Durak

Durak means fool in Russian. In the common Podkidnoy form, players attack a defender with one or more cards, and the defender beats each card with a higher card of the same suit or with a trump. A failed defense picks up the attack. The goal is to shed every card after the stock runs out; the last player holding cards is the durak. This practice version focuses on the attack and defense decision.

1. Use the face-up trump suit to compare cards. A trump beats every non-trump suit.
2. Attack with a card from your hand. The defender must beat it or pick it up.
3. Defend a plain-suit card with a higher card of that suit, or defend it with a trump.
4. If the defense succeeds, clear the bout and attack again. If it fails, take the cards.
5. Keep reducing your hand. After the talon is exhausted, the last player with cards loses.

• The usual Podkidnoy pack has 36 cards, from 6 through Ace, and six cards are dealt to each player.
• The lowest trump often determines the first attacker in table play.
• Additional attacks may use ranks already present in the bout, up to the defender's hand size.
• A trump can beat a non-trump card, but a plain suit cannot beat a trump with a higher rank.
• Durak has a loser rather than a winner: the final player with cards is the fool.

• Lead low cards when you want to test the defense without spending a trump.
• Count the trumps that appear. A short trump supply changes the value of every plain card.
• Keep a high plain card when the opponent may attack with the same suit.
• When defending, compare the cost of taking the pile with the cost of spending a trump.
• Attack with matching ranks when you have support, since the defender may need to beat several cards.

• Prostoy Durak: The simple form changes the attack patterns and commonly deals five cards rather than using throw-in attacks.
• Perevodnoy Durak: The defender may transfer an attack by playing the same rank and passing the defense to the next player.

• Durak gives every card a clear job, so a short hand still creates real decisions.
• The browser layout keeps the active cards visible while the rules stay easy to check.
• Fast restarts make it simple to test a different opening, bid, or bluff.

Play Durak online free on this page. The table uses virtual cards only, with no download and no real-money play. Start a hand, read the prompt, and use the controls below the cards.

The best way to learn Durak is to play a hand while checking each decision against the rules. Start another deal after the first, change one part of your plan, and watch how the result changes.

• Pagat Podkidnoy Durak rules
• Pagat card game rules archive