Pitch (card game)

Pitch (or "high low jack") is an American trick-taking game equivalent to the British blind all fours which, in turn, is derived from the classic all fours (US: seven up). Historically, pitch started as "blind all fours", a very simple all fours variant that is still played in England as a pub game.^[1] The modern game involving a bidding phase and setting back a party's score if the bid is not reached came up in the middle of the 19th century and is more precisely known as auction pitch or setback.

Whereas all fours began as a two-player game, pitch is most popular for three to five players.^[2] Four can play individually or in fixed partnerships, depending in part on regional preferences.^[3] Auction pitch is played in numerous variations that vary the deck used, provide methods for improving players hands, or expand the scoring system. Some of these variants gave rise to new games such as Pedro, Pedro Sancho, Dom Pedro or Cinch.