Buck 'em — Card Game

BUCK ’EM — Official Rules

Buck ’Em is a trick-taking gambling card game where players aim to win at least two tricks in a round to qualify for winnings.

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OBJECT OF THE GAME

• Goal: Win 2+ tricks in a round to earn a share of the pot.

• Risk: Failing to secure 2+ tricks requires you to match the entire pot amount.

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PLAYERS & CARDS

• Players: 5–8

• Deck: Standard 52-card deck (no jokers)

• Rank: Ace (high) down to 2 (low)

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ROUND SUMMARY

Each round consists of:

1. Ante (or burns matching the pot)

2. Deal of 5 cards

3. Stay-or-fold decision

4. Optional draw of up to 3 cards

5. Five tricks of play

6. Pot payout and burn resolution

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ANTE & DEAL

Ante

• At the start of a normal round, all players ante equally.

• After any round with burned players, only the burned player(s) match the previous pot amount.

• No new players may join on a burn round; they may join only on a normal ante round.

Deal

• Dealer gives each player five cards, clockwise.

• The dealer then flips the top card of the deck to reveal the trump suit for the round. Trump beats all non-trump suits.

• Dealer rotates clockwise each round.

Secondary Deck (Optional)

To speed play, have a second deck with a different card back pre-shuffled for use in the next round.

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STAY OR FOLD

After receiving their initial five cards:

1. Stay or Fold Decision

Starting left of the dealer and moving clockwise:

• Stay: Player continues in the round.

• Fold: Player sits out and takes no further actions.

2. Drawing Cards

• Players who stay may discard and draw 0–3 new cards to return to a five-card hand.

• Players who fold do not draw or play.

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THE PLAY (TRICKS)

1. The first staying player left of the dealer leads the first trick.

2. Players must follow suit if able. Otherwise, they may play any card, including trump.

3. A trick is won by:

   • The highest trump played, or

   • If no trump was played, the highest card of the lead suit.

4. The winner of the trick leads the next.

5. After all five tricks, resolve the winnings and burns.

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WINNINGS & BURNS

• One Winner: If only one player wins 2+ tricks, they take the entire pot.

• Two Winners: If two players each win 2+ tricks, they split the pot.

• Burn: Any player who won 0 or 1 trick is burned and must match the pot amount for the next round. If multiple players are burned, each matches the pot, creating a double pot or more.

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RAKERS

If only one player stays, they may rake the pot without playing any cards if they were dealt:

• The Ace of trump, or

• Two trump cards, with at least one face card (King, Queen, Jack)

Rake Amount

• If the pot is a single pot, the player rakes all of it.

• If the pot is double or larger, the player rakes half.

• If money remains after a rake, the next round proceeds without an ante.

If the staying player does not meet the rakers requirements, or if no one stays, no rake occurs and a new round begins.

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ADDITIONAL RULES

Depleted Deck

In an 8-player game, the deck may run out during the draw phase. If this occurs, the dealer reshuffles the folded players’ discards and continues dealing replacements.

No Winners

If five or more players stay and no one wins 2+ tricks, every staying player is burned, and each must match the pot for the next round.

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GENERAL STRATEGY

There is no minimum hand required to stay, but common advice includes staying if dealt:

• Two or more trump cards, or

• A high trump paired with off-suit Aces

Players should also consider how many others are staying, the likely distribution of trump, and their willingness to risk being burned and matching the pot.

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*VARIATIONS*

SCARE CARDS

The dealer deals one card from each player’s hand face up (the scare card).

• This swap may only occur during the stay-or-fold decision

• Any player whose scare card matches the trump suit is scared in and must stay that round.

• All other players may still freely choose to stay or fold.

Dealer’s Choice: The dealer selects if to use scare cards and which card to reveal from each hand. The group should agree on a pot limit before using scare cards to avoid excessively large forced-stay rounds.

DEUCE SWAP

If a player is initially dealt the trump deuce (2 of trump), they may exchange it for the face-up trump card if they choose to stay.

• This swap may only occur during the stay-or-fold decision

• The trump Ace cannot be swapped; it is locked in for the round.

SIMULTANEOUS DECLARE

Players reveal their stay-or-fold decision simultaneously.

• When ready, all players hold their cards face down, arm outstretched over the table.

• After a verbal countdown, players who intend to fold drop their cards onto the table.

• Players still holding their cards are considered staying and proceed to the draw.

This variation prevents players from gaining information based on turn order.

SHORT-HANDED GAMES  

In six- and five-player games, players tend to fold more often because fewer cards and fewer trump are in circulation.

To counter this, remove low-value cards from the deck to increase the density of strong hands.

Recommended deck modifications:

• Six-player games: Remove all 2s.

• Five-player games: Remove all 2s and 3s.

After removing cards, the trump suit may be determined by randomly selecting a card from a removed set.

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EDITOR'S NOTE

Growing up in Wisconsin I have played Buck 'em nearly my entire life. Over decade ago I tried to look up the rules for Buck 'em online and was dumfounded to realize that there was none. I carefully wrote out these rules as concise and clearly as possible. 

Several years ago I also posted to reddit hoping to learn more about the origin of this great game
reddit.com/r/cardgames thread

Additionally, I have come across a handful of other games that are similar, but not exactly the same Buck 'em game that I am familiar with. 

Buck Up - The closest card game in terms of gameplay with very few deviations.

Bourré (Booray) - In the Rams group of card games involving trick-taking trump card games where you can drop out before play begins. 

Loo - Five-card loo is quite similar.