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Pişti is Turkey's favourite fishing card game. Play onto a shared pile and sweep it with a card of the same rank or a Jack — and if the pile holds a single card when you match it, that's a pişti worth ten points. Remember what has been played to lay safe cards and set up your own sweeps against the computer.
A normal 52-card deck is used. Four cards are dealt to the middle as the starting pile — only the top one is face up — and each player gets four cards. You take turns playing one card from your hand onto the pile.
If the card you play has the same rank as the card on top of the pile, you take the whole pile. A Jack takes the pile whatever is on top. Otherwise your card simply goes on top and the pile grows. Cards in your hand that would take the pile are outlined in gold.
Taking a pile that holds only one card, by matching its rank, is called a pişti and earns a 10-point bonus; a Jack taking a lone Jack is worth 20. A Jack taking any other single card is an ordinary take. When both hands are empty, four new cards are dealt to each player until the deck runs out; the cards still on the pile at the very end go to whoever took the last pile.
At the end, Aces and Jacks are worth 1 point each, the two of clubs is worth 2, the ten of diamonds is worth 3, and the player who has taken more cards gets 3 more. Add the pişti bonuses, and the higher total wins. A win adds one to your streak, a draw keeps it and a loss ends it.
Count the ranks. There are only four cards of each rank, and every one that has been played is gone for good. If three sevens are already out, the fourth seven can safely be laid on an empty pile — nobody can match it for a pişti. Laying a card whose rank is still mostly unplayed is an open invitation.
Jacks are precious. A Jack takes any pile, so keep yours for a big pile, one holding Aces, the ten of diamonds or the two of clubs, or for the very end of the game when the last pile is worth a lot. Spending a Jack on two worthless cards is usually a mistake.
Think about what you leave on top. After you add a card to the pile, the computer gets the first chance to match it. If the pile is large, prefer to put down a card whose rank has mostly been played, so it is hard to take.
The last take of the game collects every card left on the pile, and taking more cards than the opponent is worth 3 points on its own. Towards the end of the deck, hold something that can win the final pile — often a Jack — instead of spending it early.