LIST OF THE BEST CARD GAMES LIKE POKER

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW TO PLAYING CARD GAMES

Card games have been an inherent part of popular culture, let alone casino culture for years. Whether you are playing a poker game for real money or a fun card with the family, people will be drawn to them.

There are myriad different ways of playing cards, and some are more challenging than others when it comes to gameplay. That said, with most forms of poker, for example, you will have a traditional 52 card deck, and there will be a discard pile should you wish to throw any hole cards into the muck.

Anyway, there are some brilliant poker games out there that might not be widely advertised, such as crazy eights that are worth exploring.

In this guide, we will give you the full lowdown on how to play cards, ascertain which is the perfect game for you, as well as give you advice on where to play the best games out there. Read on to learn more.

HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST CARD GAME FOR YOU

This may seem like a million dollar question, but whether you are familiar with playing cards or not, some cursory research won’t do you any harm.

Ultimately, it will depend on whether you are serious about playing a classic game at a land-based or online casino, or alternatively, a modern card game that is fast-paced game. Some of these may be a two-player game, while others, you will need to play with more players depending on the setup.

Either way, assessing the gameplay involved will be crucial in determining which game you want to play, as advanced and novice card players will look for different things when picking a poker game to play.

If there is a fun card game you wish to play online at a casino, make sure you try out a demo mode of the game first before you play for real money. The importance of this can’t be overstated.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TRICK-TAKING GAMES AND NON TRICK-TAKING GAMES

Trick taking games involve a standard 52-card deck. So, if you are playing a trick taking card game, such as Texas Hold’Em, there will be a dealer involved who will shuffle the cards before distributing them.

Here, there will be a finite number of rounds, which includes everything from the pre-flop to post-flop stages, such as the turn and the river. They can also be social games involving at least four players, such as Bridge.

However, while non-trick taking games can also be sociable, they tend to have varying levels of strategy that can be adopted, such as Spite & Malice, as well as Canasta, although the latter has origins dating back to the 1950s.

Carry on reading to find some of the best card games that bear a strong resemblance to poker. This should inspire you to broaden your horizons for a classic trick taking game to play.

THE BEST CARD GAMES LIKE POKER

Let’s now take you through some of the most popular card games that aren’t classified as poker, but they are fun card games nonetheless.

We have provided a list of some of the best games that you can play before dissecting them each in turn, and we will touch on the rules.

• Crazy Eights or Eights for short
• Hearts
• Canasta
• 500 Rummy
• Palace

Crazy Eights

GAME RULES FOR CRAZY EIGHTS AT A GLANCE

This fun game is aimed or best suited for 2-7 players, and here are some of the basic rules:

• 104 playing cardsused (two standard decks used when there are five or more players).
• The point system will see Eights be worth 50 points, Face Cards are worth 10 points, Aces 1 point, and other cards will be worth their index value.

HOW TO PLAY

The objective is to discard your pile as quickly as possible. Each player in this card game will receive five cards face down before the dealer turns the top card from the deck, and places it into a separate pile sitting next to it.

After the first player has placed their card onto the discard pile, other players must match the card, and that will be of the same denominational value or the same suit. The number eight remains the exception here, as it doesn’t have to match the other face up cards.

The player who reaches 100 points will win, so by all accounts, it is a simple game.

Hearts

GAME RULES FOR HEARTS AT A GLANCE

This card game is targeted for three to six players, but you will get the most out of this trick taking game when you play with four people. And we have outlined some of the main rules, such as how to score points:

• The winner will be based on an agreed score between the other players. The player with the lowest score will come out on top.
• A player must hold two clubs in his hand after the pass makes the first move.

HOW TO PLAY

Essentially, this is a game revolving around how many tricks you can make. The suit’s highest hand wins a trick, and the winner of that trick is the next player. The modern history of Hearts emanates from 19th Century America, but the original game is attributed to 17th Century France.

Canasta

GAME RULES FOR CANASTA AT A GLANCE

This is one of those fun games, but it is also a card game that has sparked ridicule, as there seems to be a perception of it being played by senior citizens or those on cruiseliners. But let’s run through some of the rules for this one:

• The objective is to from combinations of three or more cards of the same value without a wild card.
• Jokers and deuces are deemed to be wilds, and they will only be melded with natural cards.

HOW TO PLAY

While it is not a new game by any stretch of the imagination, it can seem very complicated to those who haven’t played games such as Canasta. There are many mechanisms in terms of gameplay features, such as unfreezing the pile, and taking the discard pile with the deck of cards.

Canasta is one of those rare games where you could have two teams, and players are working together to score as many points as possible. Instead of six cards, you need to make seven cards of the same rank. Discard cards are not necessary here.

A player can only finish on a hand with a minimum of one canasta, and a canasta match will conclude once a player reaches 5,000 points.

500 Rummy

GAME RULES FOR 500 RUMMY AT A GLANCE

Many multiplayer games can be scaled back to accommodate fewer player, and 500 Rummy is a two- player card game that ticks many boxes. The strategy for this is quite simple, and it belongs to the rummy family of card games.

• The objective of the game is to score 500 points, and the first player to do so will be crowned the winner.
• To score points in this game, you must play sets with a minimum of three cards, and these three cards must be three cards of the same rank (ie three 6s or three 7s). Or, they can be a run of cards in a sequence, and of the same suit (10, Jack, Queen of Spades).

HOW TO PLAY

This is one of those fun card games that has rounds attached to it, and the catch with this, is that if you still have remaining cards at the end of a round, the value of these cards will be deduced from your score in the game.

There are various ways you can go about things as you play this game. You can, of course, choose to snuff out opponents with lots of cards in their hand or make the round last as long as possible, so you can pick up more than one card that will score you points. Ultimately, you can vary your strategy between rounds.

Palace

GAME RULES FOR PALACE AT A GLANCE

You can play this game with up to six players, but it seems like a card game that rarely gets much attention. Anyway, let’s check in on the main rules:

• Players start with nine cards in this game.
• Three cards will be dealt face down in front of the player.
• The first person who lays a three or the lowest card possible will be the player that starts a round.
• Cards that share the same worth in the game can be placed together.

HOW TO PLAY

This six-player game is fun, as you have to draw cards from a discard pile, and play them in ascending order, as you bid to be the first player to run out of cards.

Cards that are of the same value can be placed together. For example, a four that is suited and of the same worth in the game will go straight into the discard pile as will any 10s from a standard deck.

Players will then continue to draw from the stock of remaining cards from the traditional deck, and they must ensure they always have a three-card hand to continue in the game.

When the stock has dwindled, a player will be able to play with the cards turned face up and turn over any face down cards. Whichever person gets rid of their cards the quickest will be deemed the winner.

OTHER POPULAR CARD GAMES

We have found a few other popular card games to play, and some of these are classics in their own right. Well, some of these are fun card games that you can play with your family. We have listed them below, and we will explain what purpose they all serve.

• Euchre
• Cribbage
• Spades
• Cheat

Euchre

This card game has really taken off throughout Canada, in particular Ontario. A trick taking card game, it is suitable for four players, although in some cases, it can be a two player game.

Essentially, the better you know your partner and the card combinations or how many tricks they can pull out during a round, the more likely you are to win.

HOW TO PLAY AND BASIC RULES

• The objective of Euchre is to win at least three tricks. There is a bonus for winning all five cards for a five card hand.
• In this game, a trump suit is called. A trump suit means that all matching cards of the same suit and colour assume the highest value cards.
• Bidding or making a trump will start left of the dealer. The player to the left of the dealer starts first.
• If a team wins the most tricks, then they will be the winner (the contest ends at 10).

Cribbage

If you haven’t played cribbage before, there is a simple premise to this like many games – it’s all about keeping tabs on your score. So, make sure you have a pen and a piece of paper to hand to note what is going on when the action unfolds.

HOW TO PLAY AND BASIC RULES

• The aim here is to score either 61 or 121 points (you can choose which total to play up to).
• You need to assemble groups of two cards or more of the same runs and card combinations to run up to 15.
• You will go bust if you exceed 31 during play.
• Players will be dealt six cards from a standard deck, and they must chuck away two.
• You can choose which one card to discard in the hope a particular card will show up.
• The contest will end when a player pegs or reaches the agreed total.

Spades

In many ways, Spades is the same game as Euchre. It is one of those trick taking games, whereby you have a standard deck of cards (52), and the spade suit is always the trump. Here is a rundown of the rules.

HOW TO PLAY AND BASIC RULES

• The rank of cards goes from Ace (high) through to two.
• You need to win at least the number of tricks bid.
• Players score 10 points for every trick bid as well as an additional point for each overtrick completed. Game is scored by hands and for a short game, 200 points will suffice to win.
• The entire card deck is dealt one time and dealt face down, beginning to the left of the dealer.
• Every player must make a bid and nobody can pass.

Cheat

Cheat is one of those standard games, but this isn’t best with fewer players. Ideally, there will be at least four people involved, but more can be added if there are two decks in play. It became popular in the UK before it made its way to the US, where it is more commonly known as b*******.

HOW TO PLAY AND BASIC RULES

• A new deck will be added for every fifth player.
• Once the number of decks are settled, the dealer will be selected at random by virtue of player’s choice.
• Elder Hand, as he is known, will begin to play in a clockwise manner, and assume the role of dealer in the next round.
• Players must place as many hands as a single rank higher or lower than the aces (Kings and 2s).
• Cheat doesn’t have a traditional scoring system in place.
• The score will be kept on the number of games won, but if played as a drinking game, there is another fun rule that can be used, such as “Worst Cheater” and there will be a forfeit or penalty in place here.

CARD GAMES AVAILABLE AT ENERGYCASINO

Energy Casino is stocked with a wealth of games at your disposal, including the latest blackjack and poker options. Below, we have highlighted some of the titles you can play if you sign up to the site:

• Single Deck Blackjack
• Double Exposure Blackjack
• Deuces Wild
• Aces and Faces poker
• Casino Hold’Em Poker
• Texas Flip (new Energy Casino game).

CONCLUSION

Whether it is a trick taking game or a regular card game you are after, there is an abundance of choice to suit players of all abilities, as well as families if you wish to keep your kids entertained. Some games will naturally be more difficult than others and will involve more strategy.

That said, the games we have described are all great games in their own right, and while some are undoubted classics, the more niche ones, we are sure, will capture your interest once you get your head around the rules.

We have plenty of games for you to check into, so what are you waiting for? See what all the fuss is about and register today. And always remember to gamble responsibly.