29 Card Game Points: Card Values and Ranking, With a Chart

29 card game · 12 Oct 2026 · 2 min read · By Saj, Qrenzy Digital Solutions

If you are learning 29, the first thing to memorise is which cards carry points and which card beats which. It feels strange at first, because the Jack and the Nine outrank the Ace. After two or three hands it becomes second nature.

The ranking (highest to lowest)

In every suit, the cards rank like this:

How many points are in the pack?

Each suit holds 3 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 7 points. Four suits make 28 points. Some older tables add one point for winning the last round, which is where the name 29 comes from, but most players today play with 28.

Twenty of the 28 points sit in eight cards

The four Jacks (12 points) and four Nines (8 points) hold 20 of the 28 points. That's why good players count them as they fall. If you know that the Jack of hearts is gone, your Nine of hearts is now the top heart.

How points decide a hand

At the end of the hand, each team adds up the points in the rounds it won. If the bidding team reached its bid (for example 18), it wins the hand. If not, it loses. The exact margin doesn't matter: winning with 18 or with 28 counts the same, unless the hand was doubled.

Quick memory trick

Say it as a chant: "Jack-Nine-Ace-Ten, then the picture cards, then the small ones." And for points: "3-2-1-1, the rest are none."

Example round

Spades are led. The four cards played are K♠, 9♠, 10♠ and 7♠. The Nine is highest, so its player wins the round and takes 2 (Nine) + 1 (Ten) = 3 points. If the trump had been shown and someone without spades had played even a 7 of trumps, that trump would have won instead.

Want the complete rules? See the 29 card game rules page.

Practice: count these rounds

Round 4 holds a whole suit's worth of points. Rounds like that decide hands, which is why players save their Tens and Aces for a round their partner is sure to win.

🃏 Try it now: play the 29 card game free in your browser, no download, no money.

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