What does "hokm" mean?

"Hokm" is the Persian word for "command" or "trump." In the game it refers both to the trump suit and to the hakem's power to declare it. The hakem chooses one suit that will outrank all others for the entire hand.

How is the hakem chosen?

Deal cards face up one at a time anticlockwise until a player gets an Ace. That player becomes the first hakem and gets to receive the first cards, name the trump suit, and lead the first trick. After that, the hakem keeps the role as long as their team wins; if they lose, the role passes to the next player.

How many tricks do you need to win a hand of Hokm?

Seven. Each hand has 13 tricks, and the first partnership to capture seven of them wins the hand and scores 1 point. Winning all seven before the opponents take any is called a kot and scores extra: 2 points for the hakem's team, or 3 points if the opponents pull it off.

How many points does it take to win the game?

The first team to reach 7 points wins the overall game. Since a kot can be worth 2 or 3 points, a single dominant hand can swing the match quickly.

Do you have to follow suit in Hokm?

Yes. You must play a card of the suit that was led if you have one. If you have no cards of that suit, you may play any card, including a trump. The highest trump wins the trick, or if no trump is played, the highest card of the led suit wins.

Is Hokm the same as Court Piece?

They are very close relatives. Both are four-player partnership trick-taking games where one player names trump and teams race to seven tricks. The main differences are in dealing details and how the trump-naming player is chosen, but if you know one, the other is easy to pick up.

How to Play Hokm: The Persian Trick-Taking Classic

Hokm is Iran's most-played card game, a fast, social member of the Court Piece family where one player becomes the hakem, names the trump suit, and races to win seven tricks. The word "hokm" means "command" or "trump" in Persian, and that single declaration shapes the whole hand. This guide covers everything you need: how the hakem is chosen, how trump is named, how tricks are played and scored, and a few tactics to start winning. You can play Hokm free in your browser with friends or bots, no download or signup required.

Hokm is a four-player partnership game played with a standard 52-card deck. It belongs to the same trick-taking family as Court Piece, Callbreak, and Spades, but it has its own signature twist: the privilege of naming trump belongs to a single player, the hakem, who earns that right and then leads the attack. If you already know one trick-taking game, you can learn Hokm in a single hand.

What You Need

Four players in two fixed partnerships, with partners sitting across from each other.
A standard 52-card deck. In each suit the cards rank from high to low: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
No jokers, no signup, no special equipment when you play online.

Hokm can also be adapted for two or three players, but the classic and most popular form is the four-player team game described here.

Choosing the Hakem

The hakem (sometimes written "hâkem") is the player who names trump for the hand. To decide who starts as hakem, deal cards face up one at a time around the table, going anticlockwise, until someone receives an Ace. That player becomes the first hakem. The hakem enjoys three privileges: receiving the first cards dealt, choosing and declaring the trump suit, and leading to the very first trick.

Dealing the Cards

Once the hakem is set, the dealer (the player to the hakem's left) shuffles and deals all 52 cards so that everyone ends up with 13. The deal goes anticlockwise and is done in batches: five cards in the first round, then four, then four again.

There is one important pause. After the first five cards are dealt, dealing stops so the hakem can decide trump. Crucially, no cards are given to the hakem's partner until trump has been declared. This rule prevents the hakem from reading any signals about a partner's hand, so the trump choice must be based solely on the hakem's own first five cards.

Naming Trump (Hokm)

Looking only at those first five cards, the hakem declares one suit as trump for the entire hand. A strong choice is usually the suit where the hakem holds the most cards, the highest cards, or both. After the declaration, the dealer finishes dealing the remaining eight cards to each player.

The trump suit outranks all others for the rest of the hand. This is the heart of Hokm: a single bold or cautious decision early on can swing the whole round.

Playing the Tricks

The hakem leads to the first trick. Play proceeds anticlockwise. The core rule is simple:

Follow suit if you can. You must play a card of the suit that was led.
If you cannot follow suit, you may play any card, including a trump.

The highest trump played wins the trick. If no trump is played, the highest card of the suit that was led wins. The winner of each trick leads to the next one. Note that there is no obligation to win a trick or to trump in when you are out of the led suit, so you can choose to discard a low card instead.

Scoring: First to Seven Tricks

Each hand has 13 tricks, so the first partnership to capture seven tricks wins the hand. There is no need to play out all 13 once a team reaches seven, but the size of the victory matters for bonus scoring:

Normal win: The team that reaches seven tricks first scores 1 point.
Kot (sweep): If the hakem's team wins all of the first seven tricks while the opponents take none, the hakem's team scores 2 points.
Opponents' kot: If the hakem's opponents sweep the first seven tricks, they score 3 points, a heavier penalty for the hakem losing on their own trump call.

Keeping or Losing the Hakem

The hakem role does not simply rotate every hand. If the hakem's team wins the hand, the same player remains hakem for the next hand and names trump again. Only when the hakem's team loses does the role pass on, with the next player to the right becoming the new hakem. This "win and keep commanding" rule rewards a hakem who keeps making good trump calls.

Winning the Game

Points accumulate across hands. The first partnership to reach 7 points wins the overall game. Because a kot is worth 2 or 3 points, a single crushing hand can dramatically shorten the match, which is part of what makes Hokm so tense and replayable.

Quick Strategy Tips

Name trump where you are long and strong. Length matters as much as high cards; five small trumps can be better than two big ones.
Count trumps. Track how many have been played so you know when your remaining trumps are unbeatable.
Lead trump early as hakem to draw out opponents' trumps and protect your side suits.
Support your partner. Hokm is a partnership game; let your partner's winners stand instead of overtaking them.
Watch for the kot. If you are behind, breaking the opponents' sweep to deny them bonus points can save the game.

Related Games

If you enjoy Hokm, try the closely related Court Piece, the bidding-based Callbreak, and the classic Western cousin Spades. Fans of trump-and-trick play may also like Tarneeb, Mendikot, and 29.

Play now

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