How to Play President: Complete Rules

President is a card game for 3 to 8 players where everyone races to get rid of their cards. Finish first and you are the President for the next hand, with the best cards at the table handed to you. Finish last and you are the Peasant, giving your best cards away. It is quick to learn, and every group plays it a little differently, so this page covers the standard rules first and the popular house rules after.

Also known as

• President
• Scum
• Kings
• Capitalism
• Presidents and Peasants

This guide follows the rules as played on this site. Anything marked as a house rule is off by default and can be switched on by the host when setting up a table.

Players and cards

• 3 to 8 players, every player for themselves. Empty seats can be filled with bots.
• One standard 52-card deck for 3 to 5 players, two decks for 6 to 8.
• Suits don't matter. Only ranks do.
• Cards rank from the 3 (lowest) up to the 2 (highest): 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K A 2.

The deal

• Cards are dealt one at a time around the table until the deck runs out. Some players may get one more card than others; that is normal.
• In the first hand of a match, the player holding the 3♣ leads. They don't have to play the 3♣ itself.
• In every later hand, the Peasant leads (the host can change this to the President).

Playing a hand

1. The leader plays any set: one or more cards of the same rank. A single 7, a pair of Jacks, three 4s.
2. Going around the table, each player either beats it or passes.
3. To beat a set you must play the same number of cards in a higher rank. A pair of 9s beats a pair of 6s. A single King doesn't beat a pair of anything.
4. Passing is always allowed, and it doesn't lock you out: if play comes back around to you in the same trick, you can still play.
5. The trick ends when everyone else has passed in a row. The pile is cleared, and whoever played last leads the next trick with anything they like.
6. When you play your last card you are out, and you take the next finishing place. If the player who should lead is out, the lead passes to the next player still holding cards.
7. The hand ends when only one player has cards left. That player finishes last.

Roles

Where you finish decides your role for the next hand.

The host can rename the roles for their table.

The card exchange

Before every hand except the first, the top and bottom players swap cards.

• The Peasant gives the President their 2 best cards. This is automatic.
• The President gives any 2 cards back, their choice. Most players give their lowest.
• With 4 or more players, the Vice Peasant gives the Vice President their 1 best card, and the Vice President gives any 1 card back.
• Citizens don't exchange.

The President and Vice President see what they received before choosing what to give. Only the two players in a swap see the cards.

Scoring and winning

Each hand scores by finishing place.

With 3 players it is 2, 1 and 0.

A match is 5 hands by default, and the most points wins. The host can change the number of hands, or play first to a points target instead. Ties are broken by who was President more often, then by who finished higher in the last hand.

House rules

Hosts can switch these on in the table's House rules panel before the game starts. The rules in play are shown to everyone at the table. The Party preset turns on 2s clear the pile, Match to skip and Revolution.

• 2s clear the pile. Playing 2s ends the trick at once, and you lead again.
• A single 2 beats anything. One 2 can be played on a pair, a triple or more. Needs 2s clear the pile.
• Match to skip. You may play the same rank as the pile (same number of cards). The next player misses their turn.
• Match to burn. You may play the same rank as the pile (same number of cards). The pile is burned and you lead again. A table uses either skip or burn, not both.
• Straights. You may lead 3 or more cards in a row, in any suits, such as 5-6-7. A 2 can't be part of a straight and the Ace is high only. A straight is beaten by a straight of the same length with a higher top card. Sets and straights can't be played on each other.
• Four of a kind clears. When all four cards of a rank land on the pile, across one play or several, the pile is cleared and the player who completed it leads.
• Revolution. Playing four of a kind flips the rank order for the rest of the hand: 3s become the highest and 2s the lowest. A second revolution flips it back.
• No going out on a 2. If your last play includes a 2 or a joker, you drop to the bottom place.
• Pass means out. Once you pass, you sit out the rest of that trick.
• Open with the 3♣. The very first play of the match must include the 3♣.
• Reseat by rank. Between hands the table re-sits so play goes around in rank order, President first.
• Jokers. High: jokers are added and beat everything, including 2s. Wild: a joker can stand in for any card in a set or a straight, and jokers on their own are the highest set.
• Card exchange. Change how many cards the top and bottom players swap, or turn the exchange off.

Timers, bots and leaving

• Each turn has a timer, 30 seconds by default. If it runs out, you pass, or if you were leading, your lowest single card is played for you.
• If you lose your connection, your seat waits a moment for you to come back, then a bot plays for you until you return.
• If you leave a game on purpose, a bot takes your seat and keeps your points. You can't return to that seat.
• Bots come in three levels: Easy, Medium and Hard.

A fair shuffle you can check

Every deal is shuffled from a secret seed. Before the cards are dealt the table is shown a fingerprint of that seed, and when the hand ends the seed itself is revealed. Anyone can then re-run the shuffle and confirm their hand was dealt exactly as promised. See the provably fair shuffle for how it works.