25
Card Games
& 5 Tricks
by Ryan C. Ast
Copyright 2011 Ryan C. Ast
Published by Epic Gaming Co. at Smashwords
Cover design by John Horacek
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
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ADULTS
Solitaire (1 player)
Thirty-One (2-8 players)
Spoons (3-8 players)
Casino (2-4 players)
Rummy (2-6 players)
Gin Rummy (2 players)
Five Card Draw (2-8 players)
Five & Seven Card Stud (2-8 players)
Texas Hold'em (2-8 players)
Blackjack (2+ players)
Canasta (2-6 players)
Whist (4 players)
Hearts (3-7 players)
Euchre (4 players)
Spades (4 players)
Auction Pitch (2-8 players)
Partnership Variation (4 players)
Ten Point Pitch (4, 6 players)
Call for your Partner (5 players)
Partnership Auction Pinochle (4 players)
Two Player Pinochle (2 players)
Bridge (4 players)
KIDS
Go Fish! (2-8 players)
Crazy Eights (2+ players)
Old Maid (2-8 players)
Slapjack (2+ players)
War (2-4 players)
TRICKS
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In this book you will find easy-to-understand instructions for many popular card games, for both kids and adults. The instructions that follow are for friendly, social play, based upon the most common game variations. Before you begin, consider these suggestions to assist with standardized play.
Partners: Players can agree on partnerships, or can draw cards. When drawing, cards rank from highest to lowest as follows: K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A. Each player takes one card from the deck. The players with the two highest ranking cards become partners. Those with the two lowest ranking cards become partners, and have the choice of seats and cards used. Partners sit in alternate seats.
Cut: The player seated to the right of the dealer cuts the cards after the dealer shuffles them. A cut divides the deck into two packets: top and bottom. Each packet should consist of four or more cards. The top packet is removed and placed below the bottom packet.
Two decks of cards: The use of a second deck can speed a game up when the decks are alternated between hands. While cards are being dealt, the second person from the dealer’s left gathers up the cards played from the previous hand and shuffles them. The shuffler places them to his right, between him and the next player whose turn it is to deal. After the hand ends, the next person in line to deal (generally the player to the dealer’s left) can offer the shuffled cards to the player to his right to cut. He then deals out the next hand.
Scorekeeper: Someone can volunteer to keep score, or players can draw cards. The player who draws the lowest ranking card, from K (high) to Ace (low), becomes the score keeper.
***
ante – a predetermined bet which all players must put into a pot before cards are dealt out.
bid – the number of tricks, or points, one believes he or she can win in a hand.
book – (1) completed by winning six tricks as in Whist or Bridge; (2) four cards of the same rank as in Spoons and Go Fish!
draw – to take cards from a designated pile, from another player, or from the dealer.
face card – any King, Queen, or Jack.
game – the end point of one or more hands played, or cumulative points reached, which results in there being a final winner.
hand – (1) the session of a game in which cards are dealt out and played (a series of hands generally comprises a game); (2) the cards held by a player in his or her hand.
number card – any 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
pot – the common pool of chips or money to which each player contributes.
rubber – the best of two out of three hands.
stock – the cards left over from the deck after the deal.
trick – the packet of cards won by a player after each plays a single card in turn. The player who wins a trick leads to the next trick.
trump – a designated suit having a higher ranking value than cards of other non-trump suits, used in trick taking games.
widow – cards left over from the deal which may sometimes be used by the bid winner, or his or her partner.
***
Set-up: 1 player. A standard 52 card deck is needed.
Object: To organize cards into ascending rank order, by suit category, through building sequences of descending card rank and alternating color.
Cark rank: K (high) to A (low) for descending tableau sequences; A (low) to K (high) for ascending same suit foundation sequences. The illustration below shows how the tableau and foundation should be laid out.
Deal: Seven columns form the tableau. Turn one card over from the top of the deck and place it face up to the left of the playing area to begin the tableau. Any card turned face up in the tableau is called an upcard. Place six downward facing cards in a line to the right of the upcard. Repeat the process to form the second row, turning the first card face up in the second column and the next five downward, partially overlapping the other down cards. Similarly fill in each row until the seventh column has six down cards and one upcard. The remaining stock, used later, should contain 24 cards.
Moving cards: Four simple rules dictate how cards can be played and moved.
(1) Any upcard situated at the bottom of a column can be overlapped onto an upcard that is one rank higher than the card being moved, so long as both cards are of alternating red and black colors. For example, a black 6 can be placed on a red 7, building the sequence downward. If there is a black 8 upcard at the bottom of another column, the red 7-black 6 sequence could be moved onto the black 8, or a red 5 could be placed on the black 6. As an upcard is removed from a column, the lower-most down card is turned over to become an upcard and can be played however possible.
(2) Overlapping upcards built downward in descending rank sequences can be shifted to another upcard or descending sequence, so long as the cards are placed in order of descending rank and alternating colors, from K down to 2. The entire upcard sequence can be moved at one time, or just a portion of the sequence can be moved.
(3) When an Ace is turned up, it must be played face up to the foundation. All four Aces are placed in the foundation to form the base for each suit, each of which is built up by ascending rank (i.e., ♠ A-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-J-Q-K).
(4) If a tableau column becomes vacant, only a King may be played to the empty space.
Play: After the cards are situated into columns, a player can begin arranging any cards she is legally able to play, according to the rules stated above. Once she makes all plays, she then takes up the stock. As for how the stock is played, the player must choose one of the following two options:
(1) Turn the top card of the stock over and play it wherever a legal move can be had, either to the tableau or to the foundation. Cards which cannot be played are placed face up in a pile and form the waste. After any turned card has been played, the next upcard in the waste is available for play, and so on. When no move is possible, another card is turned over from the stock onto the waste. After the stock is exhausted, the waste may be turned over and run through three times in total; or
(2) Turn the top three cards of the stock over at the same time. The top-facing card is played to the tableau or the foundation, as allowed. If no play can be had, turn another three cards onto the waste. If the top card is played anywhere, the next upward facing card in the waste can be played, and so on, until no play can be had. After the stock is exhausted, the waste may be turned over and run through three times. Some players burn the top card by placing it at the bottom of the stock before going through it again.
Game: If all four suits have been played to the foundation and built up, from Ace to King, the game is won. If further moves are blocked, the game is lost.
***
Set-up: 2-8 players, each plays individually. A standard 52 card deck and three pennies per player are needed. Other items, such as matchsticks or poker chips, can be used in place of pennies.
Object: To win each hand by having the highest point value of cards of the same suit, the highest possible score being 31 points.
Card value: A = 11 points; K, Q, J = 10 points; all number cards equal their numeric values (e.g., ♥ 8 = 8 points).
Deal: Each player is dealt three cards, one at a time, clockwise from the dealer. The stock is placed face down at the middle of the table to become the draw pile. The top card is turned over and placed next to the draw pile to begin the discard pile; it is called the upcard. The turn to deal passes clockwise from the dealer.
Play: By draw and discard, players try to collect high ranking cards of the same suit which total 31 points, or as close to it as possible. Some example hands and their scores include: ♣3-♦10-♠A = 11 points since the Ace is the highest valued card; ♥5-♥J-♣A = 15 points in ♥; ♠ A-K-10 = 31 points in ♠.
The player to the dealer’s left begins. A turn consists of drawing one card, either from the draw pile or the upcard from the discard pile. The card drawn may be exchanged with another in the player’s hand, or discarded. A turn ends by discarding one card face up onto the discard pile. No player may hold more than three cards at the end of a turn. Play continues clockwise.
When a player forms a hand totaling 31 points, he lays it down at any time saying, “31,” or “Cadillac,” and the hand is concluded. All other players must surrender one penny into the pot. A new hand is then dealt by the next dealer.
Knocking: A hand can also end by knocking if a player believes his hand would score the highest after one more turn is played. At his next turn he may knock, simply by knocking his knuckles on the table, or by saying, “knock” or “I knock.” When a player knocks he foregoes his turn to draw a card. Each other player however has one last turn to shape his hand into the highest score possible. After all players complete their final draw and discard, they reveal their cards and compare scores. The highest point score wins and the losers have to place a penny into the pot. If the knocker loses he must put two pennies into the pot.
If there is a tie score during a knock, the player who knocked loses and puts in one penny. If there is a three-way tie, the knocker loses and puts in a penny; the other two have a draw and keep their pennies. In the event there are two players and one knocks, this is the only time in which a player may pick up the card he just discarded before the other player knocked.
If the draw pile becomes exhausted during play, shuffle the discard pile to form a new stock, but keep the upcard back to continue the discard pile.
Scoring: New hands are dealt and played until players eventually surrender all three pennies into the pot. A player who surrenders his last penny is said to be on a cloud, or on his honor, meaning he has one last chance to stay in the game and must win each hand thereafter if he is to win the pot. If he loses one hand he is out of the game. The game ends when there is one remaining player; this player wins the pot, and the game.
***
Set-up: 3-8 players, each plays individually. A standard 52 card deck and common table spoons are needed. Another deck may be shuffled and added to the first deck to make 104 cards if there are several players, or to make the game go faster. The number of spoons needed is a quantity of one less than the number of players in the game (e.g., use four spoons with five players).
The spoons are situated at the center of the table, spaced evenly and within reaching distance of all players. The spoon handles should be outward facing so that they are easier to grab.
Object: To collect four cards of the same rank, thereby triggering the ability to take a spoon.
Card rank: Cards have no ranking value, other than for the purpose of matching four cards of the same rank.
Deal: Unlike most other card games, this game is played counter-clockwise, to the dealer’s right. Four cards are dealt to each player, one at a time, counter-clockwise from the dealer. The remaining stock is placed in a single pile face down in front of the dealer to become the draw pile.
Play: Players try to collect a book, which is four cards of the same rank (e.g., 2-2-2-2), by drawing and discarding cards that are passed hurriedly around the table from player to player.
The dealer begins by taking the top card from the draw pile. She can add this card to her hand and discard another, or can discard the card she drew. No player may ever have more or fewer than four cards in her hand. The dealer’s discard is placed face down to her right so that her neighbor can easily take it up. The dealer’s right-hand neighbor takes up the discard and can either keep it, then discard one card from her hand, or she can discard it to her right. The cards continue to be passed around the table from player to player.
As cards come to the player seated to the dealer’s left, she discards to her right into the trash pile. The trash collects until the dealer exhausts the draw pile. This player to the dealer’s left then shuffles the trash and turns it face down so that it may be used by the dealer as the new draw pile.
Play continues until one has a book, the required hand a player must have before she is able to take a spoon. Other players who notice a spoon has been taken quickly grab for one of the remaining spoons.
The first player to take a spoon does not have to alert the other players to this fact. She can try to secretly take a spoon and hide it while playing, pretending to still be trying to make a book. Similarly, one does not have to seriously try to make a book. She can pass cards while keeping her eyes focused on the spoons so that she may grab one faster than the other players, after another makes a book and takes the first spoon.
Scoring: After each hand, the player who failed to grab a spoon is eliminated, and so is one spoon, until two players remain. The first to make a book and take the last spoon wins the game.
***
Set-up: 2-4 players, each plays individually, or two against two as partners. Partners sit opposite of each other. A score pad, pencil, and a standard 52 card deck are needed.
Object: To capture cards by matching them with equal ranking cards. The winner is the first to score 21 points.
Card value: For making matches during play, Ace = 1 point and number cards equal their numeric values (e.g., 3 = 3 points). The face cards of King, Queen, and Jack have no value, but are used for matching.