1. 2 Player Betting Card Games
2. 2 Player Betting Card Games 247

• How to win: Have the best hand possible (or at least convince the other players you do).
• In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing.Different games are played using different types of bets, and small variations in etiquette exist between cardrooms, but for the most part the following rules and protocol are observed by the majority of poker.
• This game is also known as Boodle, Stops or (in Britain) Newmarket and is suitable for about 3 to 8 players. It is a fairly simple stops game in which the aim is to get rid of your cards first, and to win stakes by playing particular cards. You need two packs of cards to play.

Build a Tower of Cards. Although there are no real rules, it can be super fun to attempt to build a. Baccarat – Baccarat is a casino card game that is especially popular in Asian cultures. The player can bet on either the Player or Banker hand or indeed place a bet that the hands will tie. The deal and play of the hands follow pre-defined set rules, so once bets have been placed there are no player decisions regarding how the cards are played.

Big two (also known as deuces, capsa, pusoy dos, dai di and various other names) is a card game of Chinese origin. It is similar to the games of winner, daifugō, president, crazy eights, cheat, and other shedding games. The game is very popular in East Asia, and in Southeast Asia (due to overseas Chinese influence), especially throughout mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. It is played both casually and as a gambling game. It is usually played with two to four players, the entire deck being dealt out in either case (or sometimes with only 13 cards per player, if there are fewer than four players). The objective of the game is to be the first to play of all of one's cards.

Names[edit]

This card game has many other names, including big deuce and top dog. In Mandarin Chinese it is 大老二, pinyin: dà lǎo èr; in Cantonese, 鋤大弟, sho tai ti (among other transliterations, including chor dai di, and rendered in jyutping tonal notation as co⁴ daai⁶ di²), or simply dai di. It is cap sa in Hokkien, 十三, meaning 'thirteen' (coming from the number of cards dealt to each player), a name is commonly used in Indonesia. In Malta, it is often referred to as ciniza ('Chinese') or giappuniza ('Japanese'), due to its East Asian origin. In English, it is sometimes ambiguously called Chinese poker because of its use of poker hands, but this name more often applies to another game of an entirely different nature.

A variant is called pusoy dos in Filipino, or in other Philippine dialects chikicha (also sikitcha).^[1][2]

A commercial version of the game was published as Gang of Four by Days of Wonder^[3] in 1990.

Big two is sometimes confused with tien len (a.k.a. thirteen); the two games differ primarily in that big two involves poker hands, while tien len does not.

Rules[edit]

Valid combinations[edit]

Cards may be played as singles or in groups of two, three or five (var. 1 and 8), in combinations which resemble poker hands. The leading card to a trick sets down the number of cards to be played; all the cards of a trick must contain the same number of cards. The highest ranking card is 2 instead of A. The combinations and their rankings are as follows, mostly based on poker hands:

• Single cards: Any card from the deck, ordered by rank with suit being the tie-breaker. (For instance, A♠ beats A♥, which beats K♥.)
• Pairs: Any two cards of matching rank, ordered as with singular cards by the card of the higher suit. (A pair consisting of the K♠ and K♣ beats a pair consisting of K♥ and K♦.)
• Triples: Three equal ranked cards, three twos are highest, then aces, kings, etc. down to three threes, which is the lowest triple. In some variations, a triple can only be played as part of a five-card hand.
• Five-card hands: There are five (var. 2) different valid five-card hands, ranking from low to high as follows (the same ranking as in poker, where applicable):

• Straight (also known as a snake in Cantonese or mokke in Malaysia): Any 5 cards in a sequence (but not all of the same suit). Rank is determined by the value of the biggest card, with the suit used only as a tie-breaker. Therefore 3-4-5-6-7 < 2-3-4-5-6, since 2 is considered the largest card in the 2-3-4-5-6 straight. The largest straight is A-2-3-4-5, second 2-3-4-5-6, third 10-J-Q-K-A while the smallest straight is 3-4-5-6-7.
• Flush (also known as a flower or sama bunga in Malaysia): Any 5 cards of the same suit (but not in a sequence). Rank is determined by Face value of the cards (highest first, then each lower card in order). Suit (♠,♥,♣,♦), is used to break ties. In some popular variations, flushes are not permitted as a playable hand, and thus it is the lowest possible combination.
• Full house (also known as a gourd in Chinese): a composite of a three-of-a-kind combination and a pair. Rank is determined by the value of the triple, regardless of the value of the pair. Also known as a Fullen.
• Four-of-a-kind + One card (nicknamed King Kong, tiki, or Bomb or ampat batang in Malaysia, or Iron bullet (tieji) in Chinese): Any set of 4 cards of the same rank, plus any 5th card. (A four-of-a-kind cannot be played unless it is played as a five-card hand) Rank is determined by the value of the 4 card set, regardless of the value of the 5th card. It is also known as a poker. (Some play the Four-of-a-kind hand as the beat all, therefore nicknamed the bomb, King Kong, or also tiki.). In some variations, when a bomb was dealt, it immediately makes the 2s to be the lowest cards in the game (with 2 of diamonds becoming the lowest)
• Straight flush: A composite of the straight and the flush: five cards in sequence in the same suit. Ranked the same as straights, suit being a tie-breaker. (Sometimes also called a 'bomb' (or tiki or sunn) in Malaysia, greater than a four-of-a-kind)

The dealer (who may be chosen by cutting the cards, as usual) shuffles the deck to begin with and begins dealing out the cards singly, starting with the person of his right, in a counter-clockwise manner around the table. The cards are dealt out among the players as far as they can go while retaining an equal number of cards for each player. Leftover cards (not possible if there are 4 players) are then given to the player holding the 3♦. If this card is in the kitty, then the holder of the next lowest card adds them to his pile (var. 5). The Joker cards are not used under normal rules and are taken out before dealing.

At the beginning of each game, the player with the 3♦ (var. 6 and 9) starts by either playing it singly or as part of a combination, leading to the first trick. Play proceeds counter-clockwise, with normal climbing-game rules applying: each player must play a higher card or combination than the one before, with the same number of cards. Players may also pass, thus declaring that they do not want to play (or do not hold the necessary cards to make a play possible). A pass does not hinder any further play in the game, each being independent, referred to as jumping-back. (var. 14).

When all but one of the players have passed in succession the trick is over (some variations have when 1 player has passed the trick is over), and the cards are gathered up and a new trick is started with all players, initiated by the last player to play. When a player plays the 2♠ either as a single or as part of a pair of 2s, it is often customary for that player to start the next trick immediately by leading a new card or combination, since the 2♠ cannot be beaten whether as a single or as part of a pair of 2s, and the passes are mere formalities.

It is often courteous for a player to warn others when they are one playing combination away from winning. The goal is, then, for the other players to play (and get rid of) as many cards as possible while avoiding the combination that would allow the calling player to win the game. For example, if said player has one last single card, the other players would play doubles or other combinations to force that player to pass.

The game ends when one player runs out of cards. Refer to scoring section.

2 Player Betting Card Games

In most popular variations, ending with a single or double two is not allowed.

Reshuffling[edit]

If a player receives a hand with only 3 points or less, s/he may declare his cards, and the cards shall be reshuffled and dealt again. Point counting rules: J=1, Q=2, K=3, A=4, 2=5, others=0. These point-counting rules may vary from place to place, or may be voided. A variation states that a player holding a hand with no cards with faces on them (namely Jacks 'J', Queens 'Q', and Kings 'K') may request a reshuffle and the cards shall be dealt again. In addition, if a player has four twos, it might be mandatory to have a reshuffle.

Scoring[edit]

Scoring varies from place to place. The most common version is that after a game each player with cards remaining valued at one point each, and doubles if they have 10 or more cards, or triple is all 13 cards are intact and not played at all. The points is then paid to the winner. (Example: North player wins, and East, West, and South respectively still had 3, 11, and 8 cards left, then East would score -3, West would score -22, South would score -8, and North would score +33.)

Any unused 2's, or a Four-of-a-kinds or Straight Flushes also doubles the points paid to the winner. If the winner ends the game by discarding a 2, a four-of-a-kind, or a Straight flush, the base points will also be doubled, but does not stack regardless of an ending hand. (Example: North players wins with a 2 as a last discard, and East, West, and South respectively still had 3, 9, and 8 cards left with the West had an unused Straight Flush and South left with an unused 2, then East would score -6, West would score -36, South would score -32, and North would score +74.)

Likewise for a three-player game, a player with 17 cards remaining is deducted triple points. A player with more than 11 cards and less than 17 cards remaining is deducted double points. An alternative scoring method to deduct one point per remaining card, is to double the count for each unused 2's.

Penalty for assistance[edit]

If Player B won a game by playing her or his last card (the case of more than one card played is excluded) after Player A has played theirs and Player A could have prevented this from happening by playing a higher card, s/he is deemed to have assisted Player B.

There are several ways to penalize Player A. The most common way is for Player A to be deducted the total points that the other two losers have lost on top of her or his own so that the other two may win some points.

This rule can vary between styles of play. If the scoring system is based on ranks (e.g. who finishes first, second, third or last), the rule would not apply.

Variations[edit]

1. Smack-down: Also known as a chop, can be played to defeat the 'big 2' only when the 2♠ is played as a single. A smack-down is either four-of-a-kind or a run of pairs (Example: 4-4-5-5-6-6), and is often executed with a violent smack of the playing surface. The run of pairs may be any length of at least 3. After a smack-down has been played, any player is allowed to 'smack-back', or 'chop-chop', with a higher four-of-a-kind or run of pairs of equal length as the smack-down.
2. If a player leads off with three 3s, the following player is required to play three 2's if no other play is possible.
3. Some allow four-of-a-kind without extra card; 2s rank high, as usual.
4. Some variations allowing four-of-a-kind without extra card do not allow for two pairs.
5. Some allow four-card combinations (two pairs or four cards alone, without an odd card). Four-of-a-kind beats two pairs.
6. Some allow a sixth five-card combination called 'two pair junk' or 'butterfly', consisting of two pairs (of different ranks) and one odd card (the junk); rank is determined by the highest pair. This combination ranks below the straight.
7. Some allow the three-of-a-kind poker hand, consisting of a triple and two junk cards. This combination ranks below the straight.

   Or it can be more specific, known as 'sisters', where two consecutive pairs are played, with any random card. This combo is lower than a straight, making it the weakest five-card combo in the game, if it is played. An example of sisters is double jack, double queen and a single nine. This would be beaten by a double king, double ace and a three (only the 'sisters' count, not the random card.)

   3-K-K-A-A > 9-J-J-Q-Q (tie-breaker rules vary)

8. Some variations allow for straights longer than five cards, or even as short as three cards.
9. There are many variations on ranking straights, suit of last card is tie-breaker unless otherwise stated.
   • 3-4-5-6-7 < ... < 10-J-Q-K-A < A-2-3-4-5 < 2-3-4-5-6 (suit of 2 is tiebreaker; Malaysian variant)
   • 3-4-5-6-7 < ... < 10-J-Q-K-A < J-Q-K-A-2 (Indonesian variant)
   • 3-4-5-6-7 < ... < 10-J-Q-K-A < 2-3-4-5-6 (Suit of 2 is tiebreaker) < A-2-3-4-5 (suit of 2 is tiebreaker; Singapore/Hong Kong variant)
   • 2-3-4-5-6 < 3-4-5-6-7 < ... < 9-10-J-Q-K < 10-J-Q-K-A < A-2-3-4-5 (suit of A is tiebreaker)
   • 2-3-4-5-6 < 3-4-5-6-7 < ... < 9-10-J-Q-K < A-2-3-4-5 (suit of A is tiebreaker) < 10-J-Q-K-A
   • 3-4-5-6-7 < ... < 10-J-Q-K-A (Vietnamese variant)
10. Some rank flushes by highest suit, K-Q-J-10-8 in spades defeating A-K-Q-J-9 of diamonds.
11. Some discard the extra cards. Some play that the lowest cards are consciously removed to avoid having the 2♠, the highest card, in the kitty. Yet others give the kitty to the holder of the lowest diamond (not necessarily the lowest card).

    Whereas sometimes in a three-player game, the extra card is not revealed (or is revealed), and the holder of 3♦ is given a chance to make a decision to or not to trade his/her 3♦ for the extra card. If he/she does, the starting player will be 3♣ holder, or the previous winner depending on the rules.

12. Some switch ♦ and ♣, to conform to contract bridge tradition, and play begins with the 3♣. Another variation rearranges the suit ranks from (lowest to highest) ♣, ♦, ♠, ♥. Another variation of suit ranks is (lowest to highest) ♣, ♠, ♥, ♦. Taiwan rule of suit ranks is (lowest to highest) ♣, ♦, ♥, ♠.
13. In some variations, suit rankings are not used, for example, a 3-single cannot be used to beat any other 3-single, and an 8-high straight cannot be used to beat any other 8-high straight.
14. A variant to discourage passing disallows a player from playing any further cards to a trick after he or she passes.
15. A rare variation involves a three-player game, where each is dealt 17 cards. A 'Dragon' consists of 13 cards in straight (A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2), is considered a valid combination and may be played once the player has gained control of the game. Suit of 2 is tie-breaker.
16. In Malta, a dragun or 'dragon' is not a thirteen-card straight, but it is the initial thirteen cards that the player is dealt, consisting of six pairs and any other single card. A player who is dealt a dragon immediately wins the game. However, if the dragon contains a pair of 3s it is called a dragun bla-bajd and the player immediately loses.
17. In tournaments, starting the game with 3♦ is only true for the first round. In subsequent rounds, the winner of the previous round plays first.
18. If only two players are available, deal thirteen cards each and play as normal. When one player passes she or he is forced to pick up one card from the remaining deck and add it to his hand. This variation is taken from the card game Go Fish.
19. If three people are playing, deal four thirteen-card hands as if a fourth players were present. The hand to receive the last card that would normally become the dealer's now becomes the 'ghost hand'. No one plays the ghost hand and its cards are not shown, play continues as normal.
20. If three people are playing, deal three seventeen-card hands, leaving one left over. The one card is placed in the middle, and whichever player possesses the two of spades or three of diamonds receives that card.
21. In some places, owning 4 Twos is also a condition for Immediate Win. Some play Immediate Win rule in three-player game too. There are more cards involved, the chance of occurring and points transfer is therefore very high. On the contrary, some variations said that it's an automatic draw when 1 player has all 4 twos, as having all 4 twos gives the player amazing amount of power.
    The chance of getting 4 Twos is ${\displaystyle \frac{(\genfrac{}{}{0ex}{}{48}{9})}{(\genfrac{}{}{0ex}{}{52}{13})}=0.264106\mathrm{\%}=1:379}$ games.
22. In some rules, four-of-a-kind + one card, and straight flush, can also be played on a pair or a single card, regardless of value.
23. Some players rank all poker hands with traditional poker rules, except for the full house 2, which is higher than full house ace, and a hand must be won exactly, not just by a tiebreaker of suit.
24. In some rules, a single 2♠ is not allowed to be played as the last card. Others do not allow any combination that includes the 2 of spades to be played as the last hand.
25. A four-of-a-kind can be used to beat all card combinations that lack a four-of-a-kind.
26. Some require the person to call 'last card' when he/she only has one card left right after the last play. If the person holding the last card won, but forgot to call 'last card' beforehand, he/she will take the penalty of all the other player's remaining cards, while other players will score 0.
27. In some variations, a straight is considered higher than a flush. This can be determined beforehand.
28. In Hawaii, a game variant called penning is played. The main difference is that the ranking of cards is diamonds high, followed by hearts, then spades, and clubs as lowest. When playing with three or four people, the 2nd and 3rd place titles are done by person with the lowest card going first.
29. Joker rules: Jokers are added to the deck, and they can be played as any card with any suit. Also, the jokers are deemed higher than the Two of Spades, but the black joker is considered higher than the red joker. Another variation sets the joker as valueless: it can be played to beat any card, but any card can be played to beat the joker(s). These variations allow for more in-depth and strategic game play.
30. No poker rules (a.k.a. no soccer ball rules): The players are not allowed to play a different type of 5 card hand over the current. For example, a full house can not be played over a straight.
31. In some variations, any five-card combination can be played on top of any other five-card combination with a lower card value, e.g. 4-5-6-7-8 can be played on top of 7-7-7-6-6 even though full house is higher than straight in traditional big two.
32. Some variants do not score; rather, play continues till all but one person have rid all cards, and at the end, players are ranked according to the order they got rid of their cards, e.g. 1st, 2nd, 3rd etc.
33. The direction of play (clockwise or anti-clockwise) can be determined by a race between the two players on either side of the leader (previous round winner, or holder of 3♦).
34. Playing with two decks: this enables up to eight players per game (and is required for five-of-a-kind hands to be possible). In this case, five-of-a-kind defeats four-of-a-kind, but may or may not defeat a straight flush. Players may or may not be allowed to play a hand equivalent to the previous hand, such as 3♦ followed by the other 3♦.
35. Some variations do not allow any of the 2s to be played as the last single card of a player's hand.

Big two president variation[edit]

The usual rules of big two apply, with the following features borrowed from the game of president:

• The first player to clear all his cards becomes the President for the next round. The players next to the new President can follow the President's last play if possible (singleton, pair, three-of-a-kind, 5 cards). If no one can follow the President's last play or choose not to do so even when able (the player immediately next to the President has a strong incentive not to follow), the player next to the President gains control and may start a new sequence of his own. Eventually, this will produce the Vice-President, followed by the Vice-Scum. The last player remaining becomes the Scum for the next round.
• The first game proceeds without anyone being President, Vice-President, Vice-Scum and The Scum.
• Subsequent games involve the following:
  • President passes their lowest 2 cards to the Scum. The scum passes their highest 2 cards to president.
  • Vice-president passes their lowest 1 card to vice-scum. Vice-scum passes their highest 1 card to vice-president.
    • A variant to the rule is where president passes any 2 cards to scum, after receiving cards. This can make a difference as their 2 lowest cards may form a five-card hand.

Team play[edit]

It is possible to play in teams of two with four total players. Each player's teammate is the one opposite of him (i.e., the two players who you are adjacent to are your opponents). Teammates are not allowed to have any communication with each other regarding their cards, preferred combinations or the quality of their hands.

The winning team is determined by the total number of cards held by that team when the one player runs out of card. If one player plays his last card but his teammate has more cards left than the other team's total, his team loses. (Ex: Mike and Dave are on one team against Lionel and Brendan. Mike has 4 cards, Dave has 5, Lionel has 10 and Brendan has 1. Brendan plays his last card but Lionel has 10 cards and Mike and Dave have 9 cards total. By playing his last card Brendan has lost the game for his team.) Any player can ask what the card count is for each team at any point.

If the card count is tied at the end of a game the players proceed to a five card shootout. This is where each player receives five cards and the game is played as normal. The lowest card holder starts and the same team grouping is still used. Further ties lead to further five card hands; this determines the final winner of the original game.

Cheating[edit]

Players in collusion with one another have massive advantages over any non-colluding player(s). The basic strategy of colluding players is to preserve the high 'control' cards against the non-colluder(s), and not to waste these cards amongst themselves. This strategy is called 'holding' or 'warrening'. Other collusive techniques include signaling (through the played cards, e.g. odd/even as in bridge, or non-verbal cues) where the strength of the hand, number of controls, hand type, exact high cards, and other features of the hands are transmitted to the partner.

Other cheating methods includes false shuffles, kiddening, peeking and cold decking. Cheating, especially collusive techniques, is rampant in online and higher stakes games.^{[citation needed]}

Another method of cheating is practiced in in-person games, and involves concealing the number of cards a player has by stacking their hand tightly together, so that other players will mistake the cheating player for having fewer cards than he or she actually does. This may lead other players to exhaust their higher cards earlier on the assumption that their opponent has almost won.

See also[edit]

• Dou di zhu (similar rules, played with three players)
• Daguai luzi also known as wild escape or the joker's way

References[edit]

1. ^http://www.istorya.net/forums/general-discussions-10/515824-chikicha-card-game.html
2. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2013-02-26. Retrieved 2015-08-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. ^Gang of Four on Boardgamegeek.com

Most card games are designed to be played by four players. It makes a lot of sense. Four people can be easily divided into two teams, most games use 52 or 32 cards, both numbers divisible by 4, and four people are just the right amount to share two beer six packs and a pizza.

But what do you do when the fourth person of your weekly Spades game gang is being held hostage by his new annoying soulmate, the one the whole group hates? You adapt, improvise, and overcome the situation by picking up a new fun game made for three players.

Table of Contents

There are a lot of card games for 3 people out there and you just have to pick the one that your group will like the most. There are versions of your favorite 4-player card games configured for only 3 persons – like 3-player Hearts or 3-player Spades, but there are also games specifically made to be played by a party of three. A lot of different rules and game mechanics divide those games into different groups, but overall you can classify them by the following configurations:

• – Individual card games – in those game every player plays for himself and is in direct competition with the other two.
• – Alliance card games – in those types of card games the end goal is for a single person to be the winner, but in each deal, two players form a temporary alliance against the third one. Usually, players rotate being the one-man party in each round or it is decided by pre-game bidding (like in French Tarot).
• – Banker card games – those are mainly casino-type card games where one player acts as the bank and the others play against him. In home conditions, the role of the banker is passed around with each round, so everyone can play from both sides. Usually, the banker plays by predefined rules. A lot of 2-player card games can include a Banker role as well.

Those are the types, but what are the most famous three-person card games? After some research and drunk-testing, we have made a list of the 7 most popular card games for 3. We have deliberately left out all casino-type card games for another article since they usually require some form of gambling in order to be fun and we were between paychecks at the time.

Top 10 most popular card games for 3 players

Rummy

• Type of play: Individual
• Cards used: Standard 52 card deck
• Cards rank (lowest-to-highest): A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K

Rummy is one of the most classical and popular types of pairing card games. It has a lot of different variations and it was used as a basis for developing other classical games, such as gin rummy, 500 rummy, and at least several other card games with ‘Rummy’ in their name. The game can be played by 2 to 4 players, but 3 players are just the perfect amount for this card game.

Each player is dealt 7 cards and the main goal is to be the first to get rid of all his cards. Cards can be laid off by grouping 3 or more cards of the same value or if they are in consecutive order and from the same suit.

The first player to give all his cards each deal collects his opponents’ remaining hands and score points in accordance with their value. The first one to reach a pre-defined amount of points is the winner. Rummy can also be played a specific number of rounds and the player with the highest score after the last round wins.

Go Fish

• Type of play: Individual
• Cards used: Standard 52 card deck
• Cards rank doesn’t matter

Go Fish is another exciting pairing game that can be played by three people with quite easy rules. Kids love it for that reason but it is entertaining enough for adults as well. Memorizing and stealing your opponents’ cards are the main mechanics and the losing side can quickly turn things over with a bit of luck in the end.

The object of the game is to collect more ‘books’ than your opponents. A book is made when a player has four cards of the same value in his hand.

Each player is dealt 6 cards (in some versions it may be 5 or 7) initially. The rest of the cards are left face down in a pile in the middle.

The 1st player is picked by a random chance and then the turn moves clockwise. The player who is at turn must pick an opponent and ask him if he has a card of specific rank, a 9 for example. If the opponent has cards from that rank he must give all of them to the asking player. The player at turn is free to ask the same opponent or a different one about another rank. This goes on until the opponent asked has no cards of the desired rank, in which case he says ‘Go Fish’ and the player at turn must take one card from the pile.

A player can ask only for ranks he already possesses in his hand. This gives away information about your hand and what cards you possess, so you must be careful letting others from knowing too many of your cards.

Games can be decided in one turn if the player’s memory is sharp. Having a lot of cards in the late game can actually be a plus, but beware, friendships can be ruined if you screw the other players from their books enough times.

Where to play Go Fish online

• You can play Go Fish at World of Card Games

Crazy Eights

• Type of play: Individual
• Cards used: Standard 52 card deck
• Cards rank doesn’t matter

Crazy Eights is a card game quite similar to Uno. Each player is dealt 5 cards and his goal is to get rid of all of them before his opponents. There are a lot of variations in terms of the number of cards used and special cards’ roles. We decided to stick with the most standard rules though.

A standard deck of 52 cards is used, no jokers. Each player is dealt 5 initial cards and the rest form the discard pile, with the top card placed face up and placed beside the pile. Each player can place a card over the pile if it matches the face-up card either by rank or suit. For example, if the face-up card is 5 of Hearts, the player at turn can place a 5, regardless of suit, or a Heart, regardless of rank. If the player doesn’t have a suitable card to drop he takes the top face-down card from the discard pile and ends his turn.

There are special cards in the game, that make it more entertaining and fun. Those cards, except the 8s, can only be played if they follow the rule of matching suit or rank.

• 2s – the next player has to draw 2 cards from the pile. If the next player has a 2, he can place it without drawing and end his turn. The draw-penalty is then accumulated to 4 cards. The accumulation can go as long as the next in turn has a 2 to add.
• 8s – the whole name of the game comes from the ‘crazy’ 8s. A player can play an 8 anytime he wants unless a 2 was played before that. The player who puts the 8 down can choose what suit should be followed next.
• Qs – the next player skips his turn.
• As – rotation is reversed.

When a player is about to put down his second to last card, he must announce it. If he forgets to say ‘Last Card’ before placing it he is penalized by drawing 2 cards. The first player to get rid of all his cards wins the round.

Contrary to popular belief, a player can play his last card even if it is a special card.
Whoever wins the round scores points based on the number and rank of the cards his opponents still have. The player that reaches a predefined score first wins the game.

Skat

• Type of play: Alliance
• Cards used: Standard 52 card deck
• Cards rank (lowest-to-highest): 7 8 9 Q K 10 A J♦ J♥ J♠ J♣ (may vary depending on declarations)

One of Germany’s most popular family reason to get angry, not to be mistaken with the game Scat, Skat is an entertaining 3 player card game where two people try to bring down the third one. Originally played with German suited cards, the game can easily be played with a classic French deck using 32 cards – 7s to As.

The game rules are quite complex and this is the biggest turn-off of the game – it takes a lot of concentration and practice to learn to play it properly. But if your group sacrifices enough time to master the game it will reward your efforts with really obsessive gameplay.

Each player is dealt 10 cards and the remaining two are left face-down as the Skat. Then the declaration phase begins. It’s an outbidding battle firstly between the two players excluding the dealer, then between the dealer and the winner of the first bidding. Whoever bids the most points becomes the declarator. The declarator then may decide whether to see the Skat or play without it.

The declarator then proceeds with picking up the trump suit. There are 7 options:

• Diamonds – All Diamonds + the 4 Jacks are trumps
• Hearts – All Hearts + the 4 Jacks are trumps
• Spades – All Spades + the 4 Jacks are trumps
• Clubs – All Clubs + the 4 Jacks are trumps
• Grand – Only the 4 Jacks are trumps
• Null – No trumps at all, but the declarator must lose every trick
• Open Null – Like null but the declarator’s cards are open for everyone to see them

The declarator then must not only make more points than his two allied opponents, but he must also cover the declaration points he announced in the bidding phase. There are 120 points in a game, so winning 61 is necessary to win the round. After winning, depending on the contract and how many Matadors (the Skat’s equivalent of announcements) the declarator has, his declaration points are calculated.

Let It Ride

• Type of play: Individual
• Cards used: Standard 52 card deck
• Cards rank (lowest-to-highest): According to a hierarchy common to poker games

Part of the wave of new casino games during the late 1990s, Let It Ride is a casino poker-based game. While the game had become quite popular in the last two decades, its player base have shrank severely in the past few years.

Perhaps the rules are not the reason that new players might be turned off. Serious poker players are not impressed by the game’s relatively high house edge. In more simple terms, this translates to players not being able to influence their winning odds as much by employing their skills and experience.

The game begins with each player being dealt three cards, as well as two face down to the dealer. The player is paid according to the poker strength of his hand. The main difference between Let It Ride and other casino games is the chance for the player to withdraw his stakes.

The player could withdraw their stakes on two occasions. The first chance occurs when the player looks at his hand. The first community card is not yet revealed at this point. The second chance occurs when the first community card is revealed. The second community card is not yet revealed.

At this point the player could have one, two or all three of his stakes in play when the dealer’s two cards are revealed. Then, the remaining stakes are collected by the dealer and the players are paid at the following fixed odds:

• Royal Flush – 1000 to 1
• Straight Flush – 200 to 1
• 4 of a Kind – 50 to 1
• Full House – 11 to 1
• Flush – 8 to 1
• Straight – 5 to 1
• 3 of a Kind – 3 to 1
• 2 Pairs – 2 to 1
• 10s or Better – 1 to 1

The game is quite easy to get into and start playing right away. No particular skills are required, other than having your decision-making on point for when you need to decide whether to withdraw a particular bet.

Old Maid

• Type of play: Individual
• Cards used: Standard 52 card deck minus a Queen
• Cards rank or value doesn’t matter

Old Maid, also known as Black Peter, is a really simple family card game that is great fun for kids and grown-ups alike. You just need a standard deck of 52 cards with one of the Queens removed from it. If you are against stereotypes you can change the discarded card to a Jack, a 2 or any other card, as the idea behind the game is that you need an odd number of cards.

The rules are quite simple. All the cards are dealt between the three players. Some may have more cards in their hand than others, but it is irrelevant. After all the cards are dealt each player must take out of his hand any pairs he can make. A pair is two cards from the same rank.

After that, every player should have only 1 card from any rank. The dealer is first and the turn goes clockwise. The player at turn must put his remaining cards face down in front of the player to his left in order to draw one. If the player to the left makes a pair with the drawn card he discards them.

As in life, there are no winners in this game, only a loser. If a player gets to discard/be drawn of his last card, he is out of the game. The last player who stays with the lonely queen is considered the loser.

Where to play Old Maid online

• There is this site with a really cute version of the game

Golf

• Type of play: Individual
• Cards used: Standard 52 card deck
• Cards rank (lowest-to-highest): K A 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q

2 Player Betting Card Games 247

Golf is a nice 3 player card game where luck is considered more important than skills. Not to be mistaken with the solitaire with the same name, the aim of the game is to score the lowest points possible, just like real Golf.

There are several different versions of the card game, but the most common versions are 6-card Golf and 4-card Golf. Here we will discuss the 4-card Golf version of the game, as it is simpler to be played by people who haven’t played it (and simpler for us to describe it).

Each player is dealt 4 cards, which are arranged in a square, face down. The rest of the cards are left in stock, with the top card turned face up and left beside the stock, forming a discard pile.

After the dealing, each player may secretly see for himself only the two cards that are closer to him. When it is his turn a player may do one of three things:

• Take a card from the stock. After he sees it he may change it with one of his cards or discard it. Regardless of the choice, the discarded card (the one from the stock or the one that was swapped) must be placed face up on top of the discard pile.
• Take the top face-up card from the discard pile. If the player does this action he must swap it for one of his cards.
• Knock on the table and draw no cards. This means he doesn’t want to swap any more of his cards and it is also a signal that the game will be over after everyone takes their turn.

The game finishes after a player knocks and the others take their last turn. The player with the lowest score is the winner.

Cards give points as following:

• number cards give their numeric value
• J and Q give 10 points
• K give 0 points

Sergeant Major

• Type of play: Individual
• Cards used: Standard 52 card deck
• Cards rank (lowest-to-highest): 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 J Q K A

Sergeant Major is a three-player trick-taking card game, known around the World also as 3-5-8. The goal each round is to win as many tricks as possible The first round the dealer is chosen at random and he deals all the cards except for 4, which are placed face-down on the side as a talon. This leaves all of the three players with 16 cards in their hand.

The dealer then must decide what the trump should be. He must pick one of the four suits, although a “no trump” announce is legal in some variations of the game, but not in the classic rules.

After the dealer picks the trump, the talon is revealed to all the players and the trump announcer collects it. He then must pick 4 cards to discard, leaving him with 16 cards. After the discard pile is formed, the dealer starts with a card, followed by the person sitting on his left. Players are obliged to answer a suit if possible, but playing the trump if a player can’t follow suit is optional.

Each trick is set aside, where it can easily be counted. After the 16 rounds of play, everyone must count how many tricks he has won. The dealer who picks the trump has a target of 8 tricks, the one next to him has the target of 3, and the third player has a target of 5. If a player made more tricks than his target required, he scores bonus points. Winning fewer tricks than the player’s target leaves him with negative points.

In the next round, the three players’ targets rotate, and the player having a target of 8 choosing the trump. Whoever made tricks above his target in the last round can exchange as many unwanted cards as he made overtricks with the players who have gone under their trick target. Only non-trump suits can be exchanged.

The first player to reach a predefined number of points wins.

Ninety-Nine

• Type of play: Individual
• Cards used: 36 cards
• Cards rank (lowest-to-highest):6 7 8 9 10 J Q K A

Ninety-Nine is a trick-taking card game that was invented in 1967 by David Parlett in the United Kingdom. The game has certainly left a positive mark in the card game history with its unique feature – having to remove cards to make a bid.

Similar to Spades, players must bid a number of tricks that they expect to win. The original concept that comes into play in Ninety-Nine and changes the whole dynamic of the game is the fact that you declare your bid by removing three of your cards.The bids are placed in secret and are represented by the suits of the bid-cards as follows:

• ♣ = 3 tricks
• ♥ = 2 tricks
• ♠ = 1 trick
• ♦ = 0 tricks

Example:

• ♥♥♥ (2 + 2 + 2 = 6)
• ♥♠♦ (2 + 1 + 0 = 3)
• ♦♦♦ (0 + 0 + 0 = 0)

During the play, normal trick-taking rules apply. Players must follow suit if they can, otherwise, any card may be played. The highest card of the suit led takes the trick. Whoever won the previous trick leads to the next.

When it comes to scoring, each trick won awards 1 point. If you successfully won the correct number of tricks you bid, a bonus is added to your score. The bonus depends on the number of players who also succeeded.

• Three people succeeded – 10 bonus points
• Two people succeeded – 20 bonus points
• One player succeeded – 30 bonus points
• Declaring – 30 additional bonus points
• Revealing – 60 additional bonus points

The game is usually played until nine deals are completed, afterward, the winner is declared – the player who has the highest score.

Baccarat

• Type of play: Banker
• Cards used: 36 cards
• Cards rank (lowest-to-highest): 2 through 9 are worth face value (in points); 10 J Q K = 0 points; A = 1 point

Baccarat is a typical card game that is played at casinos and can be frequently seen in James Bond-type movies. While the game is present in modern day pop culture and places like Las Vegas, its origins are dated to either the 19th century or as early as the 15th century. In most big countries, the main version of the Baccarat game is called Punto banco.

If you are a beginner casino player, then the game is perfect for you, as it lacks any complexity and is based purely on guessing. Sure, you can try and count cards to gain an advantage but there is no guarantee that you would be successful in doing so.

In Baccarat, the number of players does not correspond to the number of cards that are dealt. No matter how many players are present, only two hands are dealt – two cards for each hand.

The objective of the game is to score as close as possible to 9. First, you must decide whether you are going to bet on the player or on the banker side. The player hand is completed first, followed by the banker one.

Important rules to help you understand Baccarat:

• Whichever hand totals closest to nine wins
• When two cards total greater than nine, e.g. 13, the first digit is dropped and the score becomes 3.
• A total of 8 or 9 means that no more cards are drawn
• If a player’s total is 5 or less, he must draw another card
• A tie bet exists – a player can bet that the two hands will finish with an equal amount of points

If Baccarat were to be summed in a sentence, it would be close to “a game of luck combined with money management”. The game is based on pure guessing and if you happen to be lucky enough to win some earnings, you better know when to walk away with them.

Where to play Baccarat online

• Wizard of Odds online version

We encourage you to check our other article for some of the most popular card games.

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