Shasta Sam

Shasta Sam is played in the same manner as California Jack except that the stock is kept face down so that the poker winner of each trick does not know what card he will draw. Before the deal, a card is cut or turned from the pack to determine the trump suit for that deal.
AUCTION PITCH OR SET-BACK

The popular All-Fours game today in the United States is Auction Pitch. There are many varieties and the rules have changed greatly over the years, but the essential feature of Pitch, as in all All-Fours games, is always the scoring of high, low, jack, and the game. I have selected the most popular present day variation to include in this chapter.
Requirements

1. Two to seven players. Four make the best game. Each player plays for himself.
2. A standard 52-card deck is used. The card values rank as follows: ace (high), king, queen, jack, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, deuce (low) in descending order. Suits have no rank.

Beginning of the Game. The selection of the dealer, seating positions, changing seats, shuffle, and cut are as provided under the General rules for Card Games, chapter 1.
The Deal. After the cards are shuffled and cut, each player, beginning with the player to the dealer’s left and going clockwise, is dealt three cards at a time until each has been dealt six cards. The remainder of the deck is not used.
The Object of the Game. To become the first player to score 11 points (or 7,9, or 21, as agreed upon). The points are counted after the hand has been played and as in Seven-Up are as follows:

1. High. One point for the original player holding the highest trump showing during the play of the hand.
2. Low. One point for the original player holding the lowest trump showing during the play of the hand.
3. Jack. One point to the player who wins the jack of trumps during play. Naturally, if it is not in play poker , no one scores it.
4. Game. One point to the player scoring the most number of points. cards are valued in game count exactly as in Seven-Up.

The Bidding. The player to the dealer’s left bids first. Each player, in turn clockwise, has one chance to bid or pass. He may bid 1, 2,3, or 4. Suits have no value, hence are not named. Each bid must be higher in numerical value than the preceding bid, and the highest possible is four, which is known as a slam, smudge, or shoot the moon. If all the players pass, the hand is declared dead and the same dealer deals again.
The Play of the Game. The highest bidder, sometimes called the pitcher, leads to the first trick, and the suit of that card establishes the trump suit for the deal. On a trump lead, each player must follow suit when able; when any other suit (but trumps) is played, a played must follow suit, play a trump card, or, if unable to follow suit or trump, throw off any card he pleases. The highest card of a suit wins the trick if no trumps are played to the trick. When only one trump card is played to a trick, the trump wins. But if more than one trump is played, the highest trump takes the trick.
The winner of a trick leads a card to the next trick. The play of each trick continues as described above until all six cards have been played.
Scoring. When the six cards have been played, each player receives credit for the points he scores, except that if the player who took the bid fails to score as many points as he bid for, he is set back the same number of points as he bid. The full total of his bid is deducted from his previous score. If his set- back is greater than his previous or plus score, a minus score is recorded for the difference. A circle is usually drawn around a minus score and the holder is said to be in the hole.
End of Game. The first player to reach 11 points (or 7, 10, or 21, as agreed on) wins the game. In the event the bidder of the last hand and any other player or players have scored 11 or more points (or 7, 9, or 21 points as agreed on) the bidder is declared the winner of the game. If two online poker players other than the last bidder should reach 11 points with the last hand, the points are counted in the following order: high, low, jack, and game.
The winner receives from each player the difference in points between his score and each player’s score.
Scoring Variant: In some sections of the country, it is customary for every player to start with a score of 7. When a player is set back, the points he bid are added to his score; points he makes are subtracted from his score; and the first player to reach zero is the winner of the game.

Additional Rules

Misdeal. The following are cause for a misdeal:

1. If the dealer does not offer the deck to be cut.
2. If an ace, deuce, or jack is exposed during the deal by the dealer. Because the deal carries an advantage, a misdeal by dealer loses him the right to deal, and it passes to the player on his left.

Irregularities in Bidding. The following can occur during the bidding:

1. A bid out of turn or a bid lower or equal to the previous bid loses the bidding privilege for the offender. He must pass. A card once played cannot be taken back.
2. If a player plays out of turn, the bidder reserves the right to force the offender at his proper turn of play to play his highest or lowest card of the suit led, or to trump or not to trump.
3. If the bidder has played to an incorrect lead, he cannot take back his played card. However, he is permitted to name the proper trump and must then lead it at his first opportunity, that is immediately after winning poker his first trick.

Revokes. When a player fails to follow suit when able to do so, a revoke is committed. If the bidder revokes, he is set back the amount of his bid. Each of the other players scores the points he makes. If a player other than the bidder revokes, an amount equal to the bid is deducted from his score and the same amount is added to the score of all other players, including the bidder, even if the latter scores fewer points than he bid.
Strategy of Auction Pitch. Since the dealer has the chance to bid last he has an advantage and should take full advantage of it by taking risks to win it. The first two players to dealer’s left, on the other hand, should be rather conservative.
It is usually safe to make a bid of one when holding three trumps since you can usually capture the game point, if nothing else. The jack once guarded is also worth a bid of one, and the two-spot even once guarded has a fairly good chance of being saved. In addition, it is sometimes worth the chance to bid in the hope that a king in hand will prove to be high, or a three-spot low. Side aces and tens strengthen the hand but cannot be counted upon to win the game point. Remember that bidding is generally based on trump length. Since a player isn’t required to follow suit if he can trump, the bidder can’t consider aces as winning tricks unless he has first drawn trumps. Because all the cards are not dealt in Auction Pitch, the odds are usually good that all the outstanding trumps can be pulled in two rounds and almost invariably in three.
It is important that the player conspire to beat the bidder, or pitcher. For example, when playing for game, all occonents should try to throw their tens to some one opponent who has a good chance of costing the bidder that point for game.

Smudge

One of the more popular forms of Auction Pitch is Smudge, and it is usually considered the easiest to play. This stud poker variant is played the same as Auction. Pitch, except that winning all four points In one hand constitutes a smudge by any player, whether he won the bid or not, and wins the game immediately regardless of that player’s previous score. (In certain areas, a smudge wins the game provided its player is not “in the hole.” If he has a minus score at the time of making a smudge, the minus count is dropped and his score becomes plus 4