Christmas

Apart from my obvious passion for card games in general, I also collect decks of cards, some of which I have showcased in videos posted to this blog. Yet I've realized that I have so far never really had any decks that somehow capture the spirit of the festive season. I have as yet no Christmas-themed decks. 

A while ago a friend of mine showed me a vintage deck of cards that had been published by Coca Cola, featuring what has now become the globally accepted stereotypical Father Christmas character donning a red costume trimmed with white fur. As with most  other things that capture my imagination I began to research this modern Christmas Icon and discovered some interesting facts in the process. 

Fact one, the red garbed Father Christmas is a modern creation thought up by the Coca Cola company as part of their marketing campaigns. Fact Two, the actual character that has come to epitomize Christmas was in fact the creation of an American illustrator by the name of Haddon Sundblom. The lovable and friendly looking Father Christmas, first debuted in a 1931 Coca Cola marketing campaign. 

Before Sundblom, Santa Claus or Father Christmas was a totally different character which Victorian illustrators garbed in green clothes rather than red. Yet in turn, all these variations that appeared over the centuries in legends and lore, were themselves based on a saintly man Nikolaos of Myra, a 4th Century saint with a reputation for secret gift-giving. The saint, or Saint Nikolaos was in turn the inspiration for what became modern day Santa Claus or Father Christmas. To help you bridge the gap between "Saint Nikolaos" and Santa Claus, let me just add that the latter name is derived from "Sinterklaas" the dutch adaptation of the former title.

Regardless, back to my current dilemma, I really need to fill in this lacuna I currently have in my collection, especially since I tend to love this holiday season and the spirit it of friendship it tends to foster. Will let you know how my search goes.

Until Next time, Happy Christmas! 

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…And so once again, Christmas!

 

Technorati Tags: Mayan Calendar,Probability,Christmas,gambling

To all you people out there that occasionally drop by to see what I’m up to, well I’d like to wish you a Happy Christmas / Holiday season. Goodness only knows how much I really need the break this year. It’s been a rollercoaster-kind-of-year with never a dull moment, and for once dull really looks attractive.

I am the first to advocate the belief that the only constant in life is change, but at times the rate of change can really wear you down to the bones. Yet enough gloom, be it far from me to add to all the hullabaloo that’s making the internet and social circuits in relation to the Mayan calendar. Oh yes baby, the world’s supposedly going to come to an end (again) on the 21st of December 2012!

At times I try to put myself in the shoes of that Mayan genius who came about with a neat way of compartmentalizing time into manageable cycles. Cycles that came to an end and were perennially renewed at the dawn of the next one. I figured that just as programmers way back opted to represent the year with just two ciphers, causing all the mayhem that was the Y2K bug, in much the same way this Mayan inventor opted to use cycles of a precise pre-ordained length. A length so huge that it seeing it end would be a once in several generations experience.

We humans tend to thrive on identifying patterns in whatever we do in life. Patterns offer us the false reassurance that we can somehow predict future outcomes. We do this in the most disparate situations. To be fair pattern matching can save you a lot of time, and in most cases they do turn out to be valid predictors of future happenings. Yet patterns never quite explain or predict the unexpected, the moment when happenings happen out of synch, foiling even the most reassuring of predictions.

For anyone who dabbles with a bit of gambling and probability, this concept is not new. We are fully aware that to assume that a pattern will persist over any given span of time, is itself  a dangerous path. Any bet should ideally be hedged such that if losses are incurred they are small but that if winnings come along they are sufficiently profitable to justify the original gamble. Professional gamblers, those that do not become unnecessarily cocky about their abilities at the table, know that the best course of action in the long term is to always make decisions with positive expectation and to throw away those situations with negative expectation. Doing this does not guarantee winnings, but it does guarantee pulling the breaks on any losses that periodically will be incurred.

Back to the Mayans, well they were the quintessential gamblers, they had to gamble with nature, praying that their actions will lead to good crops and full stomachs. They had to gamble with sickness, hoping that certain actions and remedial activities would keep the community healthy. They gambled with territorial wars, hoping that their next battle would not impact negatively upon their burgeoning empire. Their calendar was their way of seeking out patterns to help them face the unknown in much the same way that probability and statistics help the player seek patterns that will turn his choices and decisions into sure winners.

That’s just about all I had in mind to share for now. Hope you will have a splendid time, enjoy the holidays, find time for friends you have not spoken to in a while and don’t stuff your faces too much or you will regret it in January!

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An Early Christmas Present

 

A while back I asked a friend of mine to come up with a simple poker timer I could use for home tournaments. the result was this Google app which does precisely what you would expect from it. you can pre-arrange up to 10 levels of blinds and even include coffee  breaks at pre-determined intervals. This is by far not one of the most complicated out there, nor does it make concessions for buy-ins since this was envisage more for free-roll type tournaments.

Still if  you would like to use it, please just go ahead. To customise the blinds however you need to be logged on with a valid Google email account if you don’t have one  already (unlikely ) then go grab yourself an account and give this little application a spin or two.

Technorati Tags: poker,poker timer,free application,google app,axelia.eu,tournament timer

Image 1 - The Configuration screen

 

Image 2 - The Timer in action

 

Also and why you’re at it visit the Axelia.eu website which will give you some further ideas in as to whom put this little practical application together in he first place.

Until next time!!

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A word or two on Backgammon

 

I have always had this thing about games of imperfect information; games were chance plays a significant role but is not the sole arbiter of who eventually wins the gaming contention. Backgammon is one such game.

My fascination with backgammon began when I was a young boy snooping around a now out-of-business games shop that stood along the Sliema promenade. Back then I think it must have been the curious pattern of triangular designs, spread out evenly on either end of the cardboard playing surface, or perhaps that mysterious dice that had multiples of two printed on each of its six faces. Not knowing the rules, my young mind raced and hypothesized ways in which that cube could be used within the context of that mysterious game.

Some years later, having set aside some pocket money for my first board I actually bought the game, one produced by Spears’s games, a company that was eventually bought out by Mattel in 1994. It was a good set, the cardboard surface very well made and folded into three. The dice were all strictly of wood and the “Doubling cube” (that mysterious dice featuring multiples of two on each of its six surfaces) was slightly larger, with red ciphers clearly painted on each face. The rules inside were also quite clear, even though they failed to address any strategic element that truly epitomizes the game’s strengths.

I recall playing my first games with my sister but we never quite got over the idea of knocking blots off the board and onto the bar. For those not so familiar with backgammon, blots are single checkers you might have occupying any one of the 24 points on the backgammon surface. As singletons, these checkers are very vulnerable and can be knocked off the board if your opponent lands one of his pieces on that same point. The only way to avoid having your checkers knocked off is to make sure you leave as few blots as possible by doubling up on any point with a single checker.

Yet back then, as kids we never quite got over the idea of having our pieces knocked off, so more often than not we argued. To stymie the arguments, we adopted an unwritten rule, whereby you could not knock blots off the board, because it wasn’t nice to do so! That rule did not help at all with my appreciation of the game as it reduced it squarely to a race.

Backgammon matches have a way of developing into three distinct types, or perhaps combinations of these same types. For instance you could have a game were hitting blots for advantage is frequently facilitated by favourable rolls of the dice, others that favour a quick race around the board with the first to bear-off all checkers winning the game. Yet still a further third type, would see you making point after point, reducing the match into a positional blocking game. Obviously you will have combinations from the aforementioned types, but you never really know how a game will proceed until you roll the first few rounds.

I will not delve to deeply on strategy over here, though I will spare some time on the history of this incredible game. You see backgammon is considered one of the oldest games ever invented by man. Excavations in Iran have revealed that the game was in existence over there as from 3000 BC. Obviously there were no Doubling cubes in those games, that had to wait till the 1920’s.

The ancient Romans too had games remarkably similar to Backgammon; one in particular called “Ludus duodecim scriptorium” which translates to “The game of twelve lines” was particularly popular. Another game called Tabula meaning “table” was a game mentioned by Emperor Zeno of Byzantium and which very closely resembles what backgammon looks like today. Players however rolled three dice and not two as is the custom nowadays.

The “Jeux des tables” or “Game of tables” which can be considered as the true direct precursor of modern backgammon, was first played in France during the 11th century where it became very popular among gamblers. As a result its popularity suffered following a royal decree issued by Louis IX which made it illegal to play the game. Funnily enough, or predictably perhaps, prohibition did little to curb the spread and popularity of the game. By the 18th century backgammon had become significantly established in countries such as England, where Edmund Hoyle wrote a reputable book called “A short treatise on the game of Backgammon” in 1743.

Modern Backgammon puts a lot of emphasis on the skill factor of the game while also conceding that there will always be a luck element epitomised by the rolling of the dice. It is also quite normal these days to see dice cups introduced into games in order to reduce the chances of cheating. Basically players cannot roll dice with their hands but must resort to rolling the dice in the cup and onto the gaming surface.

While Backgammon is played competitively in a number of tournaments held around the world, it never moved away from its gambling roots. You will still find players immersed in games of backgammon where the winner will win an agreed amount of money wagered before the start. If then the game is tied to the number of points scored, then the wagers will fluctuate depending on whether or not the doubling cube is used during the game or not.

Yet whether played for fun or financial gain, playing backgammon is a rewarding experience for all those who play it. Which is why I strongly recommend this game to anyone who loves a challenge and would like to try something new and yet so old!

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Happy Halloween

 

…and it’s finally here, my latest video blog features fantasy and especially gothic playing cards from the likes of Bicycle and Fournier. Most Definitely some of the most impressive and jaw dropping artwork out there! Judge for yourselves!

Happy Halloween from Cardoholics Anonymous!

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The Eternal Appeal of Games of Chance

Technorati Tags: Variance,chance

Card games, as do most games played with imperfect information, carry a certain charm or appeal among those who play them. It’s almost as through the roll of the dice or the turn of a card we want to believe that we can somehow control the unknown and the uncontrollable.

In truth I figure that most games grow out from the chaotic seed of variance or chance, and therein lies the reason for our need to play them. For some games this element of apparent unpredictability is extremely evident, while for others you must delve deeper.

Intriguingly and definitely not all that surprising in my opinion, games were once seen as links to understanding the will of the Gods. Through chance and games which embraced chance, ancient peoples believed they could attune themselves to the will of their deities.

Nowadays I am sure that no one plays poker or gin rummy to get in touch with their God, but you still find a lot of superstition and false ideas about chance among those who play these games. You will find people who still believe that you can have such a thing as a lucky seat, a lucky deck, or maybe an unlikely combination of lucky cards. They also believe that for instance, since a certain number has not come out yet, that it is somehow due.

You get crazy talk like “I know it might sound crazy but I just had to play those two cards!” or “I had to play that last spin/roll because my number was just due to come out!”.

Obviously this is all nonsense, variance does not have a mind of sorts, and it owes nothing to nobody . When a stream of events is zoomed upon, such that only a finite part can be perceived, it's easy to fall victim to false impressions that might lead one to believe that the logical progression of things has been put on hold.

This is what then leads some players to chase their losses in the false hope that a win is due. In truth, if a certain combination of circumstances is not favourable, then it is useless butting your head obstinately in the hope of getting there, you will only end up breaking your head. Maybe it's simply that you are playing at a level that is too high for you, or just that you are not really feeling 100%. Whatever the reason, it only seldom has got to do anything with what is popularly understood by "luck".

Let me share a personal experience from the game of Gin Rummy. I love playing Gin Rummy, in particular the "knock" variation. There are days when I am all there, keeping track of all the cards dealt or discarded and when the right cards fall, I am quick to respond with just the right move. On those days I win hand after hand. Then there are those days were I am tired, when I play out of boredom or simply to avert my attention from some other brooding thoughts. On those days I just don't follow up on the discards too well, I miss on a number of good opportunities and inexorably I lose hand after hand.

It would be convenient to blame it all on some fictitious personification of luck, but I would be fooling only myself. You cannot control variance but it is foolish to believe that you cannot use skill to turn apparently random outcomes into favourable opportunities. This is in fact the real skill when it comes to games of imperfect information. By repeatedly focusing one’s thoughts on the dynamics of a particular game, it is possible to learn to perceive patterns where others will fail to see them. 


This is not unlike a surfer waiting for the right wave in order to perform his favourite surfing manoeuvre. There would be myriad diverse waves racing towards the shore, but only one coupled with a surfer’s skill will result in an outstanding performance. It is also important to realise that even the best surfer or athlete or card player, achieve excellence by learning from their many failures not by winning. Indeed winning consistently comes much later.

In my opinion, our tendency to explain seemingly uncontrollable or unquantifiable phenomena as a consequence to a quasi-sentient manifestation of luck, lies in our inability to pursue thoughts on a far larger scale than would be necessary on a day to day basis. To be fair, our daily lives seldom require us to look that far into the future, or that deeply into things. Our behaviours are normally governed by short-term predictions based on past experience. For this reason, chains of events that show a tendency to normalise over large numbers of iterations would appear incomprehensible and erratic if seen in finite segments over a restricted number of cycles.

It is not easy to look beyond the immediate, the here and now, if I am losing during a session of poker or maybe at a backgammon table, I find it hard to think in terms of the big picture, the long term projection. Yet this is what distinguishes the pros from the amateurs. The professional knows patience because he can and will see events as making part of a bigger scenario. Using backgammon as our example, he will understand that over time, the number of doubles he or his opponent rolls will tend to even out, not because it is expected but rather because of a statistical probability that it will be so.

Yet how can a player, who has been at a gaming table for some time, learn to accept what he might consider lofty thoughts of a higher order, especially when he happens to be losing? Well maybe it would do that player a lot of good, if he just stood up and walked away. Indeed by doing so he might give himself time to think about what he might have been doing wrong, or alternatively to appreciate that he is playing well but that circumstances have not been favourable. If he rationally dissects his play he might also learn new ways to tackle the game, and more importantly he might learn new ways to control his own psychological state when faced with a string of losses.

This is definitely a topic that cannot be tackled in just one blog, so I expect to return to this subject some time soon. Until then I would really appreciate any materials you might want to share. You can send via email at your own discretion and rest assured I will go through all you suggestions, ideas and recommendations.

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You’ve been Bourréd!!

Technorati Tags: Bourre,trick-taking,gambling

Bet you never been told that before! Well neither have I to tell you the truth, but in my quest to fetch some of the more unique card games in existence, I came across this trick-taking, gambling game which goes by the name of Bourré. From what I have read this game is of French origin (based on an even older Spanish game called Burro or Donkey) made popular among the Cajun communities of the southern United States.

Interesting however, according to some newsfeeds, this game has grown to be quite popular in some American home games when people grow a bit bored of playing poker. It’s very straight forward as trick-taking games go and rather fast-paced since you only have 5 tricks per hand and just one draw or pass stage at the very beginning.

Number of players

Picking from various sources, the ideal number of players for this game would be five to seven players. More would make dealing out replacement cards complicated and less would reduce the fun factor of the game.

Ante and dealing

Players agree on an ante to place in a common pot at the start of a hand and then the designated dealer, who can be chosen using any randomisation process, deals out exactly 5 cards face down, to all players. However the last card the dealer deals to himself, he deals face up to determine the trump suit. If that up-card is an Ace then the dealer must always play and cannot pass (fold).

Pass or Draw stage

Once the cards are dealt, then all players are allowed to exchange anything between zero to all cards in hand. In turn they indicate verbally the number of cards they wish to exchange or stand pat.

The Trick-taking stage

The game proceeds to the play phase. The first trick is led by the first active player to the dealer’s left. As with most trick-taking games, this first player holds no obligation to play a trump card but any player thereafter must play a card in the suit of the card led if they can, and only subsequently play a trump card if they can. A player may only play “any card” to a trick (i.e. neither in the suit led nor a trump) if they hold cards in neither the suit led nor trumps.

Winning and pay-offs

The pot is won by the player who normally wins three tricks minimum, but it is possible to win the pot with only two tricks if the other players win one trick or none at all. If a player wins no tricks at all then he has been Bourréd and must pay a penalty to the pot equal to the sum in the pot at the time.

Interestingly if a player is caught reneging, that is that he could have played a card in the suit led by did not, or a card in the trump suit but did not, then that player too will have to pay a penalty equal to the total present in the pot at the time.

There are also some obligations on a player who has what is called a cinch hand, or a sure hand of three tricks he cannot possibly lose. For example let’s say a player has AKQ of trump, it is highly unlikely that he will lose any of these three tricks. In this instance, the player is obliged to play the highest trump first, followed by the second highest etc.

Some other considerations

…and there you have it! Bourré is relatively straight forward as trick-taking games go, but the pot can grow sensibly if hands end repeatedly in draws, or ties and penalties start to pile up (say from Bourréd players). Some prefer to pose a limit to the possible win from a pot, say if an ante is set to $1 and there are 5 players, then the winner can only take up to $5 from that pot for any given hand. The rest remains in the pot. There are various ways in which this can be regulated. What is then left in the pot at the end of a session could then be split up say 50-30-20 among the top three players at a table. Also as with other gambling games, one could resort to playing table-stakes to cap any losses to just what was brought to the table at the start of a session.

In Conclusion

Bourré feels like a simple yet fun gambling game that can promise some interesting hours of gameplay. Some may prefer to include it as part of a Dealer’s choice setup, where it would be blended in with other exotic poker variations like Badugi or Chinese Poker.

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