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.
The poker game called Chicago is one of the most popular card games in Sweden today. Relying on the keeping of score instead of the placing of bets, it is suitable even for environments such as schools, where gambling is often prohibited. The game exists in countless versions, so here a (somewhat arbitrarily chosen) basic game will be followed by a number of possible variations.
Hand scores
The backbone of the game is that each poker hand has its own point value, as given in this table:
One pair – 1 point.
Two pair – 2 points.
Three of a kind – 3 points.
Straight – 4 points.
Flush – 5 points.
Full House – 6 points.
Four of a kind – 7 points (but see Variations below).
Straight flush – 8 points (but see Variations below).
Basic rules
Chicago is played with a standard 52-card deck. Each player is dealt five cards. The objective is to reach 52 points.
Exchanges and hand scoring
The players are allowed to exchange any number of their cards. If a player chooses to exchange one card only, he may choose “one up”, meaning that he is dealt one card faced up, which he can either accept, or instead take the next card unseen. After the exchanges, the player with the best hand (and only one player) gets points for his hand. Then follows another round of exchanges, but no hand scoring.
The game
Now, the first player begins by playing one card. Ordinary whist rules apply, but the players keep their cards collected by themselves. The player who wins the last trick gets 5 points. Also, the player with the best hand (whether it is the same player or not) gets points for his hand.
Chicago
After the second exchange, any player can choose to play Chicago. In this case, he pledges himself to win all the tricks of the game. If he does, he is awarded 15 points, but if he fails, the penalty is just as harsh: -15 points.
Variations
Sometimes, a player given five cards below ten (either inclusive or exclusive) is allowed to replace them before the exchanges begin.
Some play with 3 exchanges instead of 2. Then of course, scoring for hands will be made after both the first and the second exchange.
Some do not use the “one up” rule.
Often, one wants to give higher rewards than 7 or 8 points for Four of a kind and Straight flush respectively. There are several ways to achieve this, most notably by elevating the player immediately to 52 points, or lowering either all players or one player of the holder’s choice to 0 points, or a combination of these. Holding a Royal flush usually means immediate victory.
The confusion is great as to what scores are appointed in the case of Chicago. Some will argue that no player will get any points at all besides the +15 or -15, whilst others will allow almost any points. The +5 for the game, however, can never be stacked with the +15 for Chicago.
Some prescribe that any player with 45 points or more is not allowed to replace any cards.
Some require that after (and not in the same hand as) a player reaches 52 points, he must win the game once more before he actually wins. This handles the possibility that more than one player reach 52 points in the same hand.
Five-card draw is often the first poker variant learned by most players, and is very common in home games although it is now rare in casino and tournament play. The lowball variations make more interesting games and are more commonly played in casinos. 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 betting structure is used. In casino play, it is common to use blinds; the first betting round thus begins with the player to the left of the big blind, and subsequent rounds begin with the player to the dealer’s left. In home games, it is typical to use an ante; the first betting round begins with the player to the dealer’s left, and the second round begins with the player who opened the first round.
Play begins with each player being dealt five cards, one at a time, all face down. The remaining deck stub is placed aside, often protected by placing a chip or other marker on it. Players pick up the cards and hold them in their hands, being careful to keep them concealed from the other players. The first “before the draw” betting round occurs at this point, starting with the player to the dealer’s left (or to the left of the big blind if blinds are used).
If more than one player remains after the first round, the “draw” phase begins. Each player specifies how many of his cards he wishes to replace, and discards that many from his hand. The deck stub is retrieved, and after a burn card is dealt, each player in turn beginning at the dealer’s left is dealt from the stub the same number of cards he discarded, so that each player again has five cards. It is important that each player discards the cards he wishes to replace before he takes any replacements, and that he take the same number of replacements as he discarded.
A second “after the draw” betting round occurs after the draw phase, beginning with the player to the dealers left or else beginning with the player who opened the first round (the latter is common when antes are used instead of blinds). This is followed by a showdown if more than one player remains, in which the player with the best hand wins the pot.
A common “house rule” in some places is that a player may not replace more than three cards, unless he draws four cards while keeping an ace (or wild card). This rule is only needed for low-stakes social games where many players will stay for the draw, and will help avoid depletion of the deck stub. In more serious games such as those played in casinos it is unnecessary and generally not used. A rule that is used by many casinos is that a player is not allowed to draw five consecutive cards from the deck stub. In this case, if a player wishes to replace all five of his cards, he is given four of them in turn, the other players are given their draws, and then the dealer returns to that player to give him his fifth replacement (if no later player drew, it is necessary to deal a burn card first).
Another common house rule is that the bottom card of the deck is never given as a replacement, to avoid the possibility of someone who might have seen it during the deal using that information. If the deck stub is depleted during the draw before all players have received their replacements, the last players can receive cards chosen randomly from among those discarded by previous players. For example, if the last player to draw wants three replacements but there are only two cards remaining in the deck stub, the dealer gives the player the one top card he can give, then shuffles together the bottom card of the deck, the burn card, and the earlier players’ discards (but not the player’s own discards!), and finally deals two more replacements to the last player.
Sample deal
The sample deal below assumes that a game is being played by four players: Alice, who is dealing in the examples; Bob, who is sitting to her left; Carol to his left; and David to Carol’s left.
All four players ante $.25. Alice deals five cards to each player and places the deck stub aside. Bob opens the betting round by betting $1. Carol folds, David calls, and Alice calls, closing the betting round. Bob now declares that he wishes to replace three of his cards, so he removes those three cards from his hand and discards them. Alice retrieves the deck stub, deals a burn card, then deals three cards directly to Bob, who puts them in his hand. David discards one card, and Alice deals one card to him from the deck stub. Alice now discards three of her own cards, and replaces them with three from the top of the deck stub (Note: in a player-dealt casino game there is often a rule that the dealer must discard before picking up the deck stub, but this is a home game so we won’t worry about such details). Now a second betting round begins. Bob checks, David bets $3, Alice calls, and Bob folds, ending the second betting round. David shows a flush, and Alice shows two pair, so David takes the pot.
The poker game called Chicago is one of the most popular card games in Sweden today. Relying on the keeping of score instead of the placing of bets, it is suitable even for environments such as schools, where gambling is often prohibited. The game exists in countless versions, so here a (somewhat arbitrarily chosen) basic game will be followed by a number of possible variations.
Hand scores
The backbone of the game is that each poker hand has its own point value, as given in this table:
One pair – 1 point.
Two pair – 2 points.
Three of a kind – 3 points.
Straight – 4 points.
Flush – 5 points.
Full House – 6 points.
Four of a kind – 7 points (but see Variations below).
Straight flush – 8 points (but see Variations below).
Basic rules
Chicago is played with a standard 52-card deck. Each player is dealt five cards. The objective is to reach 52 points.
Exchanges and hand scoring
The players are allowed to exchange any number of their cards. If a player chooses to exchange one card only, he may choose “one up”, meaning that he is dealt one card faced up, which he can either accept, or instead take the next card unseen. After the exchanges, the player with the best hand (and only one player) gets points for his hand. Then follows another round of exchanges, but no hand scoring.
The game
Now, the first player begins by playing one card. Ordinary whist rules apply, but the players keep their cards collected by themselves. The player who wins the last trick gets 5 points. Also, the player with the best hand (whether it is the same player or not) gets points for his hand.
Chicago
After the second exchange, any player can choose to play Chicago. In this case, he pledges himself to win all the tricks of the game. If he does, he is awarded 15 points, but if he fails, the penalty is just as harsh: -15 points.
Variations
Sometimes, a player given five cards below ten (either inclusive or exclusive) is allowed to replace them before the exchanges begin.
Some play with 3 exchanges instead of 2. Then of course, scoring for hands will be made after both the first and the second exchange.
Some do not use the “one up” rule.
Often, one wants to give higher rewards than 7 or 8 points for Four of a kind and Straight flush respectively. There are several ways to achieve this, most notably by elevating the player immediately to 52 points, or lowering either all players or one player of the holder’s choice to 0 points, or a combination of these. Holding a Royal flush usually means immediate victory.
The confusion is great as to what scores are appointed in the case of Chicago. Some will argue that no player will get any points at all besides the +15 or -15, whilst others will allow almost any points. The +5 for the game, however, can never be stacked with the +15 for Chicago.
Some prescribe that any player with 45 points or more is not allowed to replace any cards.
Some require that after (and not in the same hand as) a player reaches 52 points, he must win the game once more before he actually wins. This handles the possibility that more than one player reach 52 points in the same hand.
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.
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
Seven Twenty-Seven is a vying game similar in some respects to poker, and often played as a “dealer’s choice” variant at home poker games. It uses the same equipment and betting system, but the value of hands does not use traditional poker hand rankings, either high or low. Rather, only the sum of the cards is used to calculate the worth of a hand. The game is somewhat of a cross between blackjack hands and poker bluffing.The game play proceeds like this:
Each player is dealt a downcard and an upcard.
A betting round begins with the player on the dealer’s left, and proceeds exactly as in poker: all players must either equal the largest bet or drop out.
After the betting, each player may draw a card, face up, in turn from the dealer’s left. If all players pass on their opportunity to draw, there is one more round of betting, followed by a poker-style showdown. Otherwise the game continues with another betting round (often beginning to the left of the player who began the previous round) and another draw, so there can be as few as two betting rounds in the game, but more often three or four.
Numbered cards are scored at face value; face cards count for one-half a point. Aces count for one and eleven, so a hand with a five and two aces scores 7 and 27 at the same time.
On showdown, the pot is split in half, with the hand(s) valued closest to 7 and the hand(s) valued closest to 27 each winning one half of the pot. If there is a tie where two players are off by the same amount, but in different directions (6 to 8), the lower hand wins. If there is an exact tie, that half-pot is split again among the tied players. Ties are common. The same player may contest for both high and low, usually because of aces. A player with a five and two aces can win the whole pot.
There are a few variations in rules that complicate things somewhat: first, the rule about ties in different directions varies; also, some players play with a declaration, while others play cards speak.
Bourré (also commonly known as Bouré and Boo-Ray) is a trick-taking gambling card game primarily played in the Acadiana region of Louisiana in the United States of America. The game’s closest relatives are probably Spades and Poker; like many regional games, Bourré sports a large number of variant rules for both gameplay and betting considerations.
Object
The object of Bourré is to take a majority of the tricks in each hand and thereby claim the money in the pot. If a player cannot take a majority of tricks, their secondary goal is to keep from bourréing, or taking no tricks at all. A bourré usually comes at a high penalty, such as matching the amount of money in the pot.
Rules
The game is played with a standard 52-card deck; aces are high. With four players, everyone is guaranteed fresh cards if they draw replacements; with more, it may be necessary to use previously-discarded ones, so five or six players is considered the practical limit of single-decked Bourré. An online casino should provide the type of Bourré rules they use.
After every player antes, the dealer passes out five cards to each player, one at a time. The dealer flips their own fifth card–the last dealt–and the suit of that card is considered trumps. As in Spades, this suit beats all others; a 2 of trumps is “higher” in rank than an Ace of any other suit.
After the deal, each player (starting with the one to the dealer’s left and continuing clockwise) states their intent to play. Many variants require an additional ante at this point. Those who are not playing in the hand fold, and those cards are collected by the dealer for possible use if the main stock runs out.
Once every player has stated their intent, the dealer asks those still in the game (in the same order as before) how many new cards they desire. They can take any number from zero to five; their discards go in a separate pile, and the dealer hands them as many new cards as they discarded. If the main stock is depleted before all the players have been serviced, the dealer shuffles the “folded” hands and deals those; if that stock is depleted as well, the discards are shuffled and used.
Once everyone, including the dealer, has either folded or completed their redraw, the trick-taking phase begins. The first player to the dealer’s left that is still in the game starts by playing any card from their hand (with few exceptions); rules of play are as follows, and a lower-numbered rule overrides any higher-numbered one.
You must play to win. This goes beyond simply “playing a higher card;” if you know that no one else has any trumps, and it is your turn to lead, you must play trumps if you have them.
You must play on-suit if possible, even if your highest on-suit card will not beat the highest card in play. Even if a trump has been played on a non-trump lead, if you have a card of the suit led, you must play on that suit.
You must play a trump if you have no on-suit cards. You still must play to win; if the only trump played is a 3, you hold the 2 and the Ace of trumps but no cards of the lead suit, you must play the Ace of trumps.
If you have neither any cards of the lead suit nor any trumps, you may play any card. This is an off card, and is effectively lower than the 2 of the lead suit.
The winner of a given round, or trick, collects the cards and places them face-up in front of them. They then lead with another card. Play proceeds until all five tricks have been completed.
If a single player has taken more tricks than any other player, they have won the hand and take all of the winnings in the pot.
If more than one person ties for the most tricks, this is a split pot. With five tricks, the only possible splits are 2-2-1 and 1-1-1-1-1. On a split pot, no one takes the winnings; they stay on the table.
If anyone did not take any tricks, or reneged during play–that is, did not follow the rules properly–they have bourréd and must match the pot for the next round instead of their usual ante. For example, if there are five red chips in the pot at the end of a hand and someone has bourréd, they must put five red chips (or their equivalent) in the pot for the next round.
Deal then passes to the left.
There are complex rules about forced plays; a simple example is when someone has just taken their second trick and holds the Ace of trumps in their hand. Since the Ace of trumps is unbeatable, they must play it as their next card. Similar occurrences are when a player has taken one trick and has both the Ace and King, or (more complex) the Ace, Queen, and Jack. While the rules themselves are simple in theory, the details about forced plays can make Bourré challenging for even the skilled player.
The “must play to win” rule can have contentious results if a player is playing “nice,” trying to keep others from bourréing. Most games disallow such “nice” plays; players must attempt to bourré as many other players as possible. As Bourré is a game with imperfect information, and gamesmanship should (hopefully) trump rules-lawyering, care should be applied to any analysis of rounds when looking for such “nice” plays.
Variations
Variations in the rules of Bourré abound, possibly due to its nature as a regional game. Perhaps the most common is the introduction of a pot limit, which caps the total amount a single bourré or renege can cost a given player. In some games, it is common for the dealer to ante for all of the players; this simplifies trying to determine whether individuals have anteed. In a sense, the dealer is paying for his face up trump. In this variation, for a five person, one dollar ante game, the dealer of each hand would ante five dollars. A common point of dissent is whether a player who holds trumps but not the lead suit should be forced to play a trump if they cannot beat a higher trump already on the table; while the general consensus seems to be that they must, groups of players are known to not follow that particular detail. Punishments for misplay range from simple retraction (good for new players), retraction-and-renege, or just a renege, which can lead to the misplaying individual attempting to bourré one or more other players. The default ante amount is understandably variable, and the second ante is fairly common.
Resources
Guidry, Preston (1988). Graeff, Benny and Lantier, Ivy (eds.) Official Rules and Techniques of the Cajun Card Game Bourré (boo-ray). Louisiana: National Cajun Bourré Association.
Engler, Henry J (1964). Rules and Techniques of Bourré.
Basketball is a sport in which two teams of five players each try to score points on one other by throwing a ball through a hoop (the basket) under organized rules.
Since its invention in 1891, it has developed to become a truly international sport. Organized league play originated in the YMCA and early leagues were formed in colleges. Basketball eventually became a professional sport and is one of the few women’s sports which developed in tandem with men’s. The modern rules for women’s basketball become more similar to men’s each year. Even though it was originally an American sport, it quickly spread internationally and outstanding players and teams are found today all over the world.
Points are scored for passing the ball through the basket from above; the team with more points at the end of the game wins. The ball can be advanced on the court by bouncing it (dribbling) or passing it between teammates. Disruptive physical contact (foul) is not permitted and there are restrictions on how the ball can be handled (violations).
Through time, basketball has developed to involve common techniques of shooting, passing and dribbling, as well as players’ positions, and offensive and defensive structures. While competitive basketball is carefully regulated, numerous variations of basketball have developed for casual play. Basketball is also a popular spectator sport.
While competitive basketball is primarily an indoor sport, played on a basketball court, less regulated variations have become exceedingly popular as an outdoor sport among inner city groups, particularly African-Americans. Examples of these variations include streetball and one-on-one; a variation in which two players will use only a small section of the court (often no more than a quarter of a court) and compete to play the ball into a single hoop. Such games tend to be more physical than competitive indoor basketball, and emphasize individual dribbling and ball stealing skills over shooting and team play.
Outdoor basketball courts are commonly referred to as ‘blacktop’, a reference to the [asphalt] surface used on many outdoor recreation grounds. This term can apply regardless of the actual surface material used.
Sara Giauro shoots a three-point shot, FIBA Europe Cup for Women Finals 2005.
Variations and similar games
Variations of basketball are activities based on the game of basketball, using common basketball skills and equipment (primarily the ball and basket). Some variations are only superficial rules changes, while others are distinct games with varying degrees of basketball influences. Other variations include children’s games, contests or activities meant to help players reinforce skills. Most of the variations are played in informal settings without referees or strict rules.
Perhaps the single most common variation is the half court game. Only one basket is used, and the ball must be “cleared” – passed or dribbled outside the half-court or three-point line – each time possession of the ball changes from one team to the other. Half-court games require less cardiovascular stamina, since players need not run back and forth a full court. Half-court games also raise the number of players that can use a court, an important benefit when many players want to play.
Anaconda is a variety of the card game Poker, also called “Pass The Trash Poker.”
Simple Play
This version of the game is also called “3-2-1 Anaconda” or “3-2-1 Left.”
Each player is dealt 6 cards. They then each select 3 cards to be passed to the player on their left. These cards are simply set on the table near their left-most opponent. No players get to see their new 3 cards until everyone has made a pass. Afterward, the players repeat the process, only with 2 cards, then again with 1 card. Players then discard 1 card to make their best 5-card Poker hand.
In this version of the game, up to 8 people can play, passing out a total of 48 cards and having 4 left over. A 9th person can be added with the use of both Jokers as Wild cards.
Betting
Betting can be included in the simple version of the game. Set up general Poker staples such as the dealer button, blinds, and/or antes. Have a round of betting occur before the first pass of 3 cards, then again after every card pass is made, and ending with a showdown if necessary. If a player folds at anytime, then they are no longer involved in card passing.
Variations
Anaconda can be changed in many possible ways, such as:
Altering the amount of starting cards (7 cards is common).
Altering the amount of cards passed.
Altering who the cards are passed to, possibly per round.
Incorporating Joker cards.
Including only one betting round & showdown after all passing rounds.
Removing all betting rounds and playing without money/chips.
Blackjack hands are scored by their point total. The hand with the highest total wins as long as it doesn’t exceed 21; a hand with a higher total than 21 is said to bust. Cards 2 through 10 are worth their face value, and face cards (jack, queen, king) are also worth 10. An ace’s value is 11 unless this would cause the player to bust, in which case it is worth 1. A hand in which an ace’s value is counted as 11 is called a soft hand, because it cannot be busted if the player draws another card.
The goal of each player is to beat the dealer by having the higher, unbusted hand. Note that if the player busts he loses, even if the dealer also busts. If both the player and the dealer have the same point value, it is called a “push”, and neither player nor dealer wins the hand. Each player has an independent game with the dealer, so it is possible for the dealer to lose to one player, but still beat the other players in the same round.
The minimum bet is printed on a sign on the table and varies from casino to casino, and even table to table. The most common minimum in the U.S. is $5 although these games can be difficult to find on the Strip in Las Vegas. After initial bets are placed, the dealer deals the cards, either from one or two hand-held decks of cards, known as a “pitch” game, or more commonly from a shoe containing four or more decks. The dealer gives two cards to each player, including himself. One of the dealer’s two cards is face-up so all the players can see it, and the other is face down. (The face-down card is known as the “hole card”. In European blackjack, the hole card is not actually dealt until the players all play their hands.) The cards are dealt face up from a shoe, or face down if it is a pitch game.
A two-card hand of 21 (an ace plus a ten-value card) is called a “blackjack” or a “natural”, and is an automatic winner. A player with a natural is usually paid 3:2 on his bet. In 2003 some casinos started paying only 6:5 on blackjacks – although this reduced payout has generally been restricted to single-deck games where card counting would otherwise be a more viable strategy, the move was decried by longtime blackjack players.
The play goes as follows:
If the dealer has blackjack and the player doesn’t, the player automatically loses.
If the player has blackjack and the dealer doesn’t, the player automatically wins.
If both the player and dealer have blackjack then it’s a push.
If neither side has blackjack, then each player plays out his hand, one at a time.
When all the players have finished the dealer plays his hand.
The player’s options for playing his or her hand are:
Hit: Take another card.
Stand: Take no more cards.
Double down: Double the wager, take exactly one more card, and then stand.
Split: Double the wager and have each card be the first card in a new hand. This option is available only when both cards have the same value.
Surrender: Forfeit half the bet and give up the hand. Surrender was common during the early- and mid-20th century, but is no longer offered at most casinos.
The player’s turn is over after deciding to stand, doubling down to take a single card, or busting. If the player busts, he or she loses the bet even if the dealer goes on to bust as well.
After all the players have finished making their decisions, the dealer then reveals his or her hidden hole card and plays the hand. House rules say that the dealer must hit until he or she has at least 17, regardless of what the players have. In most casinos a dealer must also hit a soft 17 (such as an ace and a 6). The felt of the table will indicate whether or not the house hits or stands on a soft 17.
If the dealer busts then all remaining players win. Bets are normally paid out at the odds of 1:1.
Some common rules variations include:
one card split aces: one card is dealt on each ace, player’s turn is over.
early surrender: player has the option to surrender before dealer checks for Blackjack.
late surrender: player has the option to surrender after dealer checks for Blackjack.
double-down restrictions: double-down allowed only on certain combinations.
dealer hits a soft seventeen (ace-six, which can play as seven or seventeen)
European No-Hole-Card Rule: the dealer receives only one card, dealt face-up, and does not receive a second card (and thus does not check for blackjack) until players have acted. This means players lose not only their original bet, but also any additional money invested from splitting and doubling down.
There are more than a few blackjack variations which can be found in the casinos, each has its own set of rules, strategies and odds. It is advised to take a look at the rules of the specific variation before playing.
Insurance
If the dealer’s upcard is an Ace, the player is offered the option of taking Insurance before the dealer checks his ‘hole card’.
The player who wishes to take Insurance can bet an amount up to half his original bet. The Insurance bet is placed separately on a special portion of the table, which usually carries the words “Insurance Pays 2:1″. The player who is taking Insurance is betting that the dealer’s ‘hole card’ is a 10-value card, i.e. a 10, a Jack, a Queen or a King. Because the dealer’s upcard is an Ace, this means that the player who takes Insurance is essentially betting that the dealer was dealt a natural, i.e. a two-card 21 (a blackjack), and this bet by the player pays off 2:1 if it wins.
Example: The player bets $10, the cards are dealt, the player’s hand is 19, and the dealer shows an Ace. The player takes Insurance by betting an additional amount of $5. The dealer checks her hole card and sees that it’s a 10-valued card. The player loses his $10 bet on his blackjack hand, but he wins the insurance bet, so the player gets 2:1 on his $5 Insurance wager and receives $10 (on top of the $5 which is returned to him). Note that the player came out even on that round (i.e. did not lose any money).
Conversely, a player may win his original bet and lose his Insurance bet. Let’s say we have the same situation as above except this time the dealer’s hole card is not a ten, but rather a seven. In this case the player instantly loses his $5 Insurance wager. (All Insurance wagers are settled as soon as the dealer turns over her ‘hole card’, before all else.) But the player wins his $10 bet. Note that the player made a net profit on that round.
Of course, a player may lose both his original bet and his Insurance bet.
Insurance is a bad bet for the player who has no direct knowledge nor estimation (e.g. through card counting) of the dealer’s ‘hole card’ because Insurance has a negative expected value for the player. Even for the player who has been dealt a natural (a two-card 21) it is unwise to take Insurance. In such a case, the dealer usually asks the player “Even money?” This means that instead of 3:2, the player with the natural accepts to be paid off at 2:2. Thus it is exactly the same thing as buying Insurance, losing the Insurance bet and getting paid 3:2 on the natural. (If the player with the natural refuses the offer of “even money”, and the dealer turns over his hole card to make a natural (a blackjack), it is a tie and the player’s bet is returned to him.)
In casinos where a hole card is dealt, a dealer who is showing a card with a value of Ace or 10 may slide the corner of his or her facedown card over a small mirror or electronic sensor on the tabletop in order to check whether he has a natural. This practice minimises the risk of inadvertently revealing the hole card, which would give the sharp-eyed player a considerable advantage.
Stud poker is any of a number of poker variants in which each player receives a mix of face-down and face-up cards dealt in multiple betting rounds. Stud games are also typically non-positional games, meaning that the player who bets first on each round may change from round to round (it is usually the player whose face-up cards make the best hand for the game being played). The cards dealt face down to each individual player are called hole cards (which gave rise to the common English expression ace in the hole, which suggests that one has something valuable that is hidden from view).
Five-card stud first appeared during the American Civil War, and became very popular. In recent years, Seven-card stud has become more common, both in casinos and in home games. These two games form the basis of most modern stud poker variations.
The number of betting rounds in a game influences how well the game plays with different betting structures. Games with four or fewer betting rounds, such as five-card stud and Mississippi stud (described below), play well with any structure, and are especially well suited to no limit and pot limit play. Games with more betting rounds are more suited to fixed limit or spread limit. It is common (and recommended) for later betting rounds to have higher limits than earlier ones. For example, a “$5/$10 Seven-card Stud” game in a Nevada casino allows $5 bets for the first two rounds and $10 bets for subsequent rounds. Also common is to make the final round even higher: a “$5/$10/$20″ game would allow $20 bets on the last round only. Another common rule is to allow the larger bet on the second round if there is an “open pair” (that is, at least one player’s upcards make a pair). Some casinos (typically in California) use the smaller limit on the first three rounds rather than just the first two.
It is a common convention in stud poker to name the betting rounds after the number of cards each player holds when that betting round begins. So the bet that occurs when each player has three cards is called “third card” or “third street”, while the bet that occurs when each player has five cards is “fifth street”. The final round, regardless of the number of betting rounds, is commonly called the “river” or simply the “end”.
The variations described below assume that you are already familiar with five-card stud and seven-card stud, and with the game play of poker in general.
General variations
Some rule variations can be applied to almost any game, and combinations of these variations can be used to create ad-hoc games. These include roll your own, rollouts, blind stud, and twist rounds.
Any game can also be changed by adding one or more jokers to the deck to act as wild cards, or by designating certain other cards as wild. Some specific common variations include Low hole card wild, in which each player’s lowest-ranking downcard (and all other cards of that same rank) are wild in that player’s hand only, and Follow the queen, in which each time a Q is dealt face up to anyone, the next face up card (and all others of that rank) become wild. The usual practice in the latter case is that if a second Q appears among the upcards, the previous wild card loses its status to the new one.
One can also vary any stud game by dealing extra downcards and requiring either that one or more hole cards be discarded at some point in the game or adding a restriction on how many of those hole cards may be played in the final hand. For example, five-card stud can be modified by dealing each player an extra downcard at the start of the game, adding the restriction that each player may only use one of his two downcards in his final hand. This game is called Crocodile stud. Likewise, seven-card stud can be modified by dealing each player three downcards instead of two on the first round, but adding the restriction that a player may use no more than two of those cards in his final hand (called Buffalo stud; if the extra hole card must be discarded after the first betting round, then it is Australian stud). If playing one of these games without the requirement to discard the extra hole card at some time during play, it is recommended as a practical matter to ensure compliance that each player physically discard one hole card immediately before showdown, before revealing the “live” hole cards (so that there can be no confusion about which cards were down).
Variations can be made by eliminating betting rounds, dealing more than one upcard at a time for one or more rounds. For example, Mississippi stud (see below) is basically seven-card stud with the second betting round removed, and the last card dealt face up instead of face down. Further adding an extra hole card as above makes it Murrumbidgee stud.
Games that mix stud-like rounds with community cards are discussed on the Community card poker page. In general, one can mix upcard rounds with community card rounds in many ways. See in particular Oxford stud on the community card game page.
Specific variants
As mentioned above, seven-card stud is probably the most common form of the game, with most other games being variants of that, although five-card stud is also a basic pattern upon which many variations are built. These games are described on their own page. Most of the games described below started as ad-hoc variants, but they have either become popular enough to have a common name, or else have some unique feature to merit including them here.
Six-card stud
Six-card stud is usually played as identical to seven-card stud, except that the last face-up round is removed (Thus it is two down, three up, one down). It can also be played as 1-4-1, where the first betting round occurs after only two cards are dealt (one down and one up). This latter form more closely resembles five-card stud with an extra downcard.
A variation called Alligator stud starts with one hole card and one upcard, followed by a first betting round; then two upcards are dealt to each player followed by a second betting round; then a fourth upcard and betting round, and finally a fifth upcard and betting round. This game plays well at no limit and pot limit. The same game, but with each player initially dealt two downcards and one upcard, and restricted to using only one of his downcards in his final hand, is called Zanetti stud.
Razz (and London lowball)
Razz is seven-card stud played with ace-to-five low hand values. It is usually played with a bring-in, paid by the player with the highest-ranking upcard on the initial deal (aces are always low cards in Razz, even for the purpose of assigning the bring-in). On the second and subsequent rounds, the player with the lowest exposed hand starts the betting.
London lowball is seven-card stud played with ace-to-six low hand values. It is usually played at pot limit or no limit, and is otherwise identical to Razz.
Here’s a sample Razz deal (suits are omitted here because they are never of consequence in Razz; in London lowball, a flush cannot play as a low hand but otherwise they don’t generally matter either). Alice deals each player two downcards and then one upcard: Bob’s upcard is a J, Carol is dealt a , David an A, and Alice a
. Bob’s J is the high card (David’s A is low), so he pays a $1 bring-in. Carol, David, and Alice all call. Now Bob is dealt a
, Carol another , David a , and Alice a . The best low hand showing is now David’s -A, just beating Alice’s -2. David bets $1, Alice calls. Bob folds his J-9, and Carol calls (her pair of s is the worst hand showing, but there are still many cards to come). Alice now deals Carol an A, David a K, and herself an . The low hand showing is now Alice’s -4-2, so she bets $2. Carol raises $2, and David folds. Alice calls, ending the round. Carol is now dealt a , and Alice another . Now the lowest hand showing is Carol’s -3-6-A, a pair of s being lower than Alice’s pair of s. She bets $2 and Alice calls. A final downcard is dealt, Carol again best $2, and Alice calls. Alice reveals that her downcards are
-J-A, making her lowest five-card hand an
-7-4-2-A. Carol reveals her downcards to be a -6-7, making her lowest five-card hand a
-6-4-3-A, which wins the pot.
Eight-or-better high-low stud
Also known as “seven eight” or “stud eight”, eight or better is the most common form of high-low split stud. Played as seven-card stud, but the pot is split between the player with the highest hand and the player with the lowest hand (using the ace-to-five low values). An 8-high hand or lower is required to win low. Betting takes place as if playing standard high-hand stud; that is, low card pays the bring-in, if any, on the first round, and subsequent rounds start the betting with the highest showing poker hand. The showdown is cards speak, that is, there is no declaration for high and low. Each player may choose a different subset of five cards to play for high and low. For example, a player with A-A-8-6-6-4-3 can play a high hand of A-A-6-6-8, and a low hand of
-6-4-3-A. A player with K-9-8-7-6-5-4 can play a
-high straight for his high hand, and -7-6-5-4 for low (which is the worst possible qualifying low, but it does qualify). A player with K-9-8-7-7-6-5 can play the
-high straight for high, but cannot play any low hand, because he cannot make an -high or lower. If there is no qualifying low hand, high hand takes the entire pot.
This game plays well with a bug or two in the deck.
Mississippi stud
Mississippi stud was created to make seven-card stud play better at no limit and pot limit, and is slowly becoming popular for that reason. It is also often played with a betting structure more typical of Texas hold ‘em: fixed limit with the last two rounds double the limit of the first two. The bring-in should be less than the first-round limit.
Initial deal as in standard seven-card stud. After the first betting round, two upcards are dealt to each player, so each now has two down and three up (so unlike standard stud there is no betting on “fourth street”). A second betting round is followed by one more upcard and a third betting round. Finally, the last card is dealt face up, so that each player ends with two downcards and five upcards. Because each player has five upcards on the last round, straights, flushes, and full houses count as “high hand exposed” for the purpose of determining who must bet first. After the seventh street bet there is a normal showdown.
Can also be played with low hands, or high-low split. If three downcards are dealt initially instead of two, with the restriction that no more than two of them can be used in the final hand, this variation is called Murrumbidgee stud.
Mexican stud
Various forms of roll your own five-card stud, often with a stripped deck and wild cards, are called Mexican stud, Mexican poker, or Stud loco. One such variant played by the Casino San Pablo in northern California has these rules:
s,
s, and 0s are stripped from the deck, and a single joker is added (the deck therefore contains 41 cards). The
-spot and the J become consecutive, so that
-6-7-J-Q is a straight. A flush beats a full house (with fewer cards of each suit, they are harder to get). The joker plays as a bug if it is face up, and fully wild if it is face down. The game is played as five-card stud choose-before roll your own. It is usually played with a very high ante, and the high card on the first round pays the bring-in.
The game of Shifting sands is Mexican stud in which each player’s hole card (and all others of that rank) are wild for that player only.
Blind stud
Blind stud is is a variant of stud poker in which all cards are dealt face down. Any stud poker game can be played “blind” by having all cards dealt face down.
Blind stud poker was commonly played in California cardrooms until 1985. The California gambling law makes specific games named by the law illegal, including twenty-one, faro, fantan, and “stud-horse poker”. Until 1985, the California attorney general’s office interpreted this to mean that draw poker was legal and all forms of stud poker were not, so California cardrooms played exclusively draw poker (mostly lowball). Blind stud was considered a form of draw poker, because like in draw all cards are hidden. Unlike draw, players do not discard cards they intend to replace. In 1985, cardroom owners convinced the state that “stud-horse poker” was an obsolete house-banked game, and that all forms of modern poker were legal. Today, the most popular game in the state is Texas hold ‘em.
Not constrained by obscure California law, home games generally do not play blind stud, though some of the forms of blind stud are challenging and well-balanced, including some of those previously offered by California cardrooms. Some of cardrooms got very creative with blind stud games so they could offer players some variety. For example, a club in the Sacramento suburbs used to offer a seven-card high-low split blind stud game which was played 3-2-1-1 (four rounds; three cards dealt on the first, two on the second, then one and one), with two jokers in the deck acting as bugs, and with the double-ace flush rule.
Miscellaneous
Five-card stud played high-low split with an added twist round is called Option alley or five-card option. The game Canadian stud or Sökö is five-card stud with two new hand values added: a four-card straight beats one pair, a four-card flush beats a four-card straight, and two pair beats both of the above.
The term English stud is used ambiguously to refer to several games, including six-card stud played 1-4-1 with a twist (also called six-card option), London lowball, and a seven-card stud game where both sixth street and seventh street are twist rounds.
In the game of seven-card flip, each player is dealt four cards face down, and chooses two of them to turn up. All cards are turned up simultaneously after everyone has chosen. As this point, the game proceeds as if it were standard seven-card stud starting on fourth street.
Kentrel, or “48″, is a seven-card stud variation which starts with each player being dealt four downcards. Each player must then discard one, choose one of the remaining three to turn face up (leaving two down and one up as normal), and then proceed as with eight-or-better high-low stud.
The game of Chicago is seven-card stud in which the high hand splits the pot with the player who has the highest-ranking spade “in the hole” (among his downcards). There is also Little Chicago, in which the lowest ranking spade in the hole splits the pot; players who play Little Chicago call the high spade variant Big Chicago.
The Bitch is a variant on Chicago above, played with a combination of up and down cards, usually two down, four up, and one down. The twist is that the Queen of Spades is designated as the highest ranking Spade, followed by the Ace, King, Jack, and so on. Also, if the Queen of Spades is ever dealt as an upcard to any player, all players turn in their cards, re-ante, and replay the game. This can lead to quickly increasing pots, especially if the re-ante amount is increased on each iteration. The high hand splits the pot with the high spade.
Several different games played only in low-stakes home games are called Baseball, and generally involve many wild cards (often s and
s), paying the pot for wild cards, being dealt an extra upcard upon receiving a , and many other ad-hoc rules (for example, the appearance of the queen of spades is called a “rainout” and ends the hand). These same rules can be applied to no peek, in which case the game is called “night baseball”.
Cowpie poker is played as seven-card stud until after the seventh-street bet. All remaining players then split their hands into a five-card hand and a two-card hand. The five-card hand must outrank the two-card hand, and the latter must contain at least one downcard. After the split there is one more betting round and showdown. Upon showdown, the highest five-card hand and the highest two-card hand split the pot. The name of the game is a pun on Pai Gow.
Number Nine is a variant of seven-card stud in which 9s are wild, and any two number cards that add up to 9 may make one wild card, at the player’s option. Aces count as 1 for wild card purposes. The player is not obliged to make any wild cards, and can play cards that could make 9s at face value or as wild cards, at his option. Cards used to make wild cards may not figure in the resulting hand twice. The player cannot add three or more cards. Sometimes, 9s themselves are not wild, and wild cards can be made only by addition.
Dr Pepper is a stud variant where 10′s, 2′s, and 4′s are wild (the name comes from one of the original Dr Pepper advertisements of the 1920s: “Drink a Bite to Eat at 10, 2, and 4 o’clock”).
Draft (or “socialist poker”) is usually a variant of seven-card stud in which the second and subsequent upcard rounds are dealt this way: for each player remaining, one upcard is dealt to the center of the table (not to any specific player). The player with the worst showing hand gets to choose which of them he will take for his next upcard, then the player with the second-worst showing hand chooses his upcard from those left, and so on, until the player who previously had the best showing hand takes the remaining card. Then betting occurs as normal. In seven-card stud, this makes for three “draft” rounds (the first three cards are dealt normally, as is the final downcard).
Auction is a similar variation in which each upcard round (or possibly just those after the first) begins with an “auction” phase. Instead of dealing each player one upcard, the first card is dealt to the center and all players bid on it; the player who bids the highest amount places that amount into the pot, and then has the right to either keep the auction card as his own upcard, or designate another player who is required to take it as his. After the first card is auctioned off and placed, the remaining players are dealt a random upcard as usual, and betting proceeds as usual. This variation is commonly played as high-low split, so it is common for a player to “purchase” a high card to force it upon an opponent seeking low, for example.
The Big Six wheel is a gambling game based on a large vertical spinning wheel, similar to the wheel used on the television game show Wheel of Fortune. (The wheel used on the show is mounted horizontally, however.) The wheel is divided into sections, separated by spokes or pins. The wheel is spun by a dealer, and the winning section is indicated by a pointer mounted on a flexible piece of rubber or leather, which also rubs against the pins to impart friction and slow the wheel down.
Bettors wager on what number or symbol appears in the winning section, and are paid at odds that are based on the distribution of that symbol on the wheel. Most wheels have 54 sections. The numbers or symbols used differ according to the variation of the game.
Money wheel
The version most commonly seen in American casinos use pieces of U.S. currency — specifically, the $1, $2, $5, $10 an $20 bills — and two special symbols, usually a joker and the casino logo. Bets on the $1 bill pay even money, on the $2 bill pay 2-1, on the $5 bill pay 5-1, and so on. These odds are based on how many slots contain each bill. The joker and logo appearin one slot each, and pay off at odds of 40-1 or 45-1, depending on local gaming regulations and/or the generosity of the game operator.
The house advantage in this game is one of the highest in most casinos, ranging from 11.1% on the $1-bill bet to more than 24% on the joker or logo (when it pays 40-1).
Dice wheel
This variation is base on the now-uncommon game of chuck-a-luck (also known as “birdcage”), with many similarities to sic bo. The symbols on the wheel represent combinations of three dice. Players bet on the numbers 1 through 6. If the number be appears on one of the dice, the bet is paid at even money; on two dice, the payoff is at 2-1 odds; and on all three dice, the payoff is 3-1. Because only 54 three-die combinations are on the wheel (as opposed to 216 possibile combinations on three actual dice), the house advantage on this variation is even worse than the chuck-a-luck “edge” of 7.87%.
This variety is seldom seen in casinos, but frequently seen as a carnival game, or at a charity “Monte Carlo night” fund-raiser.
Other variations
Some operators will use different variations of symbols and payoffs, but they are infrequent. One known variation was used for a short time at the now-defunct Grand Casino in Gulfport, Mississippi (destroyed in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina). Called “Mississippi Derby,” a player would be on one of eight “horses” to win, place or show, as with beting in horse racing. The horses were represented on the wheel in three concentric rings, with the outer ring representing the winner, the middle ring representing the second-place horse, and the inner ring representing the third-place horse. The payoffs varied from horse to horse, depending on how many times the number appeared on the rings; odds ranged from 40-1 for the “longshot” to win, down to 1-2 for the “favorite” to show. The game was short-lived.
Sheepshead is a card game related to the Skat family of games, originating in Central Europe in the late 1700′s under the German name Schafkopf. Although Schafkopf literally means “sheepshead”, the term is actually derived from Middle High German and referred to playing cards on an overturned barrel (from kopfen, meaning playing cards, and Schaffen, meaning a barrel).
Sheepshead is played by two to five players, where the variant with five players is the most common, by far. The German cards, which are generally used for playing in southern Germany, are listed below in the order of value for the trumps. Poker or French cards (Clubs, Spades, etc.) have direct equivalents with German cards.
How to play
Preparation
Remove the jokers and all sixes, fives, fours, threes, and twos from the pack. Sheepshead is played with all the cards 7-8-9-10-J-Q-K-A, i.e. a total of 32 cards.
Play Variations
There are a number of different play variations for Sheepshead. These include the number of players (from two to five), differences in scoring, differences when no partners are named (leasters/doublers), and differences in the way partners are chosen (Pick Partner/Jack of Diamonds partner).
The article will describe how to play “Five Handed, Leasters, Pick Partner”, but will try to touch on the other variations.
Card Order
Card order in Sheepshead is unique and one of the most difficult things for some beginners to grasp.
There are 14 trump cards, including all the Queens, Jacks, and Diamonds, listed here in order of strength to take tricks:
Q♣ – Q♠ – Q♥ – Q♦
J♣ – J♠ – J♥- J♦
A♦ – 10♦ – K♦ – 9♦, 8♦, 7♦
Also, there are 6 of each “fail” suit. (18 total)
A, 10, K, 9, 8, 7 of ♣ (clubs)
A, 10, K, 9, 8, 7 of ♠ (spades)
A, 10, K, 9, 8, 7 of ♥ (hearts)
Clubs, Spades, and Hearts take no precedence over other fail suits. Trump always take fail. The lead suit must be followed if possible.
Card Point Values
Point scoring will also take some getting used to. You should make a chart for yourself the first time you play.
Queens – 3 points
Jacks – 2 points
Aces – 11 points
Tens – 10 points
Kings – 4 points
9,8,7 – 0 points
Note that the strongest cards (Queens and Jacks) are not worth the most points. This gives Sheepshead some of its unique character.
There is a total of 120 points in the deck.
Keeping Score
Be careful not to confuse the points that the cards are worth, and the total point score. Points are given/taken on a zero-sum basis. If you are the picker, your goal is to take 61 points. If picker gets 60, that’s a tie and picker loses.
Here is a chart to make it easier. Look up the picker’s point total in the chart below.
Point Total
Picker
(Alone)
Picker
(w/ Partner)
Partner
Opponents
All Tricks
+12
+6
+3
-3
to 120
+8
+4
+2
-2
to 90
+4
+2
+1
-1
to 60
-4
-2
-1
+1
to 30
-8
-4
-2
+2
No Tricks
-12
-6
-3
+3
Once you reach 31 points, that means you have schneider.
There are 120 points in the deck. It’s possible to take a trick that is worth zero points, which why the distinction of “All Tricks” and “No Tricks” is necessary.
Every opponent gains or loses the amount listed.
The Deal
Cut the deck. The dealer deals 3 cards at a time to each person, starting with the player to dealer’s left. After dealing everyone 3 cards, 2 cards are put face down in a separate pile (the “blind”). Then deal the rest of the cards, 3 at a time around the table again.
When done, each person should have 6 cards with 2 cards in the blind.
The Blind
The player to the left of the dealer gets first choice to take the blind. If he passes, the option is given to the next player (in clockwise order).
If the blind goes all the way around to the dealer, and the dealer declines to play, a leaster is played. (If you are playing doublers instead of leasters, the points are doubled, the deal moves one to the left, and a new hand is dealt.)
Whoever decides to take the blind is called the “picker”. The picker adds the 2 cards to his hand, then must choose two cards to lay down, or “bury”. The buried cards are automatically added to the picker’s score.
Now, the picker must choose: He can either play alone (picker against 4 opponents) or can choose a partner (picker/partner against 3 opponents).
Variation of play: One variation of play at this point is that, when a player picks up the blind, any player (who is not the pickers partner) who was not given the opportunity to pick up the blind may ‘knock’ or ‘crack’ by knocking the table with their fist. This automatically doubles the point values in the table above for determining the score when the game ends. In addition, you may also allow that, after a player cracks, the picker has the option to ‘recrack’, which redoubles it again, or to 4 times the values at the end of the game.
In another variation, after a crack the partner may ‘crack-around-the-corner’ and double the game, but revealing his or her relation to the picker if the game is being played with the jack of diamonds as partner.
Another variation allows players to double further by ‘blitzing’ as well as cracking. A player may blitz by revealing either the two black queens, the two red queens, or the two black jacks from his or her hand. A blitz can only be initiated after a crack has occurred. A combination of these variations follows.
Example:
Player 1: Passes
Player 2: Picks
Player 3: has two black jacks
Player 4: is partner, has two red queens
Player 5: has nothing significant to illustration
In this scenario Player 3 blitz’s by showing his jacks. Player 4 responds with a blitz-crack-around-the-corner by revealing her queens and jack of diamonds. Player 1 also decides to ‘recrack’. The score is doubled four times as a result of the four maneuvers. This game will be worth 16 times the original amount. Blitzing can lead to large point escalation and, thus, is not used often.
Getting a Partner
One of the more intriguing aspects of Sheepshead is that you have different teams with each hand. Generally you will not know who your partner is until specific cards are played.
Called ace
If you pick the blind and decide that your hand isn’t good enough to “go it alone”, you must select a called ace suit. Some notes about choosing the called suit:
Basically, when the picker calls a suit, whoever has the Ace of that suit is the partner.
Called suit must be a fail suit (clubs, spades or hearts).
Picker must have at least one of the fail suit in his/her hand. (Special case: an unknown can be played if a player has no fail suits–i.e. all trump–see below)
Picker cannot call a suit for which he has the Ace.
If the picker has all 3 fail Aces (it happens occasionally), he can “call a 10″ instead of the Ace. The picker is obligated to hold the Ace of that suit in their hand. When the called suit is led, the picker must play the Ace. In addition, the person with the 10 takes the trick if it is not trumped.
Unknown. If the picker has no fail suit to use for the called suit, he can pick a card to “act as the called suit”. Example: picker has all trump or the Ace in all their fail suits. Picker can take a low diamond (9♦ lets say) and lay it face down on the table, and call (for example) Spades. That 9♦ stays face down until Spades is lead (or until nothing else can be laid down). That particular 9♦, since it was designated an “unknown”, has no power to take tricks but the points associated with that card still count at the end of the game. No one besides the player who took the ace trick is allowed to look at the unknown card.
Examples of picker hands
{Taking the blind, burying, and selecting partner…)
Hand 1: Q♥, A♦, A♣, 10♣, 7♣, 7♥
You probably shouldn’t take the blind. With only 2 trump it’s not really worth it.
Hand 2: J♣, J♦, A♦, 8♦, A♠, A♥
Don’t take the blind. You have 4 trump, but they are mostly little. If you have a chronic picking problem you may pick on this.
If you pass on the blind, you have a very good chance of ending up partner, since you have 2 of the 3 fail aces.
This is a decent partner hand, with the trump and lots of point to “schmear” to your partner.
Hand 3: Q♠, Q♥, J♦, K♦, 10♥, 10♣
With 20 points to bury, this wouldn’t be a bad hand to pick on.
A rule of thumb: If you can forsee schneider, pick.
– In Blind: 8♦, 7♣
The blind wasn’t that good, so you definitely want to pick a partner.
You could bury both 10s for the sure points, and then you would have to call clubs. The problem with this is that the called Ace has little chance of walking. There would be only 3 more clubs out there
It is recommended to bury both 7♣ and 10♣ and calling hearts. This is a tough case, and if you aren’t feeling that lucky maybe burying both 10s (and therefore guaranteeing yourself 20 points) would be the best idea.
Hand 4: Q♣, Q♦, A♦, 10♦, A♥, K♥
This is a very good hand to pick on.
There are 15 points to bury (A♥ and K♥) and that’s basically half way to schneider (31 points)
– In Blind: J♣, 9♦
(Special note: If this player had gotten another Queen in the blind, (s)he could surely go alone)
Player should keep the two additional trump, then bury the A♥ and K♥
Hand is now: Q♣, Q♥, J♣, A♦, 10♦, 9♦ (all trump)
Picker now has the option of getting a partner (or not). This is a very good hand and might be a winner if attempted “alone”
If the picker wants a partner, he has to call an “unknown” since he has nothing but trump. He can take his 9♦, place it face down on the table, then call it any suit he wants (besides Hearts, since he just buried the Ace of Hearts). Let’s just say “clubs”. Now, that an unknown was called, that 9♦ cannot be used on any trick except the called suit. (Or on the last trick if the called suit was never lead during the game)
This hand is good enough that he might get a “Thanks for the ride” from his partner. This usually means that you could have gone it alone.
Hand 5: Q♠, Q♥, J♦, 10♦, 7♦, K♥
Five trump, with 2 Queens and 1 Jack. This is definitely a picking hand.
– In Blind: Q♣, J♠
The big queen and a good Jack — a near perfect hand.
Hand is now: Q♣, Q♠, Q♥, J♠, J♦, 10♦
With the 3 big queens, buried trump and other very good cards, this hand is a good choice to go alone on.
You will get at least 3 tricks, and have a very good chance of taking them all.
Jack of Diamonds
Instead of choosing a partner, some play that the Jack of Diamonds is automatically partner.
In general you can pick on weaker hands when playing J♦ partner because you are always guaranteed that your partner will have at least one trump (the J♦ – there is no such guarantee playing Called Ace). Some suggestions:
Bare aces are nearly as good as trump. Unless your hand is really bad and you want to guarantee points, keep bare aces.
If you can bury 20 points, you only need one more good trick to make Schneider, the minimum you want. It is a judgement call you have to make, deciding between getting the points (burying them) or keeping the cards to use in play.
You can always go it alone, but don’t do it unless you have a really good hand. If you got all 4 queens, of course then you could go alone.
If the picker has the J♦ in his hand, there are two possible rules:
Picker plays alone (possibly with a poor hand)
Picker can select J♥ partner instead
Playing the Cards
Always remember the goal of Sheepshead is to get as many points as possible. You can take 4 out of 6 tricks and still lose point-wise. Always aim first for schneider (31 pts for picker, 30 otherwise).
At this point, there are basically 3 possibilities of play.
Leasters
Playing Alone
With Partner
Leasters
In leasters, you must take at least one trick to win. Each person plays for him/herself. At the end of the hand the person with the lowest score (and at least one trick) wins 1 point from each of the other players (4 total).
What do you do with the blind? Generally the blind is included with the very last trick played. Alternatively, the dealer (before play begins) calls out the number of the trick that will include the blind.
With Partner: Playing the first card
The player to the left of the dealer leads first. Here are some guidelines, but no rule is 100% accurate all the time. Use your judgment. This is the most common hand (picker+partner vs. 3 opponents) that you will play.
If you are the first one to play and are …
on the opposing team with the called Ace suit – lead the called ace suit. (i.e. if called suit is spades, lead a spade if you can)
on the opposing team without called Ace suit – don’t lead trump. You are in a good position to trump the called suit if one of your partners can lead that suit. Lead some other (non-trump) suit if you can.
the partner – lead trump if at all possible. You want to try to bleed trump out of the opposing team’s hands so that the called Ace trick is more likely to walk. At this point, leading trump will demonstrate to people that you are probably the partner.
the partner – with no trump. Don’t lead the called suit. Hold that until later in the game. Lead some other suit, preferable a suit that has not been led before and you are not long on (your short suit). You want to give the picker the best chance taking the trick and that will happen if all your opponents have this fail suit and the picker can trump it.
the picker – usually lead with trump. The goal is to get everyone to play out their trump so the called suit doesn’t get taken.
Following Suit
Players must follow suit if possible. Note that Queens and Jacks are considered trump, and are not a “suit” as such. Example, 7♥ is lead. You have a Q♥ and a 10♥. Since the Queen is not technically a heart (it’s trump) you must play the Ten.
A player who cannot follow suit may play any card he wants. (A picker or partner cannot play the called ace or his last card of the called suit (unless it is the last trick)).
If you do not lead, and are an opponent with the called suit and the big queen, lay the big queen and take the trick. Then lead the called suit and hopefully the your team can trump it.
Continuing the hand
Whoever takes a trick gets to lead the next one. Play continues in this manner until the last trick is played.
Play is over. Count the cards.
When all tricks have been played, the picker can count his cards and then either receives points or gives up points. See above under “Keeping Score” for a chart.
If the picker went alone and took all the tricks, he/she gets 3 points from all 4 opponents.
If the picker chose a partner and took all the tricks, pickers gets 3 points from 2 opponents, partner gets 3 points from 1 opponent.
If the opponents took at least a trick, but didn’t make schneider, the payout is 2 points.
If the opponents made schneider, but didn’t win, the payout is 1 point.
If the opponents win and the picker made schneider, each opponent gets 1 point
If the opponents win and the picker didn’t make schneider, each opponent gets 2 points
If the opponents take all the tricks, each opponent gets 3 points.
Some Sheepshead players have a rule that if the picker doesn’t win, he (and partner) must pay double. (Known as “double on the bump”)
Note that all scoring has a zero sum total. This means that at any point you can add all 5 player scores together and the total should be zero.
Strategy
Picker and partner should try to bleed the opponents of their trump before leading out the called Ace suit. This gives the called Ace a much better chance of walking.
In a Called-Ace variant, the opponent should lead out the called suit if possible. It is a rare circumstance where the picker/partner should lead out the called suit.
Card counting is a very valuable skill to have when playing Sheepshead. Many good sheepshead players can tell you how many points you have without even having to count! If you don’t have a photographic memory, you can start off by keeping track of which Queens and Jacks were played. Just doing that much is better than not counting cards at all. This is a learned skill, so keep practicing. If you are the picker, you should at the very least keep count of the 14 trump cards so you know when your opponents are out of trump.
The order of play is a very important consideration. There is a distinct benefit to “being on the end”, and if you are partner with the picker on the end, that should affect the card you play.
Scenario: First player is one of the opponents and lead with an 8♣. You are partner and have a 10♣ and K♣. Since you are long (more than one) in clubs, you would expect someone to trump this trick. You are next, with 2 oppenents after you and the picker is on the end. Since the picker is on the end, you generally would throw the 10♣ (10 points) rather than the K♣ (4 points). Assume the picker will be able to trump the trick. In other words, when in doubt, schmear.
Leaster strategy: Keep in mind a player has to win at least one trick to qualify for the win. Oftentimes, a player will be so worried about accumulating points that he/she will fail to pick up a single trick.
The card game of poker has many variations, most of them created in the United States in the mid-1900s. The standard order of play applies to most of these games, but to fully specify a poker game requires details about which hand values are used, the number of betting rounds, and exactly what cards are dealt and what other actions are taken between rounds.
Popular poker variants
The most populate poker variants can be divided into the following groups:
Draw poker: Games in which players are dealt a complete hand, hidden, and then improve it by replacing cards. The most common of these is Five-card draw.
Stud poker: Games in which each player receives a combination of face-up cards and face-down cards in multiple betting rounds. The most common of these are Seven-card stud and Five-card stud.
Community card poker: Games in which each player’s incomplete hidden hand is combined with shared face-up cards. The most common of these are Texas hold ‘em and Omaha hold’em.
Other poker variants
Some poker games just don’t fit neatly into the above categories, and some have features of more than one of these categories.
Stud Horse poker
Stud Horse poker is mentioned in the California law books as one of the gambling games prohibited in California’s card rooms. There is no definition for it under the law, however. It appears not to be Stud poker, which is not prohibited and is offered in several variations in California card rooms.
Oxford stud
Though called “stud”, this is a combination stud/community card game that was popular at MIT in the 1960s, in which players receive individual downcards, individual upcards, and community cards. Many variations on this are possible by changing what kinds of cards and how many are dealt in various rounds.
One difficulty with such a combination is deciding the betting order: in stud games, the player with the best upcards showing bets first in each round (except sometimes the first, where the worst upcard is forced to begin the betting with a Bring-in). In community card games, each betting round begins with the same player (because there generally are no upcards), making it more positional. Oxford stud chooses to use the players’ individual upcards for determining order, which makes it play more like stud.
First, each player is dealt two downcards and one upcard as in seven-card stud, followed by a first betting round. Like stud, the game is usually played with a Bring-in, the lowest upcard being forced to pay it, and betting follows after that. After the first round is complete, two community cards are dealt to the table, followed by a second betting round, beginning with the player with the highest-ranking incomplete poker hand (as in stud) made from his upcard plus the two community cards. For example, if one player has a K upcard, and a second player has a upcard, and the community cards are T-7 (T = 10), the second player bets first (since he has a pair of s, and the other player only has K-high). Then a second upcard is dealt to each player, followed by a third betting round, again beginning with the player who can make the best partial hand with his two upcards and the board. Finally, a third community card is dealt to table, followed by a fourth betting round and showdown. Note that as with Mississippi stud, each player has five cards of his hand exposed at this point (two of his own plus three on the board), so it is possible for a flush or straight to be the high hand for the purpose of first bet. At showdown each player makes the best five-card hand he can from the four cards he is dealt plus the three community cards, in any combination. This game is usually played High-low split.
Billabong (and Shanghai)
Just as Oxford stud is a mixed stud/community card version of Texas hold ‘em, Billabong is a mixed version of Manila. Each player is dealt two downcards and one upcard. Low upcard starts the betting with a Bring-in if you are playing with one, otherwise high card starts the betting. Next, two community cards are dealt, followed by a second betting round, beginning with the player with the best exposed partial poker hand (counting the community cards, as in Oxford stud). Then a third community card is dealt, followed by a third betting round. Finally a fourth community card is dealt, followed by a fourth betting round and showdown. Each player plays the best five-card hand he can make from the three in his hand plus the four on the board in any combination.
Shanghai is the same game with an extra hole card, but no more than two hole cards play. That is, the game begins with each player being dealt three downcards and one upcard; each player must discard one of his hole cards at some point during the game as determined ahead of time. The most common variation is to discard immediately as in Pineapple; the second most common is to discard just before showdown as in Tahoe.
Guts
Rather than the customary rounds of betting followed by a single showdown, guts features multiple rounds, each of which consist of the decision to be “in” or “out”, and each of which contains a showdown. Only the players who stay “in” participate in the showdown. In the most common version, the player who stays in with the best hand receives the current pot, while all other players who stayed in must match the pot to form the next pot. For example, if the pot is $5 and three people stay in, then one player will receive the $5 pot and two players will be forced to add $5 each to the next pot, escalating the size of the pot for the next deal. Then the hand is re-dealt, and all players (even those who were “out” in the last round) can participate again. The game ends when only a single player has the guts to stay “in”, and thus the pot is taken without replenishment.
Each player’s hand usually consists of a reduced poker hand of either 2 or 3 cards. The cards are ranked as in regular 5-card poker, but in some variations straights and flushes count and in some they do not.
Another variation is for three-card guts. The hands are ranked as follows: Three of a kind, straight flush, straight, flush, pair. Each player receives two cards face down. In turn, each player declares whether they’re in or out. If they’re in, they receive their third card face up. The dealer declares last; if no other player has stayed in, then the dealer must have a pair or better to win the pot. Another variation is for the other players to have another chance to declare and challenge the dealer. With this variation, there is no requirement for the dealer’s hand; if no one challenges him, the dealer wins.
Declaring “in” or “out” is similar to declaring high or low in high-low games. Each player takes a chip, places their hands under the table, and either places the chip in one fist or not. Each player then holds their closed fist above the table, and the players simultaneously open their hands to reveal their decision (a chip represents “in”, an empty hand represents “out”).
Because the pot can double (or more) each round, the stakes can grow exponentially, and pots of 50 or 100 times the original ante are possible.
There are many variations. Sometimes only the single player with the worst hand (who stayed in) must add to the pot, but they must double the pot rather than match it. In an especially vicious variation, nobody wins the pot unless nobody else stays in. This can degenerate quickly, when one player must add a large amount to the pot, and decides to stay in until he wins it back. Thus the game continues indefinitely, with one player continually adding larger and larger amounts to the pot. The pot may grow so big that no player has enough cash to match it, leading to arguments about how to end the game. (This variation is not recommended when playing among friends. Often this variation is abandoned after the first really big pot leads to conflict.)
One solution to the exponentially growing pots is to cap them at 50x or 100x the ante. That is, if there are 5 players with an ante of $1, the pot started at $5. If there were 3 doublings, the pot is now at $40. Suppose the “cap the pot at $50″ rule were in force. Then, if another doubling occurred, each loser would pay $40, but the pot would now be at $50 and the extra $30 would be set aside as the ante once there’s a hand with a winner and no loser.
Bingo is a game of chance where randomly-selected numbers are drawn and players match those numbers to those appearing on 5×5 matrices which are printed or electronically represented and are known as “cards.” The first person to have a card where the drawn numbers form a specified pattern is the winner and calls out “Bingo!” to alert others to the win. Bingo is a game used for legalized gambling in some countries.
A very similar game called housie is played in New Zealand, Australia, and the UK (where it is called Bingo). This game differs only in ticket layout and calling.
Description of the game
Each bingo player is given a card marked with a grid containing a unique combination of numbers and, in some countries, blank spaces. The winning pattern to be formed on the card is announced. On each turn, a non-player known as the caller randomly selects a numbered ball from a container and announces the number to all the players. The ball is then set aside so that it cannot be chosen again. Each player searches his card for the called number, and if he finds it, marks it. The element of skill in the game is the ability to search one’s card for the called number in the short time before the next number is called.
The caller continues to select and announce numbers until the first player forms the agreed pattern (one line, two lines, full house) on their card and shouts out the name of the pattern or bingo. One of the most common patterns, called full card, blackout and cover-all simply consists of marking all the numbers on the card. Other common Canadian and American patterns are single line, two lines, centre cross, L, Y, inner square (4 × 4), roving square (3 × 3), and roving kite (a 3 × 3 diamond). On Canadian and American cards lines can be made horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Inner and roving squares and kites must be completely filled; roving squares and kites may be made anywhere on the card.
Bingo Cards
Canadian and American bingo cards are 5 × 5 grids of numbers only; dual daub, dual dab, or “double-action” cards have two numbers in each square. Each space in the grid contains a number, except for the centre square, which is considered filled. The highest number used is 75. The columns are headed with the letters of the word BINGO, and the letter is called with the number — for example, B-10, I-25, N-40, G-55, O-70. Numbers 1 to 15 are assigned to the B column, 16 to 30 to the I column, 31 to 45 to the N column, 46 to 60 to the G column, and 61 to 75 to the O column.
Each card has a unique serial number to permit quick verification by computer.
Culture
A typical bingo dauber, which is also used for housie tickets
Canadian and American games often have multiple bingos — for example, the players may first play for a single line, then after that is called continue playing for a full card, then for a consolation full card.
In Canadian and American Halls, players often play multiple cards for each game; thirty is not an unusual number. Because of the large numbers of cards played by each player, most Canadian and American halls have the players sit at tables to which they often fasten their cards with adhesive tape. To mark cards faster the players usually use special markers called dabbers. At commercial halls, after calling the number the caller then displays the next number on a television monitor; bingo cannot be called until that number is called aloud, however. The numbers already called and the patterns being played are also displayed on electric signs.
In American primary schools, bingo is used to teach students. The numbers are replaced with letters, pictures, words or symbols that represent important concepts.
History
Bingo can be traced back to a game called Lotto, played in Italy in 1530. The bingo name comes from a corruption of the name Beano, the name of a form of bingo played in the United States in the 1920s. Beano was so called because beans were used to cover the numbers. The name of the game was changed to “Bingo” when an excited player called out “bingo” instead of “beano.” The name stuck.
The business of bingo
In the US, the game is primarily staged by churches or charity organizations. Their legality and stakes vary by state regulation. In some states, bingo halls are rented out to sponsoring organizations, and such halls often run games almost every day. Church-run games, however, are normally weekly affairs held on the church premises. These games are usually played for modest stakes, although the final game of a session is frequently a coverall game that offers a larger jackpot prize for winning within a certain quantity of numbers called; a progressive jackpot may increase per session until it is won.
Commercial bingo games in the US are primarily offered by casinos (and then only in the state of Nevada), and by Native American bingo halls. In Nevada, bingo is usually offered only by casinos that cater to local gamblers, and not the famous tourist resorts. They will usually offer several two-hour sessions daily, with relatively modest stakes except for coverall jackpots. Station Casinos, a chain of locals-oriented casinos in Las Vegas, offers a special game each session that ties all of its properties together with a large progressive jackpot. Native American games are typically offered for only one or two sessions a day, and are often played for higher stakes than charity games in order to draw players from distant places. Some also offer a special progressive jackpot game that may tie together players from multiple bingo halls.
As well as bingo played “in house”, the larger commercial operators play some games linked by telephone across several, perhaps dozens, of their clubs. This increases the prize money, but greatly reduces the chance of winning due to the much greater number of players.
There are examples where Bingo halls are linked togeter in a network to provide alternative winning structures and higher to prizes. Loto Quebec in Canada have connected bingo halls in such a manner.
Bingo is also the basis for online games sold through licensed lotteries. Tickets are sold like for Lotto and the player get a receipt with his/her numbers, like a bingo card. The daily or weekly draw is normally broadcast on TV. These games offers higher prizes and it is typically more difficult to win. Examples are the game Extra provided by Norsk Tipping in Norway and Boxen provided by Dansk Tipstjeneste in Denmark.
The Bingo logic is frequently used on scratch card games. The numbers are pre-drawn for each card and hidden until the card is scratched. In lotteries with online networks the price is electronically confirmed to avoid fraud based on physical fixing.
Alternate variations
Two notable modern variations of bingo have achieved some kind of status in American culture:
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.
A unit of play consisting of a deal, one or more rounds of betting, and possibly a showdown.
A set of five cards with a certain value. For example, the hand A♥ 10♥ 9♥ 5♥ 3♥ is a “flush”, a hand that is valuable because each card is of the same suit.
A player’s set of non-communal cards.
The second and third definitions are often used interchangeably. For example, in Texas hold ‘em, a player holding A♣ K♠, with a board of A♥ K♣ K♦ 7♠ 3♦, might say, “my hand is ace-king”. However, his best 5-card hand (the portion of the hand which determines value) is the kings-over-aces full house.
General rules
The following general rules apply to evaluating poker hands, whatever set of hand values are used.
Individual cards are ranked A (high), K, Q, J, 0, , , , , , , , (low).
Individual card ranks are often used to evaluate hands that contain no pairs or other special combinations, or to rank the kickers of otherwise equal hands. The Ace is ranked low in ace-to-five and ace-to-six lowball games.
Suits have no value.
The suits of the cards are mainly used in determining whether a hand fits a certain category (specifically the Flush and Straight flush hands). In most variants, if two players have hands that are identical except for suit, then they are tied and split the pot. Sometimes a ranking called high card by suit is used for randomly selecting a player to deal.
A hand always consists of five cards.
In games where more than five cards are available to each player, hands are ranked by choosing some five-card subset according to the rules of the game, and comparing that five-card hand against the five-card hands of the other players. Whatever cards remain after choosing the five to be played are of no consequence in determining the winner. (For example, when comparing identical full houses, there are no “kickers”.)
Hands are ranked first by category, then by individual card ranks.
That is, even the minimum qualifying hand in a certain category defeats all hands in all lower categories. The smallest Two pair hand, for example, defeats all hands with just One pair or No pair. Only between two hands in the same category are card ranks used to break ties. The highest single card in each flush or straight is used to break ties (the Ace-through-five straight is the lowest straight, the Ace being a low card in this context). Within two Two pair hands, the higher pairs are first compared. If they tie, then the secondary pairs are compared, and then finally the kicker.
For ease of explanation, hands are shown here neatly arranged, but a poker hand has the same value no matter what order the cards are received in.
Ranking of hands
The standard ranking of poker hands are:
Royal flush: Five cards in sequence and of the same suit, starting from the Ace down to the 10. Example:A♠ K♠ Q♠ J♠ 10♠ (Note: A Royal Flush is not a category of hand in and of itself, it is simply the highest-valued straight flush, and thus also the highest-valued hand. Since it is mentioned often in the context of hand rankings, it is worth noting in this list.)
Straight flush: Any five cards in sequence and of the same suit. Example:Q♦ J♦ 10♦ 9♦ 8♦
Four of a kind: A hand with four cards of the same rank. Example: ♣ ♦ 4♥ 4♠ ♥
Full house: A hand with three cards of one rank and two of another. Example: ♣
♦ 8♠ K♥ K♠ (Often described as the three-of-a-kind rank full of the pair rank. The example is eights full of kings)
Flush: Five cards of the same suit. Example:K♠ J♠ 8♠ 4♠ 3♠
Straight: Five cards in sequence. (The ace can be considered higher than the king or lower than the two.) Example:♦ 4♥ 3♠ ♦ A♦
Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank. Example:♣
♥ 7♠ K♦ 2♠
Two pair: Two cards of one rank, two of another. Example:A♣ A♦ 8♥ 8♠ Q♠
One pair: Two cards of the same rank. Example:♥ 9♠ A♣ J♠ ♥
High card: Also known as a “no pair” hand. The following example is considered “Ace high.” Example:A♦ 10♦ 9♠ 5♣ 4♣
The hands are ranked in this order because of their relative probabilities, with rarer hands ranking above more common hands. In addition, all 5 card poker hands can be collapsed down to 7,462 distinct equivalence classes. For example, there are 24 different ways to create an Aces over Kings Full House hand, but since they all hold the same poker ranking value, they can be collapsed into the same equivalence class. In this way, all 2,598,960 unique five card poker hands can be shrunk down to just 7,462 distinct classes of hands.
Variations
Some games called lowball or low poker are played where players strive not for the highest ranking of the above combinations but for the lowest ranking hand. There are three methods of ranking low hands, called Ace-to-five low, Deuce-to-seven low, and Ace-to-six low. The ace-to-five method is most common. A sub-variant within this category is high-low poker, in which the highest and lowest hands split the pot (with the highest hand taking any odd chips if the pot does not divide equally). Sometimes straights and/or flushes count in determining which hand is highest but not in determining which hand is lowest (being reckoned as a no-pair hand in the latter instance), so that a player with such a holding can win both ways and thus take the entire pot.
Certain variants use hands of only three cards, either high or low. Three-card low hands can be ranked by any of the three methods above, although with three cards they become ace-to-three (rather than ace-to-five), deuce-to-five, and ace-to-four. The ace-to-three method is the most common, just as the ace-to-five method is most common method for five cards. Three-card high hands are ranked in one of two ways: either with or without straights and flushes. Without them (which is the most common, and used such games as Chinese poker), the hands are simply no pair, one pair, and three of a kind. If you add straights and flushes, the order of hands should be changed to reflect the correct probabilities: no pair, one pair, flush, straight, three of a kind, straight flush. This order is used, for example, in Mambo stud.
Some poker games are played with a deck that has been stripped of certain cards, usually low-ranking ones. For example, the Australian game of Manila uses a 32-card deck in which all cards below the rank of 7 are removed, and Mexican stud removes the s, s, and 0s. In both of these games, a flush ranks above a full house, because having fewer cards of each suit available makes flushes rarer.
Some games add one or more non-standard poker hands, bugs, wild cards, or have other exceptions to the standard rules above. For example, in the game of Pai gow poker as played in Nevada, a wheel (-4-3-2-A) ranks above a king-high straight, but below an ace-high straight.
Poker Room at the Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Poker is a card game, the most popular of a class of games called vying games, in which players with fully or partially concealed cards make wagers into a central pot, which is awarded to the player or players with the best combination of cards or to the player who makes an uncalled bet. Poker can also refer to video poker, a single-player game seen in casinos much like a slot machine, or to other games that use poker hand rankings.
Game play
Poker is played in hundreds of variations, but most follow the same basic pattern of play.
The right to deal each hand typically rotates among the players and is marked by a token called a button or buck. In a casino a house dealer handles the cards for each hand, but a button (typically a white plastic disk) is rotated among the players to indicate a nominal dealer to determine the order of betting.
For each hand, one or more players are required to make forced bets to create an initial stake for which the players will contest. The dealer shuffles the cards, he or another player cuts, and the appropriate number of cards are dealt to the players one at a time. After the initial deal, the first of what may be several betting rounds begins. Between rounds, the players’ hands develop in some way, often by being dealt additional cards or replacing cards previously dealt. At the end of each round, all bets are gathered into the central pot.
At any time during a betting round, if a player makes a bet, opponents are required to match it or to surrender their cards and forfeit their interest in the pot. If one player bets and no opponents choose to match the bet, the deal ends immediately, the bettor is awarded the pot, no cards are required to be shown, and the next deal begins. The ability to win a pot without showing a hand makes bluffing possible. Bluffing is a primary feature of poker, one that distinguishes it from other vying games and from other games that make use of poker hand rankings.
At the end of the last betting round, if more than one player remains, there is a showdown, in which the players reveal their previously hidden cards and evaluate their hands. The player with the best hand according to the poker variant being played wins the pot.
Most popular poker variants can be loosely classified as draw poker, stud poker, or community card poker; miscellaneous poker games exist. The most commonly played games in these categories are five-card draw, seven-card stud, and Texas hold ‘em, respectively.
Bet on the Champions League - Find detailed, continually updated information on the Champions League, together with a history of the event and options for online betting at bet123.net. Other major sporting and betting events are also covered.
Industry: Gaming - Latest news releases for Industry: Gaming from PRWeb
online casino games - at the new Silver Oak Casino? With $750 in Welcome Bonuses, Second Chance Free Chips and great new monthly offers Silver Oak is the place to be!
poker site - More Fantastic Online Poker Signup Bonuses
The play is the trick-taking part of the game. Players must follow suit and there are no trumps.
Sara Giauro shoots a three-point shot, FIBA Europe Cup for Women Finals 2005.
A typical bingo dauber, which is also used for housie tickets
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.
Poker Room at the Trump Taj Mahal, Atlantic City, New Jersey
