Setup and deal
Durak uses a 36-card deck: 6 up to ace in each suit, with the ace high. Each player receives six cards. The next card is turned face up — its suit is the trump suit for the whole game — and slides face up under the remaining stock (the talon). That trump indicator is a real card: it is drawn last, so late in the game everyone knows exactly which card is coming.
Who attacks first? In the first game, the holder of the lowest trump attacks. If neither player was dealt a trump, the holder of the lowest card overall starts. In a rematch, the loser of the previous game deals — so the winner attacks first and the fool must defend straight away. After a drawn game, the same player attacks first again.
The bout: attack and defence
Play happens in bouts. The attacker leads any card; the defender must beat it. A card is beaten by a higher card of the same suit, or by any trump (if the attack card is not itself a trump). A trump can only be beaten by a higher trump. Equal cards never beat each other.
Throw-ins. After the first attack, the attacker may add more attack cards — one at a time — but each new card must match the rank of some card already on the table, attack or defence alike. If your 7 was beaten by a 10, you may now throw in other 7s and other 10s. The defender must beat every unbeaten card on the table.
The cap. A bout can contain at most six attack cards — and never more than the defender held when the bout began. Attacking a 4-card hand means at most 4 attacks, beaten cards included.
| Outcome | What happens to the table | Next attacker |
|---|---|---|
| Beaten off — every attack is beaten and the attacker cannot (or will not) throw in more | All cards go to the discard, permanently out of play | The defender |
| Pickup — the defender cannot or will not beat everything | The defender takes every card on the table into their hand | The same attacker again — the defender loses their turn |
Piling on a pickup. When the defender gives up, the attacker may still throw in additional rank-matching cards before the pickup — rubbing salt in, subject to the same six-card total cap. Then the defender scoops the lot.
Example: one bout, both endings
Hearts are trump. You attack with the 8♣; Emma beats it with the 10♣ (same suit, higher). The table now shows an 8 and a 10, so you may throw in any 8 or any 10. You add the 10♦ — Emma has no clubs or diamonds that high, so she beats it with the 6♥, a small trump. Now 6s are also throwable, but you hold none, and no more 8s or 10s. No legal continuation exists, so the bout resolves itself: beaten off. All five cards go to the discard forever, both players refill to six (you first), and Emma attacks next.
Rewind: suppose Emma had no answer to your 10♦. She takes — and before the pickup happens you may pile on. You throw in your last 8, and with nothing else matching, the pickup completes: Emma's hand swells by five cards, and because a defender who picks up loses their turn, you attack her again immediately. One failed defence often snowballs exactly this way.
The example shows why defending is the expensive side of Durak: every card Emma used to beat your attacks widened your throw-in options. Attacking with ranks you hold in pairs, and into suits your opponent has shown weakness in, is the heart of the game.
Refilling from the talon
After every bout, both players refill to six cards while the talon lasts — the attacker draws first, then the defender. The face-up trump indicator is the last card drawn. Once the talon is empty, hands only shrink, and the endgame race is on.
Winning, losing and the draw
- The game only ends at the end of a bout. Running out of cards mid-bout ends nothing by itself — the bout finishes first (an empty-handed defender who has beaten everything ends it immediately as beaten off).
- First player with no cards wins; the opponent — still holding cards once the talon is dry — is the durak.
- The draw. If a beaten-off final bout leaves BOTH hands empty, the game is a draw: no winner, no fool.
The character of the game flips at the moment the talon dies. While it lives, cards spent are cards replaced, so bold attacks and cheap pickups cost little. Once it is empty, every card is irreplaceable: the player who hoarded trumps and high cards through the refill phase now cashes them, and a single careless defence can hand the whole game away.
Edge cases and fine print
- Attacks are played one card at a time. Some tables slap down pairs together; here each throw-in is its own play — the effect is identical, since matching cards can always follow singly.
- Throw-in ranks can come from the defence. Any rank showing on the table qualifies, including the cards the defender used to beat earlier attacks.
- Bouts auto-resolve. The moment no legal continuation exists — every attack beaten and no legal throw-in, the attack cap reached, or the defender's hand empty — the bout settles itself. You are never asked to "end" a bout that has only one possible ending.
- A defender who picks up loses the initiative entirely: the same player attacks the very next bout, often into a now-bloated hand.
- The discard is sacred. Beaten-off cards never return and are never shown again — memory of what is gone is a core Durak skill.
- Trumpless first deal: if neither player holds a trump, the lowest card overall decides the first attacker (ties go to you).
- The defender's hand size is snapshotted at bout start. Cards gained or lost during the bout do not change that bout's attack cap.
Variants and house rules
Durak is a family of games. What we host is classic two-player Podkidnoy as documented by pagat.com; notable variants we deliberately do not play:
- No trump-six exchange. Some tables let the holder of the trump 6 swap it for the face-up trump indicator. Pagat lists it as optional, and we leave it out.
- No Perevodnoy (passing) rules. In Passing Durak the defender may deflect an attack by adding a card of the same rank; here the defender always defends.
- No first-bout five-card limit. Some houses cap the very first attack of a game at five cards; ours is six like every other bout (still limited by the defender's hand).
- Two players only. Multiplayer Podkidnoy adds attackers on both sides of the defender; this build is the pure duel.
- 36 cards, not 52. Big-deck Durak exists, but the classic short deck is what makes trumps so precious.
Frequently asked questions
Can you throw in cards in Durak after the defender picks up?
Yes. Once the defender gives up, the attacker may still add cards matching any rank on the table before the pickup happens — up to the bout's normal cap of six attack cards (or the defender's starting hand size, if smaller). Everything thrown in joins the pile the defender takes.
How many cards can be attacked with in one bout of Durak?
At most six — and never more than the defender held when the bout began, counting beaten cards. Attack a defender holding three cards and the bout tops out at three attack cards.
Who draws first from the talon in Durak?
The attacker refills to six first, then the defender. The face-up trump indicator at the bottom of the talon is always the very last card drawn.
Do beaten cards come back into play in Durak?
No. Cards from a beaten-off bout go to the discard and are out of the game permanently. Only a pickup moves table cards anywhere else — into the defender's hand.
Can you play two attack cards at once in Durak?
In this version attacks go down one card at a time. It changes nothing tactically — a pair can always be thrown in as two consecutive singles, since the second card matches the first's rank.
Can the trump six be exchanged for the trump indicator?
Not here. The trump-six exchange is an optional house rule that some tables use and some ban; this version does not play it — the indicator stays put until it is drawn as the last talon card.
What happens if the defender runs out of cards during a bout?
If the defender beats the last attack with their final card, the bout ends immediately as beaten off — no more throw-ins are possible against an empty hand. If the talon is also empty, that defender has won the game (or drawn it, if the attacker is empty too).
Does the loser of a Durak game get anything in the rematch?
Only the worse seat: the fool deals, so the previous winner attacks first and the fool starts the rematch defending. After a draw, the first attacker stays the same as last game.
Related rulebooks
- Idiot rules — shed three layers — don't be the idiot
- President rules — climb from scum to president
- Thirteen rules — climb with pairs and runs — 2s rule
- Switch rules — draw twos, black jacks and wild aces
Last reviewed 2026-08-05 · play Durak online free