Brag
Brag is a gambling game for four to eight players that is popular in Britain. Although it is often compared to poker, which displaced it in the United States, there are several key differences between the two games. Most importantly, the betting is very different—in Brag, it is possible for betting to come down to a stalemate where players continue betting until someone finally gives up.
Object of Brag
The object of Brag is to be one of the players remaining at the showdown with the best Brag hand.
Setup
Brag uses one standard 52-card deck of playing cards. Since you’re playing Brag, you may as well play it with some cards you can brag about; that is, Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards. You will also need something to bet with, such as poker chips.
Before play begins, there should be a mutual agreement as to the size of the ante and the bets. This should include both the minimum and maximum amount that the first player may bet, as well as the amount the bet can be increased by each subsequent player. This can either be a hard numerical limit, or the game can be played at pot limit.
All players ante. Shuffle and deal three cards face-down to each player. Players may look at their cards if they want to, or they may abstain from this and play blind (see below).
Game play
Rank of Brag hands
While Brag hands resemble poker hands, they have different names, and the ranking is slightly different. Notably, because of the different probabilities involved in three-card versus five-card hands, a run outranks a flush (whereas the opposite is true in poker). The rank of Brag hands, from highest to lowest, is:
- 1. Prial
- (derived from pair royal) Three cards of the same rank. The highest-ranked prial is 3-3-3; the second-highest is A-A-A, then K-K-K, and so on down to 2-2-2.
- 2. Running flush
- Three cards of the same suit in sequence, e.g. 9-10-Q♠. Ties are broken by the highest card. Equivalent to poker’s straight flush.
- 3. Run
- Three cards of any suit in sequence (e.g. 6-7-8). If all cards are the same suit, it becomes a running flush. Ties are broken by the highest card. Equivalent to poker’s straight.
- 4. Flush
- Three cards of the same suit, not in sequence (e.g. 4-7-J♦). Ties are broken by the rank of the highest card, then by the next highest if necessary, and so on until the tie is broken.
- 5. Pair
- Two cards of the same rank, plus one unmatched card (e.g. 5-5-9). Ties are broken by the rank of the pair, then the rank of the unmatched card if necessary.
- 6. High card
- Three cards unmatched in suit or sequence. Ties are broken by the highest card, then next-highest, and so on down.
Etiquette
Good Brag etiquette is to keep everything to yourself. Cards should never be shown to anyone but the player they were dealt to (except, of course, at the showdown). Similarly, players should never verbally state the supposed contents of their hand. Also, as in poker, it is very important that betting and folding be executed in turn, not early.
Play of the hand
Betting starts with the player to the left of the dealer. The first player, if they desire to bet, must do so according to the agreed-upon limits. Each subsequent player must bet at least as much as the last player to bet before them. If a player does not wish to bet, they must fold (also called stacking); they are out of the hand, and their cards are placed, unrevealed, at the bottom of the stock. Betting continues in this same manner around the table, even after it reaches the players who have already bet; players must continue betting if they wish to remain in the hand, and anyone can raise whenever they wish.
Players also have the option to play blind. So long as the player has not seen their hand, their money essentially counts as double. Blind players are only required to bet half the amount bet by the player before them, and the player after them must bet double the amount that they did. For example, if the player to the right of the blind player bets $10, the blind player is only required to bet $5, and the player to the right must still bet $10. However, should the blind player wish to bet $20, the player to their left must bet at least $40, or else fold. A person playing blind may choose, before betting, to look at their cards, although this, of course, requires them to return to the usual betting rules.
Betting continues until all but two players have folded. These two players go on betting until either one of them folds, thus awarding the pot to the other player, or one of the players decides to see the other, by doubling the previous bet and stating “See you”; a doubled bet does not necessarily constitute a see unless it is specifically declared as such. When a player sees their opponent, the opponent must reveal their cards. If the first player has a higher hand, they reveal it and take the pot. If not, their opponent wins the pot; the losing seer may choose to simply fold their hand without revealing it. Should the hands tie, the seer loses the pot.
A special rule applies when one or both of the final two players are playing blind. That rule is stated as “you can’t see a blind man”; that is, should your opponent be playing blind, you do not have the option to see. You must either continue to bet or fold, or hope that they either look at their cards or fold. A blind player, can, however, see their non-blind opponent, if they wish to do so. If both players are playing blind, they may see each other.
Should a player run out of money, they may cover the pot by placing their cards face-down on top of it. The other players carry on without them, placing all further bets in a side pot. The winner of the side pot is determined first, then, the winning hand is compared with the hand covering the pot, and the winner of those two hands takes the main pot.
The next hand is customarily dealt immediately, with no shuffle. Shuffles only occur when a pot is won with an exposed prial.
See also
Spite and Malice
Spite and Malice is a game that plays a lot like a two-player solitaire variant. Like many older card games, it has been reimagined as a commercially-available game with a custom deck; Spite and Malice was adapted to become Skip-Bo.
Object of Spite and Malice
The object of Spite and Malice is to be the first player to deplete their talon pile.
Setup
Spite and Malice needs two standard 52-card decks of playing cards, which are shuffled together to form a 104-card pack. If you have a set of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards handy, you’ve got everything covered on the card front, since it includes two decks.
Shuffle and deal 20 cards from the combined deck face down to each player. This forms the player’s talon pile and is placed at each player’s right. The top card of the talon is turned face-up and put on the top of the stack, but the remaining cards cannot be looked at. Each player is also dealt a hand of five cards, which they may look at (but their opponent may not). The deck stub becomes the stock and is placed to the side in the middle of the table.
The center of the table is partitioned out as follows: in the center of the table will be the three build piles, then, on the next row closest to each player, they have their own four discard piles. Initially, none of these piles will contain any cards, so the center of the table will be empty until play begins.
Game play
Unlike in some similar games like Speed, each player takes turns. The primary goal of each player will be to move cards, hopefully mostly from their talons, to the build piles in the center of the table. Kings are wild in Spite and Malice, with aces ranking low and the remainder of the cards following in the conventional order, with queen as the highest. Suits are immaterial to the game.
If a player begins their turn with fewer than five cards, the first thing they do is draw back up to five from the stock. On a player’s turn, they may play as many cards as they wish face-up to the build piles; these cards may be the top card of their talon (at which point a new top card is exposed) or one of the five cards from their hand. Each build pile begins with an ace, and is then built up in sequence to the queen. When a pile reaches the queen, it is removed and shuffled into the stock. There may only be three build piles at any time; new piles can only be formed by an ace when there is an empty pile to begin adding cards to. If a player depletes their hand on a single turn, they may draw five new cards and continue onward.
A player may also take one card from their hand (not the talon) and put it face-up in one of their discard piles. A player may only have four discard piles; if they wish to add more cards, they must put the new card on top of one of the existing discards, making it inaccessible until the card on top of it is moved. When a card in the discard pile is played, the player’s turn ends and they cannot make any further actions until it is their turn again. Cards in the discard piles may be played only to the build piles on subsequent turns; they may not be moved to the player’s hand or from one discard pile to another.
Game play continues until one player depletes their talon, winning the game. If the stock runs out of cards (presumably because a stalemate has been reached, preventing any of the build piles to be completed to replenish it), whoever has the fewest cards in their talon is the winner.
Lowball poker
Lowball is a general term for a category of poker variants that turn the typical rank of poker hands on its head—instead of the best poker hand winning, the worst one does! A royal flush in a lowball game would be beaten by any other hand. Any poker variant can be played with lowball rules, and some games split the pot between the best conventional (high) hand and the best low hand. However, there are a few different ways that the lowest hand can be reckoned, which need to be established before you start playing.
Ace-to-five lowball
Ace-to-five lowball, or California lowball, is probably the simplest way of determining the low hand, and the one most commonly used, including in casinos. In this variant of the game, straights and flushes are ignored for the purposes of determining hand ranking. Aces are considered low. Therefore, the lowest (and therefore best) possible hand is A-2-3-4-5, which is also called the wheel or bicycle. (Because the bicycle is also a straight, it may well take both the high and low halves of the pot in split-pot games.) Note that pairs, three-of-a-kinds, and so forth do still count as hands, and will therefore be ranked higher (and therefore worse) than unpaired hands, even if they contain high cards.
Deuce-to-seven lowball
Deuce-to-seven lowball, also known as Kansas City lowball, takes straights and flushes into consideration when ranking hands, and aces count high. Thus, the lowest possible hand is 2-3-4-5-7 (because 2-3-4-5-6 forms a straight).
Ace-to-six lowball
Ace-to-six lowball is the least commonly-used variation, serving as sort of a middle ground between the two variants listed above. It is essentially deuce-to-seven lowball, except aces are low, so the lowest possible hand is A-2-3-4-6.
General considerations
Lowball hands are often quoted as their highest card. 8-7-5-3-2 may be called simply “an eight”. If there are multiple hands in play with the same highest card, they can be further disambiguated by the second-highest card, e.g. “an 8-7”.
Some split-pot games involving low hands may stipulate that a hand must contain cards below a certain rank. For instance, if a low hand is required to be “8 or better”, as in Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better, all of the cards within the low hand must be an 8 or lower. In such games, if the lowest hand possible among the active players does not meet the requirements, the pot is simply not split, with the entirety being awarded to the player that won with the highest hand.
To determine which hand is lowest and therefore best, start with the highest card. Whichever hand has the lowest high card will win. If there are ties, the next-highest card is compared, and so on until the tie is broken. If you get all the way down to the lowest card without being able to break the tie, the pot is simply split.
Wild cards, usually jokers, can be included in the game, especially ace-to-five lowball. Wild cards generally become the lowest card possible without forming a pair. For example, 7-5-4-★-2 will count the joker as a 3 because counting it as a 2 would form a pair.
In split-pot games, if the pot cannot be split evenly, it is customary to award the odd amount to the winner of the high hand.
Baduci
Baduci, also spelled “Badeucey“, is a variant of Badugi that adds some more poker elements to the game. Players compete to put together the best hand incorporating not only the best Badugi hand, but also the best lowball poker hand. Baduci is often played as an alternate to Badugi to keep the game fresh.
Object of Baduci
The object of Baduci is to create the best possible hand that includes both a) a four-card hand with the lowest cards possible, without duplicating either ranks or suits, and b) a five-card deuce-to-seven lowball poker hand.
Setup
Baduci uses one standard 52-card deck of playing cards. You should know by now that Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards are the way to go.
All players ante or post blinds, if necessary (see “Blinds and antes“). Shuffle and deal five cards to each player. Place the deck stub in the center of the table, where it becomes the stock.
Game play
Rank of hands
In Baduci, there are two ways that a hand is evaluated—as a Badugi hand, and as a poker hand. In both cases, aces rank high and therefore are not very valuable.
The Badugi hand uses a subset of the hand and is evaluated the same way that a hand in basic Badugi is evaluated. A Badugi hand cannot duplicate ranks or suits; any duplicates are disregarded, meaning that the Badugi hand can include as many as four cards (such a hand is called a badugi) or as few as one. Badugis outrank three-card hands, which outrank two-card hands. If two hands with the same number of cards are compared, the lowest card in the hand breaks the tie. If the lowest card of each hand is the same, then the next-lowest card would be compared, and so on. If two hands have exactly the same composition in number of cards and ranks, then they tie.
The poker hand is a deuce-to-seven lowball hand. This means that the lowest poker hand as conventionally ranked is considered the best; the “deuce-to-seven” part means that because aces are high, the best possible hand is 2-3-4-5-7 (since 2-3-4-5-6 would form a straight).
Play of the hand
Other than the addition of the lowball hand, the game proceeds exactly as Badugi does. After the hands have been dealt, the game proceeds to the first betting round, which follows the same rules as normal betting in poker. After that, each player may, in turn, discard any number of cards from their hand and be dealt new ones from the stock.
After getting a chance to exchange cards, there is another betting round. This repeats until a total of four betting rounds and three drawing rounds have occurred. The active players then proceed to the showdown, where hands are evaluated. The player with the best Badugi hand takes half the pot, with the other half going to the player with the best lowball hand. If one player has the best hand in both categories, they take the entire pot; if two players tie for best in one of the categories, that half of the pot is split between the two of them (each receiving a quarter of the original pot).
The Clock
The Clock is one of a few solitaire games with the gimmick of having a layout that resembles some real-world object, in this case a clock (Pyramid could also be said to fall in this category). The Clock is entirely based on luck; once the deal is done, the game plays out as it must, and there’s nothing the player can do to influence the outcome. It might be apt to say that you don’t play The Clock, it just happens to you.
Object of The Clock
The object of The Clock is to turn the 48 cards other than kings face-up before the four kings are turned face up.
Setup
The Clock requires the use of one standard 52-card deck of playing cards. While the only one you can impress by using your Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards is you, you might as well use them for something, right?
Shuffle and deal thirteen piles of cards. Arrange twelve of them into a circle, then place the thirteenth pile in the center, as shown in the diagram at right.
Game play
The twelve piles making up the main circle of The Clock’s tableau each represent one of the hours on a typical clock face. The pile at the top of the circle represents the 12, the one to its right the 1, and so on around the circle (clockwise, natch). Each of these piles also has an associated rank of card, with the aces being represented by 1, the jacks by 11, and the queens by twelve, with the twos through tens represented by the same number as their face value. The central pile represents the hands of the clock, as well as the kings. Here is where The Clock’s game play begins.
Draw one of the face-down cards from the king (clock hands) pile and turn it face up. Place that card face-up at the bottom of the pile belonging to that card, and draw the top card of that pile. Then, move that card to its appropriate pile, and so on.
The game is lost if the fourth king is exposed when there are still other face-down cards in play. If the fourth king is the last card revealed, the game is won.
Snap
Snap is a simple children’s game with the distinction of being entirely skill-based, which is fairly unusual among the category. Specialized Snap decks are available for sale, but the game works just as fine with standard playing cards. Snap can be played by two to six players.
Object of Snap
The object of Snap is to gain all 52 cards in play.
Setup
Snap can be played with any deck of cards that has several matching pairs or sets of cards. However, using a standard 52-card deck of cards, such as Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, is most common.
Shuffle and deal the cards out as evenly as they will go. It doesn’t matter too much if some players have one card more or less than the others. Players may not look at the cards; instead, they form them into a face-down pile called the stock.
Game play
The player to the left of the dealer plays first. They simply turn the top card of their stock face-up, grab the card from the far side and flip it up away from oneself, as in games like Egyptian Ratscrew and Slapjack. This is done to prevent the player from getting an early peek at their card. This first card forms the player’s discard pile. The person to the left plays next, in a similar way, and so on.
If any player (not necessarily the player whose turn it is!) notices that the top cards of any two discard piles match, they call out “Snap!” That player takes both of those discard piles and adds them face-down to the bottom of their stock. (If more than one player calls “Snap”, whoever said it first gets the win—be honest!) Should a player call “Snap” erroneously, that player’s discard pile becomes a snap pool, being moved to the center of the table. This pile can be claimed in much the same way as the others, except players must call “Snap pool!” to gain a snap pool.
If any player’s stock is depleted, they are eliminated from the game. Game play continues until there is only one player remaining; that player is the winner.
Badugi
Badugi is a betting game that became popular in the United States around 2004. Badugi uses the same betting structure as poker, but a good Badugi hand is almost the opposite of a good poker hand. As a result, Badugi has become popular with poker players, and is often used as a brief respite from poker in dealer’s choice games.
Object of Badugi
The object of Badugi is to form a four-card hand with the lowest cards possible, without duplicating either ranks or suits.
Setup
Badugi uses one standard 52-card deck of playing cards. Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards are, in fact, where it’s at.
If playing with blinds, the two players responsible for the small and big blinds post them; otherwise, all players ante (see “Blinds and antes” for more information). Shuffle and deal four cards to each player.
Game play
Rank of hands
The end goal in Badugi is, like in poker, to have the best hand. However, Badugi does not use standard poker hands. Instead, Badugi hands favor variety in suits and ranks.
A Badugi hand cannot include two of the same rank or suit; if it does, one of the duplicates is disregarded, yielding a three- or even two- or one-card hand. A full four-card hand is called a badugi. Badugis outrank three-card hands, which outrank two-card hands.
If two hands with the same number of cards are compared, the lowest card in the hand breaks the tie. If the lowest card of each hand is the same, then the second-lowest card would be compared, and so on. If two hands have exactly the same composition in number of cards and ranks, then they tie, splitting the pot.
Play of the hand
After everyone has received their cards, the first of four betting rounds occurs. Betting follows the standard rules of betting in poker.
After the betting has concluded, players are given the opportunity to draw new cards. The draw works much like that in Five-Card Draw—each player, starting with the player to the dealer’s left and proceeding clockwise, discards any number of cards face-down into the discard pile, and is dealt an equal number of cards face-down in front of them to add to their hand. Players may also decline to exchange any cards, which is known as standing pat.
When all players have had a chance to exchange cards, another betting round follows. This pattern continues until a total of three drawing rounds and four betting rounds have taken place. All remaining players then expose their hands, and the player with the best hand takes the pot.
See also
Agram
Agram is a trick-taking game from West Africa for two to five players, being played mostly in Niger and Mali. Unlike most trick taking games, no score is kept, and only the last trick matters!
Object of Agram
The object of Agram is to win the last trick.
Setup
Agram uses a special 35-card pack. Starting from a deck of Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards, remove all face cards and twos, as well as the A♠. You will be left with a deck with 10–3 in all four suits, and the A♣, A♦, and A♥.
Shuffle the deck and deal a batch of three cards to each player, then another batch of three, giving each player six cards in all.
Game play
Aces rank high in Agram; they are the highest card in most of the suits, but, because the A♠ is absent, the 10♠ is the highest spade.
The player to the dealer’s right leads to the first trick. Play thereafter continues to the right (counter-clockwise) through to the dealer. Each player must play a card of the suit led, if able; otherwise, they may play any card. After everyone has played a card, whoever played the highest card of the suit led wins the trick. The cards played are collected and discarded—they are now meaningless to the game play—and the player who won the trick leads to the next one.
Game play continues in this way until the sixth and final trick. Whoever wins this trick wins the game.
Whiskey Poker
Whiskey Poker (sometimes spelled Whisky Poker) is an older variant of poker, commonly played in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but fairly obscure today. Whiskey Poker was so named because it was often played for refreshments, and John Scarne asserts in Scarne on Cards that Whiskey Poker is, in fact, the ancestor from which modern Rummy games are descended. If you like Knock Poker, you’ll probably like Whiskey Poker too.
Object of Whiskey Poker
The object of Whiskey Poker is to end the hand with the highest possible five-card poker hand.
Setup
As with the majority of poker games, Whiskey Poker requires the use of one 52-card deck of poker cards, like Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards. You will also need chips to keep track of betting; each chip can represent a nominal value, or a defined amount of money, as agreed upon by the players. Distribute chips as appropriate.
In place of betting, each player may also be supplied with an arbitrary number of chips (e.g., five) and whoever has the lowest hand at the showdown must surrender one chip to the bank. Whoever runs out of chips first pays for the next round of drinks. (If you decide to play this way, ignore instructions below regarding betting.)
Shuffle and deal five cards to each player. Between the dealer and the player to their right, deal an extra hand, called the widow. Move the widow to the center of the table, keeping it face down.
Game play
After players have looked at their hands, the first betting round occurs. Betting is conducted according to the typical norms for betting in poker. After the betting, the turn goes to the player on the dealer’s left. This player has the right to exchange their hand with the hand on the table, in its entirety, without being able to see it ahead of time. After this, the next player to their left may do the same, and so on. If you decide to keep your cards, you have two options: you may simply pass, or you may knock; knocking allows everyone one last opportunity to exchange hands, with this phase of the game ending when the turn gets back to you.
The second betting round happens now. After that wraps up, the widow is exposed. The player to the dealer’s left has the first chance to play. Each player may take one card from the widow, then discard one card from their hand, face up, to the widow. Players also have the option to exchange their entire hand for the widow, but they may not exchange, say, three cards at once; it must be one card or all of them. Players do not have the option to pass; they must knock if they wish to not exchange any cards. As before, play ends when the turn gets back to the first player to knock.
The third and final betting round now takes place. After this comes the showdown. The player with the highest-ranked poker hand takes the pot.
See also
Cuckoo
Cuckoo is an interesting game where each player looks at their hand and decides whether or not to keep it—and if they choose not to, they take the hand of the player next to them.
Object of Cuckoo
The object of Cuckoo is to avoid ending the hand with the lowest card.
Setup
Cuckoo uses one standard 52-card deck of playing cards. Naturally, the thing to do is to use Denexa 100% Plastic Playing Cards. Shuffle and deal one card to each player. Place the deck stub to the dealer’s left.
You will also need a way to keep track of the players’ “lives”—some form of token, such as a poker chip, a bean, a coaster, etc. Give three life tokens to each player.
Game play
Each player looks at their card and decides whether to keep it or give it away. The goal is to obtain the highest card possible (conventional card ranks apply, aces are low).
The player to the left of the dealer plays first, with play proceeding to the left. If the player wishes to get rid of their card, they switch cards with the player to their left. The other player is obliged to complete the switch, unless they hold a king, in which case they may expose the king, and the trade is stopped.
On the dealer’s turn, they may choose to discard their card; if they do, they may expose the top card of the deck. If it is a king, they return it to the top of the deck; otherwise, they make the switch.
After everyone has either kept their card or switched, the cards are revealed. Whoever has the lowest card loses one life token. (If multiple players are tied for low, they all lose a life.) After this, the cards are collected and shuffled, new cards are dealt, and another hand is played. When a player loses all three life tokens, they are eliminated from the game.
Play continues until there is only one player that has not been eliminated. That last player is the winner. In some cases, all of the active players will lose their final life on the same round due to ties; when this happens, the hand is ignored and a new hand is dealt.
