Rulebook
Official rules & table flow
Everything you need to sit down at an All Fours Ultimate table and play confidently—setup, making trump, and etiquette grounded in today’s meta.
Understand the flow
All Fours rewards precision. Each hand is its own story: make trump, sequence six tricks, and cash in on High, Low, Jack, and Game before your opponents do.
Table
- 4 players, 2 partnerships
- Partners sit opposite one another; play moves counter-clockwise
- Dealer rotates clockwise after every hand (first dealer can be chosen by turning up Jacks)
Dealing
- Deal six cards to each player (commonly 3 + 3).
- Player on dealer’s left may cut first; deal 1-at-a-time or 3-at-a-time but stay consistent.
- Flip the next card to propose the initial trump suit (the kick).
- If everyone passes twice, the dealer must beg and select a trump.
Hand checkpoints
Maker leads the opening trick. Everyone must follow suit if able.
Trump only wins when it is led or a player is void in the led suit.
Count High, Low, Jack, Game, and Hang Jack to determine the points earned.
Kicking, begging, and running the pack
Kicking turns up trump and can award the dealer's team kick points (Ace = 1, Six = 2, Jack = 3). Kick points stay even if the pack is rerun.
Only the dealer and the player to their right (the beggar) peek at hands until trump is locked. The beggar can stand on the kicked suit or beg for new trump.
- Dealer says “take one” → begging team gains 1 point immediately.
- Dealer runs the pack → deal 3 more cards per player and kick again. If the suit repeats, deal another 3 and kick; if it repeats yet again, kick once more, then redeal from scratch if still stuck.
After trump is set, the beggar becomes leader for the first trick.
Making trump
Players accept or pass on the face-up card. The first to accept becomes maker and their partnership must win the hand. Passing twice forces the dealer to choose a suit, often called “begging”. A failed maker can lose Hang Jack plus any unclaimed points. If someone begs with no trump, the dealer can refuse (“take one” point to opponents) or run the pack.
Rules checkpoint
Lock in the fundamentals before tackling scoring or strategy.
How many cards are dealt to each player at the start of a hand?
When a suit is led, what must you do if possible?
If your team plays the Jack of trumps and it is captured by opponents, how many Hang Jack points do they get by default?
Ready for the next checkpoint? Head to the scoring module to see how High, Low, Jack, Game, and Hang Jack are tallied in actual match logs.
Continue to scoring