Irish 25 Card Rankings & Scoring

Twenty-Five has one of the most unusual card ranking systems in any card game. The 5 of trumps is the highest card, the Ace of Hearts is always trump, and low cards beat high cards in black suits! New to the game? Learn how to play Irish 25.

Trump Card Rankings

When a suit is trump, cards rank from highest to lowest:

1st 5 of Trumps Always the highest card

2nd Jack of Trumps Second highest

3rd Ace of Hearts ♥ Always trump, any suit!

4th Ace of Trumps (If not Hearts)

5th King of Trumps

6th Queen of Trumps

7th+ Remaining cards Highest in red, lowest in black (see below)

The Ace of Hearts Rule

The Ace of Hearts is ALWAYS a trump card, regardless of which suit is trump.

If Clubs are trump, the Ace of Hearts is still the 3rd highest trump — beating the Ace of Clubs!

Red Suits (Hearts & Diamonds)

Red suits rank in the intuitive "high-to-low" order:

♥ ♦ Trump

5 J A♥️ A K Q 10 9 8 7 6 4 3 2

5, J, A♥️ are the top 3 trumps

♥ ♦ Non-Trump

K Q J 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 A♦️

A♦️ is LOW (A♥️️ is always trump)

Black Suits (Clubs & Spades)

Black suits have unusual rankings — low cards beat high cards!

♣ ♠ Trump

5 J A♥️ A K Q 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 10

Low cards beat high cards after Q

♣ ♠ Non-Trump

K Q J A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2 beats 10 in black suits!

Scoring Points

5 points per trick

25 points available per hand

25 points to win the game

With 5 tricks per hand (each worth 5 points), there are exactly 25 points available each hand. Games can be won in a single dominant hand!

Game Variants

Different target scores for longer games:

25 — First to 25 points wins
31 — First to 31 points; +6 bonus for strongest trump of the hand
41 — First to 41 points; +6 bonus for strongest trump; includes Joker
45 — First to 45 points

Practice Makes Perfect

The card rankings become second nature after a few games. Ready to improve? Check out our strategy tips.