OBJECTIVE OF OKLAHOMA TEN POINT PITCH: The objective of Oklahoma Ten Point Pitch is to score the most points by winning bids.
NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 4 or 6 Players
MATERIALS: A standard 52-card decks, 2 distinguishable jokers, a way to keep score, and a flat surface.
TYPE OF GAME: Trick-Taking Card Game
AUDIENCE: Adult
OVERVIEW OF OKLAHOMA TEN POINT PITCH
Oklahoma Ten Point Pitch is a trick-taking card game. It can be played with 4 or 6 players in teams of two. The goal of the game is to score 21 points before your opponents.
The game is played with partnerships there will be 2 or 3 teams of two with partners sitting opposite of each other.
This game is a variation of traditional Pitch, but I will discuss all the relevant rules below. For games similar please check out the rules for Pitch on our site.
SETUP
Before the game begins players should designate which joker will be the high joker and which will be the low joker.
The first dealer is chosen at random and passes to the left for each new deal. The deck is shuffled and dealt out. If playing a 4-player game, each player receives 9 cards. If playing a 6-player game, each player receives 8 cards. The remaining deck is set aside. These cards are called the widow and are used later.
Card Rankings and Scoring
The trump suit is ranked Ace (high), King, Queen, Jack, off-Jack, high Joker, low joker, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, and 2 (low). The other suits are the same except they do not have jokers. The off jack is the jack of the same color as the trump jack and is a part of the trump suit. It is not included in the ranking of the suit printed on it.
There are points awarded to players who win certain cards or meet certain criteria during the game. The cards that score points are the jack of trumps, off-jack of trumps, and High and low jokers. These all score the team who wins them in a trick 1 point each.
Optionally the 3 of trumps can be scored. If used, the 3 of trumps, if won in a trick, scores the team 3 points.
There is also scoring for high, low, and game. High means the team that holds the highest trump in play scores 1 point. Low means the team that holds the lowest trump in play scores 1 point. Game means the team with the highest score based on the scoring discussed below scores 1 point. Optionally the game point can be awarded to the team that wins the 10 of trumps instead.
For the game, point players tally their score based on the cards they won in tricks. Each ace is worth 4 points, each king is worth 3, each queen is worth 2, each jack is worth 1, and each 10 is worth 10 points.
There will be a total of 7, or 10 if using the optional 3 of trumps scoring, up for grabs.
BIDDING
Once all players have received their hands the round of bidding can begin. The player on the dealer’s left will start and in turn, each player will bid higher than the previous or pass. Players bid on how many of the above points they must win in a round.
The minimum bid is 2 and the maximum bid is a bid of 7 (or 10 if using the option 3 scoring).
If all other players pass the dealer must bid 2.
The bidding ends once all but one player passes, or a maximum bid is made. The winner becomes the pitcher.
After bidding ends, a discard is held based on the number of players. In a 6-player game, the pitcher takes the widow and adds it to their hand. They will then declare the trump suit. All players then discard down to 6 cards in hand.
If playing with 4 players, the pitcher declares the trump suit. All players may then discard up to 3 cards from their hand, which are replaced with cards dealt from the remaining widow. if there are no remaining cards in the widow a replacement is not given. All players then discard down to 6 cards. Optionally all players just discard 3 cards and no replacements redealt and the widow remains unused and unrevealed.
GAMEPLAY
The pitcher plays first. They may play any card they wish, though some play that they must lead a trump first. Play proceeds clockwise around the table.
There are three standard variations for following to a trick. A playgroup should choose one before the start of the game. The firsts option is all following players must follow suit or trump, if not able to do either they may play any card to the trick. The second option states that the following players must follow suit. If they cannot, they may play any card they wish to the trick, including trumps. The third option states that the following players must follow suit but may also play trumps. If they cannot follow suit, they may play any card they wish, including trumps.
Regardless of the playstyle chosen the trick is won by the highest trump played. If not applicable, the trick is won by the highest card of the suit led. The winner of the trick collects it and leads to the next trick.
Once all 6 tricks are won the scoring will begin.
SCORING
Scoring happens after each round.
The pitcher’s team will determine if they were successful in completing their bid. If they were successful, they score the number of points earned during the round (this may be more than they bid). If they were not successful, then the number bid is subtracted from their score. It is possible to have a negative score. The opposing team(s) scores any points earned to their score(s) as well.
END OF GAME
The game is played until a team reaches 21 points. They are the winners.
- 12 BEST HARRY POTTER BOARD GAMES - November 16, 2023
- 50 BEST HALLOWEEN GAMES - October 4, 2023
- 50 BEST CHRISTMAS GAMES - September 13, 2023