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• Casino in the Dominican Republic
  • Players and Cards - Deal - Play - Sweeps - Scoring - Variation

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Introduction

Royal Casino is the usual English name for versions of Casino in which the picture cards have a numerical value: Jacks 11, Queens 12, Kings 13 and Aces 1 or 14. As in other versions of Casino the aim is to capture cards from a layout on the table by playing a card from hand which matches in number a table card or the sum of several table cards.

Although Royal Casino is not so common in Britain and North America, this is the usual form of Casino in some other countries. On this page I describe the version played in the Dominican Republic and a few other variants. In some versions of Royal Casino played in Southern Africa, cards can be stolen from opponents' capture piles: these are described on the African Casino page. In Nordic countries the usual version of Casino (Kasino) is a form of Royal Casino without building: this is described on the Nordic Casino page.

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Casino in the Dominican Republic

This version of Royal Casino, explained to me by Humbernio Lockward, differs from the Anglo-American game in several ways. The restrictions on building and capturing and the scoring of sweeps is slightly different, and most importantly there is a change to the scoring when a player or team nears the target score of 21.

Players and Cards

In the Dominican Republic Casino is usually played by two people, but it is also possible for 3 or 4 to play. 4 players play in fixed partnerships with partners sitting across from each other. A standard 52-card pack is used. The deal and play are counter-clockwise.

Kings have a capture value of 13, Queens = 12, and Jacks = 11. Number cards have their numerical value. Aces count as 1 or 14 at the discretion of the player. This means that an Ace can capture other Aces as well as any build and/or group(s) of loose cards that equal 14, any of which may contain 1 or more Aces. For example: An Ace can capture an 8, 5, and A on the layout. 8 + 5 + 1 = 14.

Deal

Initially four cards are dealt to each player and four separate cards face up to the centre of the table. When all players have played the cards they were dealt, the same dealer deals four more cards to each player from the remaining deck and play continues. Any cards that are face up on the table remain in place but no more cards are dealt to the table. When the deck is exhausted and all cards have been played the hand is scored and the turn to deal passes to the right.

Play

The player to dealer's right begins, and players play in turn anticlockwise around the table. At your turn you must play exactly one card from your hand face up to the table. This played card can be used in three possible ways.

Capture ('Captura' or 'Cojer')

The played card may capture one or more face up cards from the table. It can capture individual cards of equal value to the played card and sets of cards whose values add up to the value of the played card, provided that these cards are not parts of any build. It can also capture complete builds whose value is equal to that of the played card. The played card together with the captured card or cards are added to the (face down) pile of cards that the player or team has captured.

Build ('Forma')

The played card can be combined with a card or cards on the table, forming a pile that can only be captured as a unit. In a single build the capture value of the build is the sum of the capture values of the cards in it - for example 7+6 is a single build of 13 that can be captured by a King. A multiple build consists of two or more cards or sets of cards with the same capture value. For example a multiple build of 9 could consist of 6, 3, 7, 2, 8, A (6+3=7+2=8+1=9) or of 9, 5, 4 or simply of two 9's. The owner of a build is the player who most recently added a card to it. Cards that are not part of any build will be referred to as loose cards.

Trail

The played card is simply left on the table, where it can later be captured or incorporated into a build.

There are several restrictions on what can be played, captured or built.

1. A player who creates or adds to a build must hold a card in hand that is equal to the capture value of the build and keep it until either the build is captured or another player takes it over. Note that in the four-player partnership game you cannot create or add to a build for your partner, even if you can prove that your partner holds a card of the value required to capture the build. Creating or extending a build makes you the owner of it, and to own a build you must hold a matching card yourself.
2. The owner of a build is not allowed to trail. The player must either make a capture or do some more building. If you own a build and no other option is available you will always be able to capture your own build, since you must hold a matching card.
3. It is not possible to trail when playing a card that has a capture value equal to any loose card on the table. If the played card matches any card on the table that is not part of a build, then the player either capture all loose cards that match the loose card or use the played card to create or extend a build. However it is not compulsory to capture sets of cards that add up to the value of the played card. Also it is not compulsory to capture a build that matches the value of the played card, unless you are the owner of the build and have no other matching card that can be used to capture it later. This rule has some slightly tricky consequences, so here are some examples.
   1. The table contains K, 8, 7, 5, A and a King is played. The player could capture K,8,5 or K,7,5,A but that would leave a total of 8 on the table. If the player fears that the next player has an 8 then to avoid the sweep the player could capture just the King, leaving the other four cards behind. Alternatively, if holding a second King the player could create a multiple build, for example of K,K,7,5,A.
   2. If a Queen is played when the table contains 7, 5, 4 it is possible to capture the 7+5 but not compulsory. The player may trail with the Queen instead to prevent the next player making a sweep with a Four. The trail is allowed because there is no equal card on the table.
   3. If the initial layout consists of 10, 10, 8, 6 and the first player plays the 10, both tens must be captured, even though the next player may be able to score a sweep with an Ace.
   4. On the table there is a loose 5 with some other cards and you have a 5 and a 10 in your hand. If you play your 5 you don't have to capture the 5 from the table: instead you can create a build of 10: 5+5.
   5. Suppose that in a four-player game your partner has built 9 (5+4) and you have one 9 in your hand. You cannot add your 9 to the build because then you would become the owner and you do not have another 9 to justify this. You do not want to capture the build leaving your partner with a useless 9. You can however simply trail your 9 capturing nothing, so that your partner can later take your 9 along with the build.

Cards that are left on the table although they could have been captured by the played card are known as 'dejado' (left behind) or 'pisado' (stepped on). It is customary for the opponents to point out such cards, especially if the player has left them behind by accident, perhaps not seeing a set of cards whose values added up to the played card.

4. It is possible to increase the capture value of a single build owned by another player by playing a new card from your hand onto the build and becoming the new owner. You must of course hold a card equal to the new capture value. For example another player owns a build of 7+5 on the table and you hold a 2 and an Ace: you can add your 2 to the build making it into a build of 14 for your Ace. * Note that you are not allowed to increase the value of your own build in this way (though it is legal to increase the value of your partner's build in a partnership game).
5. It is not possible to change the capture value of a multiple build. You can add further cards to a multiple build or convert a single build to a multiple build by adding cards, and by doing so you become the owner of the build if you did not already own it. When adding to a build to create a multiple build, at least one of the added cards must be the card you played from your hand on that turn.

Sweeps (Virados)

If a player captures all the cards on the table leaving it empty, this counts as a sweep, which potentially scores 1 point. To mark the sweep, the played card is placed face under the player or team's capture pile, at right angles to the rest of the pile so that the face up card is partly visible and it is clear how many sweeps have been scored.

Sweeps of opposing players or teams cancel each other. Specifically, when both players in a two-player game or both teams in a four-player partnership game, or all players in a 3- or 4-player game without partners have at least one sweep, each player or team turns one of the face up sweep cards in their capture pile face down. After cancelling there will always be at least one player or team with no sweeps.

End of the Play and Scoring

When the dealer plays the last card and the deck is empty, any cards that remain on the table are taken by the last player or team that made a capture. This does not count as a sweep. The dealer can score a sweep with the very last card played if it really captures all the cards that remain on the table. However, if the dealer ends the game by capturing just some of the cards and takes the rest of them only by virtue of having made the last capture this is not a sweep.

The scores are then calculated based on the cards each player or team has captured. There are scores for taking the most cards, the most spades, the 10 of Diamonds, the 2 of Spades, the Aces and the sweeps, as follows.

• Most cards: 3 points
• Most Spades (espadas): 1 point
• 10 of Diamonds (diez de casino): 2 points
• 2 of Spades (dos de casino): 1 point
• Each Ace: 1 point
• Each sweep that has not been cancelled: 1 point

So usually the total number of points available is 11 plus the number of sweeps. However if there is a tie for most cards or (in a 3- or 4-player individual game) for most spades no one gets those points.

Each player or team starts at zero and keeps a cumulative score and the aim is to be first player or team to reach 21 points or more. However some special rules come into force when a player or team has a score near to 21.

• A player or team that has a score of 18 can only win by capturing most cards (3 points).
• A player or team that has a score of 19 can only win by taking the 10 of Diamonds (2 points).
• A player or team that has a score of 20 can only win by capturing most Spades (1 point).

If a player or team with 18, 19 or 20 points does meet the criterion for winning - for example taking most spades when they had 20 points at the start of the hand - then they win the game automatically, irrespective of how many points the opponent(s) score. If they do not meet the criterion, then the opponents score normally.

A player or team with 18 or more points cannot score for sweeps, but can still use sweeps to cancel sweeps made by the opponent(s). So sweeps are still recorded and cancelled in the usual way, but if you have sweep cards face up at the end of play when your score is 18 or more you do not score anything for them.

For example in a two-player game where player A has 19 points and player B has 15, if player A takes most cards and two Aces makes two sweeps (or two more than player B), while player B scores most spades, 10, 2 and two Aces, player A scores nothing while player B scores 6 points and wins the game with 21.

If two players or teams are under scoring restrictions then the first to meet the winning criterion wins the game. In some cases it might be necessary to count cards to find out, for example, whether player A had taken the majority of cards before player B captured the 10.

Should it happen that more than one player reaches 21 or more points in the same deal and there is a tie for most points (for example if two players score 6 points each starting from a score of 15-15), further deals are played without scoring restrictions until one player or team has more points than the other(s) and wins.

Variations

Some players do not allow a player or team under scoring restrictions to record any sweeps, so sweeps achieved by their opponent(s) cannot be cancelled.

In the four-player partnership game some allow a player to create or augment a build for partner if it can be proved from the previous play that partner has a card that can capture the build. This is always the case when augmenting partner's build without changing its value, but it can also happen if partner has previously created a build that was taken by another player, and partner has not subsequently played a card that could have captured it. When building for partner, a player must always announce 'for partner', and this obliges the partner to keep the capturing card until the build is captured or changes ownership. Example. On the table are 4, 7, 9. Your partner plays an Ace and combines it with the 4 and 7 to build 12. The next player captures this build with a Queen. You hold a 3 but no Queen. Nevertheless you can play your 3 on the 9 to build 12 'for partner': you know your partner must have a Queen, otherwise the previous 12-build would not have been legal.

Joel A. Soto describes a version in which the endgame scoring restrictions apply when a player or team has a score of 16 or more.

• A player or team that has a score of 16 can only score for capturing most cards (3 points) or the 10 of Diamonds (2 points).
• A player or team that has a score of 17 can only score for capturing most cards (3 points) or most Spades (1 point).
• A player or team that has a score of 18 can only score for capturing most cards (3 points).
• A player or team that has a score of 19 can only score for the 10 of Diamonds (2 points).
• A player or team that has a score of 20 can only score for capturing most Spades (1 point).

From 16 or 17 you can reach 21 in a single deal or in two stages. For example from 17 you can score 4 points and get to 21 immediately by taking most cards and most Spades, or you might take most cards on one deal taking you to 20 and later the most Spades to reach 21. If a player or team with 16 or 17 scores all the required points in one deal they win the game irrespective of the opponents' score. If they only score part of what they need, the opponents score normally and may win the game if they have enough points.

Royal Casino in North America

As described in English and American books, Royal Casino differs from the ordinary game of Casino only in the use of the picture cards and Aces. Jacks have a capture value of 11, Queens 12, Kings 13 and Aces 1 or 14 at the discretion of the player. Picture cards and Aces can be used in the same way as other cards: they can capture, be captured and be incorporated into builds according to their capture values. For example, a Queen can capture a Five and a Seven, or an Ace can capture a King and an Ace, counting the capturing Ace as 14 and the captured Ace as 1.

In comparison to the Dominican game described above, the differences are as follows.

1. Deal and play are clockwise.
2. Captures are not compulsory: a card can be trailed even if there is an equal card on the table. However, the owner of a build is not allowed to trail but must build or capture.
3. The game is often played without a score for sweeps. If sweeps are scored, a player or team scores for every sweep: there is no cancelling of sweeps between opponents.
4. There are no restrictions on scoring when a player or team nears the target score of 21.
5. If two or more players or teams reach the target score in the same hand, the points are counted in the following order of priority:
   1. Most cards
   2. Most spades
   3. 10 of Diamonds (big casino)
   4. 2 of Spades (little casino)
   5. Aces in the order: Spades, Clubs, Hearts and Diamonds.
   6. Sweeps

Tuxedo

Tuxedo is an American Casino variant for 2 to 6 players played with a deck of 40 Rook cards. Instead of the usual four suits these have four colours: black, red, green and yellow, with numeral cards running from 1 to 10 in each colour. (In a full Rook deck the numbers run up to 14 in each colour and there is an additional wild 'bird' card, but the bird and the numbers 11-14 are not used in Tuxedo).

The mechanics of the game are the same as in American Casino (or Royal Casino). The initial deal is four cards to each player and four to the table as usual, and when players have played their cards a further four cards each are dealt, provided that there are sufficient cards remaining in the deck. When there are not enough cards to do this, the cards are dealt out evenly as far as they will go and the last remaining cards are dealt to the table. So the final deal of a hand will be 2 cards each with 2 players, 4 cards each with 3 players, 1 card each with 4 players, 3 cards each and 1 to the table with 5 players and 2 cards each with 6 players.

The scoring is different from that of normal Casino:

• Most cards: 15 points
• Each 'orange': 10 points
• Each sweep of 4 or more cards: 10 points
• Each sweep of 3 or fewer cards: 5 points
• Each Five: 5 points

An 'orange' is scored when a player captures a red and a yellow card from the table at the same time. The 'orange' must be called by the player in order to score. If the player forgets, another player can score 10 points by calling 'orange'. A false call of 'orange' incurs a 10 point penalty.

The first player to reach 100 or more points wins the game.

The collection HOYLE Card Games for Windows or Mac OS X includes a Tuxedo program adapted for a standard card deck reduced to 40 cards by removing the face cards.

Hungarian Casino (Kaszinó)

David Kirchner reports an unusual Royal Casino variant learned from his grandfather who was born in 1890 in Hungary and moved to the USA in 1945. Rules for this game can also be found in S. Ulmann's Das Buch der Familienspiele (Vienna, 1892) under the name 'Casino en deux' (Casino for two), said to be most usual in Hungary, and in the Nagy Kártyakönyv by Dr. Mihály Berend et al (Széchenyi Nyomda, Győr, 1990) under the name Kaszinó.

This is a two-person game in which only three cards are dealt to each player each turn. Four cards are dealt to the table at the start as usual. There is no building.

On his or her turn, a player may play any number of cards from hand to take any card(s) or combination(s) of cards appearing on the table such that the total of the cards played is equal to the total value of each card or combination taken. Examples:

• A Queen on the table can be taken by playing a 9 and a 3 from hand.
• A 10 and a 2 on the table can be taken by playing a 7 and a 5 from hand.
• A player holding J, Q, A could play them all together to take a 4, 7 and King from the table (11+12+1=24=4+7+13).

The played cards and the captured cards are added the the player's capture pile.

Alternatively, a player who cannot or does not wish to capture can play a single card to the table. This card remains in the layout and can be captured by either player in a future turn.

Since a player may play more than one card in a turn, it is not unusual for a player to have two or three cards in hand after the opponent has played all cards. The player with remaining cards in the hand may then play them in any order he or she chooses.

If a player captures all the cards from the table, this is a sweep, remembered as usual by keeping one of the cards face up in the player's capture pile. The player who makes the last capture takes all remaining cards from the table but this does not count as a sweep.

The scoring as usual is 3 points for most cards, 2 points for the 10 of Diamonds, and 1 point for most Spades, the 2 of Spades, each Ace and each sweep. Thus there are usually 11 points available plus any sweeps. However, if the cards are equally divided (26 each) the 3 points for cards are not awarded.

The winner is the first player to reach 11 points. This usually happens during the second player's deal. Players mentally keep track of the points they have during this second deal, and the first person to correctly announce that he or she has reached 11 points on the basis of cards captured and sweeps wins the game, even if the other player has already reached 11 unknowingly. It is possible, though rare, for the game to go to a third deal if the scores is close and the cards are equally divided in one of the deals.

The above rules are from David Kirchner. The rules in Ulmann's book are slightly different. According to Ulmann:

1. When capturing a card or cards of a given value from the table, it is possible to play more than one card or disjoint sets of cards from hand each of which add up to this value. For example a player holding J, 7, 4 could play all three cards to capture a Jack (11) from the table since J=11 and 7+4=11.
2. If the non-dealer is able to sweep the four cards initially dealt to the table, capturing them all with the first play, this sweep scores 2 points rather than 1.
3. Before dealing the dealer shuffles and offers the pack to the non-dealer to cut. When cutting the non-dealer is allowed to look at cut card - the card that will become the bottom card of the deck and will be dealt to the dealer in the final sub-deal.
4. Each deal is played to the end. If both players reach 11 or more points the player with more points wins.

Róbert Kovács reports that according to several Hungarian books, the value of a set of cards played together cannot be more than 13 points (the value of a King). So for example you can capture an Ace, 4, 8 on the table with a Jack and a 2 from hand to make 13, but you can't capture a Queen and a 3 from the table by playing a 7 and an 8 to make 15. Also the following rules from the Nagy Kártyakönyv:

• When a sweep (tábla) happens, the opponent of the player who made the sweep plays twice in a row, if he has enough cards. This makes a sweep less severe for the opponent. A player is unlikely to be able to score several sweeps in a row by capturing the cards that the opponent plays to the empty table. Instead, in Kaszinó, the opponent of a player who makes a sweep has a chance to set up and execute their own sweep, for example by playing two equal cards in succession, or at least to play two large cards to prevent the other player from sweeping again.
• Sweeps are recorded by drawing a line on the scoring slate/paper instead of keeping a card face up in the capture pile.
• Whoever made the last capture (csere) in each round plays the first card in the next round. (A round being the play of 3 cards in the players' hands.)
• The last round of each deal, when all the talon cards have been picked up, is played with exposed cards. (In theory at this point both players know what cards are left, but this rule saves them from having to remember.)
  
• A player whose score has reached 11 points can stop the game and win by saying Ausz!,Ausz vagyok! or Kint vagyok!
• A player who reaches 11 points in the first deal wins a double game (a deal being a series of rounds during which the players play through the whole pack).
• By agreement in advance, the majority of spades (pikkje van) may be score either 1 or 2 points and the majority of cards may score either 3 or 2 points.
• Sweeping the initial four cards scores 2 points rather than 1.

Cassino (US) or Casino (Europe), is a fishing card game, often said without substantiation to be of Italian origin, for two, three, four (possibly in two partnerships), or even theoretically five players. It is the only fishing game to have penetrated the English-speaking world. It is mostly played by two with a standard deck of playing cards, the object of the game being to score 21 points by fishing up cards displayed on the table. It is very similar to the later Italian game Scopa.

History[edit]

Although Cassino is often said to be of Italian origin, despite detailed research by Pratesi, there is no evidence of it ever being played in Italy and the earliest references to its Italian cousins, Scopa and Scopone, post-date those of Cassino.^[1]

In fact, as 'Casino', the game is first recorded in 1792 in England^[2] where it appears to have become something of a fashionable craze.^[1] At that stage, sweeps were not part of the rules – that came later.^[1]

One country to follow hard on English heels was Austria-Hungary where, as early as 1795 in Vienna and Prague, rules were published that incorporated English terminology such as “sweep” and “lurch.”^[3] Rules continued to be published in German until at least 1975.^[4]

However, while the game began to fade away in England, it was in America that Cassino gained its second wind in the second half of the 19th century, largely due to several interesting new variants that emerged, including what became Royal Cassino, in which court cards were given a numerical value such that they could capture two or more cards, Spade Cassino, in which players scored for the most Spades, and Diamond Cassino, in which three cards are dealt instead of four. In America, it was eventually eclipsed by Gin Rummy.^[1]

The deal[edit]

The dealer deals four cards to each player and four cards face up in the center. Traditionally, the deal is in twos: two cards at a time to each player. The remainder of the deck is temporarily put aside. After everyone has played their four cards, another hand of four cards is dealt to each player from the remaining cards (two at a time), but no more cards are dealt to the table after the first deal. After these cards have been played there is another deal, and this continues until all 52 cards have been dealt. The dealer announces 'cards' when dealing the last cards. After the last cards have been played, and the hand scored, the deal passes to the left for the next round.

The play[edit]

Beginning with the player to the dealer's left, each player plays one card at a time, performing one (or more) of the following actions:

• Trailing: Any card may be discarded face up to the table.
• Pairing: Any card may be used to take one or more cards of the same number, or a build with the same value, that is face up on the table.
• Combining: A number card may be used to take two or more cards whose pips total the number on the card being used to take them. For example, a player may take a 3 and a 6 with a 9, or may take a 2, 4, and 4 with a 10.
• Building: Cards may be built upon in one of two ways (see Building).

Players may perform two of the above actions only when pairing and combining simultaneously; e.g. a player may take a 3, a 4 and a 7 with his own seven.

Players with builds on the table are limited in the actions they are permitted to make. This is described in more detail below.

Face cards do not have a denomination in Cassino and are not available for building. The face-cards may only be paired one at a time; if there are two queens on the table, only one queen can be paired up. This removes the possibility of a so-called 'orphan' face card remaining and preventing further sweeps.

An ace has a numerical value of 1.

Cards are usually left on the table after each player's final hand is exhausted. These cards are given to the last player to take in cards through pairing or combining. It is common for the dealer, if dealt a face-card in the final hand, to hold this until the final play, as they are certain to pair with it.

Building[edit]

Under the first type of building, a player may lay one card on top of another if their total equals the total of a card in their hand, and announce that the two cards are built to the total. For example, a player may build a 2 onto a 7 and announce 'building nine,' provided they have a 9 in their hand. The two cards cannot be split up for pairing or combining and are treated as a single nine.

Builds of this type may be taken in by any player by pairing. The building player's adversaries may also take in a build by combination, increasing the capturing number; that is, an eight build may be combined with an ace if an adversary holds a nine. Any player may also continue to build on a build, for example, a seven build could be built to nine by a player with a 2 and a 9. The player who originally builds may also re-build, but only if they hold all appropriate cards: they would have to hold both a 7 and a 9 to make the required building steps.

Under the second type of building, called 'multiple building,' 'natural building', or 'double building,' a player may lay one card on top of another if their values are the same, and announce that the two cards are built together. That is, a player can place a 7 on top of another 7, or on top of a 5 and a 2 which have been built to 7, and announce 'building sevens,' provided that he has a 7 in his hand. The built cards are gathered only with another 7. As with the first build type, a player must hold the card necessary to gather his build for the natural build to be permissible. Importantly, the capturing number of a multiple build can never be changed.^[5]

An optional rule is that, when building in this manner, players may combine other cards on the table, and build in the first manner. For example, suppose the cards on the table are 2 K 6 5 8, and the player holds a 3 and an 8. They may play their 3 onto the 5 to 'build eight' and in the same move 'build eights' by gathering the 5-3, the 8, and the 6-2 together onto one pile, taking in all five cards on their next play.

Advantages gained through building[edit]

Building exists as a means of protecting cards from being captured by adversaries. The first form of building is a weaker form of protection, and primarily protects cards against combination by mid-to-high range cards. Natural building is a much stronger protection, and prevents adversaries from taking cards unless they hold a card of specific face value, one of which the builder already knows resides in their own hand.

The value of building decreases significantly as the number of players in the game increases. In a two-player game, one requires only one adversary to be bereft of the necessary cards; in a four-player game, one requires three adversaries to be lacking the necessary cards to steal a build. As such, building effectively in a two-player game can be very advantageous, but in a four-player game is very difficult.

Acting with builds on the table[edit]

At least three rule variants exist dictating the actions which may be taken by a player who has a build on the table:

• Variant 1: a player with a build on the table is not permitted to trail a card until that build has been taken in or rebuilt upon by an adversary; they may, however, pair or continue their 'build' with any card on the table.
• Variant 2: a player with a build on the table is obliged to either take in that build, by pairing or combination, or to add to that build on their next turn.
• Variant 3: A player with a build on the table cannot trail. Play must initiate from the hand. Continuing a build from only cards on the table is not allowed. You must either take in the build, duplicate it or increase it, OR defer by starting another build or assuming ownership of an opponent's build. A build 'belongs' to the last player that set its value. You may assume ownership of a build started by another by increasing it. But only if it consists of a single combination, i.e., not duplicated. You may have more than one build, but only one of any particular value, and having a build of the same value of another (an adversary's) makes no sense at all.

While Hoyle recommends variant 1, all variants are very common in different regions. The regional variant of this rule in particular should always be checked before play.

Which variant is used changes the tactics, particularly in a two-player game. Under variant 1, the builder has a profound advantage; if they know that their adversary lacks the cards necessary to steal their build, they can often take several cards trailed by their adversary before taking in their build at the end of the round. Variant 2 allows the adversary to trail a card they wish to subsequently capture without the risk of it being taken, reducing the builder's advantage.

Scoring[edit]

The round is over when the stock has been exhausted, and the last deal played. Players count their tricks and score points as follows:

• Higher number of cards: 3
• Higher number of spades: 1
• 10 of diamonds ('big cassino', 'big ten', or 'good ten'): 2
• 2 of spades: ('little cassino', 'little deuce', 'good two', or 'spy two'): 1
• Each ace: 1
• Each clearing of the board known as a 'Sweep' : 1 extra point

If 'most cards' or 'most spades' are held by two or more players, no points are awarded in that category.^[5]

Thus there are 11 points to be won in each round if there are no sweeps scored and there is not a tie for number of cards. Typically, when at least one player has reached a score of 21 or more at the end of a round, the winner is the player to score the highest after tallying points.

In one two-player variation, a player can call for a game to be concluded once they are convinced they hold sufficient cards to bring their score to 21; if they do have 21 points, they win regardless of their adversary's score; if they do not have 21 points, their adversary wins.

All 11 Points[edit]

If one player has won the entire 11 points, some rules state that this player will be awarded an extra point for 12 total points in the round. Other rules state that this is a 'skunk' if it occurs in the first round, and therefore that player wins. In other variations, taking all traditional 11 points in a single round is an automatic win, no matter when it occurs.

Three players in the game can share 11 points and one must lose with fewer points out of 11 points; this is a perfect balancing.^[vague]

Rules variants[edit]

Sweeps[edit]

A sweep is declared by a player who manages to capture all face-up cards from the table. In some localities, each sweep is worth an additional point. The opponent has no move except to trail, and a follow-on sweep may result. Points for sweeps are awarded after the base 11 points, in the event that two players reach 21 in the same round. In another variation, trailing the five of spades sweeps the table, the sweep giving one point.

Sudden-death scoring[edit]

There is a variation in which sweeps are scored as they occur; if the sweeper had 20 points (or more, due to a tie score), the sweep would end the round instantly. A scoring variation in which each point card is scored as it is captured also exists.^[5]

In a variation devised in Michigan,^{[citation needed]} a player who defaults on his duty after building gives up 2 points at the time of the violation. This is sometimes an acceptable cost to trap cards from the other player in builds the player cannot take. Sweeps also score 2 points. In a series of 'rounds to 5,' any three instant scores (sweeps or defaults) against the same player ends the round.

These sudden-death variations make short-term tactics more important in certain situations than the longer-term goal of achieving the high score for the round.

Face cards[edit]

In some regions, all four face-cards of the same rank may be gathered simultaneously. This allows natural building with face-cards, while still removing the possibility of an 'orphan' card. However, this provides no particular advantage if all four face cards are shared between one player and the table, as is necessary to build in such a manner.

Initial Pairs[edit]

Any pairs dealt to the table at the start of the round may be automatically granted to the first player to move, regardless of whether or not that player has a card to capture them. These cards cannot be built upon, but multiple pairs may constitute an automatic sweep if the table is cleared this way. This rule variation is intended to counteract the advantage of later players' ability to poach or modify builds started by the first player, by awarding extra points at the start.

Game variations[edit]

Five players[edit]

Five-player Cassino can be played by removing the deuces of hearts, diamonds and clubs, and by giving an extra card to each player on the last deal.

Royal Cassino[edit]

In Royal Cassino, face cards are given number values upon which building may occur: jacks count as 11, queens as 12, kings as 13. For example, a player could combine a jack and a two with a king, since 11+2=13, and all applicable building laws remain. An Ace is 1 or 14, the player's choice. If trailed, it is not yet determined. If not, it is fixed. There are no 'Face Cards'. Sweeps do not count. The total points is always 11. You may play to 6 or 21. Ties are possible if no one has the majority of spades, broken by another hand played for 6.

Casino Card Game Arch Woodside New York

In Buckeye Cassino, all rules of Royal Cassino are inherited. In addition, the ten of diamonds ('Big Ten') holds two values: ten and eleven, poking fun at college basketball's Big Ten Conference, which then consisted of 11 teams.

Trailing-royals Cassino[edit]

In the Trailing-royals Cassino variant, orphaned face cards are not considered a problem. Face cards may be naturally built or paired in any way, so a player may gather three of the same face card simultaneously. The remaining face card will be an orphan, because there is no card left with which to capture it. Such cards remain on the table until the end of the round, and are taken by whoever performed the final capture, as are all other cards left on the table. This method of play does not pair well with the preceding variant that rewards sweeps, because having orphaned cards on the table prevents sweeps.

Pluck Cassino[edit]

Pluck Cassino is a modern variation that follows all the rules of classic Cassino, with an optional additional play option called 'pluck'. Each player has one opportunity each time cards are dealt to 'pluck' a card from the table and add it to their pile of 'won' cards. Players still need to play a card on their turn, plucking is an additional move that they can make either before or after playing their card. The player may pluck at any time during play of that deal, with the following restrictions:

• Point cards cannot be plucked - so plucking excludes aces, big casino (10 of diamonds) and little casino (2 of spades).
• Plucking cannot be done when there is only one card left on the table, i.e. sweeping with a pluck is disallowed.
• Plucking cannot be used to get the last trick of the round (after the deal pile is exhausted).
• Players are not allowed to pluck a card they just played on the same turn.

Portuguese Cassino[edit]

The gameplay of Portuguese Cassino is the same as the Italian version^[vague], except for the following differences:

• The game is either 2 player or 4 players split in 2 teams
• The first player/ team to reach 31 points or more is declared the winner.
• Scoring: points allocation are as follows:
  • Highest number of cards: 3
  • Highest number of spades: 1
  • 10 of diamonds ('menina'): 2
  • 2 of spades: 1
  • Each ace: 1
  • Each clearing of the board known as a 'clearance' ('clareza') : 1 extra point

If both players/teams finish the round with 26 cards each, the player/team with the most spades is awarded the points for most cards.

California Cassino[edit]

California Cassino is a variation for two, three, four or six players, played with a standard deck of cards. The object is to score the most points through acquiring certain cards or by acquiring a certain number of cards.

The play[edit]

The dealer deals four cards to each player, one at a time, and, in the first deal, four cards face up to the table. This is the only point at which cards are placed on the table by the dealer. Beginning with the player to the dealer's left, each player plays one card at a time, performing one of the following actions:

• Laying: Any card need to be discarded face up to the table.
• Pairing: Any card can be used to take another card of the same rank, or build with the same value (to know what the build is, please continue reading).
• Adding: A number card need to be used to take two or more cards whose rank total the number on the card being used to take them. For example: a player needs to take a 2 and a 5 with a 7, or may take a 2, 4, and 4 with a 10.
• Building: Cards need to be placed upon one another to draw a new value on the table. The way for this way is listed below.

Face cards don't have a denomination and are not available for combining or building, though multiple face cards can be paired simultaneously. For example, if a player has a queen in their hand and two queens lie on the table, that player can acquire all three queens.

While other forms of cassino use 'sweeps,' a point for clearing the table, California Cassino prohibits points based on sweeps. Cards are usually left on the table after each player's final hand is exhausted. These cards are given to the last player to take in cards through pairing or combining.

Scoring[edit]

The round is over when the deck has been exhausted and the last deal played. Players count their cards and score points as follows:

• Higher number of cards: 3
• Higher number of spades: 1
• 10 of diamonds ('big cassino' or 'good ten'): 2
• 2 of spades: ('little cassino' or 'good two'): 1
• Each ace: 1 (4 points total for aces)

There are 11 points to be won in each round. If 'most cards' or 'most spades' are held by two or more players, no points are awarded in those respective categories. The number of rounds played is determined by the number of players present. Each player must deal twice in a complete match, so if there are 3 players, then there are 6 rounds of play. At the end of the 6 rounds - the player with the highest score is the winner.

Diamond Cassino[edit]

Diamond Cassino is a variant of Cassino which is similar to standard Cassino, but it is not played with the picture cards. It is, therefore, played with a forty-card pack. Players are dealt three cards each, and four cards are dealt to the table; these are the cards which the players aim to capture. In this game, players get points if they capture all aces, and extra points if they capture the seven of diamonds. Diamond Cassino has been described as an Italo-American version of Scopone.

Callabra[edit]

Casino Card Game Rules Hoyle

In this game, each player is dealt three cards, and five are dealt to the table. Players may trail or take cards from the table, if they have cards which match the cards on the table, or if they have two cards which add up to a card on the table and equal the table card's value. In this game, Jacks are worth eleven points, Queens are worth twelve points and Kings are worth thirteen points. Game ends when a player finally clears all the cards from the table.^[6]

Tablanette[edit]

Tablanette is said to be of Russian provenance. In this game, each player has six cards, and a player with a jack may use it to clear the whole table. At the end of a round, players score points for holding the most cards, and extra points if they are holding picturecards.^[7]

Spade Cassino[edit]

In Spade Cassino, players are awarded two points for gathering the jack of spades, and one point for each additional spade, in addition to the one point awarded to the player with the most spades. This lifts the number of points awarded in one round to 25. A game of Spade Cassino is usually played to 61.

Draw Cassino[edit]

In Draw Cassino, players draw a replacement card each time they make a play, so that they always have four cards in hand (until the end), rather than being dealt cards in discrete rounds of four.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcdPratesi 1995, pp. 6-12. sfn error: no target: CITEREFPratesi1995 (help)
2. ^Long 1792. sfn error: no target: CITEREFLong1792 (help)
3. ^_ 1795, pp. 395-406. sfn error: no target: CITEREF_1795 (help)
4. ^Grupp 1975, pp. 55-57. sfn error: no target: CITEREFGrupp1975 (help)
5. ^ ^abc'Rules of Card Games: Casino'. www.pagat.com. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
6. ^The Penguin Book of Card Games
7. ^The Penguin Book of Card Games (Penguin, 1979).

Literature[edit]

• _ (1793). The Conjuror's Magazine, Locke, London. January issue, 'Short Rules For Playing The Game Of Cassino'
• _ (1795). Der beliebte Weltmensch. Joseph Gerold, Vienna.
• Grupp, Claus D. (1975/79). Kartenspiele. Falken, Niedernhausen. ISBN3-8068-2001-5.
• Long, Robert (1792). Short Rules for Playing the Game of Casino, J Owens, London.
• Pratesi, Franco (1995). 'Casino From Nowhere to Vaguely Everywhere' in The Playing-Card, Vol. XXIV, No. 1, Jul/Aug 1995, ISSN 0305-2133.