Variety of card games

Card games are widely played as they can be enjoyed by everyone. They can be so exciting it’s easy to forget yourself completely while playing. To prevent players from getting lost in the huge choice of available games, we created a list of card games that will help you find your favourite game quickly and with ease. In case you need to refresh your memory, a short description of the game and its rules is included.  Our list contains both Russian card games and games from other countries. Some of the most interesting card games are listed below.

  • Landsknecht is a game for two or more players. Depending on the number of participants, one or more decks of cards can be used.  One player acts as the banker, but passes on the deal when the game is over. The ante is a previously agreed amount of money and if nobody wins the pot, the amount in it grows progressively. The banker deals two cards face up on the table. These are called ‘hand cards’ – one is for players, another one for the banker himself.  The banker draws a card from the top of the deck; cards that match the hand are laid besides them. The game is over when each hand card is matched, then– if a card matches the player’s card, the banker wins all bets; if a card matches the banker’s card – the dealer loses.
  • Stoss is a game of chance similar to Faro. It’s quite often included in card game lists. Before playing, participants agree on bet limits. The punter then chooses the card he wants to bet on and places it on the table face up, revealing it to the dealer. Afterwards the punter declares how much he’s betting on it and places his wager on the card. If the punter’s bet is too big, the dealer can refuse to match it. When bets are placed, the dealer cuts the deck and deals two cards. Bets placed on the first card are lost, whereas bets on the second card win and are paid out at 1:1.

Napoleon is a popular trick taking game that is often included in card games lists.  The game starts with five cards dealt out to each player. Afterwards participants, starting with the player to the dealer’s left, bid how many tricks they think they can take. The highest bidder starts the round. If the player takes the number of tricks he declared before the game or more, he collects winnings from each other player.  If the player was unable to make his bid, he pays for each trick to every player. The game is over as soon as the leading player takes the number of tricks he bid.