Fight The Landlord

What is Fight The Landlord?

Fight The Landlord is a popular card game played most often with three players although there is a four player version.

The aim of the game

The aim of Fight The Landlord is to get rid of all of your cards before the opposition can do so.

Cards and ranking

The game of Fight The Landlord is played with a deck of 54 cards meaning the jokers are used as well. The rank of the cards from best to worst is:

1. Red Joker
2. Black Joker
3. 2
4. King down to 3

It is worth noting that suits of cards do not matter.

Fight The Landlord Card Combinations

• Single Card
• Pair
• Triplet (Three of a kind)
• Triplet with attached card (Three of a kind with a single card)
• Triplet with attached pair
• Sequence (Similar to a straight, five consecutive cards from 3 to Aces)
• Sequence of pairs (three consecutive pairs or more, from 3s to Aces)
• Sequence of triplets (two consecutive triplets or more, from 3s to Aces)
• Sequence of triplets with attached cards (two more cards added to sequence of triplets, Jokers and 2s can be used)
• Sequence of triplets with attached pair (only the triplets need to be consecutive)
• Bomb (Four of a kind)
• Rocket (Pair of Jokers) (Best hand)
• Quadplex Set (Four of a kind with two singles attached or four of a kind with two pairs attached)

It should be noted that Quadplex sets can only beat lower ranked Quadplex sets.

How to play Fight The Landlord

• 17 cards are taken in turn by the players with three left face down
• An auction takes place to decide who plays as the Landlord
• Bids of 1, 2 or 3 can be made by the players to become the Landlord
• The first player to take a card is the first to bid
• Players can bid or pass and if all players pass bidding begins again
• Bidding ends when a player bids 3 or two players pass after a bid
• Highest bidder becomes the Landlord
• The Landlord takes the remaining three cards
• The remaining players form a team against the Landlord
• Only one player in the team needs to get rid of all his cards before the Landlord
• The Landlord is the first to make a hand with a single card or recognised combination
• Play moves anticlockwise and the previous hand must be beaten or the player passes
• If two players in a row pass the played cards are moved to the side and the player to make the last combination starts the game again with a hand of his choice
• The side with a player who gets rid of all his cards wins

Payouts

When the Landlord is the winner both of the other players pay him 1, 2 or 3 times the game stake, depending on what he originally bid in the auction. If one of the other players is the winner the Landlord must pay his auction bid to each of the other players.

If a Bomb or Rocket is used the stakes are doubled each time.

Four Player Fight The Landlord

If four players play the game then some changes to the rules are made as follows:

• Two card decks are used, each player takes 25 and eight are left for the Landlord
• The Landlord now faces three opponents
• Hands with one attached card are not allowed
• Quadplex Sets are not allowed
• Bombs range from four of a kind to eight of a kind
• Bombs with more cards beat better ranked bombs with fewer cards
• All four jokers are required for a Rocket
• Colours of Jokers can’t be mixed for pairs
• Only bombs with six or more cards will double the stakes

Examples of Play

Once the Landlord has been decided he will be first to act. He would be looking to get rid of some of his lowest ranked cards and combinations so may start with a low pair if he has a triplet in reserve, say 4-4. The next player to play will have to better that combination and may move with a higher pair, possibly 9-9. The next player may have to use a triplet to better that hand and if they also have a low card that can’t be paired they may wish to use that as an attached card making their hand 5-5-5-3.

The play moves back to the Landlord and he will have to be able to better that hand again or he must pass., giving the others players who can again better the hand an advantage as they will be using up more of their cards. The Landlord may decide it is time to try and get that advantage for himself by playing a one of the best combinations he can make, maybe a sequence of triplets with attached card (777-888-4-6). The other two players are unable to beat that hand in this case so have to pass and the played cards are moved to one side and the Landlord begins again as he played the last hand before the two passes. He plays a pair (Q-Q) and has now got rid of eight cards without anyone else having a go. Play continues in this way until one player runs out of cards.

In a game where the Landlord bid 3 and there is a bomb and a rocket, the Landlord will win twelve times the stake off each player if he wins (3x2x2) and will have to pay that to each player should one of them rid themselves of cards before the Landlord.