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• Ten Penny Card Game Rules
• Penny Card Game Rules
• Ten Penny Card Game

Thirty-one or Trente et un is a gamblingcard game played by two to seven people, where players attempt to assemble a hand which totals 31. Such a goal has formed the whole or part of various games like Commerce, Cribbage, Trentuno, and Wit and Reason since the 15th century.^[1]

The game is also known as Big Tonka, Nickel Nock, Blitz, Clinker, Klinker, Scat, Cadillac in south Louisiana and Mississippi, Cad in Pennsylvania, Whammy! in central Indiana, Juble in Oklahoma and Kansas, and as Skedaddle, Snip Snap Snoop and Schnitzel in other countries. Like cribbage and many other card games. 31’s depending on the players can have the choice of runs. The traditional German version has runs where the French version does not. Scoring also consists of cards of the same suit.

• 3Common variations

Object[edit]

The object is to obtain a hand with a value total as close as possible to 31, from which the name of the game is taken.^[2] The game is usually best played with at least four players.

Details of play[edit]

Thirty-one uses a standard deck of 52 playing cards. Aces are high, counting 11, court cards count 10, and all other cards count face value. Each player gets a hand of three cards. The rest of the deck sits in the middle of the table as stock for the game, and the top card of the stock is turned over to begin the discard. Players keep track of how many games they have lost by folding the corners of a five-dollarnote. The five-dollar note is also their stake in the game. This can be substituted with other denominations or currency.

After the hands in the first round are dealt, play proceeds with each player, starting with the player to the immediate left of the dealer and going clockwise around the table, taking the top card of either the stock or the discard and subsequently discarding a card. All players are trying to collect a hand value of 31 (or the nearest to it) in the same suit. If a player has three cards of the same value from different suits, the hand is worth 30.5 points. Play continues clockwise around the table until any player knocks or obtains a blitz.

When it is a player's turn, and that player believes their hand is high enough to beat at least one of the opponents, they knock on the table in lieu of drawing and discarding. All other players, going clockwise from the player who knocked, have one more turn to draw from the stock and discard, or they have the option of keeping all three cards in their hands, known as standing. The round ends when the player to the right of the player who knocked has had a final turn. If no one knocks by the time a player exhausts the stock, the round ends in a draw. Because knocking relies on the confidence that the player will not have the lowest score, a skilled player may memorise which suits the other players are discarding. If a player discards a different suit than that which he discarded his previous turn, it can be inferred that the player is 'changing suits'. Changing suits puts a player at a distinct disadvantage because the resulting lowered score raises the risk that another player may knock.

At the end of the round, the players show their hands and total each one up, only counting cards of the same suit. For instance, if the three cards in a hand are all different suits, the highest value card would stand as that player's score. The player whose hand scored the lowest is declared the loser, and must subsequently fold a corner of his/her five dollar bill. It is important to note that in the event of a tie between two players for lowest score, both players are declared losers and each folds a corner of their five dollar bill. If there is a tie involving the knocker, the knocker pays, this is in accordance with the concept that the one betting must beat at least one player or else they pay up.

If, at any time in the round prior to someone knocking, a player acquires a hand value of 31 in the same suit, known as a blitz, they immediately show it, the round immediately ends, and all other players fold a corner of their five dollar bill.

When a player has folded all 4 corners of their bill, they continue to play on a 'free ride', also sometimes called 'on the bike' until that player loses again. At that time, they leave the game. The last player in the game wins all the five dollar bills.

There is one case where it is possible to pick up one's own discard. This happens when there are only two players left in the game and one player knocks. The card that the other player discarded just before the knock is still on top of the pile, so it is now available to take back if desired. For example, if the player had just broken up a suit for tactical reasons, he or she can now restore it.

If the knocker fails to beat anyone (has the lowest hand) he/she is charged double.

Common variations[edit]

Banking[edit]

The play is the same as the regular version of Thirty-one described above, but with the following changes. Before each round, each player has to ante one token or coin onto the centre of the table. While dealing, after each player has received one card, the dealer puts one card face down on the table to form a pile of three cards known as the 'widow'. A player may use a turn to exchange one or more cards in their hand with an equivalent number of cards in the widow, leaving the cards they put in the widow face up.

At the end of the round, the player with the highest-valued hand takes all the tokens or coins on the table. If any player acquires a blitz in their hand, they immediately show it, the round ends, all other players place one token or coin on the table, and the player who blitzed takes all of the tokens or coins on the table.

West Lansing Cut Throat[edit]

The play is the same as the regular version of Thirty-one described above, but with the following changes:

• Three tokens are purchased for the agreed upon amount of money prior to play beginning, and the last player with any tokens wins the pot.
• There is no 'free ride'. A player who knocks but does not beat at least one other player, pays two tokens. In this scenario the knocker tying for the lowest score will lose two tokens. All others with the same total as the knocker will not lose a token.
• Three cards of the same rank count as a score of 30½, however all hands ranking as 30½ are equal and considered a tie, E.g. 2,2,2 and A,A,A.

Side wagers between individual players are quite common and often encouraged. Typically the first players knocked out will often choose an active player and place a 'side bet' on which player will win or go further in the game.

Switch[edit]

The goal of the game is the same as in normal Thirty-One. The difference for this version called Switch is that instead of picking from the pile or the discard up-card, players exchange cards from two hands on the table. At the beginning of the game, the dealer is dealt two hands, and one extra hand is dealt and placed in the middle of the table face-down. The dealer looks at both hands and chooses the hand they want to play with and places the other hand face-up next to the face-down hand. Then it is the turn of the player next to the dealer.

During a turn, a player has four options:

• Pick up a certain card in one of the hands on the table and exchange it for one of the cards held in their hand (if they pick up a face-down card, their discard will be face-up).
• Swap one of the hands entirely with their own hand.
• Renew one of the hands on the table. (If they renew a hand on the table, they have the choice to place it face-up or face-down. If they choose face-up, their turn is over; if they choose face-down their turn continues.)
• 'Nock'. Nocking applies the same as it does in the normal game.

At the end of the game, the winner is decided in the same way as in the normal game of Thirty-One, although if a player has a hand of three cards of the same suit and is greater than 21, they may choose to restart the game making their hand the new face-up hand for the new game and re-dealing all hands for the other players and the face-down hand.

No-Elimination Thirty-One[edit]

This is a good version to use if you do not want to play with money or tokens. The main difference between this game and the normal Thirty-One is in the scoring. It is a good game for social groups as all players are able to play every hand (no elimination), from beginning to end.

Object of No-Elimination Thirty-One:To obtain the highest total count of cards in one suit. The highest score possible is 31, which is an ace and 2 face cards (or the 10).

Setup:Use a standard 52-card deck of playing cards. First dealer is determined by picking the highest card. Shuffle and deal three cards to each player. The remainder of the pack is placed in the center of the table, forming the stock. The top card of the stock is flipped face-up and placed next to it and is called the up-card, the top card of the discard pile.

Object of the Game:Each player is trying to obtain - as close as possible - a score of 31 (an ace and two face cards) in one suit. The value of each card is as follows:

• aces are worth eleven points
• face cards are worth ten points
• all other cards are worth their face value in points

Game Play:The player to the left of the dealer goes first. This player takes either the up-card or the top card from the stock, then discards one card face up onto the discard pile. Play then continues with the next player to the left. (A player can take a card ONLY when it is their turn. A buried card is gone from that hand.)

If and when a player obtains a score of 31 card points in one suit, this is called a blitz, and the player immediately reveals it, saying 'Blitz” or “Thirty-One,” ending the hand. All play stops, all players reveal their hands, and card points are tallied for each hand.

If no blitz has not yet been called, and a player is satisfied with their card point tally, instead of drawing and discarding, they knock once on the table. Each player after them has one additional turn to improve their hand (and perhaps get a blitz). When the turn of play returns to the player who knocked, the hand ends.

Scoring:At the end of the hand, whether by a player knocking or revealing a blitz, all players reveal their hands, and card points are tallied for each. If a hand contains three cards of different suits, the highest card is the hand’s score. If the hand contains two or three of one suit, the point values of these cards may are totaled to score the hand - whichever gives player the higher score. For instance, a king of spades (10 points) is a higher value than a 5 and 3 of hearts (8 points).

How to Score:

• Lowest score – 1 point, except Knocker gets 0 points
• Middle score(s) – 2 points, except Knocker gets only 1 point
• Highest score – 3 points, except Knocker gets 4 points
• Blitz (31) – 6 points
• Ties – All ties get highest score possible. For instance, a tally of 30, 27, 27, 27 means 30 is high, and all 27s are middle (no low score for that hand).

Stop the Bus[edit]

Stop the Bus is a game common in England that uses the hand rankings from three card brag, instead of scoring closest to 31. The hand rankings are: three of a kind (a 'prial') as the best hand, followed by a running flush, then a run, then a flush, then a pair followed by a high card. If a hand is otherwise similar then the card is ranked by high card or high pair, then by middle card or kicker, then low card. Suits are irrelevant.

Instead of drawing from a stock, the game starts with three face-up cards on the tables. On their turn, players may swap one or three cards from their hand for the table cards.

Ten Penny Card Game Rules

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^David Parlett, Oxford Dictionary of Card Games, pg. 307-308 Oxford University Press (1996) ISBN0-19-869173-4
2. ^Diagram Group The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Card Games pg. 341 Sterling (1995) ISBN0-8069-1330-4

External links[edit]

• Pagat.com, Rules of Card Games: 31 (Scat), at Pagat.com
• Blitz31Open-source game for Windows

Ten Pennies is a multi-player, multi-round Rummy-style card game involvingmoney with possible origins in Chicago. The major features different from most Rummy-style games are the limited purchasing (ten) of additional cards and the winner wins all the money used in the game. The rules and strategy are simple enough for all ages to play while still exciting and challenging for an adults only game. Playing with money is not required and anything such as chips or toothpicks may be used.

Setup[edit]

Each player prepares a stack of ten pennies and places it on the table in front of them. These ten pennies must be kept separated from any other money on the table. This stack of ten pennies is referred to as their 'buy' stack of pennies. The players then have an additional amount of money in front of them on the table consisting of all pennies, or any combination of pennies, nickels, dimes or quarters. This additional amount of money, while usually around two dollars, can be added to at any time and needs only be enough to complete the game. This additional money is used to pay for cards 'caught' in a player's hand at the end of each round.

A small bowl is needed to collect all pennies and money used in the game. A scorepad is also needed to keep track of penalty points accumulated by each player during the game.

The deck[edit]

Ten Pennies is played with multiple 54-card decks of playing cards (standard 52-card decks plus jokers). Typically, the game is played with one deck for every two players (i.e. 8 players use 4 decks). If there are an odd number of players, it is better to round up (i.e. 7 players use 4 decks). Deuces (2s), Aces and Jokers are wild depending on the round being played.

Dealing and cutting[edit]

Dealership rotates clockwise from round to round. Other people can help shuffle the cards if there are too many for one person to do it adequately. The dealer of the first round is determined by every player drawing a card from the deck. Highest card deals with Jokers being the highest card. If two or more people match the highest card, those people will continue drawing until a dealer is chosen. The dealer deals eleven cards to each player. After all the players' hands have been dealt, another card (the upcard) is placed face-up in a central location known as the discard pile or buy pile. The remainder of the pack is placed face-down and is called the deck or down pile.

Play[edit]

The person to the left of the dealer plays first. This player has the option of picking up the face-up card in the discard pile. If the player does not want the face-up card, the player indicates this by announcing to the other people that he/she does not want the At this point, the person immediately to the left of the player has the option to 'buy' the card. If this person chooses to buy the card, they must use one of their ten pennies from their buy stack and put the penny into the money bowl. After picking up the face-up card, the buyer must also pick up two more cards from the deck.

The buyer cannot lay down any cards picked up until it is their turn. If the first person to the left of the player does not want to buy the face-up card, they must verbally declare to the other people that they don't want the card whereby the option goes to the next person to the left. The option goes around the table until either a person buys the card or nobody wants it. If the card is bought, or if the option expires, play resumes with the player. Note: Once a card in the discard pile has been passed over by all players, it cannot then be picked up by the player whose turn it is nor purchased in the future. The player then picks up the top card from the deck. Upon picking up either the discard card or the top card of the pile, the player attempts to satisfy the first down requirements of the round.

First-down requirements of each round[edit]

A 'set' is a group of cards of the same value (i.e. all 8s) or a combination of same valued cards and wild cards as defined by the round. A set may consist of all wild cards or combinations of the same wild cards and other wild cards as long as the requirements of the round are satisfied.

If a player whose turn it is has the first-down requirement set of the round, the player has the option of laying down the first requirement set or passing. The player may not lay down any cards until it is their turn and they have first laid down the first-down requirement set. After that, the player has the option of continuing to lay down cards in sets of three or more using no more than one wild card per set of three, although three wild cards or two wild cards and a different wild card may be laid down. Once the player has laid down sets of cards, the player has the option of laying down an unlimited number of wild cards on any set thereby exhausting all wild cards in their hand if they so choose.

The player can also lay down any card that can play in any other player's sets. If all cards in the player's hand can either be played or played leaving one discard card, the player then has 'gone out' and wins the round. If, however, the player reaches a point where no other cards can be laid down, the player discards one card face up on the discard pile and the turn passes to the next player to the left.

Scoring of the round and paying penalties[edit]

Once a player goes out, the remaining players add up points of cards they were caught with in their hands. The card values are as follows:

The number of points each player was stuck with is tallied on the scorepad. In addition, each player counts the number of cards in their hand and puts a penny into the money bowl for each card in their hand.

Strategy[edit]

Strategy centers on the purchasing of cards using the ten pennies. Purchasing of cards islimited so the timing and reason for purchase must be carefully considered. The reasons for purchasing a card may be:

1. The face-up card may help satisfy the first down requirement of a round or subsequent laying down of additional cards.
2. The face-up card may not help but it is hoped the two additional cards drawn might.
3. The card is bought to prevent others at the table from getting it or the two extra cards.

Penny Card Game Rules

There are several different strategies concerning timing of purchases:

1. The averaging method is to make one purchase per round and make an extra purchase in the last two rounds. This method can fail if opportunities are missed and you get stuck with many high-point cards.
2. The go-out-early method uses all purchases in the early rounds to build up a large lead and then high point cards are sloughed in the later rounds. This method fails if a large enough lead is not built up early.
3. The hold-out method makes few purchases in the early rounds, when it is easier to go out, and saves the purchases to the last few rounds when it is more difficult to make the first down requirements. This method fails if early opportunities are missed and you have too many points going into the final rounds.

Successful strategy balances both timing and reasons for purchase.

Winning[edit]

At the completion of the seventh round, all scores are tallied and the player with the lowest score wins the game and all the money in the money bowl.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• a simplified version of the game from Seriousmoms.com^{[permanent dead link]}

Ten Penny Card Game