Go Fish Rules: How to Play, Variations and Odds
Go Fish is often the second card game children learn, right after War. Unlike War it has real choices: whom to ask, which card to ask for, and what to remember. Here are the standard rules, the common variations, and the odds behind a good ask.
What You Need
- One standard 52-card deck, without jokers.
- 2 to 6 players.
How to Play
- Deal. With 2 or 3 players, deal 7 cards each; with 4 or more, deal 5 each. Spread the rest face down in the middle: this is the pond.
- Ask. On your turn, ask one player for a rank you already hold, for example "Sam, do you have any 7s?"
- Hand them over. If Sam has any 7s, Sam must give you all of them and you ask again, the same or another player.
- Go fish. If Sam has none, Sam says "Go fish!" and you draw one card from the pond. Your turn ends, and the turn passes to the left.
- Books. When you collect all four cards of a rank, show them and put them down in front of you. That is a book.
- Winning. Play until all 13 books are made. The player with the most books wins.
Common Variations
- Lucky catch: if you draw the exact rank you asked for, show it and take another turn. Many families play this way.
- Empty hand: if you run out of cards, draw from the pond (some draw 5) and keep playing. If the pond is empty too, you are out.
- Pairs: for small children, collect pairs instead of fours. Games are shorter and easier to follow.
- Must ask the last player: some groups require you to ask the player who just asked, to keep everyone involved.
The Odds of a Good Ask
At the start, you know nothing about other hands. If you ask one player for a rank, the chance they have at least one card of it depends on their hand size and how many of that rank you already hold:
| Your first ask (one player, no clues yet) | Chance they have at least one |
|---|---|
| 2 or 3 players, 7 cards each, you hold 1 of the rank | about 41% |
| 2 or 3 players, 7 cards each, you hold 2 | about 29% |
| 2 or 3 players, 7 cards each, you hold 3 | about 16% |
| 4 to 6 players, 5 cards each, you hold 1 | about 29% |
| 4 to 6 players, 5 cards each, you hold 3 | about 11% |
So the best blind ask is for a rank you hold only one of, because three copies are still out there. When you go fish, the chance of drawing the exact rank you asked for is small, about 1 in 13 early in a 2-player game.
Memory Beats Luck
The odds above change completely once people start asking. If Maya asks for queens, Maya has at least one queen. Ask her for queens on your turn (if you hold one) and you are certain to get at least one. That is the real skill in Go Fish: listen to every ask, remember who wants what, and notice which ranks have already been booked.
A few more tips:
- Ask for ranks that someone else recently asked for, and ask that player.
- Avoid asking for a rank you hold three of too early: it tells everyone where three cards are.
- Late in the game, count the books: if three of a rank are on the table, the fourth must be in the pond or a hand.
Why It Is Good for Children
Go Fish teaches matching, counting to four, taking turns and polite asking, and the memory part rewards paying attention. Luck still matters enough that younger players can win. Choose who goes first fairly, and give the deck a proper shuffle first; see how many shuffles make a deck random.
Where the Game Comes From
Go Fish is a traditional children’s card game, related to older "happy families" style games, and its exact origin is not known. For more simple games, see our list of kids party games.
FAQ
How many cards do you deal in Go Fish?
7 cards each with 2 or 3 players, and 5 cards each with 4 or more. The rest go face down in the middle as the pond.
Do you have to give all your cards of a rank?
Yes. If someone asks for a rank you hold, you must hand over every card of that rank.
What happens if you run out of cards in Go Fish?
Draw from the pond and keep playing. If the pond is empty too, you are out, and the books you made still count.
What are the odds of a successful ask?
At the start of a 2-player game, if you hold one card of a rank, the other player has at least one of the remaining three about 41% of the time.
Is Go Fish luck or skill?
Both. The deal is luck, but remembering who asked for which rank makes your asks far more likely to succeed.