Hand and Foot Card Game Rules

Hand and Foot is a fun card game where players try to get rid of all of their cards first and score the most points over 4 rounds. To play Hand and Foot, you’ll need 5 standard card decks with the jokers included. Shuffle all of the cards together and deal 11 cards to each player. These cards are referred to as the “hand,” and players should pick them up and look at them. Deal a second set of 11 cards to each player. These cards are referred to as the “foot,” and players must keep them face down until they play all of the cards in their hand. Place the rest of the cards in the center of the playing area to create the stock pile. Turn the top card on the stock pile face up—if it’s a red 3, 2, or joker, place it back into the pile and draw another card. The player to the left of the dealer goes first. Players are trying to get rid of all of the cards in their hand and foot first, and they do that by playing them in melds. Melds are any 3-7 cards of the same rank. Jokers and 2s are wild. When a player plays a meld, they also score points by adding up the point value for each card in the meld. Threes through 7s are worth 5 points, 8s through kings are worth 10 points, aces and 2s are worth 20 points, and jokers are worth 50 points. In each round of the game, there’s a minimum point threshold that a meld must meet in order to be played on the table: 50 points in round 1, 90 points in round 2, 120 points in round 3, and 150 points in round 4. For example, in round 1, a player can’t play a meld on the table unless the cards in that meld add up to at least 50 points. Melds that contain only natural (non-wild) cards are called “clean” melds, and melds that contain a mix of natural and wild cards are called “dirty” melds. At the beginning of a player’s turn, they draw 2 cards from the stock pile. Then, they can play any melds in their hand on the table, or they can play off of another meld that’s already been played. Any meld on the table is open to all players until it reaches 7 cards, at which point it becomes a “closed pile” and can no longer be played off of. Players score points whenever they close a meld. A closed clean meld, called a “red book,” is worth 500 points. A closed dirty meld, called a “black book,” is worth 300 points. Once a player has played all of the cards in their hand, they pick up their foot and use those cards moving forward. Play continues clockwise around the table until one player runs out of cards first and ends the round. Everyone tallies up their scores for that round, then the next round begins. Whoever has the highest score after 4 rounds wins the game! Keep reading to learn how to score points in Hand and Foot!