In the declaration phase, the players ascertain who has the better hand in each of three categories. This is done in an oblique sort of way that leads to some of the intrigue of Piquet. Elder hand declares first, with Younger responding.
In each part of the declaration, the Younger hand may choose to contest the Elder’s claim. By doing so, the Younger may reveal information that would be useful during the trick-taking phase, called the play. Likewise, the Elder may choose not to reveal information in one or more parts of the declaration.
The Point
If the Elder has at least four cards in a suit, they may make a declaration. For example, “Point of four”.
The Younger would then respond indicating that they had more, fewer, or the same number of cards in a suit. This is done by saying “Good” (the Elder has more and wins the point), “Not good” (the Elder has fewer), or by saying “Making?” or “How many?”, indicating that the Younger has the same number of cards in a suit, which requires clarification.
If both players have the same number of cards in a suit, then they must tally the value of the cards. The values of the cards are: ace = 11, face cards = 10, and face value for the rest.
After adding the values of the cards, the Elder calls out the number. The Younger may then say “Good”, if the Elder’s value is greater, or “Not good” and the number that wins the point. For example: “Not good: 39″ or “Not good, I have 39″. If the values are the same, Younger says “Equal”.
The player with the better point scores the number of cards in the suit, not their value. If the values are the same, neither player scores. Note that Younger does not actually score for any declarations until Elder has led to the first trick in the play (see below).
The Sequence
The next part of the declaration is the sequence, in which the longest consecutive run of cards is valued. A sequence must have at least three cards and they must all be in the same suit.
Again, the Elder hand starts. For example, “Run of three” or “Sequence of four”. The Younger then responds with “Good” or “Not good”, in the same way as before, or by contesting. To contest, the Younger says “How high?”, to which the Elder responds with the highest card in the sequence. For example, “To the queen”. Younger replies with “Good”, “Not good” or “Equal”.
In keeping with the game’s ancestry, one may utilize the historical names for sequences in this part of the declaration, instead of the prosaic “Run of three”, for example. The following are the proper names and their associated values:
3, tierces (pronounced tier-s) are worth 3 points
4, quarts (carts) are worth 4 points
5, quints (cants) are worth 15 points
6, sixieme (seize yem) are worth 16 points
7, septieme (set yem) are worth 17 points
8, huitieme (wheet yem) are worth 18 points
The person winning the sequence may declare any additional sequences that he has, if desired. If both players’ best sequences are equal then neither player may score for any sequences.
The Set
A set is three or four of a kind, ten or greater (7′s, 8′s, and 9′s don’t count). Sets of three are called trios (tree ohz) and are worth 3 points, and sets of four, quatorzes (cat orz), are worth 14 points. The declarations take place in the same manner as Point and Sequence, with Elder stating his best set (for example, “Three Kings”), to which Younger replies “Good” or “Not good”.
The person with the best set may declare any additional sets that he has, if desired.
Repique and Pique
If a player scores 30 points in the declaration phase and his opponent scores nothing, including Carte Blanche, and if neither point nor sequence were equal, that player gains a repique, which is worth an additional 60 points.
If Elder scores 30 points in declarations and play combined, before Younger scores any, then Elder gains a pique and scores an additional 30 points. Note that Younger cannot gain a pique because Elder always scores one point for leading to the first trick (see below).
By the end of the declaration, each player will have a pretty good idea of the other’s hand (to the degree that each chose to claim their points).
Piquet is played with a 32 card deck. Start with a standard 52 card deck and remove all of the 2′s through the 6′s. This leaves all of the 7′s through the 10′s, the face cards, and the aces.
Each game consists of a partie of six deals (partie meaning part in French). The player scoring the most points wins (see the scoring section for further details).
The Cut
The player who draws the highest card on the initial cut may choose to deal the first hand. The deal alternates for each hand in the partie. It is preferable to deal first so as not to deal the last hand. Dealing puts a player at a disadvantage.
The Deal
Cards are dealt 12 to each player, with the remaining eight forming the talon, which is placed face-down between the players. The talon may be split by the dealer into two piles of five and three cards, respectively.
The dealer is referred to as the Younger hand and the non-dealer, the Elder hand.
Carte Blanche
After the deal, players sort their cards in their hands. If a player has no face cards in their hand, then they may declare Carte Blanche, which is worth 10 points. This done by quickly showing their hand to the opponent while saying “Carte Blanche”.
A hand of this type is fairly rare, and often scores poorly, so it is usually advantageous to declare it, despite the tactical disadvantage of giving information to the opponent.
Carte Blanche must be declared prior to exchanging cards. Only one player may declare Carte Blanche. The Elder hand exchanges their cards first, so they have the advantage here. The Younger hand must wait until the Elder exchanges their cards. If the Elder has not declared Carte Blanche, then the younger may.
Exchanging Cards
The goal of exchanging cards is to improve your hand before the declaration and the play.
The Elder hand exchanges first. This is done by taking one to five cards from the hand and placing them face down. An equal number is then drawn from the talon. The player must state how many cards they intend to exchange if fewer than the maximum. If the Elder chooses to take fewer than the maximum, they may then look at the remainder if they like (which are the first ones that the Younger will take).
The Younger hand exchanges next. Again, at least one card must be exchanged. The younger may also exchange up to five cards, depending on how many the Elder exchanged. If the Elder exchanged all five, then obviously the Younger may only exchange up to three.
Piquet is a card game for two players. It is considered by many to be one of the best two player card games. Pronounced “pee-kay” in France, it is usually pronounced “picket” in English speaking countries.
Piquet is one of the oldest card games still being played. It originated over 500 years ago, with a written reference dating back to at least 1534, in Gargantua and Pantagruel by Rabelais.
The card game Piquet is said to have derived its name from that of its inventor, who contrived it to amuse Charles VI of France. The game was played with thirty two cards, that is, discarding out of the pack all the deuces, treys, fours, fives, and sixes. Regular piquet-packs were sold. In reckoning up the points, every card counted for its value, as ten for ten, nine for nine, and so on down to seven, which was, of course, the lowest; but the ace reckoned for eleven. All court cards reckoned for ten. As in other games, the ace won the king, the king the queen, and so on, to the knave, which won the ten. The cards were dealt at option by fours, threes, or twos, to the number of twelve, which was the hand — ‘discarding’ being allowed; but both the dealer and he that led were obliged to discard at least one card. When the cards were played out, each counted his tricks; and he that had most reckoned 10 for winning the cards; if the tricks were equal, neither reckoned at all. He who, without playing (that is, according to the various terms of the game), could reckon up 30 in hand, when his antagonist reckoned nothing, scored 90 for them; this was called a repic; and all above 30 counted so many, — 32 counting 92, and so on. He who could make up 30, part in hand and part by play, before the other made anything, scored 60; this was called a pic.
The game was also played as pool precisely according to the rules briefly sketched as above, the penalty for losing being a guinea to the pool.
Piquet required much practice to play it well. It became so great a favourite that, by the middle of the 18th century, the meanest people were well acquainted with it, and ‘let into all the tricks and secrets of it, in order to render them complete sharpers.’ Such are the words of an old author, who adds that the game was liable to great imposition, and he explains the methods in use. Short cards were used for cutting, as in Whist, at the time. Of these cards there were two sorts, one longer than the rest; and the advantage gained by them was as the adversary managed it, by cutting the longer or broader, as best suited his purpose, or imposing on the dealer, when it was his turn, to cut those which made most against him. The aces, kings, queens, and knaves were marked with dots at the corners, and in the very old book from which I am quoting precise directions are given how this marking can be effected in such a manner ‘as not to be discovered by your adversary, and at the same time appear plain to yourself.’ With a fine pointed pen and some clear spring water, players made dots upon the glazed card at the corners according to the above method; or they coloured the water with india ink, to make the marks more conspicuous. The work concludes as follows: — ‘There are but 32 cards made use of at Piquet, so that just half of them will be known to you; and in dealing you may have an opportunity to give yourself those you like best; and if you cannot conveniently change the pack according to your desire, you will commonly know what you are to take in, which is a demonstrative advantage to win any one’s money.’
Although much reduced in popularity these days, Piquet continues to enjoy a small but enthusiastic following, many of whom believe it to be the equal or even the superior of Cribbage as a card game for two. One famous enthusiast for the game is the author Richard Adams.
Lansquenet (derived from the German landsknecht (‘servant of the land or country’), applied to a mercenary soldier) is a card game.
Game play
The dealer or banker stakes a certain sum, and this must be met by the nearest to the dealer first, and so on. When the stake is met, the dealer turns up two cards, one to the right, — the latter for himself, the former for the table or the players. He then keeps on turning up the cards until either of the cards is matched, which constitutes the winning, — as, for instance, suppose the five of diamonds is his card, then should the five of any other suit turn up, he wins. If he loses, then the next player on the left becomes banker and proceeds in the same way.
When the dealer’s card turns up, he may take the stake and pass the bank; or he may allow the stake to remain, whereat of course it becomes doubled if met. He can continue thus as long as the cards turn up in his favour — having the option at any moment of giving up the bank and retiring for that time. If he does that, the player to whom he passes the bank has the option of continuing it at the same amount at which it was left. The pool may be made up by contributions of all the players in certain proportions. The terms used respecting the standing of the stake are, ‘I’ll see’ (à moi le tout) and Je tiens. When jumelle (twins), or the turning up of similar cards on both sides, occurs, then the dealer takes half the stake.
Sometimes there is a run of several consecutive winnings; but on one occasion, on board one of the Cunard steamers, a banker at the game turned up in his own favour I think no less than eighteen times. The original stake was only six pence; but had each stake been met as won, the final doubling would have amounted to the immense sum of L3,236 16s.! This will appear by the following scheme: –
In fair play, as this is represented to have been, such a long sequence of matches must be considered very remarkable, although six or seven is not unfrequent.
Unfortunately, however, there is a very easy means by which card sharpers manage the thing to perfection. They prepare beforehand a series of a dozen cards arranged as follows: –
1st Queen 6th Nine
2nd Queen 7th Nine
3rd Ten 8th Ace
4th Seven 9th Eight
5th Ten 10th Ace
Series thus arranged are placed in side pockets outside the waistcoat, just under the left breast. When the sharper becomes banker he leans negligently over the table, and in this position his fingers are as close as possible to the prepared cards, termed portees. At the proper moment he seizes the cards and places them on the pack. The trick is rendered very easy by the fact that the card-sharper has his coat buttoned at the top, so that the lower part of it lies open and permits the introduction of the hand, which is completely masked.
Some sharpers are skilful enough to take up some of the matches already dealt, which they place in their costieres, or side-pockets above described, in readiness for their next operation; others keep them skilfully hidden in their hand, to lay them, at the convenient moment, upon the pack of cards. By this means, the pack is not augmented [Robert Houdin, Les Tricheries des Grecs dévoilées].
Online scratch cards are the online version of lottery scratch cards. Online scratch cards are played by clicking on designated areas to reveal information used in determining the card’s prize value. These online companies provide various cards, and there are a few dedicated companies that provide this activity.
Some online scratch card can offer better odds than the lottery scratch cards, usually purchased at stands. The company is responsible for determining the chance of winning.
Online scratch card types
Online scratch cards can be divided into two groups: web-based scratch cards and download-based scratch cards; some companies offer both.
Web-based online scratch cards
Web based is the most common form of online scratch cards. For the web based online cards, the website users may directly play cards without loading any software to the local computer. Games are presented in the browser plugin Macromedia Flash and require browser support for this plugin.
Download based online scratch cards
On these websites, users must download certain software to play the online cards. After installing the software, it connects the online card service provider and handles contact without browser support.
Games offered
A typical selection of games on offer at an Online Scratch Card might include: Fantazy slot, Bowling, Mega Safe and Slot Super 7.
Bonuses
Many online Scratch card companies offer large bonuses. Often a “100% match up bonus”. For example, common terms and conditions for a bonus may go as follows:
100% up to $100
Must wager 20 times the bonus before withdrawing
For a specific example, this would mean that a player depositing $100 would start with $200 in his/her account. He/She must make $2000 ($100 & times; 20) in wagers before withdrawing. Any card played will count towards the wager requirement.
Player Fraud
Sometimes players are deceitful or irresponsible. In the most common cases of player fraud, the player signs up for multiple accounts on a card site using fake names to repeat the bonus more than once. Online scratch card companies do not tolerate such behavior and will usually lock the account or accounts of the player responsible, and may inform other scratch card sites or the software provider to keep the player out of other scratch card sites.
Little known to most players, the suits of the tiles are money-based. In ancient China, the copper coins had a square hole in the center. People passed a rope through the holes to tie coins into strings. These strings are usually in groups of 100 coins called diao (弔 or variant 吊) or 1000 coins called guan (貫). Mahjong’s connection to the ancient Chinese currency system is consistent with its alleged derivation from the game named ma diao (馬吊).
In the mahjong suits, the coppers represent the coins; the ropes are actually strings of 100 coins; and the character myriad represents 10,000 coins or 100 strings. When a hand received the maximium allowed winning of a round, it is called man guan (滿貫, lit. full string of coin.)
A Mahjong game is described in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie, ending with the very unusual event of a player getting a complete winning hand on the initial draw. This success makes the character unduly talkative, which leads to significant plot developments.
British superspy James Bond plays a dangerous game of mahjong in Zero Minus Ten, a suspense novel by Raymond Benson.
In the 1940 film Charlie Chan’s Murder Cruise, the title character remarks, In China, mahjong very simple; in America very complex – like modern life.
The character that translates to “centre” is found on the super-hero suit worn by The Greatest American Hero. Since the character is typically painted red, the tile is commonly called “red centre.” For this reason the HongKong TV station TVB named the Chinese-dubbed The Greatest American Hero “the Flying Red Centre Hero” [飛天紅中俠]. (ABC, 1981-83).
Mahjong is featured in Amy Tan’s novel The Joy Luck Club, and its 1993 film adaptation.
Mahjong has always appeared in one way or another in Hong Kong made movies or TV drama, since it is considered as a “daily life” of a Chinese lifestyle. Two recent Cantonese movies, Fat Choi Spirit and Kung Fu Mahjong, parody the game’s subculture.
The tile that translates to “Red Dragon” is used as a major plot point in the same titled Thomas Harris novel, as well as its two film adaptations, Manhunter and Red Dragon.
Graham Edwards’ Stone trilogy features mahjong prominently. Much of the books’ imagery focuses around the mahjong symbols, and one character owns a set of mahjong tiles, on which she paints throughout the trilogy.
A scratchcard (also called scratch off, scratch game, scratch ticket, scratcher or scratchie) is a small piece of card where an area has been covered by a substance that cannot be seen through, but can be scratched off. Under this area are concealed the items/pictures that must be ‘found’ in order to win. It is a form of gambling.Simple scratchcards require the player to match three (or varying numbers) of the same prize amounts. If this is accomplished, they win that amount. More complicated scratchcards have several different ways to win on one card. Other scratchcards involve matching symbols, pictures or words, or are adaptions of popular (card-)games like Blackjack, Poker or Monopoly.
There are also online versions of the same game which utilize Flash and Java to simulate the experience on a computer.
Scratchcards are a very popular form of gambling due to their low cost. You can also win instantly as opposed to waiting for a drawing like many lotteries.
The low cost to buy a scratchcard is offset by the smaller prizes and lower expected value, compared to casino jackpots or lottery wins. There is a trend towards more expensive scratchcards (20-30USD) that have prizes in the millions of dollars.
The other recent change in scratchcards is the increasing attempts to predict which cards have prizes. In the past, scratchcards have been a random impulse purchase. Now, there are amateur and professional efforts to track the number of prizes won and cards sold so people have access to the current odds on all the games available.
There are 12,994,800 scoring hands in Cribbage (52c5 x 5, 5 cards then any of those 5 as the turn up card).
Approximately 8.5% of randomly drawn four-card hands will score 0 (not including pegging).
The highest score is 29 (555J in hand with the turn-up 5 of the same suit as the Jack).
The second highest score is 28 (any 10/J/Q/K+5555 in hand and turn-up excepting the above 29 hand) and the third highest is 24 (A7777, 33339, 36666, 44447, 44556, 44566, 45566, 67788, 77889).
All scores between 0 and 29 are possible, with the exception of 19, 25, 26 and 27. Players will sometimes refer to a 0-scoring hand as having a score of 19, which can confuse new players.
The odds of getting a 28 hand in a 2 player game are 1 in 15,028.
The odds of getting a perfect 29 hand in a 2 player game are 1 in 216,580.
The odds of getting a perfect 29 hand in a 3 or 4 player game are 1 in 649,740.
The dealer will always peg at least one point in 2 player, 6 card cribbage (unless opponent pegs out before all the cards are played).
The most points that can be pegged by playing one card are 15. This is accomplished by completing a double pair royale, while making the count 15 on the last card (12 for Double Pair Royale, 2 for 15, 1 for last card). Although this is rare, players declare it as “15 for 15.”
The highest score as a dealer is 53. The turn-up must be a 5, and one hand must have J555 while the other has 4466. The first being a 29 (With the right Jack) and the second being 24.
A scratchcard (also called scratch off, scratch game, scratch ticket, scratcher or scratchie) is a small piece of card where an area has been covered by a substance that cannot be seen through, but can be scratched off. Under this area are concealed the items/pictures that must be ‘found’ in order to win. It is a form of gambling.Simple scratchcards require the player to match three (or varying numbers) of the same prize amounts. If this is accomplished, they win that amount. More complicated scratchcards have several different ways to win on one card. Other scratchcards involve matching symbols, pictures or words, or are adaptions of popular (card-)games like Blackjack, Poker or Monopoly.
There are also online versions of the same game which utilize Flash and Java to simulate the experience on a computer.
Scratchcards are a very popular form of gambling due to their low cost. You can also win instantly as opposed to waiting for a drawing like many lotteries.
The low cost to buy a scratchcard is offset by the smaller prizes and lower expected value, compared to casino jackpots or lottery wins. There is a trend towards more expensive scratchcards (20-30USD) that have prizes in the millions of dollars.
The other recent change in scratchcards is the increasing attempts to predict which cards have prizes. In the past, scratchcards have been a random impulse purchase. Now, there are amateur and professional efforts to track the number of prizes won and cards sold so people have access to the current odds on all the games available.
There are certain cards and card combinations that are likely to be beneficial to a hand, so a non-dealer should try to keep them in his hand and the dealer should try to keep any good combinations together, either in his hand or in the crib. It is less beneficial to plan for the play. Obviously pairs, runs and combinations totalling fifteen are good. Other things to look out for are:
Fives – Since 4 out of every thirteen cards are worth 10, there’s a good chance that a 5 in the crib will help make 15′s, and even in hand. A five thrown in a crib will result in at least two points. There is no 5-card combination including a 5 that totals less than 2 points.
Sevens and eights – Not only total 15, but have a chance of meeting a 6 or 9 and completing a run.
Threes, sixes and nines – Likely to combine to 15 (69, 366, 339, etc.).
In “old game” (2 players, 5 cards) the crib (which has more cards) is the most plentiful source of points, and the split of the hand should reflect this. Players must be prepared to sabotage their own hand, to avoid giving their opponent a high-scoring crib.
The play
Some of these tactics will only work in a two-player game (with more players it is harder to devise a strategy). If you play first:
Don’t lead a five; chances are your opponent has a ten or face card and can easily make 15 for two points.
Playing a four or less guarantees that your opponent can’t make 15 – the best they can do is to complete the pair (which there is no defense against unless you hold at least two of a given card).
Other than the above, if you have two cards totalling fifteen, play one; that way if your opponent takes the score to fifteen for two, you can complete the pair to get two yourself.
If you have a 7 and a 9 or an 8 and a 9, play the 7 or 8. Chances are that your opponent will play for the 15, giving you a run of 3 with the 9.
In general:
Play a card from a pair; if your opponent completes the pair for two, you can smugly complete a triple for six (make sure there will be room for your play).
If you play a card where the next higher or lower card would make fifteen and you have the next card in the sequence (i.e. you play an 8 and hold a 6 or 9), you can make a run of three if your opponent makes fifteen.
Try to keep small cards, making it more likely that you play the last card for a point or even 31 for two. When pegging first, however, leading a card lower than five prevents the next player from immediately scoring a fifteen.
Leading with a 6 or a 9 is generally considered a bad play, although there are situations when it can be advantageous.
Avoid making the count 21 if at all possible. There are 16 cards in the deck (30.8% of deck) with a value of 10, so making the count 21 gives your opponent a good chance to get 2 points for 31.
Each player in turn (in the order of play), ending with the dealer, totals up the points in his hand, including the turn-up card, and pegs the amount. The order in which this is done is important as a player who tallies his score first may peg out and thus win the game even though another player’s tally would take him to an even greater score. In a standard, two-handed game, the hands are scored in the following order:
Non-dealer’s hand
Dealer’s hand
Dealer’s crib
In general, hands are scored starting with the player to the dealer’s left, then rotating round to finish with the dealer’s hand, then the dealer’s crib.
Points are scored for:
points for having a group of cards that total 15 (again, face cards count 10, aces 1),
points for having a pair (notice that three of a kind forms three pairs, hence scores 6 points, and four of a kind scores 12; three of a kind is sometimes called a “pair royal” or “proil”, with 4 of a kind being a “double royal” or “double proil”),
points for a run of three, 4 for a run of four, etc.
The number of cards in the hand (3 in five card, 4 in six card, 5 in seven card) points for a flush (that is cards of the same suit) not including the turn-up card, one more if the turn-up card is included. If you have a Jack in your hand when you score a flush, you still get to count one point for the “right Jack” assuming it is of the same suit as the turned up card (this is often overlooked by beginners). Also, the crib must be all the same suit (including turned up card) to score any flush points,
point “for his nob” or “nibs” for having a Jack of the same suit as the turn-up card (also known as the “right Jack”).
For example, if a player has the Ace, 6, 7 and 8 of Spades in his hand and the turn up card is the 6 of Hearts, he would score:
“Fifteen six” – for three ways to form 15, that is 7 and 8, and Ace, 6 and 8 twice,
“and two” – for a pair of sixes,
“and six” – for two runs of three (6, 7, 8),
“and four” – for the flush,
“makes eighteen” – the total.
The score is traditionally read as shown, though players may simply declare the score, particularly with low-scoring hands. The highest possible score in six card cribbage is 29, for a holding of 5, 5, 5, J with a turn-up of a 5 of the same suit as the Jack. This scores:
“fifteen sixteen” – for J-5 four times and 5-5-5 four times,
“and twelve” – for four 5s,
“and one for his nob makes twenty-nine.”
(Don’t be too concerned about how to score this particular hand, as acquiring this hand is extremely rare).
In the seven-card game it is a whopping 46, scored by 4,4,5,5,6,6 (including turn-up), that is fifteen 16, 24 in runs and 6 in pairs.
Not every score below these can actually be made and the lowest of those that can’t is 19 (except in seven-card). Because of this, a player with a hand scoring 0 will often declare “nineteen”. Another name for a hand scoring zero points is “Ukrainian Straight”. Other common calls are “Fifteen two and the rest won’t do”, and “Fifteen four and the rest don’t score” or “Fifteen four and there ain’t no more.”
In a variation called “Muggins”, if a player does not claim points either in the play or in the show, their opponent may announce “Muggins” and claim those points for themselves. Whether or not to play Muggins is determined before the start of the game.
The crib
Finally the dealer tallies the points in the crib. This works precisely the same as tallying the other hands, except that a flush scores only if its suit matches that of the turn-up card.
The dealer rotates with each hand, and this is important because of the advantage the crib gives to the dealer (especially in five-card). If at any point in a hand a player pegs out (reaches the winning score), then the game ends and he wins. A notable feature of cribbage is that as soon as a player pegs out, the game is over; this can happen during the play of cards or while the hands are being scored. Some cribbage boards are marked with an ‘S’ in place of 90 because a player is said to be ‘skunked’ if, when the game ends, the player has fewer than 91 points. A player who finishes with fewer than 61 points is said to be ‘double skunked’ or ‘lurched.’
The deal and the formation of the crib
The dealer shuffles the pack and deals the required number of cards. The non-dealer has the right to cut the deck before the deal, though this can be ignored to save time. The players then discard cards face-down to form the crib, which will be by the dealer.
In one (unfriendly, but nevertheless common) variation, the non-dealer does not have the right to cut the deck before the deal. In this variation, the dealer may choose to offer the cut; a naive or inattentive opponent will cut the deck and hand it back, whereupon the dealer immediately pegs one point; a knowledgeable opponent, though, will simply accept the deck, whereupon he becomes dealer for that hand.
The turn-up
The player to the dealer’s left cuts the pack and the dealer turns up the top card (sometimes called the Starter). If the card is a Jack, the dealer scores two points “for his heels” or “knobs.”
Card values
Aces always count as 1, and face cards always have a counting value of 10, but their customary rank for runs (i.e., 9,10,J,Q,K is a valid run of 5, but A,10,J,Q,K is only a run of 4, since the Ace is always 1).
The play
Each player in turn plays a card, with the non-dealer playing first, stating the total as he goes (face cards count as 10, aces as 1). When the first player leads with a card which is the same as the turned up card, they will often exclaim “See one, play one”. The total must not pass 31.
If a player cannot play a card without bringing the total over 31, the player says “Go” and the other player must then play any cards that keep the total at 31 or less, he then pegs 1 point for the go (or 2 points—but no point for the go—if he hits 31 exactly). The count then resets to 0, and the player who said “go” leads the next card (unless he has no cards, in which case the other player plays his remaining cards).
The cards should be played face up in front of the player. Players peg points as follows:
2 points for bringing the total to 15,
2 points if the card is of the same value as the previous card (i.e. completing a pair),
6 points for playing a third consecutive card of the same value,
12 points for playing a fourth consecutive card of the same value,
Three points for completing a run of three cards, four for completing a run of four cards, etc. This is regardless of the order of play, as long as no non-run making card stands in the way, so if the cards played are 6,6,4,2,3, then the player who plays the 3 will score three.
1 point for playing a card such that none of the other players can go—because either everyone else is out of cards, or no one else can play without exceeding 31—in either case this is a ‘point for go.’
2 points for bringing the total to 31.
1 point for playing the last card—except when the last card counts to 31 in which case 2 points are scored (see above).
In all games except five card, when no other player can play, you play your remaining cards. In this situation, it is possible for you to inflict a “go” on yourself! For instance, if (in a two-player game) your opponent runs out of cards when the count is at 22 and you’re holding a 5 and a queen, you play the 5 (bringing the count to 27), peg a point for your own “go” and then begin a new count, playing the queen (and scoring 1 point for last card).
An example from a two player game:
Player 1 plays a 10, saying “Ten”,
Player 2 plays a 5, saying “Fifteen for two” and pegging two points,
Player 1 plays a 5, saying “Twenty for two” and pegging two points,
Player 2 plays a 5, saying “Twenty-five for six” and pegging six points,
Player 1 plays a 6, saying “Thirty-one for two” and pegging two points.
The count resets and play continues until all eight cards are played.
Another example:
Player 1 plays a 9, saying “Nine”,
Player 2 plays a 7, saying, “Sixteen”,
Player 1 plays an 8, saying, “Twenty-four for three” and pegging three points (run of 7,8,9),
Player 2 plays a 5, saying, “Twenty-nine”,
Player 1 having no cards which would keep the total at 31 or less, says “Go”,
Player 2 plays an Ace, saying “Thirty” and pegging one point (for the “go”),
Player 1 plays a 9, saying “Nine” (the count has been reset after the “go”),
Player 2 plays a 3, saying “Twelve”,
Player 1 plays a 4, saying “Sixteen and one for last” and pegs one point (for the last card of the hand)
Cribbage or Crib is a card game for two, three or four players that involves forming combinations of cards over a series of hands to accumulate points. Points are mainly scored by runs, regardless of suit; by pairs, triples and quadruples; by flushes; and by cards that add up to 15.
Cribbage is the only card game that can legally be played for a wager in British pubs.
According to John Aubrey, cribbage was invented by Sir John Suckling, a British poet, in the early 17th century. It was derived from an older card game called Noddy. It has survived, with no major changes, as one of the most popular games in the English-speaking world.
It is generally played by two people, although it can be played by three or four, or by a pair of two-person teams.
The game has several unusual features: one is the crib (or box), from which the game takes its name. This is a separate, four-card hand made up of discards from each player, which counts for the dealer. Another is that each hand has two distinct scoring stages: the play and the show.
Visually, cribbage is known for its scoring board – a series of holes (streets) on which score is tallied with pegs. Scores can be kept on a piece of paper, but a cribbage board is almost always used, since scoring occurs throughout the game, not just at the conclusion of hands as in most other card games.
There are two main designs of cribbage board:
The older has four rows of thirty holes and a pegging-out hole in the middle at each end (allowing the board to be used both ways round). It is not suitable for three player games. In variations it can however be used for team crib with four players and five cards each. Partners are normally opposite each other.
The newer has three or four rows of 120 holes with a pegging-out hole at the end and is often brightly coloured. It is best suited to games played to 121, though it can also be used for 61-point games.
In both cases there are two pegs for each player (except team crib where it is two pegs per team\partnership), so that if a player loses track in the count one peg still marks the previous score. The holes are divided into groups of 5.
Variations
Six-card cribbage is the most common game, and is the version played exclusively in organized tournaments. Here each player is dealt six cards, leaving them with four once two are placed in the crib. Play is to 121 — two streets of 60 (up and down) and the pegging-out hole.
For three players, five cards are dealt each and one to the crib. Each player places one card in the crib. Then play is as six card.
Five-card cribbage (for two players) is the oldest version, and is sometimes known as “old game”. Each player is dealt five cards, so the crib consists of four cards but each hand only three. Whoever is non-dealer first is given a three-point start and play is to 61. The pegging is also slightly different from six card.
For four players, five cards are dealt each and each player places one in the crib. Play is as six card. In partner crib, players opposite each other form a partnership (as in bridge) and the scores are combined.
Seven-card cribbage is rare. Seven cards are dealt each and one to the crib, so the hands have five cards. The points can be very complicated to calculate. Play is to 151 (two and a half times round a traditional board).
Low-ball is a variant of six-card, in which the first person to score 121 points loses.
Muggins (see below)
CrossCribb
Statistics
There are 12,994,800 scoring hands in Cribbage (52c5 x 5, 5 cards then any of those 5 as the turn up card).
Approximately 8.5% of randomly drawn four-card hands will score 0 (not including pegging).
The highest score is 29 (555J in hand with the turn-up 5 of the same suit as the Jack).
The second highest score is 28 (any 10/J/Q/K+5555 in hand and turn-up excepting the above 29 hand) and the third highest is 24 (A7777, 33339, 36666, 44447, 44556, 44566, 45566, 67788, 77889).
All scores between 0 and 29 are possible, with the exception of 19, 25, 26 and 27. Players will sometimes refer to a 0-scoring hand as having a score of 19, which can confuse new players.
The odds of getting a 28 hand in a 2 player game are 1 in 15,028.
The odds of getting a perfect 29 hand in a 2 player game are 1 in 216,580.
The odds of getting a perfect 29 hand in a 3 or 4 player game are 1 in 649,740.
The dealer will always peg at least one point in 2 player, 6 card cribbage (unless opponent pegs out before all the cards are played).
The most points that can be pegged by playing one card are 15. This is accomplished by completing a double pair royale, while making the count 15 on the last card (12 for Double Pair Royale, 2 for 15, 1 for last card). Although this is rare, players declare it as “15 for 15.”
The highest score as a dealer is 53. The turn-up must be a 5, and one hand must have J555 while the other has 4466. The first being a 29 (With the right
There are several free and some subscription-based servers available for playing bridge on the Internet. OKBridge is the oldest of the still-running Internet Bridge services; players of all standards, from beginners to world champions may be found playing there. SWAN Games is a more recent competitor. Bridge Base Online is mostly free, and now has a much larger membership base than either of the above. Some National Contract Bridge Organizations now offer online bridge play to their members including the English Bridge Union, the Dutch Bridge Union and the Australian Bridge Federation. MSN and Yahoo! Games have several online Rubber Bridge rooms.
There are many advantages to playing Bridge online:
The ability to choose when you play.
The ability to choose your opponents. In a club game, you may be forced to play against pairs that are much weaker, rude, or much stronger. Playing online, you can play against opponents of nearly equal ability.
Most servers offer an accurate player rating system. The ACBL and EBU masterpoints systems give credit for how much one has played rather than how well; most online systems have a rating system which attempts to measure one’s ability without regard to the number of games played.
There are fewer restrictions on which conventions one is allowed to use.
You can not make inferences from partner’s tone of voice or other cues available in real life. However, intentional cheating, such as instant messaging your partner, is easier.
A detailed record of every hand may be kept, to help resolve complaints.
It is impossible to make an illegal play by accident, as the software won’t accept a play or call which does not conform to the rules.
The main disadvantage to playing online is that bridge is a social game, and many people play because they enjoy the social atmosphere of the bridge club.
Computer Bridge
After many years of little progress, at the end of the twentieth century computer bridge made big strides forward. In 1996 the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) initiated official World Championships Computer Bridge, to be held annually along with a major bridge event. The first Computer Bridge Championship took place in 1997 at the North American Bridge Championships in Albuquerque.
Terence Reese, a prolific author of bridge books, points out that there are only four ways of taking a trick by force, and two of these are very easy:
playing a high card that no one else can beat
trumping an opponent’s high card
establishing long cards (the last cards in a suit will take tricks if the opponents don’t have the suit and are unable to trump)
playing for the opponents’ high cards to be in a particular position (if their ace is in front of your king, your king may take a trick)
Nearly all trick-taking techniques in bridge can be reduced to one of these four methods.
The optimum play of the cards can require much thought and experience, and is too complicated to describe in a short article. However, some basic ideas of probability may be considered:
Some of the most important probabilities have to do with the position of high cards.
The probability that a given opponent holds one particular card, e.g. the king: 50%
The probability that a given opponent holds two particular cards, e.g. the king and the queen: approximately 25%
The probability that a given opponent holds at least one of two particular cards, e.g. the king or the queen: approximately 75%
When developing long cards, it is important to know the likelihood that the opponents’ cards in the suit are evenly divided between them. Generally speaking, if they hold an even number of cards, they are unlikely to be exactly divided; if the opponents have an odd number in the suit, the cards will probably be divided as evenly as possible. For example, if declarer and dummy have eight trumps between them, the opponents’ trumps are probably (68% chance) divided 3-2 (one opponent with three trumps, the other with two) and trumps can be drawn in three rounds. If declarer is trying to play with a seven card trump suit, it is more likely that the outstanding trumps are divided 4-2 (48%) than that the cards are evenly divided 3-3 between the opponents (36%).
Basic techniques by declarer
trumping
crossruff
establishing long suits
finesse
holdup (mostly at NT contracts)
managing entries
drawing trumps
Advanced techniques by declarer
counting the hand (tracking the distribution of suits and high cards in the opponents’ hands using inferences from the bidding and play)
coup
duck
dummy reversal
endplay
principle of restricted choice
safety play
squeeze
Basic techniques by defenders
opening lead
when to lead trump
Advanced techniques by defenders
avoiding an endplay or squeeze
counting the hand (tracking the distribution of suits and high cards in the unseen hands using inferences from the bidding and play)
false carding
opening lead—using information from auction
signaling
uppercut
Example
♠
J3
♥
J874
♦
A10765
♣
Q3
♠
KQ872
N
W E
S
♠
10954
♥
A2
♥
96
♦
J42
♦
KQ9
♣
1072
♣
K964
♠
A6
♥
KQ1053
♦
83
♣
AJ85
The cards are dealt as in the diagram, and North is the dealer. As neither North nor East have sufficient high card strength to open the bidding, South opens with the bid of 1♥, which denotes a long suit and at least 12 high card points. West overcalls with 1♠, North supports partner’s suit with 2♥, and East also supports spades with 2♠. South inserts a game try of 3♣, inviting the partner to bid the game of 4♥ with good club support and overall values, and North complies, having extra values in form of ♦A, fourth trump, and doubleton Queen of clubs. The bidding was:
West
North
East
South
Pass
Pass
1♥
1♠
2♥
2♠
3♣
Pass
4♥
Pass
Pass
Pass
In bidding, North-South were trying to investigate if their cards are worthy for making a game, which yields bonus points if bid and made. East-West were competing with spades, hoping to play a contract in spades at a low level. 4♥ is the final contract, 10 tricks being required for N-S to make with hearts as trumps.
West (left of South, who is the declarer, having been first to bid hearts) has to make the opening lead and chooses the King of spades, playing it face down. After that, North lies his cards on the table and becomes dummy; West turns his leading card face up, and the declarer makes a plan of playing: the bottom line is, since he has to concede trump ace, a spade, and a diamond, he must not lose a trick in clubs.
After a while, the declarer dictates North to play a small spade. East plays low (small card) and South takes the ♠A, gaining the lead. He proceeds by drawing trumps, leading the ♥K. West takes his Ace and cashes the ♠Q. Since he may not continue spades for fear of a ruff and discard, he plays a diamond. Declarer ducks from the table, and East scores the ♦Q. Not having anything better to do, he returns the remaining trump, taken in South’s hand. South enters the dummy using ♦A, and leads ♣Q in an attempt to finesse East’s King. East covers with the King, South takes the Ace, and proceeds by cashing now high ♣J, then ruffs a small club with a dummy’s trump. He ruffs a diamond in hand for an entry back, and ruffs the last club in dummy. Finally, he claims the remaining tricks by showing his hand, as it now contains only high trumps and there’s no need to continue the play.
(The trick-by-trick notation can be also expressed using a table, but textual explanation is usually preferred, for reader’s convenience. Plays of small cards or discards are not explicated, unless they were important for the outcome).
North-South have scored the required 10 tricks, and their opponents took the remaining 3. The contract is fulfilled, and North enters +620 for his side (North-South are in charge for bookkeeping in duplicate tournaments) in the traveling sheet. Every player returns his own cards into the board, and the next deal is played.
Much complexity in bridge arises from the difficulty of successfully arriving at a good final contract in the auction. This is a fundamentally difficult problem: the two players in a partnership must try to communicate enough information about their hands to ultimately arrive at a makeable contract, but the information they can exchange is restricted in two ways:
Information may only be passed by the calls made and later by the cards played, and not by any other means.
The agreed-upon meaning of all information passed must be available to the opponents.
A bidding system is the typical solution to this problem: each player evaluates his or her own hand and makes bids to give or request information from their partner, with the goal of eventually arriving at an ideal contract. Bids, doubles, redoubles, and even passes can be either natural or conventional. A natural bid is a proposal to reach a contract in the named suit. A conventional bid is an attempt to communicate, offering and/or asking for information about the partnerships’ hands, that is not intended to be a proposal for the final contract. A wide variety of bidding systems have been developed over the course of the 20th century. However, most modern systems have well-established common ground.
First of all, a fairly universal system of high card points is used to give a basic evaluation of the strength of a hand. Aces are counted as 4 points, kings as 3, queens as 2, and jacks as 1 point; therefore, the deck contains 40 points. 26 points shared between partners is considered sufficient for a partnership to bid, and make, game in a major or in no trump. In addition, the distribution of the cards in a hand into suits may also contribute to the strength of a hand and be counted as distribution points. Because 26 points is usually considered sufficient to make game, 13 points in one hand is considered sufficient to open the bidding (that is, make the first bid in the auction), by bidding 1 of a suit.
A one no trump opening bid usually reflects a hand that has relatively balanced suits and high cards, and usually refers to a hand with 15-17 high card points. In some systems the number of points expected from a 1NT opening bid changes, but it almost always refers to a relatively narrow range of points.
Opening bids of 2 or higher are reserved for two types of bids: unusually strong bids and preemptive bids. Unusually strong bids communicate an especially high number of points; the availability of unusually strong bids allows a player with a weak hand to safely pass when their partner opens the bidding at one of a suit. Preemptive bids are often made with weak hands that especially favor a particular suit. For instance, with a hand of ♠ AK98742 ♥ 73 ♦ 42 ♣ 76, an opening bid of 3♠ is a very reasonable sacrificial bid, designed to make it difficult for the opposing team to determine a contract for themselves (which is good here, since they are likely to have the bulk of the points).
Most systems include the weak two bid convention, in which opening bids of 2♥, 2♦, or 2♠ are reserved for preemptive bids, while 2♣ is used for very strong hands. This is a first example of a conventional bid: an opening bid of 2♣ in no way suggests 2♣ as a final contract: indeed, in these systems 2♣ may be bid without any clubs.
Another common convention is the 5-card major convention, in which an opening bid of 1♥ or 1♠ promises at least 5 cards in that suit. This leads to some awkward bids, for instance, when a player has four cards in each major, and is forced to open the bidding with 1 of a 3-card minor suit.
Doubles are sometimes used in bidding conventions. A natural, or penalty double, is one used to try to gain extra points when the defenders are confident of setting (defeating) the contract. The most common example of a conventional double is the takeout double of a low-level bid, implying support for the unbid suits and asking partner to choose one of them.
There are many other conventions. Some of the most famous are Stayman, Jacoby transfers and Blackwood.
Bidding systems depart from these basic ideas in varying degrees. Standard American, for instance, is a collection of conventions designed to bolster the accuracy and power of these basic ideas, while Precision Club is a highly conventional system that uses the 1♣ opening bid for strong hands (but sets the threshold rather lower than most other systems) and requires many other changes in order to handle other situations. Many experts today use a system called 2/1 game forcing. In the UK, Acol is the standard system. There are even a variety of techniques used for hand evaluation. The most basic is the Milton Work point count, but this is sometimes augmented by other guidelines such as losing trick count, law of total tricks or Zar Points.
At its core, bridge is a game of skill played with randomly dealt cards, which makes each deal a game of chance. Despite this, chance can be largely eliminated by comparing pairs’ results in identical situations. This is achievable when there are eight or more players, sitting at several tables, and the deals from each table are preserved and passed to the next table, thereby duplicating them for another 4 (or more) participants to play. At the end of a competition, the scores for each deal are compared against each other, and most points are awarded to the players doing the best with each particular deal. This measures skill despite the initial chance of the deal.
This form of the game is referred to as duplicate bridge and is played in tournaments, which can gather as many as several hundred players. Duplicate bridge is a mind sport, and its popularity gradually became comparable to that of chess, which it is often compared with for its complexity and mental skills required for high-level competition.
The basic premise of duplicate bridge was occasionally used for whist matches, as early as 1857. For some reason, duplicate was not thought to be suitable for bridge, and so it wasn’t until the 1920s that (auction) bridge tournaments became popular.
In 1925 when contract bridge first evolved, bridge tournaments were becoming popular, but the rules were somewhat in flux, and several different organizing bodies were involved in tournament sponsorship: the American Bridge League (formerly the American Auction Bridge League, which changed its name in 1929), the American Whist League, and the United States Bridge Federation. In 1935, the first officially recognized world championship was held. By 1937, however, the American Contract Bridge League had come to power (a union of the ABL and the USBF), and it remains the principal organizing body for bridge tournaments in North America. In 1958, the World Bridge Federation was founded, as bridge had become an international activity.
Today, the ACBL has over 160,000 members and runs 1100 tournaments per year with 3200 officially-associated bridge clubs.
Bidding boxes and bidding screens
In tournaments, “bidding boxes” are frequently used. A bidding box is a box of cards, each bearing the name of one of the legal calls in bridge. A player wishing to make a call displays the appropriate card from the box, rather than making a verbal declaration. This prevents unauthorized information from being conveyed via voice inflection. In top national and international events, “bidding screens” are used. These are diagonal screens which are placed across the table, preventing a player from seeing his partner during the game.
Important Bridge Players
Giorgio Belladonna
Easley Blackwood Sr.
Norberto Bocchi
Ely Culbertson
Giorgio Duboin
Benito Garozzo
Charles Goren
Bob Hamman
Oswald Jacoby
Jeff Meckstroth
Terence Reese
Eric Rodwell
Omar Sharif
Helen Sobel Smith
Samuel Stayman
Trick-taking games can be traced back to the early 16th century. Whist became the dominant form, and enjoyed a loyal following for centuries.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word bridge is the English pronunciation of “biritch”, an older name of the game of uncertain origin; the oldest known rule book, from 1886, calls it “Biritch, or Russian Whist”. This game, known today by the retronyms bridge-whist and straight bridge, became popular in the United States and the UK in the 1890s.
Biritch featured several significant developments from Whist: the trump suit was either chosen by the dealer, or he could pass the choice to his partner; there was a call of no trumps; and the dealer’s partner laid his cards on the table as dummy to be played by the dealer. It also featured other characteristics found in modern bridge: points scored above and below the line; game was 3NT, 4H and 5D (although 8 club tricks and 15 spade tricks were needed!); the score could be doubled and redoubled; there were slam bonuses.
In 1904 auction bridge arose where the players bid in a competitive auction to decide the contract and declarer. The object became to make at least as many tricks as were contracted for and penalties were introduced for failing to do so.
The modern game of contract bridge was the result of innovations to the scoring of auction bridge made by Harold Stirling Vanderbilt and others. The most significant change was that only tricks contracted for were counted below the line towards game and for slam bonuses, which resulted in bidding becoming much more challenging and interesting. Also new was the concept of vulnerability to make it more expensive to sacrifice to protect the lead in a rubber, and the various scores were adjusted to produce a more balanced game. Vanderbilt set out his rules in 1925, and within a few years contract bridge had so supplanted other forms of the game that “bridge” became synonymous with “contract bridge.”
These days most bridge played is tournament bridge.
Two partnerships of two players each are needed to play bridge. The four players sit around a table with partners opposite one another. The compass directions are often used to refer to the four players, aligned with their seating pattern. Thus, South and North form one partnership and East and West form the other.
A session of bridge consists of many deals (also called hands or boards); the game play of each deal consists of four phases: the deal, the bidding (or auction), the play of the cards, and scoring.
The goal is to achieve as high a numerical score as possible with the dealt cards. The score is affected by two principal factors: the number of tricks bid in the auction, and the number of tricks taken during play. Broadly said, there is incentive to the players to accurately bid the number of tricks that their hands are capable of delivering, as the bonuses for bid tricks increase with the bid level (number of tricks). Thus, in the bidding stage, the pairs compete to see who proposes the highest number of tricks, and the side who wins the bidding must then fulfill that bargain by taking at least the contracted quantity of tricks in play to obtain a score. The number of tricks bid and the trump suit (or lack thereof) are referred to as a contract. The trump suit, or its absence (no trumps) is referred to as denomination or strain. If the side who wins the auction then takes the contracted number of tricks (or more), it is said to have fulfilled the contract and is awarded a score; otherwise, the contract is said to be defeated and points are awarded to the defenders.
Dealing
The game is played with a complete deck of 52 cards. One of the players is the dealer. In rubber bridge (or other “friendly” games), the cards are shuffled and the dealer distributes all the cards clockwise one at a time, starting with his left-hand opponent and ending with himself, so each player receives a hand of thirteen cards. At the same time, for convenience, the dealer’s partner usually shuffles a second deck, to be ready for use on the following deal. The deal rotates clockwise, so the dealer’s left-hand opponent will deal next.
In duplicate bridge, the hands are shuffled only once, at the beginning of the tournament, and dealt clockwise one at a time (there are also special machines for pre-dealing on large tournaments), and placed into bridge boards. At each subsequent table, each player pulls his cards from the board and counts them to ensure that the deal has not been corrupted. Unlike in other trick-taking games, the players do not throw their cards to the middle of the table in each trick; instead, each player keeps his played cards before him, to allow the completed deal to be returned to the board unaltered.
Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge
Rules of contract bridge are standardized by World Bridge Federation and published in the book “Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge”. The last edition is issued in 1997 and consists of 93 laws (articles). All duplicate bridge sponsoring organizations on lower levels must apply those rules. A large portion of the laws, though, is devoted to dealing with various irregular situations, and as such it is mostly used by tournament directors (referees) as the reference book. They are, of course, not binding for rubber and other “friendly game” players, and, instead, simpler rules for dealing with irregularities are often applied by the players themselves.
Players: 4
Age range: recommended for 12 and up
Setup time < 2 minutes
Playing time: WBF tournament games = 7.5 minutes per deal
Rules complexity; Medium
Strategy depth: High
Random chance: Low – high depending on variant played
Skills required: Memory, Tactics
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game of skill, and partly of chance, for four players, who form two partnerships (sides). The partners sit opposite each other. The game consists of two main parts – bidding (or auction) and play, after which the hand is scored.
The bidding ends with a contract, which is a declaration by one partnership that their side shall take a stated quantity (or more) of tricks, with specified suit as trump or without trumps. The rules of play are rather simple and similar to other trick-taking games.
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