My favorite card games to play are Hearts and Gin Rummy. My favorite card game to watch is 5-card Draw Poker. I'm not quick-witted enough to actually play draw poker, as I can't keep track of the opponents' cards, and when to Bet, Check, Raise, and Call. I would have to fold every time because of the pressure of not knowing what to do with my cards. H.P.
We used to play cards a lot when we were younger my siblings and I.... but I havn't played in years. My husband doesn't play...but my favourite was Gin Rummy...
I used to love a card game called Baccarat too which my elder brother taught me when I was a teen . We played a lot of trumps but I was never that keen on it..
Beat the Dealer AKA "Vingt et un", 21, and Blackjack. My history of it began during one of our early trips to Vegas, about 1966. Strolling downtown, an offering in the window of a bookstore caught my eye: I bought it. I already knew many ploys were widely available to a gullible, money-greedy public, but read the book voraciously over the next few days. I had never played so much as one hand of Blackjack up to that time. We went home, and every evening my wife dealt as the casino would, and soon I cleaned out our poker chip tray consistently, night after night! My wife dealt using "Casino Rules", applicable to all gaming palaces. If this is all new to you, please note: CASINO RULES Dealer gives player 2 cards, dealer gets 2 cards, only one face up. Player may then call for additional cards, attempting to reach a total of 21; picture cards count as 10, aces 1 or 11, all other cards face value. If player's total exceeds 21, he loses the bet. If player "stands", decides to take no more cards, perhaps he has 2 "tens" for a total of 20, dealer becomes a robot: he shows both his cards, must take additional cards until his total exceeds 16; if he exceeds 21, player wins his bet. If player's total = dealer's total, game is over, no money changes hands: called a "push". If player's total exceeds dealer's total, he wins his bet. Splitting a Pair There you have 90% of the game; the rest is variations thrown in for variety. Examples: Player places bet, gets 2 cards, if a pair, say, eights, he may "SPLIT" the pair into two separate hands, playing each separately, a second bet of course being necessary. 2-eights, 16, is a bad hand, average "gut" player fears "hitting" (taking another card) which may likely exceed 21 (a "bust"). However, two hands each having only 1 eight pose a vastly increased chance of winning: there are many "tens" in a deck, 8 + 10 = 18, a strong hand. Doubling Down Player may increase his bet after getting two cards, up to double the original bet, and receive only one more card. If he had, say, 11, and gets a 10, he has 21, at twice the original bet. What I Learned from Thorpe's book Newly-married, a Mathematics Professor at New Mexico State, the Thorpes went to Reno, famous for it's gambling, his very first time in a casino. Carefully looking over the various games, he saw quickly that one could be "beaten", to ensure continuing profit. This had never been achieved before. He went home, learned programming, got time on a big IBM computer, had it deal 100,000 hands randomly. There are actually very few different hands possible, so for each combination of "draws", the best statistical move could be determined. Thorpe learned that a deck "rich" in tens favored the player, while if "rich" in non-tens, this favored the "House", the dealer. He compiled a few charts showing the best moves for the variety of hands presentable. Dealer "busts" most often when showing a LOW up-card, 2 through 6. Knowing that one fact, player refrains from taking additional card(s) which could go over 21. Thorpe returned to Nevada, "grub-staked" $10,000 by a rich friend, a big gambler, and over the weekend, Thorpe had totaled $21,000 in pocket. Word spread quickly among the casino operators. Traditionally one man's money was regarded as good as another's, even if one was very lucky. He was never asked to stop playing (yet). Thorpe had beaten Casino Blackjack. Subsequent trips resulted in efforts aimed at thwarting his "luck"; he was served doped drinks, he wore disguises, he played outside the country. Soon, the word was out, Thorpe had written his book and it was widely read and believed. As popular a game as it was world-wide, experts predicted the demise of the game altogether. No fools, the casinos studied his book too! Soon rules changes gradually began to take place. I won't drag this out further explaining this, unless asked to. They are, however, quite clever, Blackjack remaining probably the most popular game still. Most houses have about 10 times as many BJ tables as any other, Roulette, Poker, Craps, etc. We, too, went back to Nevada, many times. I played judiciously, low-key, small bets (most tables will take bets up to $500 per hand!), and made a little dough. Each year upon returning, I found more rules changes added. One house "banned" me from play: Binion's Horseshoe, downtown Vegas, politely asked me to stop playing. They also banned my wife, who was playing a few tables away from me! I wasn't sure whether to feel proud, or a fool, but either way, the "jig" was up! Frank
My ex taught me bridge when I was in my early 20's and after divorce had to quit, go to work for 40 yrs and took it back up when I retired at 65, love love love the mind game, but had to give it up again as joint issues won't let me sit for hours. Playing bridge is a lot of sitting,but good for the MIND.