Giving Cribbage a Spin or Two!

  Hi Again first of all Happy Christmas to all my readers, hope you had a swell time partying and opening Christmas presents. I for one got a spanking new Backgammon set which I really enjoyed receiving and which allowed me to dust my backgammon gaming skills after years of abandon due mainly to lack of gaming partners. If you haven’t had an opportunity to play this fascinating game then believe me you have been missing on something good. I...

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Merry Christmas from Cardoholics Anon.

It's hard to believe that Christmas is once again upon us with all the hectic frenzy that goes into getting the right present for the right family member, wrapping up gifts and preparing our homes for some merry times together. During this season let us not forget those who perhaps do not have people around for some reason or another, maybe you could grab yourself a deck of cards and liven up a couple of hours for these souls. Cards and card games in general are perhaps one of the oldest forms of recreation and socialisation known to modern...

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A few thoughts on gambling

  What thoughts cross your mind when you hear the word “gamble”? Even though I am not a mind reader I am almost 100% certain that the word will conjure images of casinos, betting houses, horse and dog racing,  not to mention poker and dice games.  Your visions I am sure will be somewhat formed by what religious views you hold which may or may not preclude a person from viewing the gamble as an artifice of the prince of darkness himself! No I’m not referring to Ozzy here. Before I proceed with this exposition, I would like to state...

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Trick-Taking Card Games

  It’s quite interesting that as I grew, my exposure to trick-taking card games was at first quite limited. The general feeling I have from my early days is that my family and friends were more interested in Rummy-type (therefore strictly melding) games or card-capturing games like for instance Bella Donna (was tempted to include Scopa but this was a game I learned much later), a game I have mentioned on a number of occasion on this blog. In an attempt to ratify the situation, perhaps in the process fill in a lacuna in my card-gaming knowledge,...

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Cards from around the World

I just wanted to drop a few lines regarding my upcoming video review which will be focusing on 5  very particular decks that make part of my growing collection. The first deck hails from Indonesia, a diminutive deck with suits and ranks that follow the Chinese Money Cards tradition. Two other decks are renditions of modern Mahjong tile sets but in card form. I will then review the Piatnik Tarot Deck, which isn’t a divination deck but rather...

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A few words on Edmond Hoyle (1672-1769)

  I would like to think that Edmond Hoyle was a bit like me, a Cardoholic who loved his card games. Back then the card game of choice was Whist (a precursor of modern Bridge) but he did not just describe and enumerate all the rules pertaining to this game alone. He wrote about every game he put his hands on and for which he held some manner of interest. For instance he published rules and strategies pertaining to backgammon, chess and 3-card Brag the latter considered one of the precursors of modern poker. He however never wrote any materials...

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New document on Scopa Strategy

Check out this PDF document for some interesting strategy tips to consider when playing Sco...

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My third Card Review - Italian Regional Cards

Here's my third Card review regarding Italian regional cards. If you would like to post any comments or send me any feedback about this video review please feel fr...

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Bixkla the Maltese Briscola

Bixkla is the Maltese name for a variant to the game of Briscola a trick-taking game for 2 to 4 players originally hailing from Italy. From a little research it turns out that this game is notably linked with countries bordering with the Mediterranean and it therefore comes as no surprise that countries such as Croatia, Spain, Portugal, and even Malta have their own variations.My interest in this game was piqued by an acquaintance who mentioned playing this game when he was younger with a family member who was apparently well versed in the associated...

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