THE RESET
A 2 can be played on anything, and resets the pile — the next player can put down whatever they like. Your escape hatch when the pile is sitting on a King.
LIVE NOW · FREE TO PLAY
SHITHEAD
CARD GAME
Play Shithead online free in your browser — the classic shedding card game where you dump your hand, dodge the pick-up and pray the deck is kind. 1 to 4 players, about six minutes a round, nothing to install.
Below: the full rules, what every magic card does, strategy that actually wins games, and answers to the questions people ask before their first hand.
PLAYERS
1-4
A ROUND
6 MIN
DECK
52 CARDS
PRICE
FREE
THE BASICS
WHAT IS THE SHITHEAD CARD GAME?
Shithead is a shedding card game played with a standard 52-card deck. Every player starts with nine cards: three face-down on the table, three face-up on top of those, and three in hand. Players take turns beating the top card of the pile, and the first person to get rid of all nine is out. Keep going until one player is left holding cards — that player is the shithead, and they deal the next round.
It looks like a simple game of higher-than-the-last-card, and for about thirty seconds it is. Then the magic cards land: a 2 wipes the slate, a 7 forces everyone low, an 8 skips the person you were counting on, and a 10 burns the whole pile. Being one card from winning means nothing if the pile lands back in your hand.
It is a pub game, a hostel game, a waiting-for-a-flight game. Fast to teach, hard to leave, and cruel in exactly the right way — which is why it survives with a different name in every country that plays it.
ALSO KNOWN AS
Same game, different pub. If you learned it under one of these names, the rules below will look very familiar.
- PALACE
- KARMA
- SHED
- THREES
- KAKA
- CHINESE POKER*
RULES
HOW TO PLAY SHITHEAD
1 — SETTING UP
Shuffle a 52-card deck. Deal each player three cards face-down in a row — nobody looks at these, including you.
Deal three more cards face-up on top of them. These are visible to everyone all game — your third and final layer of defence.
Deal three cards to each hand. Before play starts you may swap any hand cards with your face-up ones — bury the low cards, show the bombs.
The rest of the deck becomes the draw pile in the middle. Whoever holds the lowest 3 goes first — or in our version, the game just picks.
2 — TAKING A TURN
Play a card equal to or higher than the top card of the pile. You can play several of the same rank at once — three 9s in one go is legal and often smart.
After your turn, draw back up to three cards while the draw pile lasts. Once it runs dry, you play out the hand you have.
Can't beat the pile? You pick up the entire pile into your hand and play passes on. This is the moment the game is named after.
ORDER OF PLAY
- Empty your hand first
- Then your three face-up cards
- Then the face-down three, blind — flip one, and if it doesn't beat the pile you take the lot
3 — WINNING AND LOSING
Clear all nine cards and you're out — first out wins, and the round keeps going for everyone else. When only one player still holds cards, they are the shithead. They deal next, they get the abuse, and they get the first shot at revenge.
POWERS
SPECIAL CARDS IN SHITHEAD
Five ranks break the higher-or-equal rule. Learn these and you know the game; house rules vary, and these are the ones Bordio plays.
SEE-THROUGH
A 3 is transparent. It sits on the pile but the card underneath still counts, so the next player has to beat that instead. Good for dumping a dead card without losing your grip on the pile.
PLAY LOWER
After a 7, the next player must play a 7 or lower — or pick up. Drop one when you can see everybody sitting on face cards.
SKIP
An 8 skips the next player. Two 8s skip two players. In a four-player game that means the pile comes straight back to you — plan accordingly.
BURN
A 10 burns the pile — the whole thing goes out of the game and the player who burned it goes again with a clean table. The single strongest card in the deck.
FOUR OF A KIND
Four cards of the same rank on the pile — in one turn or stacked up across several — also burns it. Watch the pile: sometimes one Jack finishes the job for you.
TACTICS
SHITHEAD STRATEGY: SIX WAYS TO NOT BE THE SHITHEAD
Luck deals the cards. These are the habits that separate the people who win from the people who deal.
HOARD YOUR 2s AND 10s
A 10 is worth more than any King. Save at least one for the moment the pile is huge and you're out of options — burning a twenty-card pile wins games on its own.
PUT MAGIC FACE-UP
During the swap, move 2s, 10s and Aces into your face-up row. Your hand gets refilled from the deck; your face-up cards are the ones you have to survive on later.
DUMP LOW WHILE THE DECK LASTS
Every card you play gets replaced while the draw pile exists. Get rid of 4s, 5s and 6s early — carrying them into the endgame is how you end up eating the pile.
COUNT THE PILE, NOT YOUR HAND
If three 9s have gone down, your 9 is a burn. Tracking what's already on the pile turns dead cards into bombs.
READ THE PLAYER TO YOUR LEFT
Their face-up cards are public. If they're sitting on three face cards, a 7 hurts them badly; if they're low, play high and make them pick up.
SAVE ONE 2 FOR THE BLIND
The face-down cards are pure luck — but a 2 held back in hand can't save you once your hand is gone. Time the switch so you flip blind with the pile low.
ON BORDIO
PLAY SHITHEAD ONLINE, FREE
Bordio's Shithead runs in the browser. Open it, start a table, send the link to whoever you're playing with. No download, no launcher, no waiting for four people to install the same app.
BROWSER ONLY
Works on phone, tablet, laptop, the office machine you shouldn't be playing on.
PLAY WITH MATES
Private tables for 1-4 players. One link, everyone's in.
NO ACCOUNT NEEDED
Jump in as a guest. Sign up later if you want your stats to stick.
RULES BUILT IN
Magic cards, burns and pick-ups are handled for you — nobody argues about the 3s.
QUESTIONS
SHITHEAD CARD GAME FAQ
What is the card game Shithead?
A shedding game for 1-4 players with a standard 52-card deck. Each player has three face-down cards, three face-up cards and a hand of three, and races to get rid of all nine. The last player holding cards is the shithead.
Can I play Shithead online for free?
Yes — Bordio's Shithead is free in any browser, with no download and no app store. Share a table link to play with friends.
What do the special cards do?
2 resets the pile, 3 is see-through, 7 forces the next player to play a 7 or lower, 8 skips them, and 10 burns the pile. Four of the same rank burns it too. The full rules reference covers every edge case.
How many players do you need?
One to four on Bordio — solo against the bots, or a private table for up to four. Around a real table it stretches to six with a second deck shuffled in.
Is Shithead the same as Palace or Karma?
Same game. Palace, Karma, Shed and Threes are regional names for it, differing only in which ranks count as magic cards.
Do I need an account?
No. Start a table as a guest. An account only exists to keep your name, stats and high scores between sessions.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. It's a browser game built for touch as well as mouse, so phones and tablets work with nothing installed.
How long is a game?
Around six minutes for four players — short enough that "one more round" happens five times.
MORE FROM BORDIO
READY PLAYER ONE
INSERT COIN
DEAL ME IN
You've read the rules. Someone has to be the shithead — make sure it isn't you.