Card games are the oldest type of games known to man. They were initially played in China. There are countless card games. Some have standard rules and are played all over the world and some have distinguished rules depending on the region, people and era. The card games are a very common means of gambling worldwide. They are played widely in casinos and at homes for entertainment.
10. Slap Jack
Slap Jack is a simple card game for children. Mostly it is the first introductory game of cards that the children learn due to its simplicity. The deck of cards is evenly divided among the players with face down. Each player turns the cards face up and places it in a pool, in a counter clockwise manner. This is done until a Jack appears on the pool. When the Jack is placed in the pool, every person attempts to slap the pile. The person who slaps it first gets all the cards and places them under his pile. When the player is out of cards he is out. The game continues till a player has acquired all the cards who is declared to be the winner.
9. Pai Gow Poker
This game was introduced by Sam Torosian in 1985, owner of Bell card club in Southern California. But because of some bad legal advice that one cannot patent the game of cards, he didn’t file the patent. When the game became famous in his casino, the other casinos also started offering the game without paying a penny to Torosian. Pai Gow Poker is a game of 53 cards, the usual deck of 52 cards plus one joker. The joker is a wild card, which can be used as an ace or to completer a straight flush. The game is played on a table of up to six players and a banker, where each player plays against the banker.
8. Solitaire
Almost all of us must have played this game at least once in our Desktop. Solitaire or Patience is a genre of card games that can be played by single player. However some variants which are not so popular exists that can also be played in a multilayer fashion. The objective of the game is to arrange the layout of cards in a particular fashion through a series of moves. Every deal cannot lead to the final solution in any case. There can be some arrangements to which there would be no solution. The game originated in German and according to a German tradition, this game can be used as a guide to the future. It is said that is the cards are not favorable, the person’s luck is not good enough and important decision during this time should be avoided.
7. War
War is a very simple card game and due to its simplicity, it is mostly played by children. It can be played only between two players. The deck of 52 cards is divided evenly between to players. Both players draw the first card from their pile of cards in unison and the person with higher rank of card takes both the cards and keeps it at the bottom of his stack. If two cards played are of same value, then, there is a WAR. The players again play a hand and the winner keeps all the cards. The objective of the game is to win all the cards eventually leading the opponent to be left with no cards.
6. Texas Hold’em
Originated in Robstown, Texas, the game didn’t left its borders till 1925 and in the year 1967 it reached the gambling capital, Las Vegas where it gained its world popularity. We should thank a man with questionable reputation, Benny Binion, to facilitate its popularity. He for the first time arranged WSOP tournament to promote Rummy. Benny Binion is the founder of famous Horseshoe Casino in USA. The game gained more popularity after it went online because of its ease of access and option to play anonymously with strangers. It is one of the most popular online games.
5. Rummy
The origin of this game is hard to trace but with time it has been gone through different variants. Now many variants of Rummy exist and the original form of Rummy is known as Sai Rummy or Basic Rummy. It is believed that all Rummy games are derived from a Mexican game called Conquian, which itself is derived from a Chinese game Kanhoo. The Kanhoo, is further believed to be derived from Mah-jong. Gin Rummy is the most popular Rummy of all its variants. It is a modern classic game that became popular in 1930s when Hollywood celebrities found it simple, fast and an excellent wagering game.
4. Bridge
Bridge or Contract bridge is comparatively more complicated game than other card games. The beginners have difficulty playing it for the very first time. It is played among 4 players, in partnerships of two competing against each other, with partners sitting opposite to each other around a table. The game is more based on skills than a game of chance. Large no. of books on Bridge is available today, more than any other game except Chess. Invented in 1920s the game became very famous in a decade, especially in USA, and now there are clubs, tournament and championships around the world. The World Bridge Federation is a body governing international competitive bridge.
3. Cribbage
Cribbage was popularized by Poet Sir John Suckling of England in the late 1600s. Traditionally the game was played between two players, but now commonly played between 3, 4 or more players. With the passage of time, the game rules have changed but the basic rule remains the same. Earlier the game was played with 5 cards, but now standardized for 6 cards. Still the 5 card game survives and famous in UK. The board of the game is itself used for scoring rather than paper pencil. The board has holes that can accommodate pegs. It is a fast moving game and pegging makes it easier to keep score, reducing the chances of errors.
2. Black Jack
Also famous as 21, it is one of the most popular gambling games played in casinos. The main objective of the game is beat the dealer. While in most of the cases the casino acts as a dealer, any player voluntarily can also act as a dealer. The casino charges some commission in such cases. The game can be played with one, two, four, six or eight deck of cards. In case of multi deck games, the casinos even have continuous shuffling machine called shoe. In order in win the game,
the player has to make his cards total more than dealers total without going over 21. If your total or the dealers total goes over 21, you lose.
1 Poker
Poker is the world’s most popular card game and more than 100 million people around the world enjoy it on a regular basis. It is the third most famous sport on TV, after football and car racing. The winner is decided based on the rank of the combination of the cards which may be hidden until the end of the game. Though the game may seem simpler to play, but in reality, it is a game of strategic and psychological challenges. It is a game of equal chances where a player, also take chances to bluff the opponents to win a deal. The game was first played in New Orleans, in 1800s with a set of only 20 cards. Soon after it became a popular game, the game was adopted to be played with a set full deck. Poker is also a very popular online game.