How to play four-player Setback

Partners, deck, and deal

Partners sit opposite one another. The deck ranks Ace high, followed by King, Queen, Jack, 10, and down through 2. The dealer gives each player six cards in two packets of three. That puts 24 cards in the hand and leaves 28 undealt, which is why the Ace, 2, or Jack of the eventual trump suit may not be in play.

Sources: Pagat: Pitch / Setback; Bicycle: Pitch; Hebron tournament Setback rules.

The auction

1. Start left of the dealer. Each player gets one turn to pass or bid.
2. Bid 2, 3, or 4. The number is the minimum number of scoring points the bidder's team promises to take.
3. Raise an existing bid. At the default Big Mike table, a later bidder must name a higher number.
4. Force a deal when all pass. If the first three players pass, the dealer must take 2.

Some published Pitch tables let the dealer take an existing high bid by matching it. Big Mike Games offers that as a table option rather than treating it as the only rule.

Sources: Pagat: Pitch / Setback; Umesh Shankar: The Rules of Setback; Valley High-Low-Jack rules.

Pitching trump and playing tricks

The winning bidder leads the first card. The suit of that card becomes trump for the hand. The winner of each trick leads the next one.

Sources: Pagat: Pitch / Setback; Umesh Shankar: The Rules of Setback; Bicycle: Pitch.

High, Low, Jack, and Game

Low ownership varies across the wider Pitch family. Some tables award it to the player who was originally dealt the lowest trump. Big Mike uses the capture rule consistently in live play and in the scorekeeper.

Sources: Pagat: Pitch / Setback; Umesh Shankar: The Rules of Setback; Trickster Cards: Pitch rule options.

Making the bid, getting set, and winning

A bidding team that earns at least its bid adds every point it earned, including points above the contract. If it falls short, it is set back by the amount of the bid. Defenders keep the points they earned under the default rule.

Sources: Pagat: Pitch / Setback; Umesh Shankar: The Rules of Setback.

The default match ends when a team reaches at least 21 with a two-point lead after a completed hand. Big Mike also supports an 11-point target, target-only finishes, bidder-only finishes, and a no-junk-points rule that suppresses defender gains.

What this version does not mix in

Pitch has five-, seven-, ten-, and other point families. Jokers, Off-Jack, Smudge, discarding and drawing, and extra point cards are real variants, but they are not part of this four-point game. Naming the table before the first deal prevents a rules argument later.