How to play31 (Scat)

1Object of the game

Stay in the game longer than everyone else. In each hand you try to hold three cards of one suit that add up as close to 31 as you can. Aces count 11, face cards count 10 and number cards count their pips. The lowest hand when play stops loses a life, and a player with no lives left is out on their next loss.

2Setup

1. Use a standard 52-card deck. Give each player three coins or tokens; these are their lives. Many groups use pennies and put lost ones in a center kitty.
2. The dealer deals three cards to each player, one at a time, face down.
3. Turn the next card face up to start the discard pile. Put the rest of the deck face down as the stock.
4. If a player is dealt 31 (an ace and two 10-point cards of one suit), they show it at once. There is no play that hand, and every other player loses a life.
5. The player to the dealer's left takes the first turn, and play goes clockwise. The deal passes to the left each hand.

3The play

1. At the start of your turn, decide whether to knock. If you think your hand will not be the lowest, you can knock instead of drawing. You keep your hand as it is and your turn ends.
2. If you do not knock, draw one card: the top card of the stock or the top card of the discard pile.
3. Discard one card face up, so you always have three cards. If you took the top discard, you must keep it and throw away a different card.
4. If your hand now totals exactly 31 in one suit, show it immediately. The hand ends and every other player loses a life.
5. After someone knocks, each other player gets exactly one more turn to draw and discard, and nobody else may knock. Then everyone shows their cards.

4End of a hand

A hand ends in one of three ways: someone shows 31, the knock goes around the table, or the stock runs out and the player to move does not want the top discard. At the showdown, everyone reveals their three cards and counts their best suit. The lowest hand loses one life by putting a coin in the kitty. Then the deal moves on.

5Scoring

Your hand value is the total of your cards in one suit. If your three cards are in three different suits, your value is your single highest card. Nobody scores points; the hand only decides who loses a life.

Only one suit counts, so A♥ K♥ 9♣ is worth 21, not 30. If two or more players tie for lowest and the knocker is not one of them, each tied player loses a life. The three-of-a-kind rule is optional; pagat.com says some play it as 30 and some as 30.5, and Wikipedia lists 30.5. At 30.5, three of a kind beats every hand except 31.

6Winning

Each player starts with three lives. A player who has lost all three is still in the game, which pagat.com calls being on the county. The next life that player loses knocks them out. Keep dealing until one player is left, and that player wins the game and the kitty.

7A worked hand

8House rules

The rules above are the version most US players use. These are the variations you are most likely to run into; settle them before the first deal.

Three of a kind

Many groups count three cards of the same rank as 30.5, which beats everything but 31. Pagat.com notes that some play it as 30 instead, which can tie a 30 in one suit.

Widow version

Bicycle's Thirty-One deals three extra cards face up as a widow. On your turn you swap one card from your hand with a widow card instead of drawing from a stock.

Paying into a pot

Instead of counting lives, some groups play for a pot. In Bicycle's version the player with the highest hand wins the pot, and a tie for high goes to the player holding the highest-ranking card.

Cadillac

Pagat.com describes a variant where each player starts with four nickels, and three aces, the Grand Cadillac, count 33 points.

Ride the Bus

Some players drop coins and track losses by seat position instead, moving players along until they are eliminated. Pagat.com lists it among the Scat variants.

9Mistakes people make

• Only cards of one suit add together. Three high cards in different suits are worth the single highest card, not their total.
• You knock at the start of your turn instead of drawing. You cannot draw, discard and then knock in the same turn.
• The knocker does not get another turn. After a knock, every other player gets one more turn and then everyone shows.
• A knocker who ties for lowest is safe, but a knocker who is lowest on their own loses two lives, not one.

10Playing better

• Pick a suit early. Once you hold two high cards of the same suit, throw away cards of other suits and build around them.
• Watch the discard pile. If the player to your left keeps taking diamonds, avoid throwing them a high diamond.
• Knock early when your hand is decent. A hand in the mid-20s on the first or second round is often enough, because the other players have not had time to build.
• Do not knock with a marginal hand late in the hand. By then others have had many draws, and a knocker with the lowest hand loses two lives.
• Remember that the knocker is safe on a tie. If you are sure you can at least match the weakest hand, that protection makes knocking less risky.
• When you are on your last life, play safe. Take the top discard when it improves your best suit, and knock only with a strong total.

31 (Scat): questions people ask

What happens when you knock in 31?

Knocking ends your turn without drawing, and you keep the three cards you have. Every other player gets exactly one more turn to draw and discard, then all hands are shown. The lowest hand loses a life, and if the knocker is lowest on their own, the knocker loses two lives.

What happens if you get 31 in the card game?

Show your hand immediately. The hand ends on the spot, and every other player loses a life. The same rule covers a hand drawn into 31 during play and a 31 dealt in your first three cards.

How many lives do you get in 31?

Each player starts with three lives, usually three coins or tokens. When you lose all three you are still in, which pagat.com calls being on the county. The next life you lose after that puts you out of the game.

Is three of a kind worth 30.5 in 31?

Only if your group plays that house rule. Standard rules count only cards of one suit, so three 7s in different suits are worth 7. Many groups count three of a kind as 30.5, and pagat.com notes some use 30.

What is an ace worth in 31?

An ace is worth 11 points, the highest value of any card. Kings, queens and jacks are worth 10, and number cards are worth their face value. The best possible hand is an ace with two 10-point cards of the same suit, which totals 31.

What happens if there is a tie in 31?

If two or more players tie for the lowest hand and the knocker is not one of them, each tied player loses a life. If the knocker is part of the tie, the knocker is safe and the other tied players lose a life.

Is 31 the same game as Scat?

Yes. Thirty-One is also called Scat, Blitz, Cadillac and Ride the Bus, depending on the region. The core rules are the same: three cards, one suit counts, and 31 is the best hand. Details like three of a kind and knocking penalties vary by group.

Sources

Checked by Morgan Hale against the sources below. Last reviewed September 28, 2026.

1. Scat / 31, pagat.com. Read September 29, 2026.
2. Thirty-one (card game), Wikipedia. Read September 29, 2026.
3. How to Play Thirty-One, Bicycle Cards. Read September 29, 2026.

Also on the table: Golf (Card Game), Tonk, Crazy Eights, Rummy.