How to Play the Card Game Phat
There are so many trick-taking games played today that it’s often difficult to differentiate between them. But what sets the game of phat apart from all the rest is its ease of play and overall mechanics. You see, there’s no bidding or actual calling of trump in this game. Trump is dictated by the first card led. From there, it’s pretty much card play as usual—highest card takes the trick, winning trick leads the next and so on down the line. It’s fun, it’s fast and it’s for everyone.
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Instructions
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1
Decide teams by having partners take seats on opposite sides of the table from one another.
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2
Deal out the deck, starting with the person to the left of the dealer, until all players have a total of 13 cards in their hands. You’ll be dealing out the deck in its entirety, so you needn’t count out the cards as you deal.
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3
Lay a card, again starting with the person to the left of the dealer. Having the first lead has the advantage since the card led indicates trump for the rest of the round. You must follow suit when possible. The highest suited card takes the trick. If you are unable to follow suit, you may either throw off or play trump. Highest trump card now takes the trick. In both cases, the winner of this trick leads the next card.
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4
Score points as you take tricks by pegging them on the cribbage board as you play. However, not all tricks may be worth points since their value is based solely on the cards within the books. Tens are worth 10 points, aces are worth 4 points, kings are worth 3 points, queens are worth 2 points and jacks are worth 1 point. You can also earn 18 or 10 points for the nine or five of trump, respectively. All other nines and fives are worth their face values. An additional 8 points is up for grabs at the end of the round for the team that takes the majority of the points available.
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5
Continue to play the game of phat as described, shifting deal to the left for each additional round.
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Win the game of phat by being the first team to peg out.
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Tips & Warnings
To determine the order of play for the game of phat, players should cut the deck in turn. The lowest cut takes the first lead, so the player to his right acts as first dealer. Subsequent deals move to the left in a clockwise direction around the table. Game play follows this same path.
A cribbage board is used in the game of phat for the ease of scoring. If you haven’t one available, you simply play up to 121 points.
