Learn the game

Pitch rules

Learn the Pitch rules used in DeNiro Card: the deal, legal moves, scoring and how to win. House rules vary; these are the rules at DeNiro Card tables.

How to play Pitch

1. Everyone gets 6 cards. Starting left of the dealer (dealer last), bid 2, 3 or 4, or pass; each bid must beat the current high bid. If everyone passes, the hand is redealt.
2. The high bidder leads first, and the suit of that card is trump.
3. If you hold the led suit you must play it or a trump; otherwise play anything. Highest trump wins the trick, otherwise the highest card of the led suit.
4. Four points each hand: High (highest trump played), Low (lowest trump played), Jack (the Jack of trump, if it was in play) and Game (most card points: each 10 counts 10, Ace 4, King 3, Queen 2, Jack 1; nobody scores Game on a tie).
5. The bidder scores their points if they reach the bid; otherwise they lose the bid amount. Everyone else always adds their points.
6. First to 11 wins. If more than one player reaches 11 in the same hand, points are counted in order (the bidder first if the bid was made, then seat order: High, Low, Jack, Game) and the first to reach 11 wins.
7. Your clock: at a coin table against the computer you get up to 90 seconds for each move, and the table header counts down the exact time left. If it runs out, the table plays that move for you on the merits. You are not forfeited, nothing extra is charged, and your stake and payout are unchanged. Each of your first three missed moves keeps the full clock; miss a third in a row and the rest of the hand runs at computer speed, about two thirds of a second a turn, which in practice finishes it for you. Making one move yourself puts the full clock back. An Online table against real people runs its own, separate clock; watch the same countdown there.

Common questions

Playing in DeNiro Card

Practice lets you play any game with no account and no coins. Coin tables use virtual play coins and need a DeNiro account; choose a coin stake before joining one. Leaving an active coin game forfeits the stake and adds a 10% leaving fee. Play coins have no cash value and cannot be cashed out.

More game rules

• Spades rules
• Hearts rules
• Bid Whist rules
• Euchre rules
• Tonk rules
• Gin Rummy rules
• Rummy 500 rules
• Color Match rules
• War rules
• Go Fish rules
• Old Maid rules
• Blackjack rules
• Solitaire rules
• Tic-Tac-Toe rules
• Checkers rules
• Dominoes rules
• Five Dice rules

All game rules