🎩 How to play President

Easy rules, to read aloud 🔊

1. Deal out all the cards. Twos are the best and threes are the lowest.
2. The first player puts down one card, or two or more that match.
3. The next player plays the same number of cards, but higher, or passes.
4. When everyone passes, the last player who played starts again.
5. Try to get rid of all your cards.
6. The first player out is President for the next game.

The full rules

1. Use one deck. Suits do not matter. From high to low the cards go 2, ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3. Deal out all the cards clockwise; some players may have one more.
2. The player to the dealer's left starts by putting face up any single card, or any set of cards of the same number, like three fives.
3. Going around to the left, each player either passes or beats the last play. A single card is beaten by a higher single card. A set is beaten only by a higher set with the same number of cards: two kings beat two sixes, but one king or three sevens do not.
4. You may always pass, even when you could play, and passing does not stop you playing when your turn comes around again.
5. When someone plays and everyone else passes, put the played cards aside. The player who played last starts again with any card or set.
6. If it is your turn and you have no cards left, the turn moves on to the next player.
7. The first player out of cards is President, the next is Vice-President, and the player still holding cards at the end is the last to finish. For the next deal, sit in that order: Vice-President on the President's left, the last to finish on the President's right.
8. The last to finish shuffles and deals, starting with the President. Then the last to finish gives their best card to the President, who gives back any card they do not want. The President starts the play.

How to win: Each deal ends when only one player still has cards. To keep score, the President gets 2 points and the Vice-President 1, and the first to reach 11 wins.

Tips

• Keep your twos for when you need to win a round and start the next one.
• Get rid of low single cards early, while other players are still playing low.
• Do not break up a pair just to beat a single card: the pair may win a round later.

What it practises

putting cards in order, matching sets, deciding when to wait, winning and losing kindly.

Other ways to play

• Equal plays. A play may be beaten by a set of the same number, not only a higher one: a pair of sevens on a pair of sevens.
• Once around. After the first player starts, everyone gets just one chance to beat or pass. The highest play starts the next round.
• Lowest three starts. On the first deal, the player holding a chosen three starts instead of the player on the dealer's left.