What you need
A standard 52-card deck and 4 to 7 players (3 to 8 works). With more than 8, shuffle two decks together. No scoring is needed; the fun comes from the ranks players earn each hand.
The game goes by many names, several of them rude. Scum, Capitalism and Rich Man Poor Man are the polite ones; the commercial game The Great Dalmuti is the same idea with a special deck.
Card ranking is unusual: 2 is the highest card, then ace, king, queen, jack, 10 and so on down to 3, the lowest. Suits do not matter.
Setup
Deal out all the cards, one at a time. Some players will have one more than others; that is normal. For the first hand only, the player to the dealer’s left leads (some groups give the lead to whoever holds the 3 of clubs).
How to play
The leader plays face up either a single card or a set of cards of the same rank: one 7, two 7s, three 7s.
Each player in turn, clockwise, must either pass or beat the previous play:
- a single card is beaten by any higher single card;
- a set is beaten only by a higher set of the same number of cards. Two 6s are beaten by two 9s, not by one king and not by three 7s.
Passing is always allowed, even if you could play, and passing does not stop you from playing later in the same round when the turn comes back to you.
The round continues around the table, as many times as needed, until a play that everyone else passes on. Those cards are turned face down and set aside, and the player who made the last play leads again with anything they like.
When you play your last card you are out and the turn skips you. The hand continues until only one player holds cards.
Scoring and winning
The first player out becomes President, the second Vice-President, the middle players are Citizens, and the last player holding cards is the Scum.
For the next hand everyone changes seats: the President takes the best chair, the Vice-President sits on their left, and so on round to the Scum on the President’s right. The Scum shuffles, deals (first card to the President) and clears the table. After the deal, the Scum must give their highest card to the President, who returns any card they do not want. The President then leads.
If you want a running score, give 2 points to the President and 1 to the Vice-President each hand, and play to 11. Most groups just play until it is time to stop.
Common variants
- Jokers. Add one or two jokers as the highest cards, above the 2s.
- 2s clear the pile. A single 2 can be played on any set and ends the round immediately; the player of the 2 leads next. Some groups forbid leading a 2.
- Equal rank skips. Playing a card of the same rank as the previous play is allowed and skips the next player.
- One chance to beat. Each player gets a single opportunity to beat the lead; the highest play wins the round at once. Pagat.com notes this is probably a later Western change.
- No play after passing. Once you pass, you are out of that round.
- More ranks. With six or more players, add Secretary and Vice-Scum, and swap two cards between the second-highest and second-lowest ranks.
- Scum leads. Some groups let the Scum, not the President, lead the first play of the next hand.
Tips for first games
- Hold on to your 2s and aces for the end of the hand, when you need to win the lead to go out.
- Lead low sets early. Pairs and triples of low cards are hard to get rid of later.
- Count the 2s that have been played. When all four are gone, an ace is unbeatable.
- Agree the handful of house rules (2s, jokers, equal ranks, passing) before the first deal. Almost every group plays slightly differently.
Frequently asked questions
Is the 2 really the highest card in President? Yes. The order from high to low is 2, A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3. Jokers, if used, beat 2s.
Can I beat a pair with a single higher card? No. A set can only be beaten by a set of the same size and higher rank.
What does the Scum have to do? Deal, clear away the cards, and hand their best card to the President at the start of each hand, receiving an unwanted card in return.
How many players do you need? Four to seven is ideal. Three can play but hands are short; with eight or more, use two decks.
