Hokm rules

Iran's most-played card game, and a fixture of family gatherings. Four players in partnerships, and the first side to seven tricks takes the hand.

Getting ready

A 52-card deck, aces high. Thirteen cards each, but they are not all dealt at once.

Choosing the ruler

Cards are dealt face up one at a time until someone gets an ace. That player becomes the hakem — the ruler — for the hand.

The hakem is dealt their first five cards, looks at them, and names the trump suit. Only then is the rest of the deal completed, eight more cards to everyone.

The play

The hakem leads the first trick. You must follow suit if you can; if you cannot, you may play anything, including a trump. Highest trump wins, otherwise the highest card of the suit led. The winner leads next.

Winning the hand

The first partnership to seven tricks wins immediately, and the remaining cards are not played out. That is the pace of the game — hands often end well before the cards run out.

Scoring

One point per hand. Game is usually seven points.

If the hakem's side wins the hand, the same player stays hakem for the next one. If they lose, the position passes to the opponent on their right.

Kot

Winning all seven tricks before the opponents take a single one is a kot and counts double. Doing it while the opponents have taken none at all in a hand where you were not hakem counts more still, by agreement.

Hokm: an example game

One game of Hokm followed from the deal to the finish, move by move, with the reason for each choice.

Finding the hakem

Four players: you and Bo are partners against Ada and Cleo, sitting you, Ada, Bo, Cleo round the table. Cleo deals, so the cards are turned from you: 7♣ to you, K♦ to Ada, 3♠ to Bo, 10♥ to Cleo, and A♠ to you. You are the hakem.

You are dealt five cards: K♥, Q♥, 9♥, 4♥ and A♣.

Naming trumps

Four hearts and an ace of clubs. You name hearts: four cards of a suit after five means the others are short in it, and the king and queen are a bonus.

Eight more cards each. Your full hand: hearts K, Q, 9, 7, 4, 2; clubs A, K, 5; diamonds 8, 6; spades J, 4. Six trumps.

The first tricks

You lead A♣ and everyone follows: your trick. Then K♣. Ada has no clubs, so she may play anything — she trumps with the 3♥, Bo follows with a club and Cleo too. Ada's trick: one for them.

Ada leads a diamond; Bo wins it with the ace of diamonds. Bo leads a heart back to you, and you start drawing trumps.

Drawing trumps

Cleo has the ace of hearts and takes your king with it. But after three rounds of hearts the opponents have none left, and your remaining Q♥, 9♥ and 7♥ are certain tricks.

Your clubs are now good too: nobody can ruff them. You and Bo win trick after trick.

Seven

After the tenth trick your side has seven and Ada and Cleo have three. The hand ends at once, with three cards still in everyone's hand. One point to you and Bo, and since your side won, you stay hakem.

If Ada and Cleo had won, the hakem would have passed to the opponent on your right, and they would have named trumps next.

A kot

Two hands later you name spades on a weak five, and Ada and Cleo take the first seven tricks before your side wins one. That is a kot: two points to them, and the hakem passes to your right.

With the game to seven, a kot is the fastest way back into it, and the reason a hakem with a poor five still has to choose carefully.