Rules for Playing Sergeant Major the Card Game
Playing the Game called 8-5-3 in India and 9-5-2 in Canada
Aug 7, 2009
The game play starts with a 52 card deck and three players and the object of the game is for each player to take as many tricks as he can. If, any player succeeds in taking 12 tricks, the game ends and that player is the winner.
Dealing the Cards for Sergeant Major for the First Hand
The dealer is picked randomly and he shuffles the deck and deals 16 cards to each player, one at a time until dealt out. The last four cards that have not been dealt are placed face down on the table. This is the kitty. The dealer then names a trump (one of the suits such as "Hearts" or "Spades", discards any four cards and picks up the cards in the kitty.
The Targets in Sergeant Major
Each player has a target number of tricks that he is trying to obtain. The dealer's target is 8, the player to his left has a target of 5 and the last player has a target of 3. At the end of the hands, the number of tricks taken are tallied up and if any player has more tricks than his target, he is "up" by that number, if he has less he is "down" by that number. So if the dealer took 9 tricks he would be "up 1," if he took 7 tricks he would be "down 1."
The Stakes
The value of individual stakes are determined at the beginning of play, for example a stake could be worth one chip. If a player ends a hand down he must pay 1 stake for every 1 trick that he is down and any players that are up, receive 1 stake for every trick they are up for that hand.
Playing the Game of Sergeant Major.
The player on the dealer's left starts the game by leading with any card of his choosing. The other players must then follow suit, if possible. If a player does not have any cards of that suit he may put in any other card, including a trump card. The hands are won by the player who played the highest trump card or if no trumps were played, the highest suited card. The winner of each hands leads the next round.
Dealing the Second and Successive Hands
Dealing the second hand is the same as the first with the exception of exchanging cards and the kitty. The deal moves from the original dealer to the person on his left. That person deals out 16 cards to each player and places the remaining 4 cards in the kitty in the middle, face down. At this time, each player who is up gives cards equal to the number of tricks he is up to a player that is down. The down player is then required to take the card and give the up player back the highest card that he has in the suit of the card he was given. If more than one player is up, the one that has more overtricks goes first.
Ending the Game
The game is played until one of the players takes 12 tricks in one hand. He is then the winner.
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