Five-Card Yak is enjoyed at its best when it is played by three to five people. Although two players can play (a slightly modified variant of the game, see the rules), the game has a rather different feel with so few players.
This two-player variant of Yak uses the same rules as the regular game, except that each player controls a “dummy hand” in addition to his own. Players sit across from each other, and each receives seven cards during the deal, which proceeds as follows: five cards are dealt face down to each player, three cards each are dealt face up on both sides of the dealer, and finally two additional cards are dealt face down to each player. After the cards have been dealt, each player must pass one card across the table to his opponent. Then, he selects two cards from his hand and places them (face down) with the cards on the table, one to the left and one to the right. After both players have placed these cards on the table, they are turned face up, and the resulting sets of five face-up cards form the dummy hands.
Each player controls the hand on his right, subject to the following restrictions. First, the dummy hand must follow suit if possible, as in the regular rules. Next, a card of the same rank as a card already played must be chosen if such a card is available (in the appropriate suit if following suit). Otherwise, the choice of card to be played is the decision of the controlling player.
Each dummy hand counts as another player with respect to the order of play. Therefore, when a dummy hand takes a trick, it leads the next trick. If a dummy hand takes the last trick of the hand, however, the player that controls it deals the next hand and leads the first trick.
Each player drinks only for tricks taken by his own hand, not for tricks taken by his dummy hand. If the dummy hand takes four or five of the tricks in a hand, however, the controlling player is eligible to make a rule (or two, if five tricks are taken), just as if his hand, not the dummy's, had taken the tricks, and the other player must drink the penalty for the trick plus an additional drink. When counting tricks, each hand must be considered separately; four or more tricks must be taken by either the player's hand or his dummy's hand, not by a combination of the two.