Completely free · runs in your browser, nothing to install
PlayersFour, each playing alone
CardsTwo decks and two jokers — 106 cards, fourteen in each hand
Match goalThe lowest total after five rounds
About the game
Hand is a rummy game and a close relative of Kankan. You build sets of one rank and runs of consecutive cards in one suit, drawing one card and discarding another every turn. Two jokers join the deck and stand in for any card, completing melds that would otherwise wait for a card that never comes.
A match lasts five rounds and the scoring runs backwards. Going out first takes points off your total, every card left in the other hands counts against its owner, and anyone who never laid down pays a hundred. Speed pays, waiting with a heavy hand costs, and a hand, going out in a single turn, doubles everyone else.
Basic Hand rules
Four players using two full decks and two jokers, 106 cards in all.
Fourteen cards each, and the starting player takes fifteen and opens with a discard. The starting seat rotates every round.
On your turn draw from the stock or take the top discard, then lay down or add to melds on the table, then discard one card. Taking the discard means you must lay down that turn.
A meld is either a set of three or four cards of the same rank, or a run of three or more consecutive cards in one suit.
The opening rule: your first laydown must total at least fifty-one points. Aces count eleven, court cards ten, and every other card its number.
A joker replaces any card in a meld and counts as that card. Whoever places the real card in its spot takes the joker into hand, and in a set made of two cards and a joker both missing cards are needed.
Round scoring: the player who goes out scores minus thirty, players who opened score the cards left in hand with a joker at fifteen, and players who never opened score one hundred.
A hand, going out in a single turn without having laid down before, scores minus sixty and doubles the points of the other three.
After five rounds the lowest total wins the match.
How to play Hand on Balotk
Open the app in your browser and create a free account, or come in as a guest.
Choose Hand on the home screen and start quick play, which seats you with players online now and fills any empty seat with a bot.
Draw from the stock or the discard pile, then select the cards that form a set or a run and lay them down. The app refuses an opening below 51 before it is sent.
To take a joker from the table, select the card it stands for and then the meld it sits in.
After each round the points and running totals appear, and after the fifth the winner is announced.
Frequently asked questions
Is Hand free to play on Balotk?
Yes, Hand needs no subscription and no payment, and it runs in your browser with nothing to install. Chips in the app are play tokens with no cash value.
What is the difference between Hand and Kankan?
Hand is Kankan with two jokers, played over five rounds where every player is charged for the cards left in hand and the lowest total wins. Kankan is a single round won by whoever empties their hand first.
What is a joker worth in Hand?
On the table it counts as the card it replaces, including toward your fifty-one opening. If it is still in your hand when the round ends it costs you fifteen points.
What does going out with a hand mean?
It means laying down your whole hand and going out in one turn without having laid anything down before. You score minus sixty instead of minus thirty, and the other three players have their points doubled.
How many rounds are in a Hand match?
Five rounds, with the starting seat moving each round. Points add up across the match and the lowest total after the fifth round wins.
One site for Baloot, Jackaroo, Ludo and more
Looking for the best site for online card and board games? Balotk brings nine of them together: Saudi Baloot, Jackaroo, Ludo, dominoes, Last Card, Kankan, Hand, Estimation and Bridge. Open it in your browser and play — no download, no waiting.
Play Baloot, dominoes and Last Card with your friends in one place: open a table and invite whoever you like, or let matchmaking find players for you. And if you want to know how to play Jackaroo or Kankan online, every game has its full rules on its own page.
Ready for a table?
Open the game in your browser and the table starts immediately, with no waiting.