What is the difference between Single Sir and Double Sir?

In Single Sir every trick goes to its winner straight away. In Double Sir tricks stay in the middle until one player wins two in a row.

Does a pile ever stay uncollected?

No. Whoever wins the last trick collects anything still in the middle, so every trick ends up with one team.

Is Double Sir the same as Dehla Pakad?

Dehla Pakad is the most common way to play Double Sir: you collect tricks the Double Sir way and win by capturing tens.

Double Sir: rules for winning two in a row

Also called Do Sir, Double Sar, Dehla Pakad

Double Sir, also called Do Sir, changes one rule of Court Piece and transforms the game. A trick isn't yours when you win it; it joins a pile in the middle that only someone who wins two tricks in a row can collect.

We play Double Sir with Dehla Pakad scoring: the team that collects the most tens wins the round.

Play Dehla Pakad free →

Where the name Double Sir comes from

Sir (or sar) is a common word for a trick in this game family, so Double Sir means two tricks: the two you need in a row to collect the pile.

How to play Double Sir

Players, teams and cards

Four players play in two fixed partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other. A standard 52-card deck is used, with no jokers.

Cards rank from high to low: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Play passes anti-clockwise round the table, as it traditionally does in India and Pakistan.

Dealing in two stages

The dealer shuffles and gives every player 5 cards.
Trump is decided by looking at those 5 cards only, before anyone sees the rest of their hand.
The dealer then deals the remaining 8 cards each, so everyone holds 13.

Playing a trick

The player who decided trump leads the first trick. After that, whoever won the last trick leads.
Everyone must follow suit if they can.
A player with no card of the led suit may play any card, including a trump. Playing a trump like this is called cutting (katna).
The highest trump wins the trick. If no trump was played, the highest card of the led suit wins.

Calling trump

There is no bidding. The player after the dealer looks at their first 5 cards and names the trump suit, then leads the first trick once all 13 cards have been dealt.

The pile in the middle (Double Sir)

Finished tricks are not picked up straight away. They stay face down in a pile in the middle of the table.
When the same player wins two tricks in a row, they take the whole pile for their team.
Partners do not combine: if you win one trick and your partner wins the next, the pile stays in the middle.
Whoever wins the 13th and last trick takes whatever is still in the middle.

Winning a round: capture the tens

The four 10s (dehlas) decide the round. A team that captures 3 or 4 of them wins. If each team has two, the team that captured more tricks wins.

Capturing all four tens is a Kot, the biggest win in the game.

Winning the game

Each round won is worth one point, and Kots are counted separately for bragging rights. The first team to win 7 rounds wins the game. If the dealer's team loses a round, the same dealer deals again.

Double Sir FAQ

What is the difference between Single Sir and Double Sir?: In Single Sir every trick goes to its winner straight away. In Double Sir tricks stay in the middle until one player wins two in a row.
Does a pile ever stay uncollected?: No. Whoever wins the last trick collects anything still in the middle, so every trick ends up with one team.
Is Double Sir the same as Dehla Pakad?: Dehla Pakad is the most common way to play Double Sir: you collect tricks the Double Sir way and win by capturing tens.

Play Dehla Pakad free →