1: Deal out the whole deck face down. Hands may differ by a card.One regular 52-card deck. Everyone looks at their own hand.
2: The aim is to be the first player with no cards left.Cards leave your hand face down, onto one pile in the middle of the table.
3: The player on the dealer's left goes first and plays aces.The next player plays 2s, the next 3s, and so on around the table.
4: The rank climbs by one each turn: 10s, jacks, queens, kings, then aces again.Play goes clockwise.
5: On your turn, lay at least one card face down on the pile and say what they are.Say how many and which rank: "two 7s".
6: You may lie. The cards can be anything, whatever you call them.With none of the rank you have to call, you must bluff. Nobody passes.
7: Any player who doubts a play calls "Cheat" before the next player plays.At tables that know the game as I Doubt It, the call is "I doubt it".
8: Turn over the cards just played. Any card not as called: their player takes the whole pile.All as called: the challenger takes the whole pile instead.
9: The next player in turn calls the next rank. The first player out of cards wins.A last play can be challenged like any other.
1: Deal out the whole deck face down. Hands may differ by a card.One regular 52-card deck. Everyone looks at their own hand.
2: The aim is to be the first player with no cards left.Cards leave your hand face down, onto one pile in the middle of the table.
3: The player on the dealer's left goes first and plays aces.The next player plays 2s, the next 3s, and so on around the table.
4: The rank climbs by one each turn: 10s, jacks, queens, kings, then aces again.Play goes clockwise.
5: On your turn, lay at least one card face down on the pile and say what they are.Say how many and which rank: "two 7s".
6: You may lie. The cards can be anything, whatever you call them.With none of the rank you have to call, you must bluff. Nobody passes.
7: Any player who doubts a play calls "Cheat" before the next player plays.At tables that know the game as I Doubt It, the call is "I doubt it".
8: Turn over the cards just played. Any card not as called: their player takes the whole pile.All as called: the challenger takes the whole pile instead.
9: The next player in turn calls the next rank. The first player out of cards wins.A last play can be challenged like any other.
Show all 37 rows (28 more)
Cheat with 2 players 4
1: Two can play the standard game as it stands. Deal the whole deck, 26 cards each.Turns pass back and forth.
2: First time around, one player calls A, 3, 5, 7, 9, J, K and the other 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, Q.Second time around you swap, because there are 13 ranks.
3: Every card you do not hold is in the other hand or in the pile.Hold all four 9s and you know a call of 9s is a bluff.
4: Ours, for a less open game: set 12 cards aside unseen and deal 20 each.Neither of you can then be sure what the other holds.
Variations, each one marked 8
1: These are variations. Say which are in play before the deal.The standard sheet uses none of them.
2: Variation, big table: with five or more players, shuffle two decks together.Eight of each rank are then in play, so a call of up to eight can be true.
3: Variation, counting down: the ranks run ace, king, queen, jack, 10 and on down.Everything else stays as on the standard sheet.
4: Variation, up or down: call the rank one above or one below the last call.After "two 10s" you may call jacks or 9s.
5: Variation, same again: the last rank may be called once more, or one above or below it.After "two 10s" you may call 9s, 10s or jacks.
6: Variation, one card only: every turn is a single card.On the standard sheet a turn is one card or more.
7: Variation, extra cards: you may slip in more cards than you say.Calling "three 8s" over three 8s and a jack is a lie, and a challenge catches it.
8: Variation, show the pile: after a challenge, turn the whole pile face up before it is taken.Everyone sees who bluffed earlier.
I Doubt It, one rank a round 8
1: Another game goes by the name I Doubt It: everyone plays one rank until a challenge.It suits three to six players. Deal each the same count of cards, at least five.
2: The leader plays one card face down and names any rank.The card might be of that rank or not.
3: In turn, each player passes or adds one card face down, claimed to be that rank.Play goes around as often as needed. If the others keep passing, one player may keep adding cards.
4: After any play, any other player may challenge: touch the pile and say "Doubt".Only the top card is turned over.
5: Wrong rank: its player takes the pile and the challenger leads the next round.Right rank: the challenger takes the pile and the challenged player leads.
6: If everyone passes, the pile leaves the game unseen.The last player to add a card leads, and may name a new rank.
7: You win when your turn comes, you hold one card, and it is the rank in play.You also win holding one card when the lead is yours.
8: With two players, add a second challenge, "Force": the player must show a card of the rank.It comes from the hand. Shown: the challenger takes that card and the pile. Not shown: the challenged player takes the pile.
Table rulings 8
1: A challenge has to come before the next player plays. After that the play stands.A slow table can agree on a count of three before the next play (ours).
2: Only the cards just played are turned over, not the pile under them.The pile is picked up as it lies.
3: One wrong card among the cards played makes the whole play a lie.Three true queens and one 6, called as four queens, loses the challenge.
4: After a challenge the order does not change: the next player calls the next rank.It makes no difference who picked up the pile.
5: A player whose last cards are challenged and found false picks up the pile and plays on.They win only when the last play is true, or nobody challenges it.
6: With one deck only four cards of a rank exist, so a call of five is a sure lie.Anyone may challenge it.
7: Two challenges at once (ours): the challenger nearest the player's left takes it.Agree on this before the deal.
8: Uneven hands stay uneven. With three players, one holds 18 cards and two hold 17.Four players hold 13 each.
How this list was compiled: Written for this site on 2026-10-09, in our own words. Cheat is a traditional card game with no governing body, and tables play it in many ways. The standard sheet follows the game as the card game rules site Pagat gives it, https://www.pagat.com/beating/cheat.html, read on 2026-10-09: one regular 52-card deck for 2 to 10 players, all the cards dealt, a turn of one or more cards played face down and called as the next rank up from the last call (aces, then 2s, on to kings and back to aces), no need for the cards to be what they are called, a challenge by any player, the cards just played turned up, the pile taken by the player if any card is not as called and by the challenger if all are, play going on in the same order with the next rank, and the win going to the first player out of cards whose last play survives any challenge. English Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, Cheat (game): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheat_(game), read the same day, lists the game for 3 to 10 players and adds that the player on the dealer's left usually starts, that players say how many cards they play, that a challenge is too late once the next player has played, and that five or more players generally shuffle two decks together. On the variation sheet, two decks, counting down, up or down, the same rank again and extra cards are in Pagat; one card a turn and showing the whole pile are in Wikipedia. The sheet I Doubt It, one rank a round, is the separate game on https://www.pagat.com/beating/doubt.html, read the same day, with its extra challenge for two players. The two-player order of ranks, the hand sizes and what a call of five or eight means are counted from a 52-card deck. Rows marked ours are this site's own suggestions and are not official. Both sources also give the game's common American name, a swear word, which this page does not print. Nothing here is played for money. Licence: own work
How it works
Cheat, also called I Doubt It, is a bluffing card game for two to ten players and a regular deck. Ranks are called in order, aces first, so a player with none of the rank due has to lie.
Read the full guide
How to play Cheat: one challenge, start to finish
Say it is your turn to play 7s and you hold none. You slide two cards face down onto the pile and say "two 7s". Someone calls "Cheat" and turns them over: a 4 and a jack, so the whole pile is yours. Two real 7s, and the challenger would have taken it.
How to play Cheat card game with 2 players
Two play the standard game as it stands, 26 cards each. Cheat with 2 players, in the menu under Print this list, has the order the ranks fall in and a version with cards set aside. For five or more, Variations, each one marked has the game with two decks.
Look at your own hand before you challenge: with one deck, hold three kings and a call of two kings has to be a bluff.
Questions and answers
How do you play the card game Cheat?
Deal out the deck. In turn, players put one or more cards face down and call them as aces, then 2s, then 3s and so on, truthfully or not. Anyone may challenge, and whoever is wrong picks up the pile. First out of cards wins.
Can you play more than one card in Cheat card game?
Yes. A turn is one card or more, all called as the same rank, and you say how many. With one deck, a call of up to four can be true. Some tables allow a single card a turn, as a variation.
Can you play I Doubt It card game with only 2 people?
Yes. The game where the rank climbs each turn is given for two to ten players, though some sources start at three. The other game of that name, where everyone plays one rank, needs a second challenge, "Force", for two.
How many cards do you deal in Cheat?
All of them. The whole deck is dealt, so four players hold 13 cards each, and hands may differ by a card. With five or more players, many tables shuffle two decks together.