The Book of Card Games: The Complete Rules to the Classics, Family Favorite and Forgotten Games (25 page)

Each player places a bet in the spot marked “Bet” if playing on a Red Dog table (similar to a blackjack table). Otherwise, you just place a bet in front of you on a standard table. After all bets have been laid, the dealer deals two cards face up in front of him, placing one on the right and one on the left. The dealer then places a marker on the table. This mark indicates the spread between the two cards (the number of cards with values between the two cards showing), and the odds the house offers on that spread. If you do not play on a Red Dog table, you might wish to have a paper with the spread and odds available.

If the dealer’s first two cards are a pair, he turns over a third card. If that card is of the same value as the first two, you receive an eleven-to-one payout. If it does not match in value, it’s a push, and you get back your money. If the two cards are in a consecutive value (such as a two and a three), it’s also a push, and you get back your money. If there is a spread between the two cards, you have a chance to increase your bet by putting in more money and moving the bet from the bet field to the raise field on the table. If you do not raise the bet, you stand on your original bet.

The dealer draws a third card, and if it is outside the range of the two cards, or it makes a pair with either card, you lose your bets. If it is between the two original cards, you win as follows:

• One-card spread has a 5:1 payout
  
• Two-card spread has a 4:1 payout
  
• Three-card spread has a 2:1 payout
  
• Four-plus card spread has a 1:1 payout
  

When determining if you want to raise your bet, you’ll want to know the probability of winning that spread. In a six-deck game, the probability is as follows.

Probability in Red Dog of Winning the Spread

The player’s odds become favorable with a spread of seven or greater, so you should raise your bet if the spread is higher than six. On a spread of six or less, stand on your bet.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:
Four

EQUIPMENT:
Rook deck of fifty-seven cards

TIME:
One hour

PARTNERSHIP:
Yes

COMPLEXITY:
Easy to medium

Rook is popular mostly in Canada and the United States, especially in eastern Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Ohio, southern Ontario, and Manitoba. The objective of Rook is to be the first team to score over 500 points by winning points taken through tricks. Rook is played with four players divided into two teams, with partners sitting across from each other. A special Rook deck of fifty-seven cards is typically used. The Rook deck consists of cards numbering one to fourteen in four colors (red, green, yellow, and black), plus a Rook card. If you do not have a Rook deck, you can use a standard deck of fifty-two cards plus a joker. (The game description below assumes that you do not have a Rook deck, but if you do—just add an extra trick during play and score the one as fifteen points.)

A dealer is selected and deals out thirteen cards to each player. He then places the final card in the center of the table. Deal passes to the left with each hand. A round of bidding begins with the player to the dealer’s left. When it’s your turn, you may pass or bid a number that reflects the amount of points you believe your team can earn through collecting tricks.

The bid must be a multiple of five, and the minimum bid is seventy. There are 200 points available in each hand. Aces are worth fifteen points, kings are worth ten points, tens are worth ten points, fives are worth five points, the joker is worth twenty points, and the winner of the last trick wins twenty points. Bidding continues around the table until three players pass. If a player passes, she cannot bid at any further point in the bidding round.

Play begins with the high bidder taking the card in the middle of the table and placing it face down in front of him, without looking at it. His team collects any points that the card is worth after the hand is over. You now each choose three cards from your hand to pass to your opponent. Simultaneously you all pass your cards to the player on your left (in the next hand, pass to the player on your right and then back again). Without looking at the cards passed, the high bidder calls the trump suit and may then look at the cards that were passed to him.

The high bidder decides if he would like to lay the first trick or have the player to his left begin. Whoever goes first may lay down any one card in his hand. Play continues clockwise around the table. When it’s your turn, you must follow suit, if you can, by playing a card of the same suit that was led. If you cannot follow suit, you may play any card. The trick is won by whoever played the highest card of the suit led, or the highest trump played. The Rook, or joker, is the lowest trump card. The winner of each trick leads to the next one.

After all the cards have been played, each team calculates their points as above. If the high bidder’s team wins the value of the points bid, they score their bid. If they win all of the tricks, they receive a bonus of 100 points. The opponents receive the amount of points for the cards they won as well. If the high bidder’s team does not earn enough points through their tricks to equal the value of points bid, they lose points equal to the amount of their bid. The opponents keep the points they won. The first team to reach 1,000 points wins the game.

There are several variations of Rook. You can play with five people, where the high bidder calls out a “partner card” of his choice and the player with that card becomes the high bidder’s partner. The partner does not reveal himself until he plays that card. At the end of the hand, the high bidder and his partner individually receive half of their combined points. The other three players receive their individual points.

Other variations include starting with a minimum bid of seventy-five instead of seventy, not passing three cards before playing the hands, or playing to 500 points instead of 1,000. In another version of Rook, there are no extra points for winning the last trick, so only 180 points are available per hand.

NUMBER OF PLAYERS:
Two to six

EQUIPMENT:
One standard deck of fifty-two cards

TIME:
One hour +

PARTNERSHIP:
No

COMPLEXITY:
Medium

The earliest form of the game rummy can be traced back to the Mexican game of Conquian, played in the nineteenth century. However, there’s no consensus about where the game originated. Some people claim Romania as its home, while others associate it with Asia. One thing’s for sure: it’s extremely old.

Rummy is one of the most popular draw-and-discard games because of its fast-paced action and simple rules. It encompasses a large variety of games, and here, in addition to the basic structure of the game, we’ll show you the rules behind rummy, gin rummy, Manipulation Rummy, and Rummy 500.

A meld is a collection of cards. There are two types of melds—groups of cards and sequences of cards. A group of three of a kind or four of a kind makes up a group, such as 5♠ 5♥ 5♦. A sequence of cards is actually a run of three or more cards within the same suit, such as 4♣ 5♣ 6♣. A king and ace are not consecutive cards in a sequence, but an ace and a two are. A card can only belong to one meld at a time. You cannot use the same card in a sequence and in a group.

The standard game of rummy is played with two to six players using a deck of fifty-two cards. All of the court cards are worth ten points each, and the numbered cards are worth their face value. An ace is worth one point. While playing rummy, you try to dispose of all of the cards in your hand through the formation of multiple melds.

A random dealer is chosen and deals out the cards, one at a time, face down, to each player. If there are two players, each player receives ten cards. If there are three or four players, each player is dealt seven cards. If there are five or six players, each player receives six cards. The dealer turns up the next card, face up, and this begins the discard pile. The remainder of the cards are placed face down next to the discard pile and become the stockpile. Deal continues to alternate after each game.

The game starts with the player to the dealer’s left completing a turn. When it’s your turn, you must first choose to draw the top card on the discard pile or the top card of the stockpile. You add the card you drew to your hand. If you have a meld, you may lay it down on the table (although you are not obligated to do so). You may only lay down one meld per turn. You may also choose to lay off other cards on your opponent’s melds or previous melds that you have laid down, by adding cards to continue a sequence of cards, or add a card to a group of three. After you have laid down as many cards as you choose, your next step is to discard a card. This card is placed face up on top of the discard pile. If you drew the top card from the discard pile, you may not discard that same card within the same turn. The next player to the left completes a turn, and play continues multiple times around the table.