Description

Despite its American inspired name, Chicago has its roots in Sweden and is one of the most popular traditional card games in the country. It has an endless number of variations, so the summary below will deal with the most common rules in use today.

Chicago is played with a standard deck of 52 cards. The object of the game is to score points by having the best poker hand. Each poker hand is assigned a point value (p), as follows:

1p — One Pair: Two cards of the same rank (e.g.: A, 10, 10, 6, 2).
2p — Two Pair: Two pairs of different ranks (e.g.: K, K, J, 4, 4).
3p — Three of a Kind: Three cards of the same rank (e.g.: Q, Q, Q, 9, 6).
4p — Straight: Five cards in rank sequence (e.g.: J, 10, 9, 8, 7).
5p — Flush: Five cards of the same suit (e.g.: A, J, 10, 7, 3; all diamonds).
6p — Full House: Three of a kind in one rank and a pair in a different rank (e.g.: Q, Q, Q, 9, 9).
7p — Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank (e.g.: J, J, J, J, 8).
9p — Straight Flush: A straight with all cards of the same suit (e.g.: J, 10, 9, 8, 7; all diamonds).

Points are also awarded for taking the last trick of each round (5 points), or for scoring a "Chicago" by taking all five tricks of the round (15 or 25 points, must be declared by calling "Chicago" before any trick is played).

The first player to reach a pre-determined number of points (typically 50, 52, or 100) wins the game.

Common scoring variants include awarding an automatic "Chicago" for a holder of a straight flush instead of the normal points awarded for that hand at the end of the round. Others award points equal to the game goal (50, 52, or 100) if the straight flush is also "Royal" (meaning, ranks A, K, Q, J, 10).

Playing a round

Each player (including the dealer) is dealt 5 cards after which 3 phases follow. Before each phase, the players are allowed to discard any unwanted cards face down to the central playing area and are dealt an equal number of replacement cards.

First and Second Phase

Each player may now declare any poker hand which they hold (honor system). Highest hand scores points according to the value of the poker hand combination. The other players do not score. In the case of a tie, highest card used to score the hand wins (highest triple in the event of a full house). If still tied, highest non-scoring card breaks the tie. If still tied, each tied player scores full points.

Variant: If you scored a poker hand, but discard at least one of the scoring cards before the next phase, you must simply announce that you are "not keeping" your hand.

Third Phase

The player to the left of the dealer leads out by playing a card in front of themselves. Each other player must follow suit, if able. The winner of the trick leads out the following trick, and so on.

It is important for all players to keep their own cards separated from other player cards. All played cards should be clearly visible to all players.

At the beginning of the first trick, and only during the first trick, before a player has played their card, they may call "Chicago". Should this happen, all players gather any cards they played back into their hand (as applicable) and the player who called "Chicago" will lead out instead. In order to score a successful "Chicago", all five tricks must be won, no exceptions.

Round Scoring

The winner of the fifth and last trick scores 5 points (variant: score 10 points if you won the trick with a 2). As was done during the first two phases, the best poker hand also scores. If a successful "Chicago" was played, no other points are scored. A failed "Chicago" instead results in the caller receiving a score penalty equal to the points normally awarded (-15 or -25 points). A cumulative negative score is possible.

At the end of scoring, if any player has reached the pre-determined final score, the game ends. Otherwise, or in the event of a tie, play continues. Deal passes to the left. The entire deck is re-shuffled before the initial deal each round.