Last Updated on April 10, 2025 by The Official Game Rules Team

California Jack is a classic four-player trick-taking card game that uses a standard 52-card deck. Aces are high, 2s are low, and the aim is simple—win as many tricks as possible.

For other great trick-taking games, check out our guides for Pitch and Hearts.

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How to Play California Jack

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Setup

To start, players draw cards from a shuffled deck to determine the dealer—whoever draws the lowest card takes the job. In the event of a tie, redraws settle it. Once chosen, the dealer shuffles and deals six cards to each player. The rest of the deck is placed face-up in the center, and the top card of the remaining stock determines the trump suit for that round.

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How to Play

The dealer starts by playing the first card, and play proceeds clockwise. Players must follow suit if they can or play a trump card if they don’t have the suit. The highest card in the suit led—or the highest trump—wins the trick.

After each trick, players draw one card clockwise from the stock, starting with the trick winner. The winner then leads the next trick. The round continues until all cards have been played.

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Scoring

Points are awarded as follows:

• 1 point for each Ace, 2, or Jack of the trump suit won in tricks
• 1 point to the player with the highest total point value from captured cards
  • Point values: 10 = 10 points, Ace = 4, King = 3, Queen = 2, Jack = 1

The first player to reach 10 points wins the game.

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Game Variation: Shasta Sam

In the Shasta Sam version of California Jack, the stock pile is placed face down. This twist keeps the next card draw a surprise and adds an extra layer of suspense to each round.