4-Handed Pits Rules (card game)

Today I played a fun, four-handed version of Pits. Here's what we changed relative to the only written rules I know about.

1. drop all spades and the deuce of clubs (so only 40 cards remain, four of which are wild)


2. Scoring:
   
   
   
   1. 1st place wins 3 points, gives least desired card (face up) to 4th place in next hand
   
   
   2. 2nd place wins 2 points
   
   
   3. 3rd place wins 0 points, but gets to deal and lead the next hand
   
   
   4. 4th place wins 1 point, gives highest single card (face up) to 1st place in next hand
   
   
   
   


3. play to 26 points


4. we played with equal jokers (because otherwise it feels like you should also order the deuces)

The advantage given to the 1st-place finisher by taking the highest card from the 4th-place finisher in the next hand isn't as pattern-forming as I expected. Three of the four of us finished 1st several times, and the 4th person got 2nd once.

(Thanks to Tim Hunt for introducing me to 6-handed Pits.)