Old Maid Card Game: Rules, Variations and Odds
Old Maid is a card game where nobody wants to win the last card. Players pair up their cards and pass them around until one unlucky player is left holding the single card that has no partner. It is almost pure luck, which is exactly why it works so well with young children, and it is a good next step after War and before Go Fish.
What You Need
- One standard 52-card deck. Take out one queen (most people remove the queen of clubs), leaving 51 cards. The odd queen left without a partner is the Old Maid.
- 2 or more players; 3 to 6 is ideal.
- Or a special Old Maid deck with picture pairs and one Old Maid card.
How to Play
- Deal. Deal all 51 cards one at a time. It does not matter if some players get one card more.
- Discard pairs. Everyone looks at their hand and puts down, face up, every pair of the same rank (two 7s, two kings). If you hold three of a rank, put down one pair and keep the third card.
- Draw. The dealer starts by fanning their cards face down and offering them to the player on the left, who draws one without looking. If it makes a pair, they discard it.
- Pass it on. That player then offers their hand to the next player on the left, and so on around the table.
- Going out. When you have no cards left you are safe and out of the game.
- The loser. In the end all pairs are down and one player holds the lone queen. That player is the Old Maid and loses.
Common Variations
- Black Peter: in German-speaking countries the game is Schwarzer Peter, played with a special deck or with the jack of spades as the odd card. Traditionally the loser could get a black smudge on the face, often from a burnt cork.
- Old Bachelor: remove a jack instead of a queen; the leftover jack is the loser.
- Colour pairs: pairs must match in colour too (two red 7s, two black 7s). Removing the queen of clubs then leaves the queen of spades as the unpaired card.
- Hide it: with a picture deck, some families pull a card out face down at the start, so nobody knows which card is the odd one until the end.
The Odds: Who Gets Stuck
At the start, the Old Maid is equally likely to be any of the 51 cards, so your chance of being dealt it is simply your share of the deck. After the first discards, most hands shrink to around six cards, whatever the number of players. These figures come from 200,000 random deals:
| Players | Cards each | Chance of the Old Maid | Cards left after pairing |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 26 or 25 | 51% or 49% | about 6.5 |
| 3 | 17 | 33% | about 6.5 |
| 4 | 13 or 12 | about 25% | about 6 |
| 5 | 11 or 10 | about 20% | about 6 |
| 6 | 9 or 8 | about 17% | about 5.5 |
The 2-player case has a neat twist: after discarding, the two hands mirror each other. For every unpaired card one player holds, the other holds its partner, except for the lone queen. So the player with the Old Maid always has exactly one card more.
Is There Any Skill?
Very little. You cannot see what you draw, and whoever draws from you cannot see your cards either. The one choice is how you hold the Old Maid: some players hide it in the middle, others push it slightly up to tempt a grab. Against a random draw it makes no difference: with three cards in your fan, the queen is taken one time in three wherever it sits. Against a real person, small bluffs and a straight face can tilt it a little.
At the very end, with the Old Maid and one other card in your hand and your opponent drawing, it is a pure 50/50.
Why Children Like It
Old Maid teaches matching ranks and taking turns, it is quick, and the youngest player has the same chance as the oldest. The moment someone draws the Old Maid is funny for everyone else. Before you start, shuffle the deck properly so no pairs stay together, and see our kids party games for more ideas.
Where the Name Comes From
Old Maid has been a popular children’s game since at least the 1800s, when printed decks with comic characters were sold for it. The name comes from an old, unkind word for an unmarried older woman, which is why some families now call it simply "the odd card" or play the Black Peter version.
FAQ
How many cards do you take out for Old Maid?
One. Remove one queen from a standard 52-card deck, leaving 51 cards. The queen with no partner is the Old Maid.
Do you have to play every pair?
Yes. Whenever you hold a pair, put it down. If you hold three of a kind, put down two and keep one.
What if you are dealt the Old Maid?
Keep it secret and hope the next player draws it from you. Being dealt it is not the end: it can move many times during the game.
How many people can play Old Maid?
Two or more. With 3 to 6 players the game is quick and the Old Maid moves around more.
Is Old Maid a game of luck?
Almost entirely. The only skill is in how you hold your cards and in keeping a straight face.