Other Card Games that Require Skill

Bridge play requires skill, but don't stop there...

Bridge is always mentioned as the most skill-based card game. It could be said that all card games require at least some skill. However, there are card games where luck is a concluding factor. Typically, those are the card games that you are able to play in a casino, online or off. Most fans of games of luck nowadays take their gaming online. The most popular casino games are showcased here.

Bridge isn’t the only skill-based card game, though. There are many other card games which require skills. Sure, as long as there are cards involved, there will always be an element of luck.  We had a look at some other skill-based card games.

Gin Rummy is easy to learn/play, tougher to master but loads of fun.

Gin Rummy

Basic Rules

The game is played by two players with a standard 52-card deck. The cards have their standard value, with the king being the highest and the ace the lowest. The point of the game, to put it simply is to organise your cards in melds, and try to eliminate any deadwood. There are two ways in which the cards can be grouped in melds:

·        By rank – If you have three or four cards of the same value/rank, for example 3 7s, then you have a meld;

·        In a sequence – Three or more cards that are aligned in a sequence (e.g. 4-5-6-7) all in the same suit.

The dealer deals to the opponent and him/herself 10 cards. The next card is then placed face up. That is the first card of the discard pile. The rest of the cards form the stock pile. Then players take turns in drawing cards from the pile of their choice, leaving one of their current cards in the discard pile.

Winning at Gin

There are three ways in which a hand may finish:

·        One of the players may knock;

·        One of the players may go gin;

·        There are only two cards left in the stock pile.

If one of the players collects 100 or more points, then s/he may knock the other player. In the standard version of the game, the player who knocks isn’t allowed to have more than 10 deadwood points.

If the player is able to knock and s/he doesn’t have any deadwood, then that player is going gin. If the players keep drawing until there are only two cards in the stock pile the game ends in a draw and nobody wins any points.

Other Versions of the Game

In addition to standard Gin, or Gin rummy, there several other variants of the game.

·        Mahjong Gin – In this version of the game, the players have to win by going gin, as knocking isn’t allowed. However, it is possible to draw more than one card simultaneously.

·        Straight Gin – Again, players may only win by going gin. The other rules are the same as standard Gin.

Blackjack is a favorite casino card game, requiring skill to know the odds and a keen sense to guess how the cards are running.

Blackjack

Blackjack is commonly played throughout casinos all over the world. You are probably familiar with the rules of the game. Even though there is an element of luck, since a player can win straight away if s/he is dealt an ace and a card with a value of 10. Each hand of blackjack is played on its own and a player can stop after as many hands as s/he wants.

Blackjack Variants

One of the great things about blackjack is the number of different variations that this game has. We will only mention several of them.

·        Double Attack Blackjack – In this version the dealer plays with one card faced upwards. Players can double their wager once they see the dealer’s card. Blackjack pays even instead of 3:2.

·        French Blackjack – In this version splitting isn’t allowed and the ace counts only as 11, but two aces are a blackjack.

·        Spanish 21 – Here players can double down regardless of how many card they have and a bonus is awarded to every player who reaches 21 with 5 or more cards. The 10’s are eliminated from the deck before the game starts.

·        Vegas Style Blackjack – If the both the dealer and the player bust, then the game is a push.

No wonder poker has become so popular, especially on so many TV shows where the stakes are as high as the excitement.

Poker

It is fair to say that many other card games also require a set of skills. Poker, for example, is typically regarded as a skill-based game, even though luck plays a very important set. An ability a convincing poker face is often regarded as one of the essential skills of professional poker players.

Basic Poker Terms

We said that there are numerous variants of Blackjack, and the same is true of Poker. Even though there are multiple variations, the basic terms and actions are pretty much the same.

·        Ante bet – This is the initial wager that everybody has to make in order to participate in the game. It is a very small bet, usually a quarter or a half of the minimum bet;

·        Blind bets – These are also made before the cards are dealt. Each player is required to place a blind bet. Some games feature a small and a big blind, others may include only one blind. There are also games with three blinds;

·        Call – This is the action of a player who accepts the raise made by another player;

·        Check – With this action the player agrees the game to continue, as nobody has raised the bet;

·        Raise – A player who believes that s/he has a strong hand, or is about to bluff, raises the stakes.

Types of Poker Games

Poker games are usually divided in three groups, depending on the way in which the cards are dealt.

·        Community – In these games, each player is dealt a number of cards that are faced down and there are additional face up cards dealt in the middle of the table which can be used by all players. Players form their best hand by combining their own cards and the community cards. 

·        Stud – In this type of games each player is dealt a number of cards and has to use only those cards to form a hand.

·        Draw – Players are dealt a number of cards, but they are allowed to replace one or few cards in order to improve their hand.