What is High Low Jack?
High Low Jack is one of the oldest names for an American card game that has gone by many — All Fours in the 1700s, then High Low Jack, then Pitch and Setback. The rules have barely changed: players bid for the right to name trump, then battle over four points each hand.
The name tells you most of the game. High, Low, and Jack are three of the four points you're playing for. The fourth, Game, rewards the team that captures the most valuable cards. If you learn those four points and how bidding works, you can sit down at almost any High Low Jack, Pitch, or Setback table in the country and follow along.
Where does the name High Low Jack come from?
The game began as All Fours, a tavern game in seventeenth-century England, and arrived in America with early settlers. By the 1800s American players were calling it Seven Up or High Low Jack, and later versions with an auction for the right to name trump became known as Auction Pitch, then simply Pitch.
The New England name Setback comes from the penalty for missing a bid, and Midwest variants with extra points became Smear. All of these share the same core you will learn below, which is why older relatives who call it High Low Jack and younger players who call it Pitch can play together with only small adjustments.
How do you set up a game of High Low Jack?
The classic game has four players in two partnerships, with partners sitting across from each other. Deal six cards to each player from a standard 52-card deck. The deal rotates to the left after every hand.
Cards rank ace high down to two low in every suit. Most dealers pass three cards at a time in two rounds. Only 24 cards are dealt, so more than half the deck sits out each hand, and that uncertainty is a big part of the game. You never know for sure whether the jack of trump is in someone's hand or resting unseen in the stack.
What are the four points in High Low Jack?
High is won by whoever plays the highest trump of the hand. Low goes to the lowest trump in play. Jack goes to the team that captures the jack of trump — and if nobody was dealt it, no one scores it. Game goes to the team whose captured cards add up to the most, with tens worth 10, aces 4, kings 3, queens 2, and jacks 1.
Low is the point where tables disagree most. In the older tradition, Low went to the player who held it, so the two of trump was a guaranteed point. Many modern tables give Low to the team that captures it instead. Settle this before you deal. If the Game count is tied, most groups give the Game point to nobody.
How does bidding work?
Going around the table, each player may bid 2, 3, or 4 — the number of points their team promises to take — or pass. Each bid has to beat the last. If everyone passes, many tables require the dealer to bid, known as sticking the dealer.
The high bidder leads the first card, and that card's suit becomes trump for the hand.
When you size up a hand, count the points you can likely win on your own. An ace of trump is almost a sure High. The jack of trump with one or two protecting cards is a good bet for Jack. A low trump like the two or three is a fair shot at Low. Expect your partner to help with about one more point.
How do you play the hand and score?
Follow the suit that was led if you can; most tables also let you play trump even when you could follow. The highest trump wins the trick; otherwise the highest card of the led suit does. The winner leads the next trick.
After all six tricks, count the four points. If the bidding team made its bid, it scores everything it took. If not, it's set back by the amount it bid — which is where the name Setback comes from.
The defending team always keeps the points it captured, whether or not the bid was made. Scores can go negative, and a team below zero is said to be in the hole. Most games are played to 11, and if both teams cross the line on the same hand, the bidding team usually wins.
A sample hand of High Low Jack
Diamonds are trump after East bids 2 and leads the king of diamonds. North covers it with the ace of diamonds, which wins the trick and High. Later West, East's partner, plays the jack of diamonds and wins that trick for the Jack. South plays the three of diamonds, the lowest trump that appears all hand, on a trick North-South wins, so Low stays with North-South under either Low rule. East-West collects 21 Game points to North-South's 19.
North-South scores High and Low for 2 points. East-West scores Jack and Game for 2 points, which exactly makes the bid of 2. Had North-South also won the Game count, East-West would have finished with 1 point, missed the bid, and lost 2 from its score.
Beginner mistakes and simple strategy
New players often bid on raw card count instead of points. Six diamonds with no ace, jack, or two might win tricks but take only Game. Another mistake is holding the jack of trump too long, where an opponent's ace or king can capture it. Lead high trump early to clear the way.
On defense, play your tens onto tricks your partner is already winning, and save a trump to take the bidder's jack if you can. Remember that stopping just one point can set a bid of 4.
Finally, keep a rough count of trump as it falls. There are thirteen cards in the trump suit, but only some of them are dealt. If the ace, king, and queen have all appeared, your jack is now the boss trump. Small habits like this turn a casual player into the partner everyone wants across the table.
Play High Low Jack online
High Low Jack moves fast — a full game to 11 takes about fifteen minutes — which is part of why it has lasted for three centuries at kitchen tables. You can play it free at pitch.ac against AI players or with friends on web, iPhone, and iPad, with house rules like stick-the-dealer and dealer-may-steal you can switch on before each game.
There is no download or sign-up, just a name. Create a private room and share a 4-letter code with family, match up online, or practice alone against AI until the bidding feels natural.