How to Play Thirty One (Card Game)

Setting up the Game

Find 2-9 people to play with. Thirty One can be played with up to 9 people. You don’t need to have 9 players, but you do need at least 2 (including yourself). Once you’ve found people to play with, have everyone sit in a circle at a table or on the floor so you’re all facing each other.

Deal out 3 cards face down to each player. These 3 cards will make up each player’s hand. Make sure the cards are face down so that no one knows what cards everyone has. You can use a regular 52-card deck of playing cards. You don't need a special deck of cards to play Thirty One.

Place the deck face down in the center and flip the top card up next to it. The remainder of the deck that’s face-down in the middle of the playing area will be the draw pile. The face-up card next to it will be the discard pile. Make sure all of the players can reach the 2 piles since everyone will need to use them during the game.

Give each player 3 tokens to start with. You can use anything as tokens, like poker chips, coins, or game pieces. These tokens will be used later in the game to determine which players get to stay in for another round and which ones are out. Have each player place their tokens in front of them on the table or floor so everyone can see them.

Learning the Basics

Try to be the last player with a token left to win the game. If every other player loses all of their 3 tokens and you’re left with at least 1 token, you win! If you run out of tokens before the other players, you’re out of the game until someone wins and a new game starts. It's OK if you lose 1 or 2 tokens during the game—you just need at least 1 token to be the winner.

Avoid being the player with the lowest score in each round. Thirty One is played in rounds, and at the end of each round, the player with the lowest score gets “knocked” and has to give up 1 of their tokens. Once you lose all 3 of your tokens, you’re out of the game, so try not to be the losing player at the end of each round.

Learn the card values so you can tally your score. Every card has a value in Thirty One, and you’ll use those values to figure out who has the lowest score at the end of each round. The card values are: Cards 2-10: scored at face value. For example, a 3 card would be worth 3 points. Jacks, Queens, Kings: 10 points Aces: 11 points

Choose 1 suit to count toward your score at the end of each round. Instead of adding up the value for all of the cards in your hand at the end of a round, you’ll choose 1 suit—hearts, spades, clubs, or diamonds—and only count the cards in that suit. Remember that you want as many points as possible, so choose a suit that you have a lot of or a suit that you have high cards in. For example, if you end a round with a 2 of clubs, a 6 of spades, and a 10 of diamonds, you would want to choose diamonds as your suit since that would get you 10 points. If you ended a round with a 10 of clubs, a 5 of clubs, and a 10 of spades, you would want to choose clubs as your suit since you have 2 cards that are clubs and they add up to 15, which is higher than the 10 points you would get if you chose spades.

Say “Blitz” if you have 31 points in your hand at any time during the game. A hand worth 31 points is known as a “blitz,” and it’s an automatic win for that round. A player can say “Blitz” at any point during the game, even if it’s not their turn. Once a player announces they have a blitz, that round is over and every other player must give up a token. A blitz hand is scored like any other hand—the cards must be the same suit to be scored together. For example, if a player had a 10, king, and ace of spades, that would be a blitz since they’re all the same suit and they add up to 31. However, if the player had a 10 and king of spades and an ace of diamonds, that would not be a blitz because the cards aren’t the same suit.

Playing the Rounds

Start with the player to the left of the dealer. If you’re not that player, wait until it’s your turn to play. Play moves clockwise, and the dealer will go after everyone else has played. You don't need to wait until it's your turn to pick up the 3 cards you were dealt. You can pick them up right away and start strategizing while you wait for your turn!

Draw from the deck or the discard pile on your turn. These are the 2 main options you have at the beginning of each turn. Whether you choose from the deck or the discard pile will depend on the cards in your hand and your strategy. Drawing from the discard pile is a good idea if you think the top card on the discard pile would help your hand. If you don’t want the top card on the discard pile, draw the top face-down card from the deck instead.

Discard 1 card at the end of your turn. You always have to discard at the end of your turn. Place the card you want to discard face up in the discard pile. You can discard any card in your hand unless it’s the face-up card you just drew from the discard pile. You can’t pick up a card from the discard pile and immediately discard it.

Knock at the beginning of your turn if you want the round to come to an end. Once a player knocks on their turn, the round starts to wind down and every player has 1 more turn before the round is over. Only 1 player can knock per round. Since knocking triggers the end of a round, you usually don't want to knock unless you are satisfied with the cards in your hand and you think you have a high score. You can knock by saying "Knock" or knocking on the table. If you knock on your turn, you don't have to discard since you're not picking any cards up. If you're dealt a good hand to start with, you can knock on your first turn or early on in the game so the rest of the players don't have as many chances to draw the cards they need.

Pass on your turn if you don’t want to pick up after someone has knocked. You aren’t allowed to skip your turn in Thirty One, unless it’s after someone has knocked. In that case, if you’re satisfied with your hand and you think you have a high score, you can say “pass.” Keep in mind that if you pass you won't get any more chances to draw or discard before the round is over.

End the round after someone knocks and everyone has had their last turn. A round can’t end until someone knocks. Once they do, the rest of the players get one more turn and then the round is over. At the end of a round, all of the players can reveal the 3 cards in their hand.

Tally your scores for the round and take a token from the lowest scorer. Each player should choose their suit for that round, add up their total score, and announce it to the other players. Whoever has the lowest score gives up one of their tokens—if it happens to be their last token, they’re out of the game! If 2 or more players are tied for the lowest score, then the player with the highest card in the suit they chose wins. If the player that knocked for that round is the one with the lowest score, they must give up 2 tokens instead of 1.

Continue playing rounds until only 1 player is left with a token. To start a new round, shuffle all of the cards and deal them out just like you did when you started the game. Keep taking a token from the losing player at the end of each round until eventually 1 player is left standing! If you’re playing with a large group of people and the game is taking a long time, try playing with 2 tokens instead.