Court Piece is Pakistan's most popular card game: four players in two teams, a full 52-card deck, 13 cards each. Each hand the hakam declares the hokm (trump) from his first five cards and leads the first trick; the first team to take 7 tricks wins the hand on the spot. A regular win scores 1 point, the hakam's team scores 2 for a kot, and a team that kots the hakam scores 3 (hakem koti). The first team to 7 points wins the match.
Play now — it's freeCourt Piece uses the complete deck: all 52 cards, ranks 2 through Ace in all four suits — nothing is removed. Each of the four players is dealt 13 cards.
Partners sit opposite each other: the two players facing one another form a team, and their tricks are counted together for the whole hand.
For the first hand, cards are flipped one at a time to the players; whoever receives the first Ace becomes the hakam (ruler), partnered by the player sitting opposite.
| Outcome | Next hakam |
|---|---|
| The hakam's team wins the hand | The same hakam keeps the crown |
| The hakam's team loses | Rule passes to the other team: the previous hakam becomes dealer and his neighbour becomes the new hakam |
In other words, the "rule" stays with the team that keeps winning hands — the defining feature of Court Piece.
Cards are dealt in batches of 5-4-4. The hakam receives his first 5 cards alone; after looking at exactly those five he declares which suit is hokm (trump). Nobody else looks at their cards until the call is made.
Once the hokm is declared the rest of the cards are dealt so that every player holds 13 in total.
Cards carry no point values — only tricks count. Within every suit the order is natural:
| Rank | Card |
|---|---|
| Highest | Ace (A) |
| King (K) | |
| Queen (Q) | |
| Jack (J) | |
| 10 down to 3 | |
| Lowest | 2 |
Trump cards outrank every card of the other suits, and between two trumps the higher one wins.
The hakam leads any card to the first trick. Each following player must follow the led suit if holding one; if not, they may play anything — including a trump (a "cut").
The highest trump wins the trick; if no trump was played, the highest card of the led suit wins. The trick winner leads the next trick.
The hand stops the moment a team has taken 7 tricks — so a hand runs anywhere from 7 to 13 tricks. Points are then awarded:
| Outcome | Points |
|---|---|
| The hakam's team wins while the opponents took at least one trick | 1 |
| Kot: the hakam's team takes the first 7 tricks and the opponents none | 2 |
| Hakem koti: the opponents kot the hakam's team | 3 |
Points accumulate hand after hand; the first team to reach 7 points wins the match, after which a fresh match begins.
When calling hokm, pick your longest strong suit — length matters more than a single ace.
Draw out the opponents' trumps early; once trumps are gone your aces in the side suits start winning tricks.
If you cannot win a trick, discard your lowest card and keep your winners for later.
Watch for the kot: shutting the opponents out of the first seven tricks is worth double, or triple against the hakam.
Four players in two partnerships (partners sit opposite) and the full 52-card deck — 13 cards per player.
Cards are flipped one at a time for the first hand; whoever gets the first Ace is the hakam. If his team wins he stays hakam; if they lose, the role moves to the next player of the opposing team.
At the start of every hand the hakam is dealt 5 cards, looks only at those and declares the trump suit; the rest of the cards are then dealt in 5-4-4 batches to 13 cards each.
The highest trump if any was played, otherwise the highest card of the suit that was led. A player void of the led suit may play any card.
As soon as a team has taken 7 tricks — hands run from 7 to 13 tricks.
Kot is when the hakam's team wins the first seven tricks and the opponents take none — 2 points. If the opposing team does it to the hakam, it is hakem koti — 3 points. A normal win scores 1.
When a team reaches 7 accumulated points; then a new match begins.
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