45s card rankings
The card order is what makes 45s confusing at first. It follows three rules, and once you know them you can work out any suit.
The three rules
- The top three trumps are always the 5 of trumps, the jack of trumps, then the ace of hearts. The is a trump in every hand, whatever suit is named. It's the third-best card in the game.
- Next come the ace, king and queen of trumps. When hearts are trump, the ace of hearts is already in third place, so hearts have one less trump.
- The number cards go "highest in red, lowest in black." In a red suit the 10 is high and the 2 is low, as you'd expect. In a black suit it's reversed: the 2 is high and the 10 is low.
That gives 14 trumps when diamonds, clubs or spades are named and 13 trumps when hearts are named.
Trump order for each suit
Best card first. The numbers under each card are its rank. Each box also shows the suit's order when it is not trump (see plain suits below).
♥ Hearts as trump (13 trumps)
Hearts when not trump (no ace: the A♥ is always a trump):
♦ Diamonds as trump (14 trumps)
Diamonds when not trump:
♣ Clubs as trump (14 trumps)
Clubs when not trump:
♠ Spades as trump (14 trumps)
Spades when not trump:
Plain suits (not trump)
Cards in the three suits that aren't trump only matter when that suit is led and nobody plays a trump. They follow the same red/black rule for number cards: red high to low, black low to high. The ace of hearts never appears in hearts as a plain suit; it's always a trump.
Where tables differ is the aces:
Aces high (most of the Maritimes)
A plain-suit ace is the top card of its suit: A, K, Q, J, then the number cards. The tables above use this order.
Traditional order
The older rule, still common in Newfoundland and New England, treats a plain ace like a number card. That puts it just below the jack in black suits and at the very bottom in diamonds:
| Suit (not trump) | Order, best first |
|---|---|
| Hearts | |
| Diamonds | |
| Clubs | |
| Spades |
Why is the 5 the best card?
45s comes from an old Irish game, Spoil Five, whose top trumps were the five, the jack and the ace of hearts. The name "45" is usually explained as the score the Irish game was played to. The Canadian and New England auction game kept the strange card order and added bidding.
Ways to remember it
- "Five, Jack, Heart." The top three trumps, in order, every hand.
- "Highest in red, lowest in black." Number cards in red suits count down from 10; in black suits they count up from 2. The 2♠ beats the 10♠.
- The ace of hearts is never a heart. If hearts are led and hearts aren't trump, the A♥ isn't following suit; it's a trump.