The card game Spit goes by a few different names, mainly Speed and Slam. This game is normally played as a two-player game, although more players can join if you use the multi-player rules below. The order of ranks is as follows; A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K. Please note – unlike other card ranks, you can not go K to A or A to K. You must use the sequence above in order or reverse.
Card Game Spit / Slam / Speed
Once the cards are shuffled, the dealer will divide the deck equally between himself and his partner with the jokers removed. This should equate to 26 cards each face down.
Each player needs to lay out five piles on the table. To do this, four cards should be placed face down, and one card face up. Then the next card is placed face up on the first face down card at which point another three face down cards. This step will continue until all of the five piles have a face up card. The sequence of up and down is similar to laying out the cards for a game of solitaire. The remaining cards will be placed at the side of the pile for you to discard.
Your discard piles are called the spit piles, which consist of the five cards placed face up and your pile in the middle. See the diagram below
Diagram showing how to lay out the cards
When you are finally ready to go, you both shout “Spit”. You will then, at the same time, turn over the first card in your down pile. If you have a match you will take the card and place it on top of your other card. If you have a run you will take the card and place it on top of the pile.
As an example, your and a friend call spit. You turn your first card up and it’s an Ace. You have an Ace in your row of five, so you take the Ace off the row of five and place it on the discard pile. You also have a two, which means you can remove the two, turn up the card underneath it and place the two on the discard pile.
When no more moves remain, you and your partner call out “Spit” and go a second round. The object of the game is to turn over all of your cards and shed them before your opponent.
Picking up the Spit Piles – Calling Slam
When a player runs out of cards in their sequence of five before their opponent, that player slams their hand on the pile of cards they want to keep from the spitpiles. The other player will then be forced to pick up the remaining pile, which is generally the larger of the two.
The two players will re-deal the hands again using the same deal as above and start again. This will continue until a player has run out of cards.
Things to Note – Either player can play on the two discard piles. This means if you turn a 7 and your opponents spitpile shows an 8, you can lay your 7 as well as any 6 or 8 from your spitpiles.
How to Play Spit With More Than Two Players
This game is typically played as a two-player game, although it’s not uncommon for more players to join. If you want to add more players into the game, you will need to add an addition deck for every two players as each player receives 26 cards.
If you find the rules above to be quite easy, you can increase the level of difficulty by alternating the colours. If a black nine were laid, the player would be forced to lay down a red 10 or red 8 to play on that pile.