How to Play Sergeant Major (3-5-8): Card Game Rules & Interactive Tutorial

Sergeant Major is a 3-player "trick-taking" card game in the Whist group, also known as three-five-eight.

If you enjoy the strategy of "shooting the moon" in the card game Hearts, you may find Sergeant Major similarly entertaining. In Sergeant Major, you will be trying to take as many tricks as you can.

Below you'll find a brief description of the game, along with a comprehensive set of rules. If you're looking for a more interactive way to learn the game, check out our interactive tutorial above. It will walk you through the game in more detail and give you tips on how to win.

Once you know the rules, it's time to Play Sergeant Major Online. At World of Card Games, you can play against the computer or against people from all over the world.

So grab your deck, and get ready to march into battle as we unveil the secrets of this underrated classic. Sergeant Major, your mission begins now!

Rank of cards

Cards are ranked from Ace (highest) down to 2 (lowest).

Objective

The objective is to be the first player to take 12 tricks in a round.

Deal

A random player is chosen to be the dealer.

Each player is dealt a hand of 16 cards from a standard deck of 52 cards. The remaining 4 cards form a "kitty" and are placed to one side.

Players are assigned a target number of tricks that they must take. The dealer's target is 8, the player to the left of the dealer has a target of 5, and the player to the right of the dealer has a target of 3.

Choose Trump

The dealer picks a "trump" suit: clubs, spades, hearts, or diamonds. Cards with the trump suit outrank cards of all other suits.

Next, the dealer chooses 4 cards to discard and then takes the cards from the kitty.

Play

The player who is left of the dealer leads the trick by playing a card first. Turns are taken in clockwise order, each player "following suit" by playing a card of the same suit as the first card, if possible.

Once everyone has played a card, the pile of 3 cards is taken by the person who played the highest card with the same suit as the lead card. This is known as "winning a trick".

If a player does not have a card with the same suit as the lead card, they may play any card. Cards with the trump suit are special - they override the rank of other cards. If a card in the trump suit is played on the trick, then the highest trump suit card will win the trick.

The trick winner starts the next trick.

Exchange

When all cards have been played, the deal moves clockwise, and a new set of cards are dealt to each player.

If a player did not take their target number of tricks in the previous round, then they are said to have "under-tricked." Players who have met more than their target number of tricks are called "over-trickers," and are given an advantage.

Discard and Play

After the exchange, the dealer calls trump, discards four cards, and takes the four cards from the kitty.

If the dealer under-tricked, they would have exchanged one or more high cards with an over-tricker. If they find higher cards in the kitty that are of the same suit as those exchanged with an over-tricker, they must show the over-tricker those cards that are higher in rank than those that were traded.

After showing any such cards, play begins. The first card is played by the person who is left of the dealer, as before.

Game End

The first player to take 12 tricks (or more) during a round wins!

History

Sergeant Major was reportedly popular among members of Britain's Royal Air Force, where it was commonly called "Sergeant Major."

Helpful Links

Pagat.com Sergeant Major (3-5-8) Page

T
hearts

Hearts

Win rounds by being the first to get rid of your cards in this colorful card classic.

Play Hearts
Tables
  • Browse tables
  • Host table
  • Join private table
  • Join ranked table
Practice
  • Play bots
  • Tutorial
hearts

Spades

Win rounds by being the first to get rid of your cards in this colorful card classic.

Play Spades
Tables
  • Browse tables
  • Host table
  • Join private table
  • Join ranked table
Practice
  • Play bots
  • Tutorial
hearts

Euchre

Win rounds by being the first to get rid of your cards in this colorful card classic.

Play Euchre
Tables
  • Browse tables
  • Host table
  • Join private table
  • Join ranked table
Practice
  • Play bots
  • Tutorial
hearts

Gin Rummy

Win rounds by being the first to get rid of your cards in this colorful card classic.

Play Gin Rummy
Tables
  • Browse tables
  • Host table
  • Join private table
  • Join ranked table
Practice
  • Play bots
  • Tutorial
hearts

Double Deck Pinochle

Win rounds by being the first to get rid of your cards in this colorful card classic.

Play Double Deck Pinochle
Tables
  • Browse tables
  • Host table
  • Join private table
  • Join ranked table
Practice
  • Play bots
  • Tutorial
hearts

Pinochle

TODO

Play Pinochle
Tables
  • Browse tables
  • Host table
  • Join private table
  • Join ranked table
Practice
  • Play bots
  • Tutorial
hearts

Go Fish

Double the deck and fun in this 4-player, 80-card challenge.

Play Go Fish
Tables
  • Browse tables
  • Host table
  • Join private table
  • Join ranked table
Practice
  • Play bots
  • Tutorial
hearts

Twenty-Nine

Win rounds by being the first to get rid of your cards in this colorful card classic.

Play Twenty-Nine
Tables
  • Browse tables
  • Host table
  • Join private table
  • Join ranked table
Practice
  • Play bots
  • Tutorial
hearts

Sergeant Major

Win rounds by being the first to get rid of your cards in this colorful card classic.

Play Sergeant Major
Tables
  • Browse tables
  • Host table
  • Join private table
  • Join ranked table
Practice
  • Play bots
  • Tutorial
hearts

Solitaire

Challenge yourself with a classic game of Solitaire, Spider or FreeCell.

Play Solitaire
Games
Server down for maintenance in:  
YouGlobally
Games Played:
Games Finished:
Games Abandoned:
Games Won (absolute):
Games Lost (absolute):
Average Game Length:
Total Playtime:
Your Absolute Win Ratio:No wins or losses.
Your Relative Win Ratio:No wins or losses.

Most Played Games

help