Put

Full rules

1. Overview
2. The cards
3. Setup
4. Playing the tricks
5. Scoring a hand
6. The put
7. Winning the game
8. Tips for beginners
9. Variants

Overview

Put is an old English tavern game for two, with only three cards each. You play them out one at a time: whoever plays the higher card wins the trick, and whoever wins two of the three tricks scores a point. The first to 5 points wins. The spice is the put: at any moment you may challenge your opponent. They must either give up at once – which gives you a point – or accept, and then this single hand decides the whole game.

These rules follow the oldest descriptions, by Charles Cotton (1674) and Francis Willughby (1660s–70s), as summarised on pagat.com. A later 19th-century form is given under Variants.

• Players: 2 (4 in partnerships, see Variants).
• You need: one standard 52-card deck without jokers, paper or chips to keep score, and chips for the stake – e.g. each game is played for 5 chips. Play for chips, never for money.

The cards

The cards rank in an unusual order, from high to low: 3 2 A K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4. So a 3 beats everything, and a 4 is the lowest card. Suits don't matter at all.

Setup

Both players cut; the higher card (in Put order) deals first. After that, the deal alternates. The dealer shuffles, the opponent cuts, and the dealer deals three cards to each player, one at a time, starting with the opponent. The rest of the pack is not used in this hand.

Playing the tricks

1. The non-dealer leads to the first trick: they play any card face up.
2. The dealer answers with any card – there is no need to follow suit.
3. The higher card wins the trick, and its winner leads to the next trick.
4. If both cards are of the same rank (e.g. two Kings), the trick is tied: it belongs to nobody, and the player who led to it leads again.

Scoring a hand

• Win two tricks, or one trick while the other two are tied, and you score 1 point.
• If each player wins one trick and the third is tied ("trick and tie"), or all three tricks are tied, nobody scores.

As soon as the result can no longer change – for example when one player has won the first two tricks – the hand is over and the last card is not played.

The put

Before you lead or play a card to any trick, you may say "Put!". Your opponent must choose at once:

• Give up: they throw in their cards. You score 1 point, and the hand is over.
• See it: the hand is played out, and whoever wins it wins the whole game – however many points either of you had. If the hand ends in a trick and tie, nobody scores and the game goes on.

Once a put has been seen, the rest of the hand is simply played out. Without a put, nobody may give up – every hand is played to the end.

Example: Anna deals. Ben leads 7♦, Anna plays 9♠ and wins the first trick. Before leading to the second trick, Anna says "Put!" – although her remaining cards, K♣ and A♦, are not strong. Ben holds 3♥ and 2♣, the two best ranks, so he sees it. Anna leads K♣, Ben takes it with 2♣, then leads 3♥ and wins the last trick against A♦. Ben has won two tricks – and with them the whole game. Had Ben held weaker cards, he might have given up, and Anna's bluff would have earned her a point.

Winning the game

The first player to reach 5 points – or to win a seen put – wins the game and collects the agreed stake from the loser.

Tips for beginners

• Put is a game of nerve: a bold player often puts on bad cards, hoping the opponent gives up and hands over a point.
• Count the top cards: there are only four 3s and four 2s. If you hold two of them, you are very likely to win the hand.
• When you have 4 points, a put is powerful: your opponent must either see it or lose the game by giving up.
• Winning the first trick lets you lead next – and choose the best moment to put.

Variants

• 19th-century Put (from Hoyle's Games Improved, 1800, and Enquire Within upon Everything): before the first trick, the non-dealer may give up (the dealer scores 1), put, or lead a card. Then the dealer has the same three choices. After the first trick, the non-dealer must either give up or put – the hand is never played on without a put. If a put is seen and the hand is drawn, play continues from the scores as they were.
• Seven-point game: Willughby's game was played to 7 points instead of 5.
• Four-handed Put: Anna & Carla play against Ben & Dan. After the deal, one player of the non-dealing partnership gives their best card to their partner and throws their other two cards away face down. At the same time, the dealer may give one card to their partner, or the partner to the dealer. The two players who received a card each discard one, and these two play the hand as in two-handed Put; the points count for the partnership.