The Hazari game is played by four players with a standard international 52-card pack. Each player receives 13 cards, and the cards are dealt and arranged into four separate piles. The first pile is dealt out to the players, and each player is given the chance to select a card from this pile and place it on the table in front of them. Each player then selects a card from the second pile and places it on the table in front of them. The same process is repeated for the third and fourth piles. After all four players have played a round, the dealer is dealt the next pile and the game begins again.

The cards in each suit rank from highest to lowest: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. The Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and Ten are worth 10 points each, and the rest of the cards are worth half the value of the Ace.

The cards in each suit are arranged into three-card combinations. The combinations rank from highest to lowest: 1. Troy, 2. Colour Run, 3. Run; 4. Colour, 5. Pair, and 6. Indi. A higher type of combination always beats a lower type – for example, any colour run beats any ordinary run.