Old Maid quick reference
Standard playing-card version · print-friendly reminder.
Choose this setup
Use 52 ordinary cards and remove one queen:51 remain. Deal all cards, allowing uneven hands. Remove equal-rank pairs first.
Follow the turn
The dealer offers a face-down hand to the player on the left. That player draws one, removes any new pair, and then offers to the next active player on the left. Skip empty hands.
Recognise the ending
One queen remains after all valid pairs have left. Keep the ending kind. Our picture printable is a separate 13-card teaching deck; do not mix it with the standard cards.
Read the full guide
This is a short table reminder. See How to play and the linked complete source for the format and its handling of errors.
Use your browser’s print preview. The card sheet is designed for A4 portrait. Print layout may vary by browser.
A little guide for the table.
Standard playing cards: remove one queen from52 cards; play with51. This is a different setup from our13-card picture deck.
- Deal all the cards. Uneven hand sizes are fine.
- Remove your pairs. Two equal ranks match; three leave one card.
- Offer face down. Dealer offers to the player on the left.
- Draw one card. That player removes any newly completed pair.
- Pass the offer on. The drawing player offers to the next active player on the left.
- Skip empty hands. They no longer draw or offer.
- Notice the ending. One unmatched queen remains with one player. Keep the result kind.
Agree the deck, matching rule and direction first. Correct teaching mistakes together. Read the full source for its treatment of irregularities.
Full beginner guide: https://oldmaid-in.com/how-to-play/
Source: https://bicyclecards.com/how-to-play/old-maid/
Our picture mini deck: six labelled pairs plus one odd Sun,13 cards total. Do not mix it into the ordinary-card deck. Personal & classroom printing welcome.