Kemps Card Game Rules
Swap cards for four of a kind, flash your partner a secret signal, and call Kemps before the other team stops you: how to play Kemps.
Kemps is a fast party card game for teams of two. Everyone grabs and swaps cards from the middle of the table at the same time, trying to collect four of a kind. When you have it, you give your partner a secret signal, and your partner has to shout “Kemps!” before the other team spots the signal and shouts “Stop Kemps!”. It is part card game and part bluffing game, and it is also known as Kent, Cash and Canes. This guide covers the Kemps card game rules, how to choose a good signal, the main variations and the odds.
Kemps Rules at a Glance
| Kemps | |
|---|---|
| Players | Four or more, in an even number: teams of two, partners sitting opposite each other. |
| Cards | One standard 52-card deck. With more than eight players, use two. |
| Hand | Four cards each, with four more face up in the middle. |
| Turns | None. Everyone swaps cards with the middle at the same time. |
| Goal | Collect four of a kind and signal your partner to call “Kemps!”. |
| Penalty | The team that loses a hand takes a letter of K-E-M-P-S. |
| Winning | The first team to spell KEMPS loses the game. |
Teams and Signals
Split into teams of two. Before the game, each team goes somewhere the others can’t see or hear them and agrees a secret signal that means “I have four of a kind”. It must not be spoken: a gesture, a facial expression or a way of holding your cards. You can have more than one signal, and you can make fake signals to confuse the other team, but a signal may never mean anything other than “I have four of a kind”. Agreeing extra signals, such as “I need sevens”, counts as cheating, and a team caught doing it loses the game.
Partners sit opposite each other so that every player can see everyone else. Teams may agree new signals after any hand, for example when they think the other team has worked out their old one.
How to Deal
- Choose a dealer, at random or by volunteering.
- Deal four cards to each player. Everyone looks at their cards.
- Deal four cards face up in a row in the middle of the table. The rest of the deck stays with the dealer.
How to Play Kemps
- Grab and swap. As soon as the fourth card is turned up, any player can take a card from the middle and put a card from their hand face up in its place. There are no turns, so everyone plays at once. If two players go for the same card, the first one to touch it gets it.
- Keep four cards. You can take more than one card from the middle, but you must put down the same number, so you always hold exactly four.
- Clear the middle. When nobody wants any of the four cards in the middle, the dealer sweeps them away and deals four new ones face up. Play carries on as before.
- Signal. When you collect four of a kind, give your signal and hope your partner sees it before anyone else does.
- End of the deck. If the deck runs out and nobody wants the last four cards, the hand ends with no letter for anyone. The dealer deals the next hand.
Calling “Kemps!” and “Stop Kemps!”
The hand ends the moment anyone calls.
- “Kemps!” is called when you think your partner has four of a kind. Your partner shows their hand. If they have it, the other team takes a letter; if they don’t, your team takes the letter.
- “Stop Kemps!” is called when you think an opponent has four of a kind, before their partner calls. The other team shows their hands. If either of them has four of a kind, their team takes the letter; if not, yours does.
Letters are written down in order: K, then E, then M, then P, then S. With more than four players, every team on the other side of a correct “Kemps!” takes a letter. The first team to spell KEMPS, which means losing five hands, loses the game.
Kemps Variations
| Variation | How it differs |
|---|---|
| One card at a time | You must put a card down before you pick up another, so nobody can grab two at once. |
| Countdown start | The dealer starts each row with “Ready, set, go!” or a countdown, so nobody gets a head start. |
| Points instead of letters | A correct call wins your team a point and a wrong call loses one. The first team to an agreed score, such as 4, wins. |
| Cash or Kent | The same game under another name: players call “Cash!” and “Counter cash!”, and the losers spell C-A-S-H. The middle cards are dealt face down and turned over together after a countdown. |
| Peanut Butter | Call “Peanut butter!” for your partner and “Jelly!” for an opponent. Spoken signals are allowed, and the teams play an agreed odd number of hands. |
| Carré-Coupé | The French version, played for chips from a pot, with extra calls for when two players hold four of a kind at once. |
Good Kemps Signals and Tips
A good signal is something you can do naturally that the other team won’t notice: tapping the table, holding your cards a certain way, puckering your lips, winking or touching your ear. Avoid signals you might make by accident, such as scratching your head or rubbing your eyes,. The more subtle the signal, the better.
- Look at your partner after every new row. Agree beforehand that you will check for the signal each time the middle is swept away.
- Don’t give away what you’re collecting. Pick up a card you don’t need now and then.
- Help your partner. If you can tell which rank they want, put those cards down in the middle.
- Watch the other team. Their signal only has to be spotted once.
- Bluff. A fake signal can tempt the other team into a wrong “Stop Kemps!”, as long as your partner knows not to call it.
Kemps Odds
The more players there are, the more cards are in play and the faster the hands go:
| Players | Cards in play at the start | Four of a kind already among them | Rows dealt before someone has it (median) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 20 | 22% | 4 |
| 6 | 28 | 70% | 3 |
| 8 | 36 | 99% | 2 |
The first two columns are exact. The last comes from 100,000 simulated hands at each table size in which every player collects the rank they hold most of. In those hands somebody completed four of a kind before the deck ran out more than 99% of the time. Your own first four cards are four of a kind only once in 20,825 deals; 32% of the time they include at least a pair, and 0.9% of the time three of a kind.
Where Kemps Comes From
David Parlett describes Kemps as a cross between the old card games Commerce and Authors, with the unusual twist of playing in partnerships. It is a modern game, played in America, France and Switzerland. One account traces it to the French game Carré-Coupé, which appeared in the early 1990s and spread quickly among young players because of its speed and bluffing. In Switzerland a similar game is called Gemsch.
More Party Card Games
For another game where everyone grabs at once, try Spoons, where the player left without a spoon loses the hand. Cheat is all about bluffing, and Snap rewards the fastest hands.
Kemps: frequently asked questions
How do you play the Kemps card game?
What is a good Kemps signal?
What happens if two people call Kemps?
What are the rules of Kent?
How many players do you need for Kemps?
Can you play Kemps with three people?
What happens if the deck runs out in Kemps?
Can Kemps signals be spoken?
Fadi Hayek
Author & Casino Expert
After going through several successful experiences with several industry pioneers, Fadi Hayek has managed to excel in the world of content for online gaming by providing unique content for several projects that allowed him to obtain the necessary experience to launch his career. Last but not least, Fadi also holds several certificates, including but not limited to content marketing and iGaming.
