Card Games For Dummies

The perfect book for when you’re ready to move beyond 52-card pickup 

Feeling rummy? Ready to bridge the gap? In the mood to go fish? Card Games For Dummies is your source for rules, strategy, and fun. You’ll learn everything you need to know to play and win at your family’s favorite games, plus a bunch of others that are probably new to you. If you’re the gambling kind, you can get started with poker, blackjack, and other casino favorites, right here. This handy guide takes card game enthusiasm to the next level and explains the tips and tricks that can turn game night into some serious competition.  

• Learn the official rules for all your favorite card games 
• Discover strategies for winning at bridge, poker, hearts, and many more 
• Play easy games that are perfect for the whole family 
• Get started in the world of online card gaming 

Card Games For Dummies will whet your appetite for play. Start shuffling!  

Barry Rigal is an internationally recognized Bridge player who has won countless competitions. They include the North American Bridge Championships as well as the Camrose Trophy Home International Series, which he has won five times. Barry is also the author of the previous editions of Card Games For Dummies.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Conventions Used in This Book 3

What You’re Not to Read 3

Foolish Assumptions 3

Icons Used in This Book 4

Beyond This Book 4

Where to Go from Here 5

Part 1: Discovering Card Games 7

Chapter 1: Card Game Basics 9

Talking the Talk 10

Getting all decked out 10

Ranking card order 11

Preparing to Play 11

Shuffling off 11

Getting a square deal 12

Exposing yourself (or someone else) 13

Bidding fair 13

Making a declaration 14

Playing the Game 14

Winning with high cards or trump 15

Failing to follow suit 16

Playing out of turn 16

Exposing yourself to public ridicule 17

Selecting the Best Card Game 18

Chapter 2: Solitaire 21

Acquainting Yourself with Solitaire Terms 22

Putting the Squeeze on Accordion 23

Looking at the layout 23

Choosing between moves 25

Piling It On in Calculation 26

Reserving Your Time for Canfield 28

Striking Gold with Klondike 30

Living La Belle Lucie 32

Getting started 32

Making your moves 32

Starting the next cycle and ending the game 35

Practicing Poker Patience 36

Befriending Spite and Malice 40

Getting started 41

Putting the moves on 41

Manipulating your stoppage time 43

Chapter 3: Children’s Games 45

Beggar My Neighbor 45

Snap, Animals, and Slapjack 48

Snap 48

Animals 50

Slapjack 50

War 51

Fish and Friends 53

Go Fish 53

Authors 54

Cheat 55

Old Maid 57

Spit (or Speed) 58

Part 2: Getting Rid of Cards 61

Chapter 4: Rummy 63

Rummy: Throw a Combo and Go 63

Setting up and laying out the objective 64

Dealing the cards and starting the Rummy 65

Putting down and adding to combinations 66

Rummying with wild cards 67

Going out and tallying your score 68

Simple Rummy strategy 69

Keeping your eye on the discard pile 70

Thinking about your opponents’ hands 71

Making a good discard 71

Picking up cards from the discard pile 71

Gin Rummy: Knocking Your Foe Down 72

Getting a fair deal 73

Going Gin and tallying your score 73

Knock, knock! Another way to go out 74

Boxing up the scoring system 76

500 Rummy: Moving the Pile 78

Winning at 500 Rummy 78

Making a square deal 79

Understanding the rules of combination combat 79

All joking apart 80

Mastering the game play 80

Announcing “Game over!” 81

Scoring the numbers game 81

Drawing from the discard pile 82

Calling “Rummy!” 82

Chapter 5: Canasta 85

Accepting Your Canasta Mission 86

Making melds 86

Getting wild and forsaking suits 86

Looking at some legal melds 87

Calculating the value of your cards and melds 87

Picking partners 88

Dealing and creating a discard pile 88

Laying down the red 3s 88

Moving around the table 89

Picking up the discard pile 89

Making the first meld for your partnership 90

Unfreezing the deck with the initial meld 92

Freezing the discard pile 92

Separating the black 3s 93

Building a Canasta 93

Going out 94

End-game strategy 95

Tallying Your Scores 95

Making Do with Two (or Three): Short-Handed Canasta 97

Hand and Foot 97

Getting started 98

Knowing your objective 98

Putting down melds 99

Laying your initial meld 99

Playing your hand (and foot) 100

Wild cards 100

Threes 100

Clearing your hand and starting the foot 101

Going out 101

Assessing card values 101

Chapter 6: Eights 103

Eights: Simple Is as Simple Does 104

Dealing the cards 104

Playing 8s and suits 104

Paying the price when your opponent goes out 105

Mau Mau: Staking Out a Stock Pile 106

Neuner: Matching and Stacking 107

Switch: Avoiding the Double Agents 109

Preparing for a Switch 109

Identifying some key cards 110

Going out and scoring 111

Chapter 7: Fan Tan 113

Accepting Your Fan Tan Mission 114

Wheeling and dealing 114

Letting the cards hit the fan 114

Expanding your Fan Tan smarts 116

Double-Deck Fan Tan 118

Trump Fan Tan 118

Crazy Tan 119

Part 3: Taking Tricks 121

Chapter 8: Whist 123

What’s the Whist All About? 124

Winning tricks with the trump suit 124

Dealing and playing the cards 125

Tallying your score 126

Scoring the rubber 127

Incorporating Basic Whist Strategy 127

Remembering the cards 127

Landing the leading role 128

Showing some finesse 131

Making discards 132

Three-Handed Whist 132

Playing with a dummy (hand, that is) 132

Dealing an optional fourth hand 133

German (Two-Handed) Whist 134

Improving your holding cards 134

Playing the hand 134

Bid Whist 135

The bidding 135

The scoring 136

Dealing with jokers 136

Chapter 9: Oh Hell! and Other Exact Bidding Games 137

Oh Hell! 138

Dealing the cards 138

Taking tricks with the trump suit 139

Placing your bid 139

Playing for your bids 140

Romanian Whist 142

Dealing the cards 142

Choosing your trump suit, making your bids, and playing your tricks 142

Scoring the tricks 143

Ninety-Nine 144

Dealing the dozen and determining the trump suit 144

Discarding your bids 145

Selecting the proper discards 146

Making premium bids 147

Playing the hand 150

Tallying the scores 150

Chapter 10: Euchre 153

Acquainting Yourself with Euchre 154

Picking Partners 155

Striking a Fair Deal 155

Determining the Trump Suit 156

Jacking Up the Card Rankings 156

Bidding for Tricks 157

Starting the bidding 157

Knowing what to bid 158

Entering the second phase of bidding 159

Tallying Your Score 160

Playing for Bigger Stakes Alone 161

Tricking for Points, Not Treats 162

Chapter 11: Spades 165

Grasping the Basics of Spades 166

Choosing partners 166

Reviewing the card ranks 166

Making the deal 166

Bidding your hand accurately 168

Basking in the dealer’s choice 169

Figuring the value of your high cards 170

Bidding for nil 171

Playing to the score 173

Leading and play conventions 173

Going for your scores 175

Finishing the game 177

Digging Spades for Less Than Four 178

Spades for two 178

Spades for three 178

Chapter 12: Mini-Bridge and Contract Bridge 181

Mini-Bridge 182

Setting up 182

Understanding the tricky business 182

Dealing the cards 182

Counting the tricks 183

Picking the declarer 183

Blowing your own trump-it 184

Drawing trump 185

Playing the numbers game 186

Moving on to the scoring system 186

Keeping the dummy involved 187

The role of the defender 188

Crossing to Bridge 189

Part 4: Scoring or Avoiding Points 191

Chapter 13: Hearts 193

Getting to the Heart of the Matter 193

Dealing the cards 194

Passing your cards left, right, and center 195

Starting the trick play 197

Scoring: The time of reckoning 200

Hearts with Three or Five-Plus Players 202

Honeymoon Hearts 203

Black Maria 203

Cancellation Hearts 204

Chapter 14: Pinochle 205

Pinochle for Two 206

Dealing to begin 206

Ranking and valuing the cards 207

Adding up the possible points 207

Scoring the melds 208

Finishing the game 209

Playing your opponent 210

Pinochle for Three: Auction Pinochle 216

Dealing out the widow 216

Making a bid for glory 217

Melding and discarding as the declarer 219

Feeding the kitty 219

Winning — in spades 220

Battling the declarer 221

Bidding strategically 222

Giving up without a struggle 223

Partnership Auction Pinochle 224

Dealing and bidding 225

Melding 226

Playing out the hand 227

Picking up prizes and penalties 227

Chapter 15: Setback 229

Getting Setback Savvy 230

Divvying up the deck 230

Mastering the bidding 231

Dealer’s choice? 232

Playing your cards right 232

Knowing the score 233

Shooting the moon 234

Passing the winning post 235

Planning a strategy 235

Grab a Friend: Partnership Setback 238

Setback for Three or Six 239

Part 5: Adding and Climbing 241

Chapter 16: Cribbage 243

Starting Off on the Right Foot 244

Dealing the cards and getting started 244

Cutting the deck 245

Phase 1: Playing the cards 245

Phase 2: Scoring the hand 248

Determining a strategy to score points 249

Recording the score 252

Reaching the finishing post 253

Playing Cribbage for Stakes: Lurches and Skunks 254

Five-Card Cribbage 255

Laying the cards 256

Scoring the hand 256

Reaching the finishing post 256

Cribbage for Three Players 256

Chapter 17: President 259

Lobbying for the Basics of President 260

Dealing and playing the cards 260

Ending a hand 262

Starting over: Go fetch, scumbag! 262

Running wild with jokers and 2s 265

Palace 265

Dealing and setting up 266

Reaching the Palace through card play 267

Unleashing the special cards 268

Tabbing a winner — and a loser 269

Chapter 18: Blackjack 271

Social Blackjack 272

Setting the game parameters 272

Burning and turning 272

Placing your bets 273

Splitting pairs to double your winnings 275

Dealing the second round 275

Should you stay or should you go? 275

Breaking (or depositing into) the bank 276

Starting over 278

Planning Your Basic Blackjack Strategy 278

When two is better than one 278

Doubling down, to up the stakes 279

Casino Blackjack 279

Casino betting: Playing against the bank 280

Casino formalities: Dealing up and getting started 281

Playing the cards 281

Deciding on a drawing strategy 282

Part 6: Playing Poker 287

Chapter 19: Shuffling Through Poker Basics 289

Covering the Poker Bases 290

Ranking the Poker hands 290

Spicing up the game with wild cards 292

Getting Started: Basic Play 293

Ante up! 293

The mechanics of betting 294

Making the minimum and maximum bets 296

Winning ways 297

Bluffing Dos and Don’ts 298

Reading Your Opponents 299

Facial clues 299

Body language 300

Chapter 20: Draw Poker 303

Five-Card Draw 304

Dealing and putting in an ante 304

Determining a strategy for the first bet 305

Surviving the luck of the draw 306

Continuing after the draw 310

Chapter 21: Stud Poker 311

Seven-Card Stud: Betting Down the River 312

Starting with the ante and the limits 312

Betting in the early stages 313

Passing the first pivotal moment: Third street 314

Staying in on fifth street 316

Surveying the Stud Landscape: Table Strategy 317

Reading the table 317

Bluffing 317

Winning (or not losing) at Seven-Card Stud 318

Staying in and dropping out 319

Five-Card Stud 319

Chapter 22: Texas Hold ’Em 321

Holding ’Em Up — Texas Style 322

Making blind bets 323

Starting hands 324

Paying attention to location 327

Strategically Speaking: Calling, Folding, and Raising 328

Betting before the flop: Call, fold, or raise? 328

Staying in or dropping out after the flop 331

Bluffing 335

Stealing blinds 337

Seizing Opportunities to Play Hold ’Em 338

Chapter 23: Omaha 339

Getting to Know Omaha High/Low 340

Paying attention to the high hands and low hands 340

Betting 341

Playing out a typical Omaha High/Low hand 342

Winning High/Low Strategy 344

Forming good starting hands 344

Winning hands at Omaha High/Low 346

Winning at Omaha High/Low 346

Surviving the waiting game 347

Playing for position 347

Planning a strategy after the flop 348

Flopping and dropping 349

Playing on the turn 350

Playing on the river 351

Omaha High 351

Part 7: The Part of Tens 353

Chapter 24: Ten Ways to Improve Your Game and Have More Fun 355

Treat Your Partner with Respect 355

Give Yourself a Reality Check 356

Keep Your Celebrations to Yourself 356

Know When the Time Is Ripe 357

Cut Yourself Off 357

Paint a Picture of Your Opponents’ Cards 358

March to the Beat of Your Own Drum 358

Talk Through the Cards 359

Count Down to Victory 359

Have Fun! 360

Chapter 25: Ten Places to Find More Information on Your Game 361

The Internet 361

Software and Live Sites on Computers 362

Discussion Groups 362

Gaming Bodies 363

Books 363

Newspapers and Magazines 363

Playing with the Big Dogs 364

Tournaments 364

Going Straight to a Gaming Source 364

Clubs 365

Index 367

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