Pit has remained a constant crowd pleaser in my family. We have gotten so into it, that waiting for the shuffling and redealing, especially with the maximum number of players, has become intolerable. So we devised a much faster way of dealing. After a couple good shuffles, the dealer literally throws the cards face down on the table. Everyone takes their nine cards, one at a time (to prevent hoarding). However, the two players to the left of the dealer need to take a 10th card.

Also, to add one more person than the game allows, we have the dealer sit out. In this case we play only as many rounds as there are players.

I would say the game favors players who don't get stuck on collecting one suit during a hand no matter how many they have or how high the suit value is, if they see another suit being often traded. Shifting suits in such a way can increase the chance of cornering the market first.

This game gets requested at most of our family reunions. You can play over and over again and the game never gets old. The first time we played we started with 4 people. When everyone saw how much fun we were having (there are lots of raised voices in the game) others joined in. Soon we maxed out at eight players. Real family fun with easy rules anyone can learn.