How to play President

• 4 to 7 players, each playing for themselves.
• The whole deck is dealt out, so everyone has about the same number of cards.
• The goal is to get rid of your cards first. Players take turns laying cards on a pile, each play beating the one before.
• The order you go out gives you a title for the next round, from President down to Peasant, and points.

Suits don't matter. From low to high: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, king, ace, and then 2, the top card.

• The first round, whoever holds the 3 of clubs leads. After that, last round's Peasant leads.
• The leader plays one card, or two, three or four cards of the same rank.
• To beat the pile, play the same number of cards, of a higher rank. A pair of 8s needs a pair of 9s or higher; matching the rank isn't enough.
• You may pass instead, even if you could play. Passing only skips that turn: if it comes round to you again, you can play then.
• When everyone else passes after a play, the pile is cleared and whoever made that play leads again. If they've just gone out, the next player still in leads.
• At the Club you tap cards of one rank to choose them, and the gold button says what you'll play, such as “Play two 9s”. If your choice can't beat the pile, a note says why.

When a round ends, everyone gets a title by the order they went out:

• President for 1st, Vice President for 2nd.
• Citizen for anyone in the middle (none with 4 players, up to three with 7).
• Vice Peasant for 2nd from last, Peasant for last.

Before every round after the first, cards change hands, face down:

• The Peasant gives the President their 2 best cards (the Club does this for you), and the President gives back any 2.
• The Vice Peasant gives the Vice President their best card, and the Vice President gives back any 1.
• Citizens keep their cards. Cards you received are marked New until you play.

• Each round you score one point for every player who finished below you. With 5 players: President 4, Vice President 3, Citizen 2, Vice Peasant 1, Peasant 0.
• A game is 5, 7 or 10 rounds; 7 at practice and public tables, and a host chooses for a private table.
• Most points after the last round wins. A tie for most points shares the win.

• Get rid of your low cards early, especially in pairs: they're hardest to shed later.
• Keep your 2s for when you need to win the pile and take the lead.
• Breaking up a pair to beat a single often costs you later.
• Near the end, count what's been played: an ace may already be the top card left.

• Shuffled like a real table. Before every deal the deck is shuffled, cut, shuffled, cut and shuffled again, starting from a fresh deck every round. The first cut is near the middle; the second splits the deck into rough thirds and stacks them back so no third goes where it was.
• Truly random, using the same kind of cryptography that protects online banking. The deal is never adjusted to help or hurt anyone.
• Locked in before the deal. Each round has a fingerprint, fixed before any card is dealt; its secret is revealed when the round ends. Tap Check the deal in the table's ? menu and your browser re-creates the deal and checks it against what you saw, the exchange included.