003 Save The Bet

by Foster Douglas on January 3, 2015

2 players
Standard 52-card deck (51 cards used)
15-20 minutes

Game Setup:

Remove the Ace of Spades from the deck. Both players are dealt 6 cards from the shuffled deck. The remaining cards are placed in a stack between the players.

Main Objective:

The first player to collect 26 cards wins.

Rules and Details:

Each player is to bet on the exact value or suit of the next card that’s flipped over. The wager is placed using the cards in hand. Multiple cards of the same suit can be used to bet against the larger numbered cards, by adding their values together. Jack, Queen, King, and Ace cards are all worth a value of 1. Cards won are collected into the hand, and can be used again for betting.

Game Flow:

Set up the game and deal cards. Each player places their bet, face down, on the value of the next flipped card from the stack. The Gamble card is revealed. If either player wishes, they may save the bet, and add one card (of the Gamble’s suit) face up to their bet. Both players reveal their bets. All cards in play are given to the bet winner, if applicable. In the event of a draw or a blank turn, the Gamble is shuffled back into the stack, and each player collects the cards bet by the opposite player. Repeat numbers 2-6, until one player reaches 26 cards.

Definitions:

Stack - The cards that are being bet against. These remain face down in a centralized stack between the players.
Gamble card - The next card to bet against, or the top card of the stack.
Saving the bet - When one or both players decide to augment their bet with an additional card after the Gamble card has been revealed. The additional card must be the same suit as the Gamble, but needn’t be the same suit as the original bet.
Betting with multiple cards - Cards of the same suit can be bet together as their sum. For example, placing a 5 and a 2 together would be the equivalent of betting a 7. There are no limit to the number of cards you can play together, as long as they are of the same suit.
Draw - When both players win the bet, this is a draw. The Gamble card is shuffled back into the deck, and bet cards are returned to the players.
Blank turns - Fairly common, these occur when neither player wins the bet. The Gamble card is shuffled back into the deck, and each player collects the bet cards of the other player.