players receive 1 point for each of the following: the greatest number of tricks won; obtaining the Ace of trump, 10 of trump, Jack of trump and Deuce of trump.