The play is the trick-taking part of the game. Players must follow suit and there are no trumps.
Play starts with the Elder hand placing a card face up and scoring one point. The Younger then scores for their declarations, and plays a card that follows suit, if possible. If not, they may discard anything they choose. The winner of the trick (the player with the highest card in the suit led), takes the trick, placing it face-down (usually–see variations) in front of them. The winner of the trick leads the next.
When forced to discard, it is important to choose the right card. See tactics.
Score is usually kept verbally as play progresses. Trick score counts as follows:
1 point for leading a trick
If the second player (the player who doesn’t lead) wins a trick, they get a point.
The winner of the last trick wins a 1 point bonus (see variations).
If all 12 tricks are won by one player, that player scores 40 points for capot. Otherwise, the player with the greater number of tricks won scores 10. If there is a tie, then neither player scores any extra points.
Crossing the Rubicon
When a player scores more than 100 points in the course of a partie, this is known as Crossing the Rubicon and is important in scoring.
Scoring
If both players score at least 100 in a partie, then the score is winner – loser + 100. If, however, the loser fails to cross the Rubicon and score 100, then the loss is much more punishing: winner + loser + 100.
Variations
Players may choose to keep tricks face up in front of them.
The winner of the last trick may score 10 points instead of 1, making the choice of how to close the play more significant.
Jai-Alai (pronounced hi-lie in English and hi-ah-lie in Basque) means “Merry Festival” in the Basque language. The term is used to denote a fronton (or open-walled arena) used to play a variety of Pelota called Cesta Punta, and, more broadly, to the game itself. The game is characterized by the fast pace of play, in which a 125g ball covered with parchment skin can travel faster than 180 mph. The ball is placed into play and volleyed by players wearing a wicker basket glove approximately 63 to 70 cm long.
The glove, known as a Cesta-punta (in Spanish) or xistera (Basque), was invented by the French Basque Gantchiqui Diturbide (also Gantxiki Iturbide) in the 19th century.
Rules and Play
The court (or fronton) for Jai Alai consists of 3 walls (front, back, and left), and the floor between them in play. If the ball touches the floor outside these walls, it is considered out of bounds. Similarly, there is also a border going about 3ft inside the front wall that is also out of bounds. The ceiling on the court is very high, so the ball has a more predictable path.
The court is divided by 15 lines going horizontally across the court, with line 1 closest to the front wall and line 15 the back wall. When serving, the server must bounce the ball behind the serving line, then with the basket hurl it towards the front wall so it bounces between lines 4 and 7 on the rebound.
The goal in Jai Alai is to score 7 points, thus winning the game. Points are scored by the other team dropping, missing, juggling, bobbling or sending the ball out of bounds. The game is played in a round-robin format, switching teams every point, where the team to score a point stays up and the opposing team rotating out into the end of the list of opponents.
Geographic distribution
In countries such as France, Spain and Mexico the game of jai-alai is popular; in some regions, the game is played in almost every town and city.
In the United States, jai-alai enjoyed some popularity as a gambling alternative to horse racing and remains popular in Florida, where the game is used as a basis for parimutuel gambling.
By contrast, jai-alai’s popularity in the north-eastern and western United States waned as other gambling options became available. Frontons in the Connecticut towns of Hartford and Milford permanently closed, while the fronton in Bridgeport was converted to a Greyhound race track. A fronton in Newport, Rhode Island has been converted to a general gaming facility.
Jai-alai enjoyed a brief and popular stint in Las Vegas, Nevada with the opening of a fronton at the MGM Grand Casino and Hotel; however, by the early 1980s the fronton was losing money and was closed by MGM Grand owner Kirk Kerkorian.
In an effort to prevent the closure of frontons in Florida, the Florida State Legislature passed HB 1059, a bill that changed the rules regarding the operation and wagering of poker in a Pari-Mutuel facility such as a jai-alai fronton and a greyhound and horseracing track. The bill became law on August 6, 2003.
The United Auto Workers Local 8868 is the recognized bargaining agent for jai-alai players and fronton employees in Florida. The union also represented jai-alai players and fronton employees in Connecticut until its three frontons permanently closed, and in Rhode Island where at the behest of the gaming facility owners, the Rhode Island State Legislature abolished legalized jai-alai in favour of video lottery terminals.
Seven-card stud is a variant of stud poker. Until the recent increase in popularity of Texas hold ‘em, seven-card stud was the most popular poker variant in home games across the United States, and in casinos in the eastern part of the country. Seven-card stud is also played in western American casinos, but Texas hold ‘em is far more popular there. Two to eight players can play.
The descriptions below assume that you are familiar with the general game play of poker, and with hand values. They also make no assumptions about what poker betting structure is used. In casino play, it is common to use a small ante and bring-in. In home games, it is typical to use an ante only.
Quick play overview
Play proceeds as follows (“player” refers only to those who have not folded and are still in the game), with betting rounds in-between.
Betting is clockwise, the player with the highest poker hand showing starts (ie 2-2 beats K-Q).
2 cards dealt face down to each player, 1 card dealt face up
Play begins with each player being dealt one card face down, followed by one card face up (beginning as usual with the player to the dealer’s left). If played with a bring-in, the player with the lowest-ranking upcard must pay the bring in, and betting proceeds after that. If two players have equally ranked low cards, suit rankings may be used to break the tie. If there is no bring-in, then the first betting round begins with the player showing the highest-ranking upcard, who may check. In this case, suit should not be used to break ties; if two players have the same high upcard, the one first in clockwise rotation from the dealer acts first.
After the first betting round is complete, another face-up card is dealt to each player (after a burn card, starting with the player to the dealer’s left, as will all subsequent rounds). Betting now begins with the player whose upcards make the best poker hand (since fewer than five cards are face up, this means no straights, flushes, or full houses). On this and subsequent betting rounds, the player to act first may check or bet up to the game’s limit. The second betting round is followed by a third upcard to each player and a third betting round, again starting with the player with the best poker hand showing (thus, the first player to act on each round may change). A fourth face-up card and fourth betting round is followed by a showdown, if necessary (it usually won’t be–most deals of five-card stud end early when a player bets and gets no calls).
Here’s a sample deal. Assume that a game is being played by four players: Alice, who is dealing, Bob, who is sitting to her left, Carol to his left, and David to Carol’s left. Alice deals one card face down to each player, followed by one card face up to each player, beginning with Bob and ending with herself. Bob is dealt the ♠, Carol the K♦, David the ♦, and Alice the ♣. Because they had earlier agreed to play with a $1 bring-in, David is required to start the betting with a $1 bring-in (his ♦ is lower than Bob’s ♠ by suit). He has the option to open the betting for more, but he chooses to bet only the required $1. The bring-in sets the current bet amount to $1, so Alice cannot check. She decides to call. Bob folds, indicating this by turning his upcard face down and discarding his cards. Carol raises to $3. David folds (forfeiting his bring-in), and Alice calls. Alice now deals a second face-up card to each remaining player: Carol is dealt the J♣, and Alice the K♥. Alice’s two face-up cards make a poker hand of no pair, K-9 high, and Carol has K-J high, so it is Carol’s turn to bet. She checks, as does Alice, ending the betting round. Another face up card is dealt: Carol gets the ♥, and Alice gets the K♣. Alice now has a pair of kings showing, and Carol still has no pair, so Alice bets first. She bets $5, and Carol folds. Alice wins the pot without a showdown.
Play begins with each player being dealt four cards face down. Each player may observe those four cards she is dealt, but not the cards dealt to other players. The hand begins with a “pre-draw” betting round, beginning with the player to the left of the big blind (or the player to the left of the dealer, if no blinds are used) and continuing clockwise. Each player must either call the amount of the big blind (put in an amount equal to the big blind), fold (relinquish any claim to the pot), or raise (put in more money than anyone else, thus requiring others to do the same).
Once everyone has put the same amount of money in the pot or folded, play proceeds to the draw. Beginning with the first player still in the pot to the left of the dealer, each player may discard any number of cards and receive an equal number of replacement cards (called the “draw”). Replacement cards are dealt before the next player chooses the number of cards to draw. The discarded cards are not readded to the deck but are discarded from the game.
The first draw is followed by a second betting round. Here players are free to check (not put in any money, but also remain in the hand) until someone bets. Again betting proceeds until all players have put in an equal amount of money or folded. After the second betting round ends, there is another draw followed by a third betting round. After that there is the final draw, followed by a fourth betting round and the showdown, if necessary.
If at anytime all players but one have folded, the sole remaining player is awarded the pot. If there are more than one player remaining at the conclusion of the final betting round, the hands of those players are compared and the player with the best badugi hand is awarded the pot.
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)
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.
After selecting their buttons, players assemble their dice. Most buttons have five dice, but some have more or fewer, and in certain cases the number of dice may change over the course of the game. The size—that is, number of sides—of most dice is specified and unchangeable, but most buttons have at least one Swing or Option die, which means that the player has a choice of sizes to use for that die. Swing dice, represented by letters like variables in algebra, may have any size within a certain range of integers: for example, an X Swing die may have any whole number of sides between 4 and 20, including odd numbers. Option dice, represented by two numbers separated by a line or slash, give the player a choice of only two sizes: for example, an Option 8/12 die may have either 8 or 12 sides, but no other number. Die sizes typically range between 1 and 30, and any fair random number generator may stand in for a “die” of a non-standard size. For example, a two-sided die is easily simulated by a tossed coin, and a coin plus an eight-sided die can serve as a sixteen-sider: if the coin lands heads, add 0 to the value on the eight-sider; if tails, add 8.
Conceptually, small dice represent speed, and large dice represent strength.
Players select the size of their Swing and Option dice in secret, and reveal them after selection is complete. Then all dice are rolled and arranged in size order in front of their owners. The player with the die showing the lowest value takes the first turn. In the case of a tie for the lowest value, the next lowest value is considered. If all dice are tied, the round ends in a draw, and is replayed. The right to take the first turn is called initiative. Some dice have special skills that change their effect on initiative.
Starting with the player who gained initiative, players take turns using their own dice to attack and capture their opponent’s dice. Most dice can participate in either of the two basic types of attack:
Power: In a power attack, one attacking die captures an opposing die that is showing a value lower than or equal to its own.
Skill: In a skill attack, one or more attacking dice capture an opposing die that is showing a value equal to the sum of their values.
After an attack is made, the captured die is added to the capturing player’s score pile. All dice that participated in the attack are rerolled. The player’s turn ends, and his opponent’s begins.
A player may not pass his turn unless he is unable to make a legal attack. When both players pass consecutively (which usually, but not always, happens because one player is out of dice), the round ends and scores are counted.
Each player scores the size, in points, of each captured die in his score pile, plus half the size of each of his dice that remained uncaptured (some die skills can alter this total). The player with the higher total wins the round. Usually it is the case that the player who captured more dice wins the round. However, when there is a large difference between the number of die sides each player owns, it may be possible for one player to lose all of his dice and still win the round.
Between rounds, players may, if they wish, change the size of their Swing and Option dice to any other size in the allowed range. In tournament play, only the losing player may do so.
The first player to win three rounds wins the game.
Die skills
Dice in Button Men can be assigned one or more of over 30 official and unofficial die skills, which may augment, reduce, or simply alter their abilities. Usually, die skills are assigned only to some of the dice on a button, so that the player can only use those skills while those dice remain in play. In a small number of cases, however, special skills (other than die skills) are assigned to a button rather than to its dice, so that its player can always use them.
Some common die skills and their meanings are:
Focus: At the beginning of each round, the player who does not win initiative may, at his option, reduce the values showing on one or more of his Focus dice, if and only if he gains the initiative by so doing. His opponent may then respond by doing the same with her own Focus dice. The players continue “focusing” in this manner until one of them is unable to or chooses not to. Any Focus dice that were “turned down” as part of a successful bid for initiative are considered “dizzy” and may not participate in an attack during their owner’s first turn.
Shadow: Shadow dice may not make power attacks. Instead, they make shadow attacks, in which they capture any die showing a value between their current value and their maximum value, inclusive. For example, a ten-sided Shadow die showing a value of 8 could capture any die showing an 8, 9, or 10. Shadow dice can participate in skill attacks as normal.
Poison: Poison dice attack normally but are scored differently. At the end of the round, instead of adding the number of sides of a Poison die to their scores, players subtract half the number of sides on any Poison die they captured, and the full number of sides on any Poison die of their own that remained uncaptured.
Stinger: When making a skill attack, Stinger dice may be counted as if they were showing any number between 1 and the value they are actually showing. Thus, a normal six-sided die showing 3 and an eight-sided Stinger die showing 6 could combine to capture any die showing a number between 4 and 9, inclusive. As a trade-off, Stinger dice are not considered when determining initiative.
Dice can have more than one skill assigned to them, but some skills contradict one another. For example, a Focus Stinger die could never be used for its Focus skill, since its owner could never gain initiative by reducing the value showing on a die that does not count towards initiative.
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.
The primary piece of equipment used to play modern Russian roulette is a toy gun that has a 1/6 probability of activating when the trigger is pulled. The gun may be a dedicated device, or it could be a video game light gun connected to a computer programmed for Russian roulette simulation.
Play
All players put money in the pot. Each player in turn points the gun at their head and pulls the trigger. If the gun activates, the person holding the gun is eliminated from the game. The last player remaining wins the pot.
Odds
Assuming a six-shot revolver and that each hole is equally likely to be under the hammer, the probability of losing in the first round is 1 in 6 and the probability increases with each trigger pull. On the 6th trigger pull the probability of losing is 1 in 1 (100%).
Turn
p(Loss)
1
1/6 = 0.166..
2
1/5 = 0.2
3
1/4 = 0.25
4
1/3 = 0.333..
5
1/2 = 0.5
6
1/1 = 1
If the cylinder is spun after every shot, the odds of losing remain the same, 1/6 each time the trigger is pulled; in this case, in a two-person to-the-death game, it is better to go second (if the first person loses, the second person wins, even if he would have lost on his next move — this is equivalent to the house advantage in blackjack, where the house wins if the player busts, even if the dealer himself also is going to bust).
In poker, a dominating hand is one with an overwhelming statistical advantage over another specific hand. For example, in Seven-card stud, while a Starting hand of K♠ K♥ Q♦ has the lead over A♦ K♦ 10♥, the latter has many outs (ways to improve) to beat the former (catching an ace, the straight, the flush, etc.), making it a roughly even contest. However, the first hand dominates in a contest with a hand like Q♥ Q♠ J♣, because this hand has no ways to improve that the first one doesn’t also have (two pair, trips, straight), and the first hand has some of the second hand’s outs as well (unseen cards include two kings, but only one queen), giving it a significant advantage.This concept is most important in no limit play, where it is possible to bet all your money early in the hand. One must judge not only whether your opponent’s hand might be better than yours, but whether or not it might dominate yours to such a degree that long-run fluctuations of luck will amplify the consequences of a mistaken play rather than mitigating them.
One of the things that makes no limit Texas hold ‘em strategically rich and interesting is the unusual relationship of advantage and dominance among various Starting hands. For example, the hand A♣ K♦ is a slight favorite over J♠ 10♠; this hand is a slight favorite over ♠ 4♣; and in a non-transitive relationship, the fours are a small favorite over A♣ K♦. None of these hands dominates any other, but A♣ K♦does dominate A♥ Q♦, ♠ 4♣ is dominated by ♠ ♥, and J♠ 10♠ is dominated by Q♣ J♣.
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.
Standard slot machines do not get “hot” or “cold”. The odds of hitting a winning combination are determined by a random number generator contained in the machine’s software and is exactly the same with every spin. Such slot machines are never “due to be hit” if they haven’t paid out a jackpot in a while. (Exception: UK-style AWP machines are progressive which means chances of winning will increase over time if the machine has not paid any wins out. Many also “force” wins on players in order to meet the payout percentage).
Placement
There is a science to the placement of slot machines on the gaming floor, but the highest paying machines are not necessarily placed in high-traffic areas. Typically, machines of similar payback percentages are grouped together, with 1% or less difference from machine to machine in the group.
Payout changes
In most jurisdictions, casinos cannot alter the machine’s payout percentage by time of day, day of week, or remotely via a computer.
Using a slot club card does not affect the machine’s payout percentage. The card just allows the casino to keep track of the amount wagered by a player and issue complimentaries accordingly.
Missed opportunities
You leave a machine. Another player comes up and immediately hits a jackpot. You think, “If I had played just one more time, I would have won that jackpot.”
A machine returns a higher jackpot for playing more coins. You play fewer coins, and a winning combination appears. You think, “If I had played more coins, I would have won more money.”
In both cases, you did not “miss” an opportunity to win. The results of modern slot machines depend on exactly when you play them. It is very unlikely in either case that you would have received the same result if you had played just one more time or just one more coin.
The U.S. Open is a prestigious Grand Slam tournament.
Tennis is a sport played between either two players (“Singles”) or two teams of two players (“doubles”). Players use a stringed racquet to strike a ball, a hollow rubber ball covered in felt, over a net into the opponent’s court. In some places tennis is still called lawn tennis to distinguish it from real tennis (also known as royal tennis or court tennis), an older form of the game that is played indoors on a very different kind of a court. Originating in England in the late 19th Century, the game spread first throughout the English-speaking world, particularly among the upper classes. Tennis is now an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society, by all ages, and in many countries around the world. Except for the adoption of the tie-breaker in the 1970s, its rules have remained remarkably unchanged since the 1890s. Along with its millions of players, millions of people follow tennis as a spectator sport, especially the four Grand Slam tournaments.
Manner of play
The court
The dimensions of a tennis court, in metric units.
Tennis is played on a rectangular, flat surface, usually of grass, clay, or concrete. The court is 78 feet (23.77 m) long, and its width is 27 feet (8.23 m) for singles matches and 36 feet (10.97 m) for doubles matches. Additional clear space around the court is required in order for players to reach overrun balls. A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with the baselines, dividing it into two equal ends. The net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts, and 3 feet (914 mm) high in the center.
Types of Courts
There are three main types of courts. Depending on the materials used for the court surfaces, each surface provides a difference in the speed and bounce of the ball, which in turn can affect the level of play of the individual players. The three most common types of courts that are used for play are:
Clay court
Grass court
Hardcourt
Some players are clearly more successful on certain surfaces than on others and become known as, for instance, a “grass-court” or “Clay-court specialist”.
Hardcourt encompasses many different surfaces ranging from old-fashioned concrete courts, to coated asphalt, to wooden gymnasium surfaces, to artificial grass similar to AstroTurf.
Clay courts are considered “slow”, meaning that balls first lose speed as they hit the court and then bounce relatively high, making it more difficult for a player to hit an unreturnable shot, called a winner. On clay courts, line calls are easily reviewable because the ball leaves a visible mark.
Hardcourts and grass are “fast” surfaces, where fast, low bounces keep rallies short and where hard-serving and hard-hitting players have an advantage. Grass courts add an additional variable, with bounces depending on how healthy the grass is and how recently it has been mowed.
For the Grand Slam tournaments, different kinds of courts are used: The U.S. Open and Australian Open use hardcourts, the French Open is played on clay, and Wimbledon is played on grass.
Two players before a serve.
Play of a single point
The players (or teams) start on opposite sides of the net. One player is designated the server, and the opposing player, or in doubles one of the opposing players, is the receiver. Service alternates between the two halves of the court.
For each point, the server starts behind his baseline, between the center mark and the sideline. The receiver may start anywhere on his side of the net, usually behind the service box. When the receiver is ready, the server will serve.
In a legal service, the ball travels over the net (without touching it) and into the diagonally opposite service court. If the ball hits the net but lands in the service court, this is a let service, which is void and the server gets two more serves. If the first service is otherwise faulty in any way, wide, long or not over the net, the serving player has a second attempt at service. If the second service is also faulty, this is a double fault and the receiver wins the point. However if the serve is in then it is considered a legal service.
A legal service starts a rally, in which the players alternate hitting the ball across the net. A legal return consists of the player or team hitting the ball exactly once before it has bounced twice or hit any fixtures. It then travels back over the net and bounces in the court on the opposite side. The first player or team to fail to make a legal return loses the point.
Scoring
A tennis match usually comprises one to five sets. A set consists of a number of games, and games, in turn, consist of points.
Matches consist of an odd number of multiple sets, the match winner being the player who wins more than half of the sets. The match ends as soon as this winning condition is met. Some matches may consist of five sets (the winner being the first to win three sets), while most matches are three sets (the winner being the first to win two sets).
A set consists of a sequence of games played with service alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria. Typically, a player wins a set when he wins at least six games and at least two games more than his opponent. It has become common, however, to play a “twelve-point tiebreak” or “tiebreaker” when each player has won six games. A tiebreaker, played under a separate set of rules, allows one player to win one more game and thus the set, to give a final set score of 7-6.
A game consists of a sequence of points played with the same player serving, and is won by the first player to have won at least four points and at least two points more than his opponent. The running score of each game is described in a manner particular to tennis: scores of zero to three points are described as “love” or “zero”, “fifteen”, “thirty”, and “forty” respectively. When at least three points have been scored by each side and the players have the same number of points, the score is “deuce”. When at least three points have been scored by each side and a player has one more point than his opponent, the score of the game is “advantage” for the winning player. During informal games, “advantage” can also be called “ad in” or “ad out”, depending on whether the serving player or receiving player, respectively, is ahead.
A game point occurs in tennis whenever the player who is in the lead in the game (the smallest unit of play) needs only one more point to win the game. The terminology is extended to sets (set point), matches (match point), and even championships (championship point). For example, if the player who is serving has a score of 40-love, he has a triple game point (triple set point, etc.).
A break point occurs if the receiver, not the server, has a game point. It is of importance in professional tennis, since service breaks happen less frequently with professional players. It may happen that the player who is in the lead in the game has more than one chance to score the winning point, even if his opponent should take the next point(s). For example, if the player who is serving has a score of 15-40, the receiver has a double break point. Should the player in the lead take any one of the next two points, he wins the game.
For two years before the Open Era, in 1955 and 1956, the United States Pro Championship in Cleveland, Ohio was played by the Van Alen Streamlined Scoring System (VASSS) rules, created by James Van Alen, who later invented the tie-breaker. The scoring was the same as that in table tennis, with sets played to 21 points and players alternating 5 services, with no second service. The rules were partially created in order to limit the effectiveness of the powerful service of the reigning professional champion, Pancho Gonzales. Even with the new rules, however, Gonzales beat Pancho Segura in the finals of both tournaments. Even though the 1955 match went to 5 sets, with Gonzales barely holding on to win the last one 21-19, apparently it took only 47 minutes to play. The fans attending the matches preferred the traditional rules, however, and in 1957 the tournament reverted to the old method of scoring.
Officials
In serious play there is an officiating chair umpire (usually referred to as the umpire), who sits in a raised chair to one side of the court. The umpire has absolute authority to determine matters of fact. The chair umpire may be assisted by line umpires, who determine whether the ball has landed within the required part of the court and who also call foot faults. There may also be a net umpire who determines whether the ball has touched the net during service. In some open-tournament matches, players are allowed to challenge a limited number of close calls by means of instant replay in order to have the call overturned. In clay-court matches, a call may be questioned by reference to the mark left by the ball’s impact on the court surface.
Ball boys or girls (who are usually children) may be employed to retrieve balls, pass them to the players, and hand players their towels. They have no adjudicative role. The referee, who is usually located off the court, is the final authority on the rules.
In some leagues players will make their own calls based upon the honor code. This is the case for many high school and college level matches.
Miscellaneous
Convention dictates that two players shake hands at the end of a match.
A tennis match is intended to be continuous. Stamina is a relevant factor, so arbitrary delays are not permitted. In most cases, service is required to occur no more than 20 seconds after the end of the previous point. This is increased to 90 seconds when the players change ends (every two games), and a 120 second break is permitted between sets. Other than this, breaks are permitted only when forced by events beyond the players’ control, such as rain, damaged footwear, or the need to chase an errant ball.
Balls wear out quickly in serious play, and therefore are changed after every nine games. The first such change occurs after only seven games, because the first set of balls is also used for the pre-match warm-up. Continuity of the balls’ condition is considered part of the game, so if a re-warm-up is required after an extended break in play (usually due to rain) then the re-warm-up is done using a separate set of balls, and use of the match balls is resumed only when play resumes.
Wheelchair tennis can be played by able-bodied players as well as people who require a wheelchair for mobility. The use of legs or feet is then prohibited, and the player is required to remain seated in the wheelchair. There is an exception for those who are only able to propel themselves using a foot. In wheelchair tennis, in which the players move in wheelchairs instead of using legs, an extra bounce is permitted. This rule makes it possible to have mixed wheelchair and legs matches. It is possible for a doubles team to consist of a wheelchair user and a legs user, or for a wheelchair user to play against a legs user. In such cases, the extra bounce is permitted for the wheelchair users only.
Another, informal, tennis format is called “Canadian doubles” (also referred to as “American Doubles” in Australia, and “Australian Doubles” in Canada). This involves three players, with one person playing against a doubles team. For the single player, singles-court rules apply (such that the ball must be within the singles-court lines) but on the side of the doubles team, doubles-court rules apply (the alleys are considered in). The scoring is the same as a regular game. This format is not sanctioned by any official body and is only played when a fourth player is not available for normal doubles.
Lastly, there is a tennis formation called “Australian doubles” in which both players on the same team line up on the same side of the court, with one player at the net and one in the backcourt. The one in back will generally move to the vacant side of the court after the point begins, which forces the opposing player to hit the ball down the line. This formation also allows the player at the net to poach more easily.
Other Rules of Play Used in American College Tennis
As of 1999, in Division I tennis at the college level, a let service is considered playable. This rule change was made to prevent receivers from falsely claiming a valid service to be a let, which is a call that cannot be overruled. Thus, a service that hits the net before landing in the service box is a playable shot, and must be returned by the receiver. Otherwise, the receiver loses the point.
Other Rules of Play Used in American High School Tennis
During high school tennis team matches players may have to follow a few different rules:
Pro set: Instead of playing best out of three sets, players may play one pro set. A pro set is first to 8 games instead of 6. All other rules apply.
Super tie-break: This is played sometimes after players split sets (Each wins one set). It decides who wins instead of a third set. This is played like a regular tie-break but you go to ten instead of seven.
No-ad: You play through the match without any ads. When the game is at deuce the receiving player has the option to choose what side of court (either the deuce side or the ad side) they want to receive the serve for the final game-deciding point. The first player or team to four points wins the game.
Tournaments
Tournaments are often organized by gender and number of players. Common tournament configurations include men’s singles, women’s singles, doubles (where two players of the same sex play on each side), and mixed doubles (with a member of each sex per side). Tournaments may be arranged for specific age groups, with upper age limits for youth and lower age limits for senior players. There are also tournaments for handicapped players. In the four grand slams, the draw (the maximum number of players allowed in a particular category of the tournament) is 128 people.
Players may also be matched by their skill level. According to how well a person does in sanctioned play, he or she is given a rating (examples from the U.S. system called the National Tennis Rating Program (NTRP): 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, 4.5, etc.) which is adjusted periodically to maintain competitive matches.
4-Digits (4D) is a Singapore lottery. People play by choosing any number from 0000 to 9999. 23 number combinations are drawn every time. If one of the numbers match the one that the player has bought, a prize is won.
Methods of Play
Ordinary Entry
Ordinary entry refers to a specific number. Example: 1234
4-D Roll
4-D Roll refers to a bet which substitutes any one of the four digits with ‘R’. (i.e. R123, 1R23, 12R3 and 123R) where ‘R’ denotes all digits from 0 to 9. Only one digit can be substituted with ‘R’. For example, if you mark R234, you are actually buying 10 Ordinary Entries (i.e. 0234, 1234, 2234, 3234 …. 9234).
System Entry
System entry refers to a bet on all the possible permutations of a 4-D number, e.g. the number 1234 has 24 permutations (1234, 2341, 3412, 4123…).
iBet
iBet is a System Entry bet priced from $1, regardless of the number of permutations.
Quickpick
Quick pick refers to a bet on a random number selected by the computer.
Advantage player is a term used to describe a person who has the ability to play a casino gambling game so skillfully that even without cheating, that person can negate or reverse the casino’s typical built-in house advantage in that game. Examples of advantage play include card counting in blackjack and dice control in craps.Casinos will generally eject an individual whom they identify as being an advantage player. And habitual offenders may ultimately find themselves listed in the Griffin Book, and thus become unwelcome in most casinos. However, advantage players are abiding the established rules of the game, and thus committing no actual fraud against the casino. Therefore, unlike those who cheat outright at the games, advantage players can operate without fear of being criminally prosecuted if they are discovered.
View from a player going to discard a tile in an ongoing gameplay.
Players may read the name of the discarded tile out loud.
The flower tile on the left should be replaced by a tile from the dead wall promptly.
Each player is dealt either 13 tiles for 13-tile variations or 16 tiles for 16-tile variations.
A turn involves a player’s drawing of a tile from the wall (or draw pile) and then placing it in his hand. The player then discards a tile onto the table. This signals the end of his turn, prompting the player to the right to make his move. As a form of courtesy, each player is encouraged to announce loudly the name of the tile being discarded. Many variations require that discarded tiles be placed in an orderly fashion in front of the player, while some require that these be placed face down.
Flower tiles
Flower tiles, when dealt or drawn, must be immediately replaced by a tile from the dead wall, or if no dead wall exists, the back end of the wall. They are immediately exposed (placed in view on the table on front of the player’s tiles). At the start of each round, where two or more players may have flower tiles, flower tiles are replaced starting with the dealer and moving to the right. Flower tiles may or may not have point value; and in some variations, possession of all the flower tiles wins the round regardless of the actual contents of the hand.
In American Mahjong, however, Flower tiles are not instantly exposed and replaced, as they may be melded with other Flower tiles in the same group (in essence, they are treated as if they were another set of honor tiles) or be used as a requirement of a winning hand. Early versions of American Mahjong used Flower tiles as Joker tiles.
Joker tiles
A feature of several variations, most notably American variations of Mahjong, is the notion of wild card or Joker tiles. They may be used as a substitute for any tile in a hand (or, in some variations, only tiles in melds). Depending on the variation, a player may replace a Joker tile that is part of an exposed meld belonging to any player with the tile it represents.
Rules governing discarding Joker tiles also exist: some variations permit the Joker tile to take on the identity of any tile, and others only permit the Joker tile to take on the identity of the previously discarded tile (or the absence of a tile, if it is the first discard).
Joker tiles may or may not have an impact on scoring, depending on the variation. Some special hands may require the use of Joker tiles (for example, to represent a “fifth tile” of a certain suited or honor tile).
In American Mahjong, it is illegal to pass jokers during the Charleston.
Melds
When a player discards a tile, any other player may “call” or “bid” for it in order to complete a meld (a certain set of tiles) in his or her own hand. The disadvantage of doing this is that the player must now expose the completed meld to the other players, giving them an idea of what type of hand he or she is creating. This also creates an element of strategy, as in many variations, discarding a tile that allows another player to win the game causes the discarding player to lose points (or pay the winner more in a game for money).
Most variants (again, with the notable exception of American Mahjong) allow three types of melds. When a meld is declared through a discard, the player must state the type of the meld to be declared and place the meld face-up. The player must then discard a tile, and play continues to the right. Because of this, turns may be skipped in the process.
Pong:
Pong or Pung (碰 pinyin peng, Japanese pon) – A pong or pung is a set of three identical tiles. In American Mahjong, where it is possible to meld Flower tiles, a pong may also refer to a meld of three of the four flower tiles in a single group. American Mahjong may also have hands requiring a knitted triplet – three tiles of identical rank but of three different suits. For examples:; ; ; .
Kong:
Kong (槓/杠 pinyin gang, Japanese kan) – A kong is a set of four identical tiles. Because all other melds contain three tiles, a Kong must be immediately exposed when explicitly declared. If the fourth tile is formed from a discard, it is said to be an exposed Kong (明槓/明杠, pinyin ming gang). If all four tiles were formed in the hand, it is said to be a concealed Kong (暗槓/暗杠, pinyin an gang). It is also possible to form a Kong if the player has an exposed Pung and draws the fourth tile. In any case, a player must draw an extra tile from the back end of the wall (or from the dead wall, if it exists) and discard as normal. Play then continues to the right. Once a Kong is formed, it cannot be split up (say, if you wanted to instead use one tile as part of a Chow), and thus, it may be advantageous not to immediately declare a Kong. For examples: ;
The woman sitting on the left may make a chow with a tile discared by the player on the right.
Chow (吃 chi, in some versions 上 shang) – A chow is a meld of three suited tiles in sequence. Unlike other melds, an exposed Chow may only be declared off the discard of the player on the left. American Mahjong does not have a formal chow (that is, you cannot declare chows), but some hands may require that similar sequences be constructed in the hand. Some American variations may also have the knitted sequence, where the three tiles are of three different suits. Sequences of higher length are usually not permissible (unless it forms more than one meld). For examples: ; ; ;
Two are the eyes of this completed set of tiles.
Eye (將 jiang, in some versions 眼 yan, also Pair) - The pair, while not a meld (and thus, cannot be declared or formed with a discard), is the final component to the standard hand. It consists of two identical tiles. Two are the eyes in this case:
It is to note that American mahjong hands may have tile constructions that are not melds, such as “NEWS” (having one of each wind). As they are not melds, they cannot be formed off discards, and in some variations, cannot be constructed in part or in whole by Joker tiles.
When two or more players call for a discarded tile, a player taking the tile to win the hand has precedence over all others, followed by pong or kong declarations, and lastly chows. In American Mahjong, where it may be possible for two players needing the same tile for melds, the meld of a higher number of identical tiles takes precedence. If two or more players call for a meld of the same precedence (or to win), the player closest to the right wins out (but the game may be declared an abortive draw if two or more players call a tile for the win, again depending on the variation). In particular, if a call to win overrides a call to form a kong, such a move is called robbing the Kong, and may give a scoring bonus.
There is generally an informal convention as to the amount of time allowed to make a call for a discarded tile before the next player takes its turn. In American Mahjong, this “window of opportunity” is explicitly stated in the rules, where in other variants, it is generally viewed that when the next player’s turn starts (ie. the tile leaves the wall), the opportunity has been lost.
Ready hands
Ready hand: waiting for or
When a hand is one tile short of winning (for example: , waiting for: or ), the hand is said to be a ready hand, or more figuratively, “on the pot”. The player holding a ready hand is said to be waiting for certain tiles. It is common to be waiting for two or three tiles, and some variations award points for a hand that is waiting for one tile. In 13-tile Mahjong, the most amount of tiles that you can wait for is 13 (the thirteen terminals, a nonstandard special hand).
Some variations of Da Mahjong, most notably Japanese variations, allow a player to declare riichi (立直 – sometimes known as reach as it is phonetically similar). A declaration of riichi is a promise that any tile drawn by the player is immediately discarded unless it constitutes a win. A player who declares riichi and wins usually receives a point bonus for their hand, while a player who declares riichi and loses is usually penalized in some fashion. When four players declare a riichi, the game is a draw. Declaring a nonexistent riichi is penalized.
Draws
If only the dead wall remains and no one has won, the round is drawn (流局 liu ju, Japanese Ryuukyoku) or “goulashed”. A new round begins, and depending on the variant, game wind may change.
Abortive draws
In Japanese Mahjong, abortive draws (draws where the game is declared drawn while tiles are available) are possible. They can be declared under the following conditions:
九種幺九倒牌 (kyuu shu yao kyuu tou pai): If, on a player’s first turn, and with no melds declared, a player has nine different terminal or honor tiles, the player may declare the round to be drawn (for example: ; but could also go for the nonstandard thirteen terminals hand as well).
三家和 (san ka agari): If three players claim the same discard in order to win the round, the round is drawn.
四風子連打 (suu fontsu renda): If, on the first turn without any meld declarations, all four players discard the same wind tile, the hand is drawn.
四家立直 (suu ka riichi): If all four players declare riichi, the round is drawn.
四槓流れ (suu kan nagare): The round is drawn when the fourth kong is declared, unless all four kongs were declared by a single player. In this case, the round is drawn when another player declares a kong.
Winning
“Che hu!”
The three great scholars:
A player wins the round (胡, hu) by creating a standard mahjong hand (in Western Classical variants, this is known as creating a Mahjong, and the process of winning is called going Mahjong) which consists of a certain number of melds, four for 13-tile variations and five for 16-tile variations, and a pair. Some variations may also require that winning hands be of some point value.
Variations may also have special nonstandard hands that a player can make (in this sense, American Mahjong is a variant where only special hands exist).
Turns and rounds
If the dealer wins the game, they will stay as the dealer. Otherwise, the player to the right becomes dealer and the player’s wind becomes the Game Wind, in the sequence East-South-West-North.
After the wind returns to East (ie. each player has been the dealer), a round is complete and the Prevailing Wind will change, again in the sequence East-South-West-North. A full game of mahjong ends after 4 rounds, ie. when the North Prevailing Wind round is over. It is often regarded as an unlucky act to stop the gameplay at the West round, as West has a similar sound to death in Chinese.
Scoring
When gambling with mahjong, scores are typically directly translated into sums of money. Poker chips are used in transaction throughout the playout.
Scoring in Mahjong involves points, with a monetary value for points agreed upon by players. Although in many variations scoreless hands are possible, many require that hands be of some point value in order to win the round.
While the basic gameplay is more or less the same throughout mahjong, the greatest divergence between variations lies in the scoring systems. Like the gameplay, there is a generalized system of scoring, based on the method of winning and the winning hand, from which Chinese and Japanese (among notable systems) base their roots. American mahjong generally has greatly divergent scoring rules (as well as greatly divergent gameplay rules).
Because of the large differences between the various systems of scoring (especially for Chinese variants), groups of players will often agree on particular scoring rules before a game. Like with gameplay, many attempts have been made to create an international standard of scoring, but most are not widely accepted.
Points (terminology of which differs from variation to variation) are obtained by matching the winning hand and the winning condition with a specific set of criteria, with different criteria scoring different values. Some of these criteria may be subsets of other criteria (for example, having a meld of one Dragon versus having a meld of all of them), and in these cases, only the most general criteria is scored. The points obtained may be translated into scores for each player using some (typically exponential) functions. When gambling with mahjong, these scores are typically directly translated into sums of money. Some criteria may be also in terms of both points and score.
Football is popular among children as well as adults.
Overview of the Laws
There are seventeen Laws in the official Laws of the Game. The same Laws are designed to apply to all levels of football, although certain modifications for groups such as juniors, seniors or women are permitted. The Laws are often framed in broad terms, which allow flexibility in their application depending on the nature of the game. In addition to the seventeen Laws, numerous IFAB decisions and other directives contribute to the regulation of football. The Laws can be found on the official FIFA website.
Players, equipment and officials
Each team consists of a maximum of eleven players (excluding substitutes), one of whom must be the goalkeeper. Competition rules may state a minimum number of players required to constitute a team; this is usually seven. Goalkeepers are the only players allowed to play the ball with their hands or arms, but they are only allowed to do so within the penalty area in front of their own goal. Though there are a variety of positions in which the outfield (non-goalkeeper) players are strategically placed by a manager or coach, these positions are not defined or required by the Laws.
The basic equipment players are required to wear includes a shirt, shorts, socks, footwear and adequate shin guards. Players are forbidden to wear or use anything that is dangerous to themselves or another player (including jewellery or watches). The goalkeeper must wear clothing that is easily distinguishable from that worn by the other players and the match officials.
A number of players may be replaced by substitutes during the course of the game. The maximum number of substitutions permitted in most competitive international and domestic league games is three, though the number permitted may be varied in other leagues or in friendly matches. Common reasons for a substitution include injury, tiredness, ineffectiveness, a tactical switch, or as a defensive ploy to use up a little time at the end of a finely poised game. In standard adult matches, a player who has been substituted may not take further part in the match.
A game is officiated by a referee, who has “full authority to enforce the Laws of the Game in connection with the match to which he has been appointed” (Law 5), and whose decisions are final. The referee is assisted by two assistant referees. In many high-level games there is also a fourth official, who assists the referee and may replace another official should the need arise.
Playing field
Standard pitch measurements (Metric version)
Due to the original formulation of the Laws in England and the early supremacy of the four British football associations within IFAB, the standard dimensions of a football pitch were originally expressed in imperial units. The Laws now express dimensions with approximate metric equivalents (followed by traditional units in brackets), though popular use tends to continue to use traditional units.
The length of the rectangular field (pitch) specified for international adult matches is in the range 100-110m (110-120 yards) and the width is in the range 65-75m (70-80 yards). Fields for non-international matches may be 100-130 yards length and 50-100 yards in width. The longer boundary lines are touchlines or sidelines, while the shorter boundaries (on which the goals are placed) are goal lines. On the goal line at each end of the field a rectangular goal is centered. The inner edges of the vertical goal posts must be 8 yards (7.32m) apart, and the lower edge of the horizontal crossbar supported by the goal posts must be 8 feet (2.44m) above the ground. Nets are usually placed behind the goal, but are not required by the Laws.
In front of each goal is an area of the field known as the penalty area (colloquially “penalty box”, “18 yard box” or simply “the box”). This area is marked by the goal-line, two lines starting on the goal-line 18 yards (16.5m) from the goalposts and extending 18 yards into the pitch perpendicular to the goal-line, and a line joining them. This area has a number of functions, the most prominent being to mark where the goalkeeper may handle the ball and where a penal foul by a defender becomes punishable by a penalty kick.
The field has other field markings and defined areas; these are described in the main article above.
Duration and tie-breaking methods
A standard adult football match consists of two periods of 45 minutes each, known as halves. There is usually a 15-minute break between the halves, known as half time. The end of the match is known as full-time.
The referee is the official timekeeper for the match, and may make an allowance for time lost through substitutions, injured players requiring attention, or other stoppages. This added time is commonly referred to as stoppage time or injury time. The amount of time is at the sole discretion of the referee, and the referee alone signals when the match has been completed. In matches where a fourth official is appointed, towards the end of the half the referee will signal how many minutes remain to be played, and the fourth official then signals this to players and spectators by holding up a board showing this number.
In league competitions games may end in a draw, but in some knockout competitions if a game is tied at the end of regulation time it may go into extra time, which consists of two further 15-minute periods. If the score is still tied after extra time, some competitions allow the use of penalty shootouts (known officially in the Laws of the Game as “kicks from the penalty mark”) to determine which team will progress to the next stage of the tournament. Goals scored during extra time periods count towards the final score of the game, but kicks from the penalty mark are only used to decide the team that progresses to the next part of the tournament (with goals scored in a penalty shootout not making up part of the final score).
Competitions held over two legs (in which each team plays at home once) may use the away goals rule to attempt to determine which team progresses in the event of an equal aggregate scoreline. If the result is still equal following this calculation kicks from the penalty mark are usually required, though some competitions may require a tied game to be replayed.
In the late 1990s, the IFAB experimented with ways of making matches more likely to end without requiring a penalty shootout, which was often seen as an undesirable way to end a match. These involved rules ending a game in extra time early, either when the first goal in extra time was scored (golden goal), or if one team held a lead at the end of the first period of extra time (silver goal). Golden goal was used at the World Cup in 1998 (France) and 2002 (Japan-South Korea). The first World Cup game decided by a golden goal was France’s victory over Paraguay in 1998. In the 1996 European Championships Germany was the first nation to score a golden goal in a major competition, beating Czech Republic in the final. Silver goal was used in Euro 2004 (Portugal). Both these experiments have been discontinued by IFAB.
Ball in and out of play
Under the Laws, the two basic states of play during a game are ball in play and ball out of play. From the beginning of each playing period with a kick-off (a set kick from the centre-spot by one team) until the end of the playing period, the ball is in play at all times, except when either the ball leaves the field of play, or play is stopped by the referee. When the ball becomes out of play, play is restarted by one of eight restart methods, the method used depending on the reason for the ball going out of play:
A direct free kick taken by IFK Göteborg.
Kick-off: following a goal by the opposing team, or to begin each period of play.
Throw-in: when the ball has wholly crossed the touchline; awarded to opposing team to that which last touched the ball.
Goal kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by an attacker; awarded to defending team.
Corner kick: when the ball has wholly crossed the goal line without a goal having been scored and having last been touched by a defender; awarded to attacking team.
Indirect free kick: awarded to the opposing team following “non-penal” fouls, certain technical infringements, or when play is stopped to caution/send-off an opponent without a specific foul having occurred.
Direct free kick: awarded to fouled team following certain listed “penal” fouls.
Penalty kick: awarded to the fouled team following a “penal” foul occurring in their opponent’s penalty area.
Dropped-ball: occurs when the referee has stopped play for any other reason (e.g. a serious injury to a player, interference by an external party, or a ball becoming defective). This restart is uncommon in adult games.
Fouls and misconduct
Players are cautioned with a yellow card, and sent off with a red card.
A foul occurs when a player commits a specific offence listed in the Laws of the Game when the ball is in play. The offences that constitute a foul are listed in Law 12. Handling the ball, tripping an opponent, or pushing an opponent, are examples of “penal fouls”, punishable by a direct free kick or penalty kick depending on where the offence occurred. Other fouls are punishable by an indirect free kick.
The referee may punish a player or substitute’s misconduct by a caution (yellow card) or sending-off (red card). Misconduct may occur at any time, and while the offences that constitute misconduct are listed, the definitions are broad. In particular, the offence of “unsporting behaviour” may be used to deal with most events that violate the spirit of the game, even if they are not listed as specific offences.
Rather than stopping play, the referee may allow play to continue when its continuation will benefit the team against which an offence has been committed. This is known as “playing an advantage”. The referee may “call back” play and penalise the original offence if the anticipated advantage does not ensue within a short period of time, typically taken to be four to five seconds. Even if an offence is not penalised because the referee plays an advantage, the offender may still be sanctioned for any associated misconduct at the next stoppage of play.
Offside
The most complex of the Laws is the offside Law, which limits the ability of attacking players to remain forward (i.e. closer to the opponent’s goal-line) of both the ball and the second-last defending player. It is often assumed that the purpose of this Law is to prevent “goal scrounging” or “cherry picking”, but in fact the offside law has similar roots to the offside Law in rugby. The details and application of this Law are complex, and often result in controversy.
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The play is the trick-taking part of the game. Players must follow suit and there are no trumps.
View from a player going to discard a tile in an ongoing gameplay.
Players may read the name of the discarded tile out loud.
The flower tile 
on the left should be replaced by a tile from the dead wall promptly.
Pong: 
Kong: 
The woman sitting on the left may make a chow with a tile discared by the player on the right.
; 
; 
Two 
are the eyes of this completed set of tiles.
are the eyes in this case:
Ready hand: waiting for 
or 
, waiting for: 
“Che hu!”
When gambling with mahjong, scores are typically directly translated into sums of money. Poker chips are used in transaction throughout the playout.
Football is popular among children as well as adults.
Standard pitch measurements (Metric version)
A direct free kick taken by IFK Göteborg.
Players are cautioned with a yellow card, and sent off with a red card.
