How to Play Chinese Spit

Setting up Your Hand

Split a deck of cards in half. Cut the deck down the middle or deal the cards individually between yourself and your opponent in an alternating fashion. Most versions of Spit, including Chinese Spit, are designed to be played by 2 people. Each player will start with 26 cards. Shuffle the deck thoroughly before you begin dealing. Don't forget to remove the Jokers from the deck.

Arrange cards into growing stacks of 1 up to 5 face down in front of you. Make sure each stack contains the same number of cards as its position on the table. In other words, you'll place 1 card in the first stack, 2 cards in the second stack, 3 in the third, and so on. Both players will lay out their own set of stacks rather than playing from same stack. The object of each round of play is to successfully sort all of the cards in your hand into 2 middle stacks which will be turned over at the start of the game.

Flip over the top card in each stack. There will now be 5 cards lying face-up across the stacks. These stacks will serve as your hand during the game. Each player should still be holding a total of 11 cards. Only the top card on the stack should be face-up. You’ll turn over the rest of the cards in the stack individually as you play to keep the game fast-paced and unpredictable.

Set your remaining cards face down in a reserve pile to your right. You’ll draw new cards from your reserve pile throughout the game. Each player should have their own pile of reserve cards located on their righthand side in the middle of the table, between the 2 sets of hands. Leave enough room between the reserve piles to fit 2 more cards for when you begin playing. Most games are played with the reserve piles resting on the table. If you prefer, you can also hold your reserve pile in one hand once the game starts. Just make sure you keep the cards face-down!

Getting Rid of Cards

Turn over the top 2 cards from your reserve piles simultaneously. Place the 2 cards face-up beside one another in the center of the table between your respective reserve piles. These cards are known as the Spit cards. Once you've turned over the Spit cards, the game will officially begin. To keep things fair, be sure to flip your Spit cards at the same time. You might even perform a quick countdown to prevent either player from getting an unfair head start. The values of the Spit cards will determine which of the cards in your individual hand you can play at a given time.

Draw cards one high or low of the Spit cards from your hand. You can only play a card if it’s one value higher or lower than one of the cards in the middle of the table. If one of the Spit cards is a 3, for example, your only option is to play a 2 or a 4. You must select playable cards from your hand one at a time.

Place the cards on top of the 2 Spit cards as fast as you can. Once you've drawn a card from the top of one of the 5 stacks in your hand, lay it on the Spit card with the corresponding value. There are no turns in Spit, which means it will be a mad dash to beat your opponent to the punch! If neither player is able to make a play, turn over 2 new Spit cards from your reserve piles and try again. Suits make no difference in Spit—only the number values of the cards matter.

Replenish your top cards from the remaining cards in your hand. Each time you put down one of the face-up cards from the top of your hand, flip over the card beneath it to prepare for your next play. If you happen to run out cards in one of your stacks entirely, replace them with the top card from one of the fuller stacks, making sure you then turn over the top card in that stack. Remember to keep 5 face-up cards in your hand at all times. Forgetting to turn over a new card will slow down your next play.

Turn over 2 new Spit cards when neither of you can make a play. When you both run out of cards to place on the middle stacks, the game will abruptly come to a halt. At this point, you’ll both draw a new card from your respective reserve piles, flip it over, and continue playing. Just like at the beginning of the game, it’s important that you both turn over your new Spit cards at the same time. It’s possible to get “stuck” several times in a single round, so be prepared to stop and reset your Spit cards as often as needed.

Winning the Game

Slap the smaller of the 2 Spit stacks when you run out of cards. After you put down the last card in your hand, reach out quickly and place your hand over whichever stack you think is the smallest. The one you slap is the one you’ll use in the next round of play. As a result, the other player will be stuck with the larger stack. Be careful not to get in such a rush that you accidentally slap the larger stack, or you’ll immediately lose your advantage!

Add your reserve pile to the cards you’re holding and start a new round. Gather up the cards sitting face-down on your righthand side and shuffle them into the Spit stack you just claimed. Then, set up a new game the same way you did the first. You’ll both still have 5 individual stacks making up your hand—this time, only the number of cards in your reserve piles will be different. If you don’t have the full 15 cards needed to build your stacks, set them up as completely as you can and proceed to play like normal. The idea is to keep playing games back-to-back with hands of varying sizes until one player manages to discard all of their cards.

Keep playing until one player has no cards left. That player is the winner. If neither player can make a play with the cards remaining in their hand, the player with the smaller hand wins. When played correctly, a typical game of Spit is over in a flash. Try playing a 2-out-of-3 or 3-out-of-5 series of games to keep the fun going and declare an ultimate winner.