A deck of cards is usually one of the most commoninclusions for a casual house party with friends, family time, or travel. Some people play serious games, while some others invent games just to kill time for when there is nothing much at hand to do at home or en route to a holiday destination. To help you get more options the next time you remove that deck of cards, here are five card games that you could try your hand at:
Rummy
This is a pretty simple game that is often learnt before the bigger ‘gamble’ games like bluff and poker. Many a time played for fun with family and friends, rummy can be comfortably played between two people as well as among three or more in a group. In a game of two, 10 cards are dealt for each player. With three or four players, seven cards are dealt for each, and with five players, six cards are dealt. These are in the case of a deck of 52 cards. In case of more than five players, two decks would be needed, with each player holding seven cards.
The aim of rummy is to create sets of sequences in one hand of cards, like A-2-3, K-Q-J, and 8-9-10-J (two-player game). One of the players deals the cards in the group and stacks up the remaining at the center, face down. Only one card is left face up on the top. The player next to the dealer starts off by taking the face-up card or picking up the topmost face-down card to see if it can replace a card in his hand. The next player in the circle picks up the card dropped by the previous player or picks up the next face-down card. This cycle continues until one player declares completion of sequences. Until then, the pile of cards at the center is reshuffled, as and when it gets exhausted.
Bluff
Players in this game aim to clear their hands to be declared winners. Also called Cheat, Bullshit, and I doubt it, this game is solely based on how well one can bluff and whether the opponents can call the bluff or not. The first player, usually the one dealt first, places a set of cards face down at the center and announces what cards he places down. The other players need to guess whether this player is bluffing or not. If the player is challenged that he is bluffing, he needs to reveal the placed cards. If it turns out that he was bluffing, he has to take back the entire set of cards. Otherwise, the one who challenged him takes the set. The winner is the player who manages to complete his set of cards and not lose a single challenge.
President
Just like in bluff, this game’s purpose is to get rid of all cards in one’s hands. President is a variant of a Japanese card gamecalled Daifugō. The player who manages to get rid of all his cards is declared the winner, that is,President. The other titles of the players in the order of hierarchy are vice president, scum, and super scum/janitor. If more than the minimum of three players are involved, more titles are needed. The variation in terms used in this game could include some offensive words.
The cards are dealt in the clockwise direction. The player to the immediate left of the dealer leads with a single card or a set, face up. In the same order, other players must either pass or play face up the corresponding number of cards of a higher rank. For instance, three 5s can be beaten by three Js or three 7s, but not two Ks or one Ace. Until the time that a player’s cards are passed by all other players, the game continues.
Poker
This is a broad term of card games that involve more of observation, focus, and strategic planning. Poker has different variants like Texas Hold’em, seven-card stud, Omaha, and five-card draw. Majorly, the purpose throughout variants is to declare the best hand that takes home the cash prize or the pot. Poker games have a dealer button, who deals the cards among the players. Most games go clockwise from the dealer. Through the games, players keep raising the bets (antes), and at the end, that is the showdown, all cards are revealed, which is when the winner isdeclared.
Poker is generally played with real stakes, which includes cash poker games played online.Alternatively, poker can be played with fake chips among friends on a casual hangout. Many Indian poker websites like Khelplay offer the option of playing with practice chips.
Sevens
This is one card game that can be played among adults as well as kids. It requires up to seven players and a regular deck of 52 cards. Here too the idea is to clear the hand of cards and be declared winner. All the 52 cards are dealt among the players who come together to form a sequence of cards down from 7–A or up from 7–K, which is how the game gets its name. The first player of the game is the one holding the sevens of hearts.The player who cannot use any card to make a particular sequence passes. Sevens is also known as Laying out Sevens, Fan Tan, and Crazy Sevens. Variations of this game include the Indian BadaamSaat, the French Domino, and the Japanese ShichiNarabe
