DEHLA PAKAD

Hey there! Have you ever heard of the card game called Dehla Pakad? It’s a lot like another game called Whist. When we start the game, the first five cards are dealt, just like in Whist. And you know what’s really cool? The person with the oldest hand gets to choose the trump suit!

Now, here’s the really interesting part. The game is over when one of the players wins a total of seven tricks. But guess what? If a team manages to win the first seven tricks, they get a special bonus! How awesome is that?

Dehla Pakad has a fascinating history. It is believed to have originated in Iran, India, and Pakistan. And you know what else? This game has so many different names! Some people call it Court Piece or Coat Peace, while others know it as Pees, T’rup Chaal, Troefcall, Hokm or Hok, Chakri or Chokri, Rung or Rang, and even حکم ‬‎ in Persian. It’s amazing how one game can have so many different names, right?

So, when you’re playing Dehla Pakad, remember that it’s a game for four players, and you play in partnerships. It’s all about strategy and teamwork, so make sure you and your partner work together to win those tricks!

THE DEAL

Let’s start by choosing a dealer randomly. You can use your own preferred method or just pick someone. After each hand, the dealer will change based on the outcome of the previous hand. I’ll explain more about this in the section called The Winning Kots.

Now, the dealer shuffles the deck really well. Then, they start dealing 5 cards to each player, including themselves. The dealer will pause after this to determine the trumps. Once that’s decided, the dealer deals the remaining cards in batches of four to each player, so everyone ends up with a total of 8 cards. Make sure to deal the cards face-down, so no one can see them except their owner.

Let’s Begin Playing!

When we sit down to play a Trick-Taking card game, the person to the right of the dealer gets to start the game by playing any card they want. Everyone else then has to follow suit if they can, but if they don’t have a card from that suit, they can play any card they have, including trumps. The winner of the trick is the person who plays the highest-ranking trump card. If no trump card is played, then the person who played the highest-ranking card from the suit that was led takes the trick.

It’s important to note that the winner of a trick doesn’t get to collect the cards from that trick. Instead, they get to lead the next trick.

Choosing the Trump Suit

There are two common methods for determining the trump suit, and the players need to agree on which one they will use.

The first method: We start playing after the first 5 cards are dealt. We follow the usual rules without trumps until one of us can’t follow suit. In that case, the suit played by the player who couldn’t follow suit becomes the trump suit. Once we finish that trick, the dealer gives out the rest of the cards in batches of fours.

The second method: After we are dealt the five cards, the player sitting to the right of the dealer chooses trumps based on their hand. Once they announce the trumps, we finish the rest of the deal. The player who picked trumps leads in the first trick.

Here’s how trick-taking works:

When I take a trick, I don’t get to keep the cards. Instead, I place them face down in the middle of the table. But if I manage to win two tricks in a row, then all the cards get added to my team’s trick pile. They stay there until the end of the round.

Once a trick pile is won, a new one is started in the next trick. This is done to make sure that the player who won two tricks doesn’t automatically get the pile if they win a third trick.

The player who wins the 13th and final trick gets to take all the cards from the trick piles, even if they didn’t win the 12th trick.

Achieving Victory in KOTS

The ultimate goal of the game is to win KOTS.

• If my team gets all four 10s in a hand, we win 1 Kot. If my teammate and the dealer win, the deal moves to the right. If the non-dealing team wins, the deal goes to the dealer’s partner.
• If the non-dealing team gets two or three 10s during play, they win the hand and the same dealer continues dealing.
• If the dealing team gets three 10s, they win the hand and the deal passes to the right.

If my team wins 7 hands in a row, we win 1 Kot. But if we win a Kot by getting four 10s, the hand count resets to zero.

There are three ways to play: a) for a set amount of time, b) for a set number of hands, or c) to reach a specific number of Kots.

There are three ways to play: a) for a set amount of time, b) for a set number of hands, or c) to reach a specific number of Kots.