Transfer Durak — rules, worked examples and tactics

How to pass the attack to your neighbour — and when you really shouldn't

Transfer Durak (perevodnoy durak) is the variant where the defender gets a third option. Instead of beating the attacking card or picking the table up, you can pass the attack to the next player: you add a card of the same rank as the one already on the table, and now your neighbour has to defend — against two cards at once. In basic Durak that move simply does not exist: you either beat or you take.

A transfer is legal only while you have not beaten a single card yet, and only with a matching rank — the suit is irrelevant. Once you transfer, you stop being the defender: you become an ordinary player at the table and can throw cards in at the new defender. The card you transferred with leaves your hand for good — it either ends up in the discard pile or in whoever picks the table up.

Everything else — the deal, the trump, drawing back up to six — works exactly as in the basic rules of Durak.

The three conditions for a legal transfer

1. Nothing on the table may be beaten yet. The moment you cover one card, you have accepted the defender's role and the transfer window closes — so "beat or transfer" is decided on your very first action.
2. The rank must match. If the attack is a seven, only a seven transfers it. No other card works — not even a trump.
3. The next player must hold enough cards. After the transfer, the number of cards on the table cannot exceed the number of cards in the new defender's hand. If they hold two cards and the table would show three, the move is illegal. The usual table ceiling still applies too: five attacking cards in a round while the discard pile is empty, six once a round has been beaten.

What varies from table to table

Transfer Durak is not one canonical rulebook but a family of house rules. These are the parts that genuinely differ:

• Transferring with a trump. At most tables a trump of the matching rank transfers just like any other card. But there is a separate house rule where you may transfer by showing a trump of that rank without playing it. That heavily favours the defender, so it is switched on less often — ask before you sit down.
• Chaining transfers. At most tables the new defender may transfer again, and so on around the circle, as long as someone holds the rank and the next player holds enough cards. Whether the chain may reach the original attacker depends on the table — usually it may not, and it stops at the player just before them.
• Heads-up play. With two players, transferring hands the attack back to the person who just led. Some tables allow it, others ban transfers in a two-player game entirely.
• Who throws in afterwards. Normally everyone except the current defender, including you and the original attacker. A transfer does not close the round — the table can grow well past the two cards you handed over.

Durak Live supports both variants, so you never have to argue about house rules mid-game: a private table with a password will not let anyone make an illegal move.

Example 1. The textbook transfer

Trump: ♥ (hearts). Three at the table: Anna → you → Boris.

Anna leads 7♠. Your hand: 6♣, 7♦, 9♠, 10♦, K♠, Q♥. Boris holds 6 cards.

In basic Durak you have one sensible move: beat 7♠ with the nine of spades, spending a working card to close someone else's seven.

In transfer Durak you play 7♦ instead — and now Boris must beat both 7♠ and 7♦. The condition is met: two cards on the table, six in his hand. You dumped your cheapest card, kept the 9♠ and the trump queen, and stepped out of the line of fire. This is the situation the variant was invented for.

Example 2. A chain — and why the last player may enjoy it

Trump: ♦ (diamonds). Four players: Anna → you → Boris → Dasha.

Anna leads 6♣. You transfer with 6♥. Boris also has a six — 6♠ — and passes it on. Dasha now has to beat three sixes, and she must be holding at least three cards.

She beats them: 6♣ with 8♣, 6♥ with 10♥, 6♠ with 7♠. All six cards go to the discard pile, and Dasha has shed three cards from her hand instead of one. She attacks next.

Here is the central paradox of the variant: a successful defence is the fastest way to empty your hand. The chain that looked like a firing squad actually handed Dasha three discards and the initiative. Transfer at a player for whom it is hard, not simply at whoever happens to sit next.

Example 3. When a transfer is a gift

Trump: ♣ (clubs). Three players: Anna → you → Boris. The deck is empty and Boris has 2 cards left.

Anna leads K♦. Your hand: K♣ (trump), A♦, 9♠, 7♣.

The temptation is obvious: you hold the king of clubs, a trump king, so you can transfer. Two cards on the table, two in Boris's hand — formally the move is legal.

Now think it through. If Boris beats both kings, he sheds his last cards and leaves the game, and you are heads-up with Anna, minus the trump king that just went to the discard pile. Beating with A♦ closes the round risk-free: ace of diamonds beats king of diamonds, both cards are discarded, and you become the attacker.

Rule of thumb: do not transfer at a player holding fewer cards than the table would show plus one. You are not putting them under pressure — you are handing them the exit.

When transferring pays off

• You hold a junk card of that rank. You dump ballast instead of spending a real card on defence.
• Your hand is trumpless. Defending will be expensive; a transfer costs one cheap card.
• The next player's hand just ballooned. Someone who picked up half the table is badly prepared for a fresh attack.
• You hold two or three cards of the same rank. Transfer with one, throw the rest in at the new defender, and clear the whole set in a single round.
• The rank is high. Passing a king or an ace along is often cheaper than hunting for something that beats it.

When you should just beat the card

• Your neighbour is close to going out — see example 3.
• The only transfer available would burn a trump, while an ordinary card would beat comfortably.
• Your neighbour is long in that suit or is visibly hoarding trumps — they will defend almost for free and then attack you.
• You want the attack yourself: after a successful defence the lead is yours, and the lead is the most valuable position in the endgame. More on that in the strategy guide.

Common beginner mistakes

1. Transferring every time it is possible. A transfer is not free: the card leaves your hand and the initiative goes to your neighbour.
2. Trying to transfer after already beating one card. The window closes with your first cover card.
3. Not counting the next player's hand. This is the number one reason people wonder why the game refuses their move.
4. Burning trumps to transfer. A trump is worth more here than in basic Durak: it both beats and transfers, and it saves you in the endgame.
5. Passing to a player who is about to win. You are gifting them discards and the lead.
6. Assuming the round is closed after a transfer. It is not — the others keep throwing in the same rank, and the two cards you handed over can become six.
7. Confusing a transfer with a throw-in. Anyone except the defender throws in; only the defender transfers, and only in place of the first beat. The terms are laid out in the glossary.

Basic vs transfer Durak

If you are new to the game, start with basic Durak — fewer decisions per turn, and it is easier to feel out when to take and when to defend. Switch the transfer rule on once counting the table costs you no effort; that is where the third option stops being a novelty and turns into a real edge.