How to Play Pişti Online: Captures, Jacks, and Scoring
Pişti is a Turkish capture game played with a 52-card French deck. You play a card onto a table pile. If your card matches the rank of the top card, you take the whole pile. A Jack takes any non-empty pile. Capture a pile that is exactly one card by matching its rank and you have made a pişti — 10 points, or 20 if both cards are Jacks. Sides race to 101. Two players sit heads-up, or four sit as partners across the table.
These are the café rules GAMEAREA uses. The table applies them for you, so you can watch the pile instead of arguing the capture. Practice against bots lives on the game page and does not need an account. Quick match and private rooms are online play and do need an account. Bots do not occupy empty online chairs. After the capture laws, the sibling auction table is Batak bidding and trump. The four-player tile cousin is four-player Okey.
The opening deal, including the Jack redraw
Four cards come off the shuffled deck onto the table. The first three sit face down at the bottom of the pile. The fourth sits face up on top. If that face-up card is a Jack, it is shuffled back into the remaining deck and a new face-up card is drawn. Repeat until the face-up card is not a Jack. The Jack stays in play among the unseen cards; it is not burned. Then each player receives four cards, starting left of the dealer, and plays one card per turn. When every hand is empty and at least four cards per player remain in the stock, another four are dealt. The table pile is not rebuilt. When the stock is empty and the last hands are played, the round ends. Ranks run 2 through ace (Jack 11, Queen 12, King 13, Ace 14). Matching an ace takes an ace; a Jack still sweeps an ace because Jacks sweep any non-empty pile.
Capturing by rank
On your turn you play one card from your four. If the table is empty, your card becomes the new top and nothing is captured. If the table has cards and your rank matches the current top, you capture the entire pile — including still-hidden opening cards — plus the card you just played.
Worked example. The visible top is a 9, with two unknown cards under it. You play a 9. You take the two hidden cards, the 9, and your 9. If one hidden card was the ten of diamonds, you already scored it. If your card does not match and is not a Jack, it sits on top. That is how a pile grows. That is also how you accidentally build a pişti for the opponent if you drop a singleton they can match.
Jacks: sweep, empty table, and the non-pisti case
A Jack captures any non-empty pile, regardless of the top rank. A Jack played onto an empty table captures nothing: it stays as the new top, and the next player can match it for a 20-point Jack pişti. Do not play a Jack onto an empty table while you still have another card. A Jack taking several cards is an ordinary sweep. A Jack taking a single non-Jack is also an ordinary capture, not a pişti. Pişti requires a rank match on a pile whose real size is exactly one card. Jack on a lone nine has no 10-point bonus. Jack on Jack with one card on the table is the 20-point Jack pişti.
Pile size includes the still-hidden opening cards. If you can see one face-up card but three face-down cards sit under it, that pile is size 4, not size 1. Matching the visible rank captures four cards. It is not a pişti. Do not celebrate a 10-point bonus on the opening capture.
Pişti scoring: 10 and 20
When the real pile size is 1 and your rank equals the top rank, you score a pişti bonus of 10, or 20 if both cards are Jacks. The bonus sits on top of later face values. A 7 capturing a lone 7 is 10 bonus and no face value. An ace capturing a lone ace is 10 bonus plus 1 for each ace. Jack on Jack is 20 bonus plus 1 for each Jack. At the end of the round, cards still on the table go to the last player who captured. If nobody captured all round, the leftover pile is not awarded.
Face values, majority, and 101
Each ace is 1, each Jack is 1, the two of clubs is 2, the ten of diamonds is 3. Everything else is 0 for face value. Hidden opening cards count the same once captured. The side that captured strictly more than half the cards (27 or more of 52) gets 3 extra points. A 26–26 split gives the 3 to nobody. Match target is 101. After each round the two sides add their totals. The match ends only when one side is strictly ahead and at or over 101. If both sit at 101, you play another round. Finish the cards, then look at the score.
Two-player games use one scoring side per player. Four-player games are teams: partners sit across from each other and share one score against the other pair, who also sit across from each other. You still play your own cards and keep your own capture pile; partners add together when the round is scored. Hands stay private. You can see capture counts and which aces, Jacks, two of clubs, and ten of diamonds have already gone to which players.
Strategy: counting, holding Jacks, not gifting a pişti
Count ranks, not just “I have a Jack.” Four of each rank exist. If you have seen three kings — hand, table, your captures — the last king is in the opponent’s hand or still in the stock. Playing a king onto an empty table when three kings are out is safer than playing a 5 you have not seen.
Example. You have seen three kings. The table is empty. You hold a king and a 5 you have not seen elsewhere. Play the king. One king is left somewhere. A 5 you have not seen is the easier pişti for them.
Hold Jacks for piles with meat: several cards, or a scoring card on top. Sweeping a four-card pile that includes an ace and the ten of diamonds is why the Jack exists. Sweeping a singleton 4 with a Jack is usually a waste. Exception: if the singleton is a scoring card you cannot match, a Jack is the only stop.
Example. You hold one Jack, an ace, and two 4s. The pile has four cards with the ten of diamonds on top. Play the Jack. That sweep is why you saved it. Playing the Jack on a lone 4 would waste it.
Never gift a pişti on purpose. A singleton on the table is a loaded trap. If you cannot match it and cannot sweep it, play a rank you have already seen many of, so the new top is hard to match. Do not drop an ace onto a singleton 8. Empty-table leads should be dry ranks, never a Jack, rarely a scoring card. Track the two of clubs and the ten of diamonds the same way you track aces: once they are in a capture pile they cannot come back, and they swing a quiet round by 2 or 3 points. In 2v2 your partner sits across from you; a capture you cannot make might be theirs. If your side already has 30 cards, stop risking Jacks for majority you already own and hunt remaining aces and pişti.
Common mistakes
Calling the opening capture a pişti — three cards are face down under that first face-up card, size is 4. Leading a Jack onto an empty table — the next Jack is a 20-point dagger. Using a Jack on a singleton non-Jack and expecting 10 points — that is an ordinary capture. Forgetting majority — both Jacks and both aces can still lose the 3 if the opponent ate 28 rags. Sitting online waiting for a bot to fill a 2v2 seat — practice vs bots is on the Pişti page; online rooms need people and an account.
What GAMEAREA enforces for you
Pişti on GAMEAREA uses the opening Jack redraw, rank-match capture, Jack sweep, 10/20 pişti bonuses, face values, majority 3, and the 101 unique-leader finish. Two-player and 2v2 both run. GAMEAREA applies these rules automatically. For an auction and a trump suit, sit at Batak. For dice and a race to bear off, Tavla is next door. Do not mix Pişti’s Jack with Batak’s forced trump.
Play one bot match counting every rank. Hold one Jack until a pile is worth it. Refuse to lead a singleton the opponent can eat. Then take the same habits into a 2v2 private room. The table keeps the captures honest. Your job is the count.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if the first face-up card is a Jack?
It is shuffled back into the remaining deck, and a new top card is drawn. Repeat until the face-up card is not a Jack. The three face-down cards stay.
Does a Jack on a lone king count as a pişti?
No. Pişti needs a rank match on a pile of size 1. Jack-on-king is an ordinary capture. Jack-on-Jack on a size-1 pile is the 20-point Jack pişti.
Who gets the cards left on the table at the end of a round?
The last player who captured. If nobody captured, the leftover pile is not awarded.
What if both sides reach 101 on the same round?
You play another round. The match ends only when one side is strictly ahead and at or over 101.
How do 2v2 partners sit?
Across from each other. Partners share one score. Hands stay private.
Can I play Pişti against bots without an account?
Yes, from the game page, offline. Online quick match and private rooms need an account. Bots do not fill empty seats in those rooms.