Definition
Pedro, or Pedreaux, is a trick-taking game in the All Fours family. Specifically, Pedro is a derivative of another All Fours-style game, Pitch.
Pedro is a simplified version of Pitch, utilizing the same system of Victory Points borrowed from All Fours. However, Pedro only awards its Victory Points based on specific cards in the taken tricks.
The spelling Pedreaux derives from the French-speaking regions of Louisiana, where the game is very popular and sees the predominant play in the United States.
How to Play Pedro?
Pedro utilizes the 52-card Anglo-American standard deck, used by most popular card games. Traditionally, Pedro is a partnership game. The game is played usually with four Players, in two teams of two. Each Player will sit in a cross-shape, with partners sitting across from each other.
The Deal
After the deck is shuffled, the Dealer will deal each Player 9 cards in “packets” or groups of 3 cards at a time. The Dealing position moves clockwise around the table. Once each Player has their 9 cards, the auction begins.
The Auction
Unlike in Auction Pitch, the bids in Pedro’s auction are for the total number of Victory Points won in a round, rather than the number of tricks taken. Victory Points are combined between Partners in order to achieve their total bid.
Bidding passes, from the left of the dealer around the table. Each Player is only given one chance to bid or pass, meaning that a partnership only gets 2 total bids or passes in a particular auction.
In order to bid, aside from the first bidder, the bid must be higher than the previous bid.
The minimum bid is 7, and the maximum bid is 14. The highest bidder of the auction becomes the Pitcher, giving that Player certain privileges. If all three non-dealing Players pass, the Dealer is forced to become the Pitcher with a bid of 7.
If the Pitcher meets the requisite number of points bid, then the Victory Points they won in the round are added to their total. If they did not meet the bid, then those points are subtracted from their total. The Non-Pitching team will always add their Victory Points to their total.
The Dealer’s Deal
The Pitcher is given the privilege of declaring the Trump suit, after which all Players must discard their hands, face down, of each non-Trump suited card.
The Dealer then will give each Player the requisite cards until their hands are returned to 6 cards.
Afterwards, the Dealer will take all of the Trump cards remaining in the deck, and more cards if necessary in order to have at least 6 cards.
Note, since it is required for the Dealer to take all remaining Trumps in the deck, it is possible for the Dealer to have more than 6 cards, but they cannot have less than 6.
The Game
Once the cards have been dealt to the Dealer, the game begins. The first card of the first trick will be played by the Pitcher, and on subsequent tricks the leading position will be played by the next clockwise Player.
Following Suit
The leading card determines the suit of the trick, and other Players must follow suit if they are able or they may play a Trump card. If a Player is not able to follow suit, they may play any card in their hand. However, a card that does not follow suit is disqualified from winning the trick, regardless of that card’s rank (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, 10-2).
A trick is taken when a Player has the highest rank card that either follows suit, or is a Trump card. Trump cards beat all non-Trump cards, and a Trump of a higher rank is required to beat another Trump.
Ending
The Pedro card game is not scored in the traditional All Fours method of High, Low, Jack, and Game. Instead, Pedro awards Victory Points for taking tricks which contain specific cards. These cards, and their respective point values, will be relayed in the Scoring section below.
The Game ends when a partnership accumulates a total of 62 Victory Points over the course of multiple rounds.
Pedro Rules
- Pedro refers to the 5s that are the same color as the Trump card. There is High Pedro, and Low Pedro. ‘High’ is the Trump 5, and ‘Low’ is the 5 that is the same color. If High Pedro is ♥, then Low Pedro would be ♦, for example.
- Victory Points are only awarded for taking specific cards in tricks.
- A partnership must accumulate a total of 62 Points in order to win
- Aces are the highest rank card, followed in descending order by Kings, Queens, Jacks, 10s, 9s, 8s, and so on.
Scoring
Unlike other All Fours variations, Pedro awards Victory Points for specific cards within taken tricks. These cards and their point values are explained below:
- The Trump Ace, also known as “High”, awards 1 Point.
- The Trump Jack, which awards 1 Point.
- The Trump 10, which awards 1 Point.
- The Trump 2, also known as “Low”, which awards 1 Point.
Then, there are the Pedros, or the Double Pedro, for which the game is named. These Pedros are the 5 of Trump, and the 5 of Color.
The 5 of Color is the 5 which shares its color with the Trump. If the Trump suit is Spaces (black) then the 5 of Color is the 5 of Clubs.
When taking a trick that possesses either the High or Low Pedro, the Player is awarded 5 Victory Points.
Example Play
The following is a possible starting hand in a game of Pedro, assuming you are the Pitcher and the Trump suit is ♦:
9♦, 8♦, K♦, A♦, 5♦, 6♣
As all non-Trump cards are discarded before play starts, it is more likely for a Player to get a large number of Trump cards in their hand, reflected in the example by this 6-card hand having 4 Trump cards.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you win in Pedro?
A partnership wins when their Victory Points tally 62 or greater at the end of a particular round of play. The points earned by either Player in the partnership are always combined.
In addition, Points can be subtracted for the Pitcher partnership if they do not meet their auction bid. In this case, that partnership will need to score more than 62 Points in order to make up the deficit.
How do you bid in Pedro?
Bidding in Pedro happens at the beginning of the game. As explained above, during the auction phase, each Player will get exactly 1 chance to bid or pass. Each non-Dealer Player bids in a clockwise fashion, and the highest bidder becomes the Pitcher.
Can you Play Pedro with Two People?
No. Unfortunately, the rules of Pedro would have to be significantly altered due to the Dealer’s unique position during Play, particularly collecting all of the remaining trump cards from the deck. It is intended to be a 2 Vs. 2 Player game.
