In 2011 I discovered some card game classics that have stood the test of time. In particular 2011 was the year I first settled own to play Gin Rummy for the first time and it’s close relative Oklahoma Gin. For those who do not know anything about Gin Rummy, well it’s a rummy variation that features knocking if the amount of deadwood (check out Wikipedia’s entry on Gin Rummy for explanations on italicised terms) does not exceed 10 points. In the case of Oklahoma Gin then, the deadwood needs to be less than the value indicated by the first upturned card at the beginning of a hand. For instance if the upturned card is a picture card say King, Queen, Jack or alternatively a Ten then you need 10 or less deadwood to knock. If on the other hand the upturned card were to be an Ace then you would need 1 dead wood or else go Gin…that is lay down all your 10 cards on the table into melds of 3, 3 and 4. Sounds quite simple upfront but when you get right down to playing this card game you will find that it has an addictive fast pace of action which prods your competitive streak like few other card games I know.
Yet in spite of being quite a popular card game even today, I found few to no good books on Gin which was quite disappointing. I did for instance find books that discuss the card play and maybe some indications regarding possible beginner’s strategies but little more. So if anyone out there knows of a fairly priced good book or two, please do email them over to me at cardoholics.anonymous@gmail.com.
Another game which I have really invested time to learn, though mastery is still clearly beyond me at this point, is Cribbage. Cribbage is a card game like none I have played in my life so far. It does not involve trick taking, it does not involve fishing and it isn’t a rummy game. It is highly structured and ritualised as I have clearly described in a previous blog and it can really make your blood boil when you realise that your supposed felicitous decision to discard an Ace and six into your opponent’s Crib resulted in him earning 8 points for a pair (aces) and a Pair Royal (three sixes) when the upturned card happened to came a six!
Thankfully books on Cribbage abound, the good ones are few though. I would like to believe that I invested in a good introduction to Cribbage written by Frank & Simon Butler called (quite appropriately) Cribbage – How to play and win. The authors offer some interesting insight into the history of Cribbage and then immediately delve into the what the book is all about and what a reader should expect from reading this book. Quite truthfully the authors claim up front that reading the book will not make you a persistent winner and that the luck of the draw will always be an important factor in winning or losing a match. Regardless, listening to the words of veterans of this venerable card game can definitely do no harm, especially since my current win rate at this game is not very encouraging.
The third game I was introduced to in 2011 was a community Poker variation called Omaha. It plays like Texas Holdem but each player is dealt 4 pocket cards and not 2 at the start of a hand but there is a twist. At showdown a player must use exactly 2 cards out of the four pocket cards dealt to him and three cards from the table. This simple rule results in tougher decision making and a necessity to maintain an even higher level of awareness of the true strength of a hand. For instance you might be dealt A-A-K-K but on a board of 9-9-10-J-Q you still don’t have the guaranteed nuts. At best you can claim an Ace-high straight which could still be busted by another guy with 9-10-3-3 just because he can make a Full-house of nines full of tens! So as you might have correctly surmised Omaha is not for the faint of heart!
In 2012 I do propose to keep sharpening what skills I have mustered up to now. I could hope to improve my Gin skills, perhaps also work on my Cribbage. I also want to pursue my research in relation to Bella Donna which has not progressed much in 2011. I definitely discovered some interesting nautical connotations in the jargon employed within the game suggesting that it might have been played in fishing communities but other than that I am still at a loss as to the actual origins of this Maltese pastime.
That’s all for now, signing off!!
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