How to play Bullshit

If you think you have the world’s worst poker face, it might worthwhile practicing in a game devoted entirely to bluffing. Bullshit is a card game to teach those to bluff their way to the top and even learn the skill to pick when someone else is bluffing.

Also known as ‘Cheat’, ‘I Doubt It’, ‘Bollocks’ and more novelty names, all meaning to trick someone or catch them tricking you, Bullshit is a great game to play with family and friends in order to learn how and when to bluff and learn how to spot someone else bluffing. There are also variants all around the world so you can play the different rules to mix things up and ultimately master the art of bluffing.

What is bluffing?

Bluffing is as it says it is in the dictionary – the art of deceiving someone. In terms of card games, bluffing enables players to make others think their hand is a lot stronger than it is.

There are two strategies to bluffing: knowing when to bluff and knowing when someone else is bluffing. If you bluff too much then people start to call you out and you end up losing consistently. In Bullshit, you successfully pull off a bluff if you get away with lying about what you have in a hand you have placed down in the middle of the table and no one calls you out.

Learning how to properly do this will help you pull a bluff off in other card games like poker, which is successful when your opponents fold.

Additionally, bluffing needs to be based on betting history. Players don’t forget cards that have been placed down in Bullshit just as they don’t forget hands that have been played in poker, so if you are going to bluff ensure it is believable. By practicing the art of bluffing with the game Bullshit, you will be able to perfect your bluffing strategy in no time, without risking real money.

How to play bullshit

Bullshit is quite a simple game to learn and be picked up quickly. These are the standard rules, but many play with varying rules so be sure to read these carefully if you are playing online, or decide before you start if you are playing at home with a group. Some have rules which encourage you to bluff more; this doesn’t mean you necessarily should. As mentioned above, if you bluff too much, people will begin to notice and you will start getting called out which won’t come in handy when you are playing other card games like poker with real AUD money.

Objective of the card game bullshit

Be the first player to get rid of all your cards by either bluffing or calling bluffers out. Runner ups are sometimes declared so the game can continue once the first winner has been determined.

Bullshit rules

Bullshit is generally played from one deck of 52 cards, right up to five decks. Depending on what variant you play all of the jokers are left in and are used as wilds, but some rules see the jokers removed. The dealer then deals all the cards to each play and the first player, which can depend on certain rules such as a specific card in some variants, begins the round.

Each player puts a number of cards facing down in the middle of the table which is known as the discarded pile and says what the cards are. Here, they can either bluff and say that they have something which they actually do not, or they can tell the truth, and it is up to everyone else individually to decide whether or not the player in question is telling the truth.

For example, if a player who is placing two cards down has one four and one two, but say they are both fours when they are placed down, they are bullshitting. Each player has to decide for themselves, without consulting other players, if they are lying. If they do think they are bullshitting they must call out ‘Bullshit’. The cards the player has faced down are then turned over and if the player who called bullshit was correct, the player who tried to trick everyone takes all the cards that are in the discarded pile in the middle of the table.

If the player who called bullshit was wrong however, they have to take the pile of discarded cards. Once this has been resolved, or if no one says anything, gameplay continues. The first player to get rid of all their cards wins and games can be continued to determine runner ups.

Variants of the card game Bullshit

Bullshit is played all over the world but of course cultures make it their own. We have compiled some of the most popular variations around the globe for you to try yourself.

British Bullshit – This variant is known as Cheat in Britain and follows the same gameplay as Bullshit but other rules can be broken other than just lying about what cards the players have put down. For example, dealers can deal cards and give themselves less cards to everyone else, as long as they don’t get noticed. If they do get noticed the dealer has to re-deal. Players can also include extra cards when placing their cards down to get rid of their hand quicker but this means there are more chances to being caught. Another rule players can perform is to attempt to steal the next round after someone has been challenged by pretending it was their go, which is a good idea as there isn’t a pile of cards they are risking when being the first to place cards down.

Canadian and Spanish Bullshit – Known as Bluff instead of Bullshit, sees strict rules and is known to Australians as ‘Fourshit’ when playing with a single deck and ‘Eightshit’ when playing with two decks. Two decks are commonly used and it is up to the players if jokers want to be used. Dealers can deal more cards to certain players and the first player is picked by however the players wish to decide it in the Canadian version while the Spanish title sees the person with the highest card being the first to play. The main object of these versions isn’t really to win, rather to just not to be the loser with the most cards.

What is Verish’ Ne Verish? – The Verish’ Ne Verish, which means ‘Trust or Don’t Trust’ in English, is one of the most common variants of Bullshit and originates from Russia. All cards are dealt evenly and the player can pick any cards and place from one to three of those cards down, stating what they have placed down. The next player can either call out the previous player by saying ‘ne veryu’ which means ‘I don’t trust’ and the cards are revealed, or state ‘veryu’ meaning ‘I trust’ and continue playing their hand. If they don’t trust and they are wrong they pick up the pile if they are right the player who tricked everyone picks the cards up. If the game continues the next player must put down the same card in terms of rank value as the previous player’s card, of one to three cards, and can either lie or tell the truth. If the player doesn’t want to lie and has no cards of the same rank then they can say skip. There is a variant of this game where when someone says ‘ne veryu’ they can turn over just one of the cards they are challenging and if it isn’t the rank of which the player is claiming it to be then the player loses.

Other Bullshit Variants

Other versions include Hawaiian Bluff and Indian Bluff. The Hawaiian title sees the deck dealt the same as the standard game, but the difference is a player can challenge another player no matter who is in play and even if they have moved on. Players can also bluff to incredulous amounts, for example saying that there is 14 kings on the table. Indian Bluff is similar but they have the ‘I believe’ option once a player has placed their cards and stated what they have which sees the game move at a quicker pace.

Can I play Bullshit online?

Currently there are no available bullshit titles available at any of our recommended online casinos so you can’t play for real money. There are multiple places where you can play Bullshit for free but it is generally called Cheat or ‘I doubt it’ online and there isn’t any way you can win money. However, we recommend playing if you aren’t any good at tricking opponents into think you have a stronger hand than you do when playing poker as it teaches when and how to bluff effectively.