Loo

The old English pool game. Three cards, three tricks, a third of the pool for each. Play and take none, and you’re looed. 3–7 players.

Also known as Three-Card Loo and Lanterloo.

Who To Play With

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bots

How to play Loo

  1. 1Play chips only. Everyone starts with 100 chips. Before each hand the dealer puts 3 chips into the pool. Everyone gets three cards, and the next card is turned face up: its suit is trump for the hand.
  2. 2If the pool holds only the dealer's 3 chips, the hand is a single and everyone must play. Otherwise a spare hand, the miss, is dealt face down in the middle, and starting left of the dealer each player chooses: play, drop out, or swap their hand for the miss (only one player may, and they must then play). If everyone drops before the dealer, the dealer takes the pool; if only one player is left in, they take it.
  3. 3Play three tricks, starting left of the dealer. Aces are high. To the first trick, whoever holds the ace of trumps (the king, if the ace was turned up) must lead it; otherwise a player with two or more trumps must lead one. Whoever wins a trick must lead a trump to the next one if they can.
  4. 4You must follow suit and beat the best card of that suit so far if you can (unless the trick has been trumped). If you can't follow, you must play a trump, beating any trump already played if you can. Only with neither may you play anything. The highest trump wins, or else the highest card of the suit led.
  5. 5Each trick takes a third of the pool. Anyone who played and took no trick is looed: they pay as many chips as the pool held into the next pool. If nobody is looed, the next hand is a single.
  6. 6The game ends after 12 hands, or when only one player has chips left. On the last hand, what's left in the pool goes to the trick takers. Most chips wins; run out and you're out of the game.

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