Wide Gaming » Card and Table Games

Mahjong

Admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:04:46 +0000

Mahjong is like an oriental version of the popular card game gin rummy. It is mainly a game of drawing and discarding tiles among four players. Its mechanics may seem confusing at first, but once players have learned the tiles, suits, combinations and what constitutes a winning hand, it’s going to be an easy ride. Let’s start with the basics. Mahjong has 144 tiles which are divided into the following suits:
1. Bamboo Suit (36) – These tiles are numbered 1-9, with a stick pattern that is dominantly red and green. There are four sets of nine, hence there’s a total of 36 tiles for this suit.

2. Circle Suit (36) – These tiles are numbered 1-9, with a circular dice pattern that is dominantly yellow and blue. There are four sets of nine, hence there’s a total of 36 tiles for this suit.

3. Numbers Suit (36) – These tiles are numbered 1-9, with the Chinese number symbols drawn on each tile. The color combination is dominantly red and blue. There are four sets of nine, hence there’s a total of 36 tiles for this suit.

4. The Dragon Tiles (12)

5. The Wind Tiles (16) – The tiles are called the East Wind, South Wind, West Wind, and North Wind. There are four sets of four winds, hence there’s a total of 16 wind tiles.

6. The Flower Suit (8)

Black Flower Suit Red Flower Suit

7. The Animal Suit (4)

In order to win, a player is required to complete four combinations and one pair of tiles known as The Eyes. Each combination should have three tiles that are of the same suit and consecutive ranking – these consist of the suits that are numbered from 1-9. Another option for the combination would be to have three of a kind, that means three tiles that are exactly the same, sharing the same suit and sequence. The eyes are composed of two “special” tiles that are exactly the same. These special tiles include the Wind tiles, the Dragon tiles, etc. With 4 groups of three plus one pair, the winning hand has fourteen tiles.

Blackjack

Admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:03:24 +0000

Blackjack is the best game for beginners of the casino’s bright lights and high rolling tables. The MENSA Guide Casino Gambling states that a player can surely win at Blackjack if he plays it by ear, according to a set of rules. If you don’t win massively, you’d still get to lessen the house edge, so all you need to do is stay at the table for a while longer to start raking in the dough. Unlike most of the gambling games, Blackjack doesn’t rely purely on luck. In fact, you need a lot of brains for this game. Important decisions need to be made, and these decisions can very well single-handedly determine the outcome of a hand. After all my years as a Blackjack player, I’ve finally come up with a set of rules to guide your typical newbie, or any Blackjack player who feels like he’s on a losing streak. Here are the rules for Blackjack:

If you get a 9 or any card that’s lower – HIT

If you get a 10 or 11 – Check the dealer’s cards. If your card is higher than the dealers, DOUBLE DOWN. Otherwise, just HIT.

If you get a 12, 13, 14, 15 or 16 – Check the dealer’s upcard. If it’s a 7 or anything higher, HIT. If not, STAND.

If you get a 17 or higher – STAND

If you get a SOFT 17 or lower – HIT

If you get a SOFT 18 – Check the dealer’s upcard. If it’s 6 or anything lower, HIT. If it’s 7 or anything higher, STAND.

If you get a 19 or higher – STAND!

With pairs, ALWAYS SPLIT if you get an Ace or an Eight. NEVER SPLIT when you get a Ten, Four or Five. As for the others, only split when the dealer’s card is 6 or anything lower.

Fifty-Two Card Pickup

Admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 04:01:51 +0000

I’ve heard a lot of senseless card games in the past, but Fifty Two Card Pick Up (also called Fifty Two Pick Up) has to take home the main prize. It’s a game played with a normal deck of fifty two cards and by two players. It’s usually a game played by people who are bored, mean and in need of a good laugh. However, unless both players have a sense of humor, I’m guessing only one will come out of the game with laughter and a jolly mood. So how exactly is fifty two card pick up played? With 52 cards ready, a person approaches another unsuspecting person and asks the latter if he or she knows how to play fifty two card pick up. If he or she does, then the chances that you actually get to play are slim – he or she would probably walk away and never invite him to any parties or get togethers ever again.

However, if the person doesn’t know how to play fifty two card pick up, then the initiating player gets the opportunity to ruin a perfectly good day! The next step in this How to Play Fifty Two Card Pick Up article is short, sweet and simple: throw the deck of cards at the general direction of the player. No seriously – literally throw the fifty two cards to her. See, that’s how the game works: one player throws a deck of cards to a person, and the person picks up the fifty two playing cards. For close friends, this can be quite funny – unless one of them is having a bad day, then this can be a total friendship killer. This won’t work as an icebreaker at a party, the person will probably just stare at the cards on the floor, back at the person who threw the cards, and walk away weirded out. It’s only played for people with a good sense of humor, and no back-pain related diseases.

James Bond

Admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:05:22 +0000

In the card game called James Bond, a standard deck of 52 cards and no jokers is used for play. It is usually a two player game, although a maximum of three players are allowed to participate. The cards are distributed around the table facing down, with a player having six piles of four cards each. The last pile is placed on a row between the two players, facing up. Technically, players don’t have a hand of their own, but they have piles of cards to use. Upon the dealer’s “GO!”, players check the six piles of cards one pile at a time. The goal is to be the first player to form a four of a kind combination using the piles of cards and those four cards in between the players. The player who gets four of a kind combinations in all of his or her six piles wins the game. For example, one pile has four kings, another has four Aces, etc.

The trick is to keep switching unneeded cards from the cards on one player’s pile with cards that can be used found at the middle of both players. The play between players is continuous, there are no turns because both players play at the same time and try to complete the goal as fast as they can. The main rule is that a player can only look at the piles one at a time. If they wish to exchange cards from one pile to another, they have to use the middle pile as opposed to opening both piles and switching cards. It would also be handy to keep an eye out for the opponent’s moves and try to figure out what ranks your opponent is trying to form so you can stall their progress and increase your chances of winning (this is a game of speed, after all). When all of your six piles have been formed, simply shout “James Bond!”

Poker Bull

Admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:03:13 +0000

Poker is a game with many variations – stud poker, draw poker, Omaha, Hold’em, Lowball, and so many others! However, the most deviant variation has to be the game of Bull Poker. It is played with the following steps:

Step 1: The deck is distributed to the players until each player has five cards.

Step 2: The player on the dealer’s left starts bidding. Bidding on what? On what they assume the best hand out of all cards that players have to be. Take note that all the players’ cards will be “pooled together” and each bid will be a mental picking out of the five best cards from everyone’s hands.

Step 3: The bidding continues in a clockwise motion around the table, and each following bid must be higher than the previous one. Players may opt to pass during the bidding process. There will be a total of two bidding rounds to give each player a good chance with achieving their bidding goals, especially the first player who was required to start the bidding low.

Step 4: The showdown occurs. All the players are required to show their cards and lay the cards down in front of them facing up. Players then observe the cards and determine what is the highest playing hand that can be formed from all the cards laid out. If the highest bidder got it right, then all the other players must give up one card to be dealt in the next playing round. If the highest player got it wrong, then he’s the only player who loses a card during the next playing round.

Step 5: Cards are then pooled together once again and shuffled completely for another round of the game. The dealer must take note of all the card deductions per round, and he must distribute the cards accordingly. Players stand to lose one card after each round so it may get a bit confusing. The winner of Bull Poker is the player who is the only one with any cards left to be dealt with.

Michigan Rummy

Admin — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:01:24 +0000

Rummy is a fun game that is easy to understand. Basically, it’s all about making certain combinations and grouping them together. Michigan Rummy is a variation of the popular game Gin Rummy. Before playing, the game needs to be set up. First, the dealer should sort out the cards and take the Jack of spades, Queen of diamonds, King of clubs, and Ace of hearts out of the one deck and place them at the center of the table, laid facing up. These are called Boodle Cards or Pay Cards. After that, the dealer should take two chips and place them on each of the Boodle Cards and then instruct all the players to place on chip and place them on each card as well. Following these steps, the dealer may now proceed to deal the two decks of cards out to the players and an empty spot, giving each hand one card in a clockwise motion until the whole deck has been extinguished. Take note that players may not have the same number of cards, but that’s completely acceptable. The extra hand on the empty spot shall be left as is. The gameplay can now begin.

The game is started by the player sitting on the left side of the dealer. He takes his lowest card (suit does not matter initially) – for example, 2 of hearts – and places it in front of him, facing up. The next card of that suit, the 3 of hearts, is shown by the player who has it, wherever he may be seated. After that, the next highest card is shown by another player and the round continues until the last card has been shown or until the Ace has been played. Whoever plays the last card then starts a new round by taking the lowest card he has (again, the suit doesn’t matter) and shows it to the other players. This is played until all the cards are gone. The player who shows a card that matches the Boodle Cards collects the chips on the card. The goal is to have the most number of chips – this dictates the winner of the game.