Presidents Drinking Game

Climb the table hierarchy - or serve drinks at the bottom of it.

Also known as: Asshole · Presidents and Assholes · Scum · Capitalism

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Players 4-8

You needDeck of cards, drinks

DrinkBeer

Intensity

Time30-60 min

Presidents, known to most of the world as Presidents and Assholes (or just Asshole), is the drinking game with a class system. The goal each hand is simple: get rid of your cards first by beating whatever was just played. But the real game is the hierarchy - finish first and you are President next round, with servants and privileges. Finish last and you are the Asshole: dealing, card-swapping at a loss, and drinking on command.

No card drinking game generates politics like this one. The President taxes the Asshole's best cards every hand, the middle ranks scheme for promotion, and a single bad round can send royalty crashing to the bottom of society while the whole table cheers. It rewards genuine card skill, punishes hubris beautifully, and produces the kind of multi-hour rivalries that people are still arguing about at brunch the next day.

What you need & setup

Deal the entire 52-card deck clockwise to 4-8 players; uneven hands are part of the game.
For the first hand only, there are no ranks - whoever holds the 3 of clubs leads.
Establish the card order: 2 is highest, then Ace, King, down to 3 (agree on any joker rules).
Arrange seating with room to physically move - winners and losers change chairs between rounds.
Everyone gets a drink; the social hierarchy handles the rest.

How to play Presidents

Beat the play or pass

The leader plays any single card or matched set (pair, triple, quad). Each following player must play the same number of cards at a strictly higher rank, or pass. Passing is always legal but often costly - many tables make passing worth a sip. Play continues around until nobody can or will beat the last play.

Win the trick, lead again

When everyone passes on your play, the pile clears and you lead fresh - the single most powerful position in the game, since you choose singles, pairs, or triples to suit your hand. Skilled players engineer these moments, spending big cards not to win a trick but to buy the right to lead their garbage out safely.

Respect the twos

Twos are the nuclear option: a two beats anything and instantly clears the pile, handing you the lead. Most rulesets allow no play on top of a two. With only four in the deck, when you spend them defines your skill level - a two wasted on an early meaningless trick is the classic beginner's tell.

Finish and take your title

Players drop out as they shed their last card, and finishing order is everything: first out is President, second is Vice President, last is the Asshole, second-to-last the Vice Asshole, everyone else mere citizens. Titles take effect immediately for the next hand, and yes, the President traditionally gets the best chair.

Pay the card tax

Before each new hand, the Asshole hands the President their two highest cards, receiving any two cards the President does not want. Vice versions trade one card. This tax is why dynasties form - a decent President with tribute cards is genuinely hard to dethrone, which is exactly what makes toppling one so glorious.

Drink by rank

The hierarchy drinks downhill: the President can make anyone drink, the VP anyone below them, and so on, while nobody commands an upward drink. The Asshole also deals every hand, clears the pile, and drinks whenever a superior remembers they exist. Play enough rounds and everyone tastes both ends of the ladder - that is the whole point.

The rules

Card ranking: 2 highest, then A, K, Q, J, 10 down to 3; suits are irrelevant.
You must match the count of the current play (single on single, pair on pair) at a higher rank, or pass.
A 2 beats any play and clears the pile; the player of the 2 leads next.
Winning a trick (everyone passes) clears the pile and earns the lead.
Finishing order sets next hand's titles: President, VP, citizens, Vice Asshole, Asshole.
The Asshole gives the President their two best cards each hand and receives two throwaways.
Higher ranks may order lower ranks to drink at any time; never upward.
The Asshole deals all hands and clears all piles.
First hand of the night: 3 of clubs leads, no titles, no taxes.
House option: completing a four-of-a-kind across plays 'bombs' the pile clear.

Variations & house rules

Dai Hinmin Revolution

Borrowed from the Japanese ancestor: playing a four-of-a-kind triggers a Revolution, inverting the entire card ranking (threes high, twos low) until the hand ends or another quad flips it back. Long-suffering Assholes holding fistfuls of low cards suddenly possess a hand of daggers. The comeback mechanic this game deserves.

Waterfall Inauguration

Each new President's first act is starting a waterfall in rank order - President stops first, then VP, down to the Asshole, who drinks the longest. It makes every regime change physically felt at the table and gives the middle class a genuine stake in who takes the throne each hand.

Silent Asshole

The Asshole may not speak except to announce cards played. Every violation costs a sip, and superiors are traditionally merciless about baiting them into conversation. Cruel, hilarious, and a strong incentive to escape the bottom rank - which is precisely the kind of motivation this game runs on.

Democracy Round

Every fifth hand, titles are suspended: no taxes, no drink commands, seating stays put, and the hand is played on pure card skill. Whoever wins the Democracy Round may either take the presidency or grant amnesty (one full hand without drink commands table-wide). Adds pacing valves to long sessions.

Scored Presidents

Play without drinks: 3 points per hand for President, 2 for VP, 1 for citizens, 0 for the Asshole ranks, first to 15 wins the series. The trading, the politics, and the humiliation survive fully intact, which is why this variant is a beloved family card game across half the planet.

Pro tips

Never waste a 2 early; the pile lead it buys is worth more in the endgame than any trick it wins in the opening.

Keep pairs together - breaking a pair to beat one single play often costs you two turns later.

As Asshole, pass your required tribute high cards but keep any pair intact if the ruleset lets you choose between equals.

Watch who passes on low plays; passing early usually means a hand hoarding high sets for the endgame.

The presidency is won on lead choices: lead your weakest suit-count while you still hold control cards to reclaim the pile.

Rotate seats exactly as ranks dictate - the physical musical chairs is half the game's social engine.

Where Presidents fits on the shelf

Presidents sits near the top of the intensity table - 5th heaviest of our 17 cards games, rated 3 out of 5.
The sweet spot is 4-8 players - enough for chaos, few enough that every turn matters.
A typical session runs 30-60 min - a solid middle act for the evening.
Browse the full card drinking games shelf to compare all 17 games side by side.

A little history

Presidents is a Western adaptation of Japanese and broader East Asian climbing games, most famously Dai Hinmin ('Grand Pauper'), which shares the shed-your-cards structure and the rank-swapping between winners and losers. Most accounts trace the American drinking version, with its presidential titles and blunter name for last place, to college campuses in the 1970s and 80s. Commercial descendants like The Great Dalmuti later repackaged the same delicious hierarchy.

Drink responsibly: The rank system lets one player be targeted by everyone above them, so cap drink commands per hand, keep commanded drinks to sips, and let the Asshole nurse water without losing the title. The humiliation is the punishment; the drinks are just seasoning. See our safety guide for pacing tips and alcohol-free versions.

Presidents FAQ

What does the Asshole have to do?

The player who finishes last becomes the Asshole for the next hand: they deal the cards, clear the piles, surrender their two best cards to the President in exchange for junk, drink whenever any higher rank commands it, and usually take the worst chair. It is intentionally rough - escaping the role is the game's core motivation.

What beats a 2 in Presidents?

In the standard game, nothing - a 2 tops any play and immediately clears the pile, giving its player the lead. That is why the four 2s are the most precious cards in the deck. Tables using jokers typically rank them above 2s as the only exception, and Revolution variants can invert everything temporarily.

Can you play a pair on a single card?

No. You must match the format of the current play exactly: singles on singles, pairs on pairs, triples on triples, always at a higher rank. If you cannot or do not want to match it, you pass. The only pile-clearing exceptions are a 2 (or joker) and, in some house rules, a completed four-of-a-kind bomb.

How does the card trade between President and Asshole work?

Before each hand, the Asshole must hand the President their two highest-ranked cards. The President returns any two unwanted cards from their own hand. Where Vice ranks exist, the VP and Vice Asshole trade one card the same way. This tribute system is what makes dynasties possible and dethronings legendary.

How many people do you need for Presidents and Assholes?

Four is the working minimum for the hierarchy to mean anything, and five to seven is the sweet spot - enough social strata for real politics, few enough that hands move quickly. With eight or more, deal two decks shuffled together and expect longer, wilder hands with more bombs and deeper grudges.

Presidents Drinking Game

What you need & setup