Note: This page is an AI-assisted translation. For the authoritative rules, please refer to the Chinese version.
80 Points - English V3.0
30s Quick Start
TL;DR — you can start after this
4 Players, 2 Teams
Your partner sits opposite; left and right are opponents.
Score 80 Points to Take the Deal
If the attacking side scores 80+ points, they become the next dealer side.
Upgrade Past Ace to Win
Start at 2; the first team to advance past A wins.
Point Cards
5=5 pts 10=10 pts K=10 pts
Key Formulas
1.Introduction 🔰 Beginner
80 Points (also known as Shengji / Shuangsheng / Tractor) is a 4-player card game played with 2 decks (108 cards, including Jokers).
Basic Info
- Players: 4, 2 teams of 2, opposite players are teammates
- Deck: 2 decks (2x54 cards), including Jokers
- Goal: Capture points to level up; the first team to advance past Ace wins
Point Cards
Total Points (2 Decks): 200 pts
2.Dealer (Zhuang) 🔰 Beginner
Core Concepts
- Defending side (Tai Shang): The dealer side; one player is the Dealer (庄家)
- Attacking side (Tai Xia): The non-dealer side, trying to capture points and take the deal
- Key Score Line: 80 pts
Seating Diagram
Play Order: Dealer → Right → Partner → Left (counter-clockwise)
Dealer Rotation Rules
| Attacking Side Score | Result | Next Dealer |
|---|---|---|
| < 80 pts | Defending side keeps the deal | Dealer's Partner |
| ≥ 80 pts | Attacking side takes the deal | Current Dealer's Right Opponent |
First Game: Teams are equal; the dealer is determined by declaring trump (see Pre-game).
3.Upgrade 🔰 Beginner
The goal is to upgrade past Ace. First game starts at 2.
Upgrade Order
* Optional Rule: 10 and K are "Must Play" levels, cannot be skipped.
Skipping Levels
Default: Skip 1 level every 40 pts (can be adjusted to 20 or 10).
Upgrade Calculator
Drag slider to see result
Upgrade Table
| Attacking Side Score | Defending Side Level Up | Attacking Side Level Up | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | +3 | 0 | Da Guang (Big Win) |
| 5~35 | +2 | 0 | Xiao Guang (Small Win) |
| 40~75 | +1 | 0 | Deal stays on defending side |
| 80~115 | 0 | 0 | Take the deal (attacking side becomes dealer side) |
| 120~155 | 0 | +1 | Attacking side levels up |
| 160~195 | 0 | +2 | +1 Level every 40 pts |
4.Pre-game ⚡ Intermediate
Dealing Process
- Determine Order (first game only): The youngest player flips any card; determine who draws first by suit order (♠ ♥ ♣ ♦), counter-clockwise.
- Draw Cards: Each player draws 1 card at a time, counter-clockwise, until everyone has 25 cards; 8 cards remain as the kitty.
- Bury the Kitty: The dealer takes the 8 kitty cards (33 cards total), then selects 8 cards to bury face down.
Subsequent Games: Dealer draws first, other rules same.
Declaring Trump (亮牌)
During drawing, players may declare trump by showing level cards.
Declare
- Reveal 1 level card (e.g., ♠7 when the level is 7)
- That suit becomes the trump suit
- The first declaration stands; others cannot declare afterward
Reinforce
- Reveal the second level card of the same suit
- Makes it harder for others to counter
- You may reveal 2 cards at once (declare + reinforce)
First Game Special: The player who declares trump also gains the right to be the dealer (provisional dealer).
Flip the Kitty
If no one declares trump after drawing, ask in order; if still no one, flip the kitty:
- Flip the kitty cards one by one; the first level card determines the trump suit
- If none of the 8 cards is a level card, the suit of the first card is trump
- If a Joker is flipped, play No Trump
- First game only: The suit of the first non-Joker card determines the dealer (♠ ♥ ♣ ♦ counter-clockwise)
Note: After flipping the kitty, players may not counter.
Counter (Fan)
"Counter" is a mechanism to change the trump suit or (in the first game) seize the dealer position using stronger combinations.
Counter Conditions
Must reveal 2 identical cards of:
- Same suit level pair (e.g. ♥7+♥7 when playing 7) → Change to that suit
- Black Joker Pair (🤡🤡) → Play No Trump
- Red Joker Pair (👑👑) → Play No Trump
Counter Priority (Low to High)
Click icon to see who can counter whom
- Two Timings: There are two times when you may counter, with different effects.
- After everyone has 25 cards, before the dealer takes the kitty: In the first game, the countering player replaces the declaring player as the dealer and then takes the kitty. In later games, countering only changes the trump suit; the original dealer still takes the kitty.
- After the dealer buries the kitty: Countering changes the trump suit and also allows the countering player to take the kitty and re-bury (抄底). Even in the first game, countering at this time does not change who the dealer is.
- Counter Order & Reinforce: "Counter" can happen multiple times, but must follow order: ♦ < ♣ < ♥ < ♠ < Black Joker < Red Joker. To counter again, you must use a higher-priority combination.
If the initial declaration is not reinforced, it can be countered by any suit or by No Trump. If it is reinforced, treat it as if that suit has already been countered once; then only higher-priority counters are allowed.
Example: Someone declares ♠ (not reinforced). It can be countered by any suit. If someone counters with ♥, the next counter must be ♠, Black Joker, or Red Joker. If ♠ was reinforced, it cannot be countered by ♥; only Black/Red Joker can counter it.
Note: Countering after the kitty is buried always allows taking the kitty and re-burying it. - Right to Counter: The right to counter proceeds counter-clockwise starting from the dealer. Before taking the kitty: Dealer → Right → Partner → Left. After burying: same order.
Rebellion (Zao Fan) 🧠 Expert
To balance hand strength, the attacking side may declare "Rebellion" in two cases: hand points ≤ 15, or trump cards ≤ 3 (when there is a trump suit). Only the attacking side may declare rebellion, and only if they did not bury the kitty. Note: trump count is determined after all countering ends. Rebellion is voluntary.
If the conditions are met, the player reveals their hand for verification. If valid, the current deal is void and everyone redraws; the other player on the defending side becomes the dealer. The player who declared rebellion remains on the attacking side. For smooth gameplay, rebellion cannot happen in two consecutive games.
5.Flowcharts 🔰 Beginner
1. First Game Flow
1. Determine Draw Order
Youngest flips card, suit determines first drawer.
2. Draw & Determine Dealer
- Everyone draws 25 cards.
- The declaring player becomes the provisional dealer.
- If countered: The last countering player becomes the dealer.
Flip kitty to determine Dealer and Trump.
3. Dealer Buries Kitty
Dealer takes 8 kitty cards, organizes hand, buries 8 cards.
4. Take the Kitty (Optional)
If someone counters now, they take the kitty and re-bury (repeatable).
5. Game Start
Dealer plays first card.
2. Subsequent Game Flow
1. Start Drawing
Dealer starts drawing.
2. Determine Trump
- Everyone draws 25 cards.
- If countered: Change the trump suit.
Flip kitty to determine Trump Suit.
3. Dealer Buries Kitty
Dealer takes 8 kitty cards, organizes hand, buries 8 cards.
4. Take the Kitty (Optional)
If someone counters now, they take the kitty and re-bury (repeatable).
5. Game Start
Dealer plays first card.
6.Gameplay ⚡ Intermediate
The dealer always leads. Everyone has 25 cards.
Card Types
A key concept in 80 Points is card categories. The pre-game phase determines the trump suit (or "No Trump").
Card Classification Diagram (Example: Playing 7)
Side Cards: Each suit minus 2 level cards (7)
Side Cards: Each suit minus 2 level cards (7)
Common Mistake
- Level Cards are Trump Cards! When playing ♠7, ♥7, ♦7, and ♣7 are all Trump Cards, not side cards of their original suits.
- Side suits only have 24 cards each, because the 2 Level Cards of each suit have been moved to the Trump Suit.
Card Ranks & Order
- Single Card Rank (Trump Suit): Red Joker > Black Joker > Main Level Card (Trump Suit Level Card) > Side Level Card (Non-Trump Suit Level Card) > A > K > Q > J > 10 > 9 > 8 > 7 > 6 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 2.
- Single Card Rank (No Trump): Red Joker > Black Joker > Level Card > A > K ... > 2.
- Suit Rank: Trump Suit > Side Suits. Side suits are equal in rank and cannot beat each other.
Playing Rules
80 Points is played in rounds. In the first round, the Dealer plays a hand first, then the other 3 players play a hand in counter-clockwise order. The hands are compared, and the player with the largest hand wins the round and plays first in the next round. This continues until all 25 cards are played.
Core Rules: Leading & Following
The first player of each round must play cards of the same category, which can be:
Single
Pair
Tractor
Multi-throw (Dump)
The other 3 players must follow with the same quantity, same pattern, and same category:
- If you don't have the same pattern in that category, you must play other cards of that category.
- If you don't have enough cards of that category, you must play all you have, then fill the rest with other categories.
Note: "Tractor" is a combination of pairs. If the first player plays a "Tractor" and you don't have a Tractor but have Pairs in that category, you must play the Pairs.
If the attacking side wins a round, any point cards (5, 10, K) played in that round are placed face up on top of the 8 kitty cards. These points are "captured" by the attacking side. If the defending side wins the round, the points "escape" and are not scored for the attacking side.
Except for captured point cards, played cards are kept in front of each player. Players can check their own played cards and captured points at any time, but can only check other players' cards from the current and previous round. The player who buried the kitty can check it at any time.
Following & Winning
Dealer plays first, then follow in counter-clockwise order.
1. Following Principles (Critical)
You must "Follow Suit First, Then Follow Pattern".
- Must Follow Suit: If leader plays a suit, you must follow with that suit. If you don't have that suit, you can play other suits (slough) or use Trump to "Kill" (Trump).
- Must Follow Pair: If leader plays a pair, you must play a pair of that suit if you have one. If you don't have a pair but have singles of that suit, you must play two singles.
- Must Follow Tractor: If leader plays a tractor, you must play a tractor of that suit if you have one. If not, but you have pairs, you must play pairs.
Following Example (Leader plays ♠ Pair, ♠ is Side Suit)
- Case A: You have ♠ Pair → Must play ♠ Pair.
- Case B: You don't have ♠ Pair, but have ♠ Singles → Must play ♠ Singles (to make up count).
- Case C: You have no ♠ cards → Can play any cards (Slough or Trump).
Following Example 2 (Trump Pair - Playing ♠ 7)
Leader plays a pair of ♠ 9 (Trump Pair).
- Rule: Next 3 players must play Trump Pair if they have one.
- Common Mistake: 2 Red Jokers, 2 Black Jokers, 2 Level Cards (7s) are ALL Trump Pairs.
- Mandatory: If you only have these special Trump Pairs (e.g. pair of Black Jokers), you MUST play them. You cannot save them.
Common Mistake - Following
- Must play Pairs when following Tractor! If you don't have a Tractor but have Pairs, you must play Pairs first.
- Jokers are Trump Pairs! When someone plays a Trump Pair, your pair of Jokers must be played if that's your only Trump Pair.
- Two Singles cannot Kill a Pair! You must use a Trump Pair to kill a Side Suit Pair. Two Trump Singles cannot kill (considered sloughing, smaller).
2. Winning Determination
- Highest Wins: After a round, the player with the highest cards wins and leads the next round.
- Trump / Kill:
- If leader plays Side Suit and you are void, you can use Trump to "Kill".
- Single Kills Single: Any Trump Single > Any Side Suit Single.
- Pair Kills Pair: Must use Trump Pair to kill Side Suit Pair. Two Trump Singles cannot kill.
- Tractor Kills Tractor: Must use Trump Tractor to kill Side Suit Tractor.
- Over-Trump: If multiple players Trump, compare the size of the Trump cards.
Beating the Leader (Special Case)
If a player has a pair of ♥, they must play it. If it's larger than the leader's pair (e.g., ♥8 pair), they win naturally. Another way is to play a Trump Pair. Any Trump Pair beats a Side Suit Pair (like ♥8 pair), but only if the player is void of ♥ (has no ♥ cards). Note: ♥7 is a Trump card, not a ♥ card.
Definition of "Tractor"
Pairs of adjacent rank in the same category. Two consecutive pairs are called a "Tractor", three are "Titanic", and four are sometimes called "Aircraft Carrier".
Note: Adjacent rank means adjacent in the rank order, with no other cards in between.
Example (Playing ♠ 7):
Counter-examples:
Common Mistake - Tractor
- Level Cards "break" the sequence! When playing 7, ♠66+♠77 is NOT a tractor because 7 is moved to Trump Suit.
- Same rank cannot form a Tractor! ♣77+♦77 is NOT a tractor because they are equal in rank.
- Tractor must be "Consecutive"! No cards can be skipped (consider Level Cards being moved).
Definition of "Multi-throw" (Dump)
You can play a mix of Singles, Pairs, and Tractors of the same category as one hand.
1. Conditions
The condition is that your smallest Single, smallest Pair, and smallest Tractor in the combination must be larger than any corresponding cards held by the other 3 players in that category.
Note: Even if others have a card of the same rank, you can still dump, because the leader's card is considered larger than the follower's card of the same rank.
2. Failure & Penalty
If the conditions are not met, the dump fails. Penalties:
- Penalty Points: 10 points per card dumped.
- If the defending side fails with n cards, the attacking side gains n × 10 points.
- If the attacking side fails with n cards, subtract n × 10 points from the attacking side score. If the score becomes negative, it counts as 0 (the defending side can level up by at most 3 levels).
- Forced Play Smallest: You must play the smallest card (or component) that caused the failure, and take back the rest.
- If multiple components failed (e.g., both a Single and a Pair failed), play the smallest of the smallest components.
3. Multi-throw Example
Assumption: Playing ♠7
Leader dumps 5 cards: ♥88 J Q K
- Success: Others have no ♥ Pair > 8, AND no ♥ Single > J.
- Fail (Case A): Someone has Pair > 8 → Forced to play ♥8 Pair.
- Fail (Case B): Someone has Single > J → Forced to play ♥J.
- Fail (Case C): Someone has both bigger Pair and bigger Single → Forced to play ♥J (Single rank < Pair rank).
Penalty: 5 cards x 10 pts = 50 pts
4. Trump a Multi-throw
To beat a multi-throw, you must play the same pattern and quantity of Trump cards.
In the example above, to "Kill" ♥88 J Q K, you must play a Trump Pair plus 3 other Trump cards.
7.Scoring & Bottom Digging ⚡ Intermediate
Score Calculation
When all 25 cards are played, the game ends and scores are calculated.
- Attacking Side Score: Sum of all point cards (5, 10, K) captured by the attacking side.
- Kitty Points: If the attacking side wins the last round (digging the kitty), points in the kitty are multiplied and added to the attacking side score. Otherwise, kitty points are void (kept by the defending side; not added to the attacking side score).
- Total Score: Add "Captured Points" + "Kitty Points", then check Upgrade Table for result.
Bottom Digging Rules
The last round is critical. If the attacking side wins the last round, it is called "Digging the Kitty".
- Success: The attacking side gets all points in the 8 kitty cards, multiplied.
- Escape: If the defending side wins the last round, kitty points "escape" (kept by the defending side; not scored for the attacking side).
Multiplier Calculation
The multiplier is determined by the largest component played by the leader of the last round.
| Pattern | Multiplier | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Single | x 2 | Play A, Kitty x2 |
| Pair | x 4 | Play AA, Kitty x4 |
| Tractor (2 Pairs) | x 8 | Play KKAA, Kitty x8 |
| Titanic (3 Pairs) | x 16 | Play QQKKAA, Kitty x16 |
| Aircraft Carrier (4 Pairs) | x 32 | Play JJQQKKAA, Kitty x32 |
| ... | x 2^(n+1) | Double for each extra pair |
Final Score = Captured Points + (Kitty Points × Multiplier)
Hook to the Bottom (Special Rule) 🧠 Expert
A penalty rule. When playing J, if the attacking side meets all conditions, the defending side is "Hooked to the Bottom" and restarts from 2.
- Condition 1: The attacking side digs the kitty with Trump J.
- Detail: The winning hand must contain Trump J and be the largest. (Single, Pair, or Tractor containing Trump J).
- Counter-example: If you play Trump J but partner wins with bigger card (e.g. Joker), it counts as Joker digging, NOT triggering the Hook.
- Condition 2: The attacking side total score (captured + kitty) reaches 80 points or more.
Glossary
Trump / Kill
Using Trump cards to beat Side Suit cards. When you are void of the led suit, you can use Trump to "Kill" and win the round.
Multi-throw (Dump)
Playing multiple patterns of the same suit at once (e.g. Single + Pair). Only succeeds if all your cards are the largest in that suit.
Dig the Kitty
Winning the last round to capture points in the kitty. Kitty points are multiplied.
Rebellion
The attacking side can call for a re-deal if their hand is too weak. Condition: points ≤ 15 OR trump cards ≤ 3.
Tractor
Consecutive pairs. E.g., 33-44, 99-1010-JJ. Pairs must be consecutive in rank and same suit.
Show / Declare
Revealing level cards during drawing to determine the trump suit. The first declaration sets the suit; a pair can override a single.
Level Card
The rank currently being played. E.g., when playing 7, all 7s are Level Cards and belong to the Trump Suit.
Defending Side / Attacking Side
Defending side = the dealer team; attacking side = the non-dealer team (trying to capture points and take the deal).