Beat the Dealer

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Setup
3. Playing a turn
4. Changing the dealer
5. End of the game
6. Tips for beginners
7. Variants

Overview

Beat the Dealer is a guessing game for a party. The dealer holds the deck and looks at the top card; the other players take turns guessing its rank. Guess right and the dealer drinks; guess wrong twice and you drink – the further off you are, the more. After three misses in a row the dealer is off the hook and the deck moves on. As the deck gets thinner, guessing gets easier – and the dealer's job gets harder.

• Players: 3–8.
• You need: a standard 52-card deck without jokers, and a drink for each player.

The game works just as well with points, forfeits or soft drinks – and nobody should ever be pushed to drink. A "drink" in these rules means one sip.

Ranks and values: only the rank matters, never the suit. Ace = 1, 2–10 = face value, J = 11, Q = 12, K = 13.

Setup

Everyone draws a card from the shuffled deck; the lowest card deals first (Ace counts as lowest; on a tie, those players draw again). Shuffle all the cards again. The dealer holds the deck face down.

Playing a turn

The guesser is always the player to the dealer's left at first, then the next player clockwise, and so on – the dealer never guesses.

1. The dealer looks at the top card without showing it.
2. The guesser names a rank ("seven").
3. Right first time: the dealer takes 4 sips.
4. Wrong: the dealer says "higher" or "lower" – truthfully – and the guesser has a second try.
5. Right second time: the dealer takes 2 sips.
6. Wrong again: the guesser drinks the difference between their second guess and the real card.
7. The dealer lays the card face up in the middle, sorted by rank (all 7s together, and so on), so that everyone can see which cards are gone. Then the next player guesses.

Example: Ben is the dealer; the top card is a 10. Anna guesses "seven". Ben: "Higher." Anna guesses "Queen" (12) – wrong. The difference between 12 and 10 is 2, so Anna takes 2 sips. Ben lays the 10 face up with the other 10s.

Changing the dealer

If three players in a row get it wrong (both guesses), the dealer has survived: the deck passes to the player on the dealer's left, who becomes the new dealer. The count starts again every time someone guesses right. The new dealer's left-hand neighbour guesses next.

End of the game

The game ends when the deck runs out. There is no winner – or, if you like, the player who drank the least.

Tips for beginners

• Start in the middle: "seven" leaves the fewest possibilities after "higher" or "lower".
• For the second guess, look at the face-up cards: a rank with three cards showing is unlikely; one with four showing is impossible.
• Near the end of the deck, the guessers have the advantage – that's when you don't want to be dealer.

Variants

Optional – agree before you start.

• Dumb guess: guessing a rank when all four cards of it are already face up costs a penalty (often 5 sips).
• Ace high: Ace = 14 instead of 1; many German groups play this way.
• One guess only: faster – after a wrong guess the guesser drinks the difference straight away.
• Rank and suit: guessing the exact card (rank and suit) first time costs the dealer more sips.
• Dealer's choice: after three misses, the dealer chooses who deals next.