How to Play President (Card Game)

Starting the First Round

Gather 4 to 7 players. You cannot play Presidents with fewer than 4 people. If you want to include more than 7, however, you will need to shuffle a second deck of cards into the pile.

Deal a standard 52 card deck one at a time. Go around the circle until all of the cards have been dealt. Some players may have one more card than other players, which is fine.

Ask the person with the 3 of clubs to place the card down in the middle. This card always starts the first round. Other than this one card, no one else should reveal which cards are in their hand.

Put down cards of a higher “rank” clockwise around the circle. The rank of a card is the number. The lowest rank is a 3 and the highest rank is an ace. Cards with a 2 do not have a rank. For example, after the first person puts down the 3 of clubs, the player to their left must put down a 4 or higher. If the second player puts down a 4, the third player must put down a 5 or higher. They cannot put down a 3.

Put a 2 down on the pile to clear the deck. Take away all of the cards in the pile and put them aside until the next round. The person who put the 2 down can now choose any card and play it. The person after them now has to outrank this new card. A 2 card cannot be the last card that you play in your hand. If you only have a 2 card left and you play it, you automatically lose the game, becoming the “scumbag” or “a-hole.”

Outrank a set of cards with the same number of higher ranked cards. You can put down 2 or more cards of the same rank on the pile. In this case, the next person has to match this with the same number of cards but of a higher rank. So if you put down a pair of 5’s, the next person must put down a pair of 6’s or higher. They cannot put down 1 king (even though it outranks a 6) or a pair of 4’s (because although they have a matching pair, 4 is a lower rank). If all 4 cards of a number are put down, the pile is cleared. So if 4 aces are put down, you clear the pile and the last person to play sets down a new card.

Pass if you cannot put cards down. If you cannot outrank the top card on the pile, say pass. People may keep passing until someone puts a card down. If the entire circle of players says pass, clear the pile. The last person to play a card can now put down any card of their choice.

Keep playing until everyone has run out of cards. There are 3 ranks in this game based on who lost their cards first and last. Once you have run out of cards, you stop playing until other players have also lost their cards. The first person to lose all of their cards is the president. They get 2 points. The second person to lose all of their cards is the vice-president. They get 1 point. The last person to have any cards is known as the a-hole, scumbag, or bum. They get no points, but they must trade cards with the president next round. If you decide to only play one round, the president is the winner. Traditionally, however, several rounds are played until someone gets 11 points and wins.

Playing Subsequent Rounds

Get the president and the a-hole to trade cards after dealing the deck. The a-hole must give the president their highest-ranking card. The president, meanwhile, can give the a-hole any card from their hand that they choose. Usually, the president will give the a-hole a low-ranking card. None of the other players should see which cards they traded.

Start with the president this round. For all rounds after the first round, the president will play the first card. They can play any card that they choose.

Play the game until everyone loses their cards. Whoever lost their cards first this round is now the president, followed by the vice-president. Award them points. The person who still has cards at the end is now the new a-hole. The president gets 2 points. The vice-president gets 1 point. No one else gets points. It is a good idea to have someone writing down the point tally as you play the rounds.

Repeat until someone gets 11 points. Keep playing new rounds until someone manages to get 11 points. If you want to make the game longer or shorter, you can change this number at the beginning of the game.

Incorporating House Rules

Create new positions for extra players. In normal games of Presidents, there are only 3 positions: president, vice-president, and a-hole. The other players have no special title or rules. You can create new positions for these players if you would like. Treasurer and secretary are usually the third and fourth person to lose all of their cards. These positions are useful if you will allow the president to make up new rules as the game goes on. Vice-a-hole is the second-to-last player to lose their cards. At the beginning of a new round, the vice-a-hole gives the president 1 card while the a-hole gives the president 2.

Allow the president to make up new rules if they win 3 or more rounds. If one person keeps winning, you might let them make up a new rule for the rest of the game. This can be anything that the president wants. For example: If you are playing with extra positions, you might make up special rules for them, since normally there are none. For example, you might say that the treasurer and secretary can trade cards at the beginning of every round. If you’re playing this as a drinking game, you might make a rule like “Everyone must drink when the 8 of clubs is played” or “whoever puts down a matching set must drink.”

Use a matching pair to beat any ranking of card. In some variations of the game, if you put down 2 cards of the same rank, you automatically beat any single card currently on the pile. So a pair of 3’s would beat a single queen. The next player would still have to put down 2 cards of a higher rank. In this variation, a larger set will always beat a lower rank. So if you play a pair of 6’s, the next person can beat you with a trio of 4’s. The person after them can beat that with a complete set of 3’s.

Allow people to match cards. Another popular variation is to allow people to put down cards that match the rank of the card on top. For example, if a 5 is the top card on the pile, you are allow to put down another 5 instead of a 6 or higher. Skip the next player when you match rank. So if you match a 5 with another 5, the person to your left loses their turn.

Make Presidents a drinking game. The rules are largely the same, only every person needs a drink. The president can ask someone to take a sip at any time. The vice-president can ask anyone except the president to drink. You should drink when you pass or are skipped. Everyone should drink when a 2 is played. In some variations of the game, when the president says “board meeting,” everyone finishes their drinks. Traditionally, the a-hole must refill people’s drinks.