Archive for the ‘games’ Category

A Story of Card Counting Distraction

Card counting, while not illegal, can get your thrown out of a casino. But it is quite useful when it comes to blackjack strategy. But to pull it off well you have to practice it, and even then you have to be careful when counting cards at the blackjack table so that the dealer or pit personnel are not tipped off as to what you are doing. Typically this means keeping the spread of your wagering small, and perhaps now and then throwing in a variance in your wagering, such as betting less when you should bet more or vice versa. The point is that you would be using it as a distraction. But I heard of another distraction that was used to cover up card counting. I heard the story of man who was playing blackjack in Vegas and counting cards. So was the other guy who was at the table with him. Naturally since they were both counting and they were the only ones at the table, they were keeping their spreads small. But then a pretty woman stumbled up to the table who appeared to know the other guy. What then ensued was the other player giving her some of his chips and inviting her to play with them. But she was a terrible and sloppy player; even if she had not been drinking it was doubtful that she would have done well. The other player helped the woman with her blackjack playing as best he could. Then the dealer, taking pity, started to give her tips and try to help. Finally pit personnel wound up trying to give her pointers to help her. While all of this was going on the other guy and the guy who told this story had increased the spread of their wagering. As a result the other man wound up cashing out for $30,000. This is a case of distraction at the blackjack table. The dealer and pit personnel were too focused on helping the tipsy woman with her poor blackjack playing that they did not notice the two men increasing their spreads and making more off of their card counting. While many blackjack players will resort to some sort of distraction to keep casino staff from picking up that they are counting cards, I had not heard of such an elaborate distraction. And while some distractions work at the blackjack table, they are not meant to replace skill and practice in card counting.

Awesome Magic Card Tricks

We all love to see magic and the way the magician perform. This is an art form that has been prevalent since time immemorial. Magical tricks are enthralling, interesting, humorous and amusing and we love it due to these reasons. Magic card tricks are an important part of any magical show. The main reason why card tricks have retained their importance is due to the fact that they increase the interaction between the performer and the viewers. In spite of magical shows, they even form a fun thing to be done while with friends, on a small party and practicing a few of them can sure increase your social skills. If you want to be a good magic card tricks performer, it is initially required to train yourself as it is not an easy task. You have to perform the trick with ease and fast paced so that you are able to hold the attention of the audience. Breaking the flow of the performance can lead to your trick getting caught. Practicing in front of a mirror can help you in this regard. Make sure that you never go in front of an audience without being perfect in dealing with the cards. Finally before you make it before a big audience, try it out in real before a group of friends or relatives who can help you in good critics that can help you improve before the real performance. The simplest of them is Picking the Card. You first ask a person to pick a card from the deck. Let him place it on the top of the deck. The trick here is to move the hand behind your back and keep the top card to face you. Now when you show the audience, they will be seeing the back of the deck and you can see the chosen card. Flip it back and shuffle the card. Now you can show easy pick his chosen card from the deck. There are so many different kinds of magic card tricks known popularly by their names such as, “Four jacks”, “It’s all Aces”, “Three Friends” etc. “It’s all Aces” is a simple trick and to begin with you have to put all the four aces on top of the deck. Ask a volunteer to divide the deck into two stacks. Ask him to divide each stack into two again. Now you have four piles of cards and one of them has all four aces on top. Make sure that you note that stack. Pick a pile other than the one containing the aces and smash top three cards to the bottom. Do the same with the other piles. Put one aces on the top of each pile and once done, you can show to the audience that all four piles have aces on top. From both these examples you might be feeling that it is very easy. But it requires immense practice and keen concentration to perform the trick without getting caught by the audience.

Home Card Games

Home card games are simple ways to keep your kids entertained. Are you a parent who believes that kids today are too dependent on electronics for entertainment for their own good? There are many alternative options for entertainment, particularly if you can get your kids to play home card games. A pack of cards is inexpensive to buy and very easy to carry around. The added advantage is that card games encourage kids to play together rather than by themselves which is what video games tend to cause them to do. There are quite a few home card games that you could teach your children in order to keep them busy during long trips or while waiting at the doctors. You will hear a lot fewer complaints from the kids as long as they are kept entertained and mentally stimulated playing these games. In fact, you too will have quite a good time playing these games and will be able to spend quality time with your kids this way. One of the most popular home card games for kids is Snap. It can be played by 4-6 kids although all that it needs are two people. The cards are first dealt to the players who have to keep them in a pile face down. They take turns to place the cards in individual piles face up. When two matching cards are piled up in succession, the first lucky player to call “Snap” gets both face-up stacks. These cards are then added to the players pile right at the bottom of the existing cards. The game is won by the person who can collect all the cards. Kids also love playing another immensely popular home card game called I Doubt It. This game requires between three and six kids, all of whom should be dealt an equal number of cards. The first person to play should put one card face down in the middle, whilst stating its rank. This need not necessarily be the truth. The next player has the option of passing or placing another card face down, saying that it is the same card while it might not be true. If any person challenges this statement by saying, “I doubt it!” then the card ought to be turned over. If the player’s statement was a lie then he has to pick up up the cards. If the player’s statement is the truth then the challenger gets to pick up the cards. The winner is the first player to be left with no cards. There are many more games such as Go Fish, Spoons, pokerstars rakeback Old Maid and many more. Children simply love playing home card games once they get the hang of playing these games. They are relatively easy to play and generally involve a great deal of fun and excitement. Another good reason to encourage kids to play home card games is that they help develop number skills in addition to helping them interact with other kids. Amazingly, all that it requires is an investment in an ordinary pack of cards!

Bridge Offers Players Gratification and Satisfaction

Contract Bridge is a card game created in the early 1920s. It was made popular in the United States by Ely Culbertson decades after it was invented. There are several different variations of the game but each requires multiple players to be successful. Rubber Bridge is a basic form of Contract Bridge which is played by four players. It is informal although players can earn money by playing this type of cards in clubs. Duplicate Bridge is played in clubs, tournaments, and matches. It requires at least eight players and requires a great amount of skill. The same deals are replayed by different sets of players. Chicago is a version of Bridge played by four people over four deals. How Do People Play Bridge? Bridge is played with a deck of 52 cards minus the jokers. It requires four people sitting at a square table. Those who sit across from each other form a partnership. There are four suits that include clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades. Each suit has 13 cards. In Bridge, the deuce is the lowest card in the suit and the ace is the highest. A dealer is selected after he or she has drawn a card. This individual distributes the cards face down in a clockwise rotation. Each player receives a hand of 13 cards. After the play of each deal is completed, a player gets the opportunity to deal. The motion is clockwise so that everyone gets his or her chance to be the dealer. The goal is for each partnership to win or take as many tricks as possible. A trick consists of four cards, one from each player in turn. Who Plays Bridge? Due to its elite status, a number of prominent people play Bridge. It isn’t unusual to see business, government, and entertainment figures sitting at tables at tournaments and matches. Some famous Bridge players include Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Helen Sobel Smith. Bridge Clubs and Tournaments Bridge clubs exist all around the world. Tournaments showcasing the talents of some of the best known players occur often. An example of one was the The American Contract Bridge League’s North American Bridge Championships. The event will return to Seattle where the last time it took place was in 1993. Tournament play for the fall North American Bridge Championships (NABC) will be at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center. The event will take place November 24 through December 4, 2011

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The game of French tarot

The game of French tarot is definitely one of the oldest card games in the world but its origins remain obscure. Indeed, it is not a traditional card game because of the figures, symbols and characters appearing on the cards, like the High Priestess, the Empress, the devil or the fool . This iconography that makes all the particularity of this game is from the Tarot de Marseille which is the ancestor of all the European tarot games, whose origins date back to the 17th century around the year 1672 with the creation of the first tarot deck in the city that bears his name. Some believe it was introduced by travelers from other countries such as China, India or Egypt. They also say it is related to a myth dating back to Pharaonic times, when 22 prints were sent by the messenger of the gods to men, or that Moses passed his knowledge to his people by an alphabet of 22 letters during the flight of the Jews from Egypt. Some still linger on the alchemical aspect of the Tarot. In other words, the origins of Tarot are somewhat blurred and all these visions do not contribute to make this game less mysterious. Indeed, these representations are the result of an unknown past and history. Some people dedicate their time and life to the study of tarot cards, loaded with meaning and historical value, religious or esoteric. Note that you will not find this game in a casino! The rules of French tarot are as follows. From the perspective of the game as it is played nowadays, it is totally different from ancient tarot. Here’s a quick overview of the rules of the game. The deck has 78 cards, consisting of 22 trumps with a special card called the excuse. The other 56 cards are standard cards plus four riders. It is directly below the top lady and the valet. The ascending order of the cards is as follows: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Knight, Queen, King. For the trumps, it is: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. Some cards have a special role.’ This is the case of 21 (the highest card of the game), from 1 (lowest asset called ‘Little”) and no asset number (the excuse). Officially, French tarot is played with four players but it can be played with 3 or 5 players with slightly different rules. In the case of a game with four players, each player is alone against the other 3, called defense. The policyholder must meet a number of points defined by the number of pieces he has. The goal of defense is to prevent it. 3 oudlers require 36 points, 41 points for 2 oudlers, a oudler and 51 points, or 56 points and no oudler. The total of the cards is 91 points. All players start with the same number of cards. The beginning starts to the left of the dealer, who is the player who shots the lowest card. The play is clockwise. We must play the color of the first card played. Otherwise the player is forced to cut or to play a trump, and if someone has already cut, it must then to overcut if possible. If neither of these situations is possible, then we discard that card. If the first card played is a trump, it must be followed and provide strength while riding, that is to say playing a top card. Once the round ends, the player who wins that hand is that showed the highest trump orthe highest card in the suit. And he won points for his team or himself if he is sold. The rules are quite simple but long to learn because there are many cards. French tarot is generally practiced in some tournaments such as the World Cup for mind games, the Grand Prix de Vesoul or in cruise ships tournaments. These tournaments are approved by the French Federation of Tarot. These games are often held during festivals or celebrations. This shows that French tarot is a game as developed as other card games, even if the size of the money is much less than in games like poker or blackjack. It is played more on the Internet nowadays, but remains little known internationally because of its lack of recognition abroad. There is a very long way before it gets as popular as the titan poker bonus or similar card games. There is a ranking among players, as well as recognized promoting national championships. Despite this, the money stays in the tournament and this is an undeniable source of motivation for the players. We must therefore bear in mind that this game is a card game, and there is are ways to bet money on it. It will be good to remember that some players have lost everything in the tarot. So be careful. You can also combine game and esoteric interest in the meaning of the cards. They are the symbol of a past rich in history and legend. Also psychics operate tarot fortune-telling with the same type of deck, this aspect is the most mysterious of these cards. That’s why this game is attractive to players, who secretly believe there is a link between them and their luck.

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