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The 80-card Hoşkin deck, card order, and values
Learn the four copies, five ranks, strength order, card-point values, and five-card deal packets used in Hoşkin.
The Hoşkin deck differs from a standard 52-card deck. Each suit contains only ace, ten, king, queen, and jack, with four copies of each card for a total of 80. That structure explains both repeated high cards and the declaration possibilities.
Four suits and five ranks
Spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs each contain A, 10, K, Q, and J. Four suits × five ranks × four copies gives 80 cards. Copies look alike, but each has a unique identity in the rules engine.
Trick-taking strength
From strongest to weakest, the order is ace, ten, king, queen, jack. The ten therefore sits above the king, unlike the habits many other card games create. Within a suit, A beats 10 and 10 beats K. A legally played trump can beat a non-trump suit.
Card-point values
Cards won in tricks score ace 11, ten 10, king 4, queen 3, and jack 2. Strength and point value use the same rank order. Winning a trick grants both the lead and the value carried by its four cards.
Five-card packets
The canonical packet size is five. Four passes to each of four players produce 20 cards per player and exhaust all 80 cards. In a private online room, randomness and secrecy are server responsibilities; each client receives only its own hand.
What four copies change
Four identical copies are different from collecting one rank across all suits. Rank sets require all four suits, while Pinik counts specific queen-of-spades and jack-of-diamonds pairs. Use the declaration table rather than visual similarity to decide what is valid.
Once the deck structure is familiar, you can read both trick strength and declaration potential more accurately. Remember the ace–ten priority and the presence of four copies before moving to bidding.