Playcard games

Hokm: questions and answers

Short answers to the questions people ask most about Hokm. Everything else is in the full rules.

What is the hakem in Hokm?
The ruler: the player who names the trump suit and leads the first trick. On the first hand the hakem is chosen by turning cards face up one at a time until someone gets an ace.
How many cards does the hakem see before choosing trumps?
Five. The hakem is dealt five cards, names the trump suit from those alone, and only then is the rest of the deal completed — eight more cards to everyone, thirteen each.
Do you have to trump if you cannot follow suit?
No. You must follow the suit that was led if you can. If you cannot, you may play anything, a trump or a card of another suit. The highest trump wins the trick, otherwise the highest card of the suit led.
How many tricks do you need to win a hand?
Seven. The first partnership to seven tricks wins the hand at once, and the remaining cards are not played. Hands often end around the ninth trick.
What is a kot?
Winning seven tricks before the other side takes a single one. It is worth two points instead of one. Some tables give a kot against the hakem's side even more; the table here counts every kot as two.
Who is hakem in the next hand?
If the hakem's side won the hand, the same player stays hakem. If they lost, the role passes to the opponent on the hakem's right. A strong hakem can keep it all evening.
How many points is a game of Hokm?
Usually seven: one point per hand and two for a kot. Shorter games to five are also common.
What is the difference between Hokm and Court Piece?
They are the same game from Iran and Pakistan. In Court Piece the first trump caller is the player to the dealer's right rather than whoever gets the first ace, the deal comes in batches of four, and a side that wins the first seven tricks plays on for all thirteen to make a kot.