4 Card games to play this Diwali

Playing card games are almost synonymous with Diwali in India. Playing these games is not only fun but is also a great way to spend some quality time with family and those close friends. There are a host of games that one could play with an international deck of playing cards, and in this article, let us look closer at the four playing card games that you could play with friends and family this Diwali.

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#1 Blackjack

Blackjack is a game where there are no player restrictions, and one always plays against the dealer while competing against each other. The primary objective of the game is to beat the dealer, which can be done in a multitude of ways.

• The first two cards that are dealt could add up to 21 points (Blackjack), and the dealer's cards do not add up to 21.
• Ensure that your final score is greater than the dealer's score, while also being less than 21 as a score greater than this value disqualifies you from the round.
• Force the dealer to draw more cards such that his total tally is more than 21.

The basic version of the game starts with the dealer dealing two cards to the player, either face up or face down. The dealer deals two cards to himself, in which only one card is face up. The dealer's second card is revealed when the player decides to call the dealer. It is at this point that the value of the dealer's cards is checked and compared with the player's cards, and the winner of the round is decided by the rules mentioned above.

The joker card is almost always excluded from this game.

#2 Bluff/Cheat

The bluff/cheat is a card game that can be played with the international deck of 52 cards. There are no player restrictions, and one could play the game with more than a single pack of cards.

The game begins with a player dealing the cards to other players in equal number until the entire set is completed. Taking turns, the players must put at least one card on the table face down. After placing the card, the player is required to call the cards without actually revealing them. One could either tell the truth or bluff about their card combination. The other players can continue dealing the cards or call a specific player for a bluff. If the challenge is right, the player who bluffed needs to take all the cards as a punishment. Otherwise, the player who challenged must take all the cards on the table. However, one should note that calling the cards should always start from aces and go upwards in value.

The player who places all the cards on the table first is declared as the winner.

The joker card is almost always excluded from this game.

#3 Teen Patti (Three Cards)

This list would be incomplete without Teen Patti. Originated in the Indian subcontinent, the game is almost always on the stacks amongst people who play cards on Diwali.

It starts with one of the players dealing cards until every participant has three cards each. The players can then call out other players to check out who has the best hand. During the course of play, one could either play blind (without looking at the cards) or could look at their cards and raise the stake or fold to exit the round. The players holding the best hand wins the round.

The ranking of the three cards are as follows:

• Three similar cards hold the highest priority. If two players have three similar cards, the one with the highest value takes the round.
• Having cards of the same colour secures round for a player if no one holds three similar cards.
• Players holding a pair can also win the round. If multiple players hold the same pair, the other card decides the round, with the player having a higher value card being declared as the winner.
• If the above conditions are not seen, players with the higher number of face cards take precedence over other players.

The joker card is almost always excluded from this game.

#4 Rummy

The game begins with a player dealing others a set of cards amounting to a specific number. The other undealt cards are placed as a stack face down, and a card is placed face up as a part of the discarded set.

In a basic rummy game, players can take cards from the stack or the discarded cards in a sequential order while taking turns with an objective to create melds. Melds are sequences that can be made with three or more card combinations. At least three cards of the same suit or at least three cards of the same rank are called as a meld in Rummy.

However, one should note that the players must also shed cards the moment they add cards to ensure that the total cards they hold are always constant.

A player is declared as a winner when he manages form melds with all the cards that he holds.

Rummy could is traditionally played with either thirteen or twenty-one cards. The joker card is almost always included in this game.