Court Piece / Whist (trick-taking, trump-based partnership games) · Iran (Persia), with regional spread across the Middle East, Central Asia, and South Asia
Hokm
Also known as Court · Hukam · Rang · Rung · Hokum · Hakam
Hokm is the most popular card game in Iran and a cornerstone of the Court Piece family of trick-taking games. The name comes from the Persian word for "command" or "ruling," referring to the trump suit that one privileged player gets to choose each hand. Played by four people in two partnerships of two (partners sitting across from each other), Hokm uses a standard 52-card deck and rewards reading your partner, counting cards, and timing your trumps. At the start of every hand, one player becomes the hakem ("ruler") and declares which suit will be trump after seeing only their first five cards. From there, the four players battle over thirteen tricks, and the first team to capture seven tricks wins the hand. Because a hand ends the moment a team reaches seven tricks, Hokm is fast, tense, and full of swings. Its closest relatives are Court Piece (Rang/Rung in South Asia) and the British game Whist, but Hokm's distinctive hakem mechanic, the running game to seven points, and the celebrated "Kot" sweep give it a flavor all its own. Beloved at family gatherings, tea houses, and student dorms across Iran and the wider Persian-speaking world, Hokm is easy to learn in one hand yet deep enough to reward a lifetime of play.
4–4 players · free · no download · no signup
How to play Hokm
- Form two teams of two, with partners sitting opposite each other, and shuffle a standard 52-card deck.
- Determine the hakem by dealing cards face up around the table; the first player to get an Ace becomes the hakem for the first hand.
- Deal five cards to each player, starting with the hakem, then pause the deal.
- The hakem looks only at these five cards and declares the trump (hokm) suit aloud; trump is now fixed for the hand.
- Finish dealing so everyone holds thirteen cards, then have the hakem lead to the first trick.
- On each trick, follow the led suit if you can; otherwise play any card, including a trump. The highest trump wins, or the highest card of the led suit if no trump is played, and the winner leads the next trick.
- The first team to win seven tricks takes the hand: score 1 point normally, 2 for a hakem-team Kot (7-0 sweep), or 3 if the opponents sweep the hakem. Keep playing hands until a team reaches 7 points to win the game.
Hokm rules
Players, Teams, and the Deck
Hokm is played by four players using a standard 52-card deck (no jokers). The four players form two teams of two, with partners seated opposite each other so that turns alternate between the two teams around the table. Cards rank in the usual order within each suit, from high to low: Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. There are thirteen tricks in a full hand, but a hand often ends early because the first team to seven tricks wins it. (Hokm can also be adapted for 2 or 3 players, but the classic and by far most common form is the 4-player partnership game described here.)
Choosing the Hakem
Before the first hand, the hakem (the "ruler" who will choose trump) is determined by dealing cards face up one at a time around the table; the first player to receive an Ace becomes the hakem. The hakem holds three privileges: they receive the first cards dealt, they choose and declare the trump suit, and they lead to the very first trick. In later hands the role passes on as long as the hakem's team keeps winning; if the hakem's team loses a hand, the hakem role moves to the next player (commonly to the player on the hakem's right, with play running anticlockwise). House rules vary on exactly how the hakem rotates after each hand, so agree on this before you start.
Dealing the Cards
The deal is special because the hakem must commit to trump with only partial information. The dealer first gives each player five cards, starting with the hakem and continuing around the table (traditionally anticlockwise). The deal then pauses. The hakem looks at only these first five cards and declares the trump suit out loud. After trump is set, the dealer completes the deal in further rounds (commonly four cards at a time) until every player holds thirteen cards. The undealt cards are all distributed, so all 52 cards are in play. Because trump is chosen from just five cards, the hakem's call is part judgment, part gamble.
Declaring Trump (Hokm)
The word "hokm" itself refers to the trump suit. Only the hakem may declare it, and they must do so based solely on their first five cards, before seeing the rest of their hand. A wise hakem usually names the suit in which they hold the most cards or the strongest high cards, since trumps beat every other suit. Once declared, the trump suit stays fixed for the entire hand and cannot be changed. Every player then receives their remaining cards and play begins.
Playing the Tricks
The hakem leads to the first trick by playing any card. Play proceeds around the table, and each player in turn must follow the led suit if they can. A player who has no card of the led suit 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. Won tricks are kept face down in front of one member of each team so that the running count of tricks is easy to track.
Winning the Hand and Scoring
A hand is won by the first team to capture seven tricks (a majority of the thirteen), and play normally stops the instant a team reaches seven. A normal hand win scores 1 point. The big bonus is the Kot: if the hakem's team wins all seven of the first seven tricks while the opponents take none (a 7-0 sweep), the hand is worth 2 points instead of 1. If instead the hakem's opponents pull off the 7-0 sweep against the hakem's team, that is an even bigger upset, often called "Hakem Koti," and is worth 3 points. Note that the 7-0 standard is the most common way to score a Kot; some groups instead require sweeping all thirteen tricks for the bonus, so confirm the house rule.
Winning the Game
Points accumulate across multiple hands, and the first team to reach 7 points wins the overall game. Because a single Kot is worth 2 or 3 points, games can swing quickly, and a well-timed sweep can leapfrog a trailing team to victory. Some groups play to a different target (for example 11 points) or play a fixed number of hands, but a race to 7 points is the traditional standard.
Strategy tips
- When you are the hakem, name trump in the suit where you hold either the most cards or the strongest top cards (Aces and Kings) from your first five, since trump beats everything and a weak trump call hands the advantage to your opponents.
- Count trumps as they are played. Knowing how many trumps remain tells you when your high cards are safe to cash and when to expect to be over-ruffed.
- Lead long, strong side suits to force opponents to either follow or burn trumps; draining their trumps early protects your later winners.
- Cooperate with your partner: signal strength by which cards you discard, and avoid wasting a high trump on a trick your partner is already winning.
- Hold your high trumps for control. Spending the Ace or King of trump too early can let an opponent's lower trump scoop a key trick later in the hand.
- Play to the score. When you only need a couple of tricks to reach seven, take the safe, certain route; when you are chasing a Kot or defending against one, weigh the bonus points carefully before taking risks.
Variants
Court Piece / Coat (South Asian relative where teams must win specific groups of tricks, with seven tricks taking the hand) · Rang / Rung (Urdu and Hindi name for the same trump-suit partnership game) · Single Sir / Double Sir Court Piece (variants in which a team must win the first trick, or the first two tricks, before declaring trump) · 2-player Hokm (one Ace finds the hakem; players are dealt five cards, discard some, then draw from a stock until holding thirteen) · 3-player Hokm (one 2 is removed to make 51 cards so each player gets seventeen; there are no partnerships) · All-13-tricks Kot (a house rule that awards the Kot bonus only for sweeping every one of the thirteen tricks rather than the first seven) · Play to 11 points (a longer game target some groups use instead of the standard 7)
Hokm — frequently asked questions
How do you play Hokm?
Four players split into two teams of two, with partners sitting opposite each other, using a 52-card deck. One player, the hakem, sees their first five cards and declares a trump suit, then everyone is dealt up to thirteen cards. Players take turns playing one card per trick, must follow the led suit when able, and the highest trump (or highest card of the led suit if no trump is played) wins each trick. The first team to win seven tricks wins the hand.
What are the basic rules of Hokm?
Follow the led suit if you can; if you cannot, 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 led suit wins. The hakem chooses the trump suit from only their first five cards and leads the first trick. A hand is won by the first team to seven of the thirteen tricks.
How is scoring done in Hokm?
Winning a hand (reaching seven tricks first) normally scores 1 point. If the hakem's team wins all seven of the first seven tricks while the opponents take none, that 7-0 sweep is a Kot and scores 2 points. If the hakem's opponents sweep 7-0 against the hakem, it scores 3 points. The first team to reach 7 points wins the game.
What is a Kot in Hokm?
A Kot is a clean sweep where one team wins all seven of the first seven tricks and the other team wins none. A Kot by the hakem's team is worth 2 points instead of 1, and a Kot by the opponents against the hakem (sometimes called Hakem Koti) is worth 3 points. Some groups instead require sweeping all thirteen tricks to score the bonus, so agree on the house rule first.
Who chooses the trump suit in Hokm and how?
The hakem (the "ruler") chooses the trump suit. At the start of each hand the hakem is dealt their first five cards, looks at only those, and declares the trump suit aloud before the rest of the deal is completed. For the first hand the hakem is the first player dealt an Ace; afterward the role rotates, typically staying with a team as long as it keeps winning.
How many players and cards does Hokm need?
The classic game is for exactly four players in two partnerships of two, using a standard 52-card deck with no jokers. Each player ends up with thirteen cards. Variants exist for two or three players, but the four-player partnership game is the standard and most popular form.