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Snap is a fast, easy and fun card game for kids of all ages that is similar to skipjack.

Requirements

Space: Low

Level: Easy

Cards: Snap is played using a standard deck of 52 playing cards

Number of players: Two or more players

Layout

The cards are shuffled and the entire deck is evenly dealt out to players face down. Players do not look at their cards in this game.

Play

The person to the left of the dealer will begin by taking the first card off of the top of their pile and turning it face up. Each player is forming a pile of face up cards next to their face down pile.  The game play goes clockwise or the player to the dealer’s left will do the same and so on.

When a player turns up the same number of card as another player’s face up cards (two 3’s or two Jacks for example), the first player to shout snap will win both piles and place the extra cards on top of their own. You only win the piles that has been turned up.

If two players call Snap at the same time, the two piles are placed in the middle of the table and will go to the player who wins the next Snap.

The game is played with each player flipping over their cards until someone runs out of cards. When a player runs out of cards they are out of the game.

If a player calls Snap by mistake, which is when there are not two matching cards visible on the face up piles, that player’s cards are put in the middle of the table.  The next person who calls Snap correctly also wins the cards in the middle.

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Go Fish is a classic and simple card game for kids.  While the concept of the game is simple, there are many rules and variations of the game.

Requirements

Space: Low

Level: Easy

Cards: Standard 52 card deck

Players: Best for 3-6 players, but 2 can play

Layout

The dealer deals 5 cards to each player or 7 cards for 2 players. The remaining cards are placed face down to form a stock.

Play

The object is to collect books.  A book is a set of four cards of the same number, by asking other players for cards they might have. Whoever collects most books wins.

The player to dealer’s left starts. A turn consists of asking a specific player for a specific card. For example, a player might ask another player if they have any 2’s. The player who asks must already hold at least one cards that are being requested, so the asking players will need to have a 2 in order to ask in this example. If the player who was asked has a card that matches what is being requested (a 2 in this example),  they must give all of the cards that match to the player who asked for them.  If a player is able to get cards from another player, they get another turn and may again ask any player for a card.

If the person asked does not have any cards being requested, they say “Go fish!”.  The asker must then draw the top card of the undealt stock. If the card picked is what they asked for the card is shown and they get another turn. If the drawn card is not the card being asked for, the person asking keeps it, but the turn now passes.

As soon as a player collects a book of 4 cards of the same rank, this must be shown and discarded face down. The game continues until either someone has no cards left in their hand or the stock pile is depleted.

The winner of Go Fish! is the player who has the most books.

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31 is an extremely simple draw and discard card game for kids, it does require some strategy to win. The object of the game is to reach 31 before the other players.

Requirements

Space: Low

Level: Easy

Cards: Standard deck of 52 cards

Players: Up to nine

Layout

Each player receives three cards from the dealer, who then places the remainder of the deck in the middle of the table.  The top card is turned face up and is placed next to the deck and is the beginning of the discard pile.

All players will also begin with three chips, pennies or random game pieces. These are called “lives” and when a life is lost or forfeited the pieces are placed into the “kitty” in the middle of the table.

Play

The player to the left of the dealer chooses a card from either the deck or discard pile and then discards one card on the discard pile.  It is not allowed to take the top card of the discard pile and then return it in the same turn, however a card can be taken from the deck and then placed in the discard pile.   Players must always have three cards in their hand when their turn is completed.

Card Values

• Ace = 11 points
• King, queen and jack = 10 points
• 10 through 2 = face value

Cards are only able to be added if they are in the same suit.  For example if you have a hand with a Queen of hearts, an 8 of hearts and a four of diamonds, only the Queen and 8 would be counted for a total of 18.  If a player has three different suits, the highest card prevails.

The hand winds down to a close once one player “knocks” rather than drawing a card. A player will knock when that player believes their hand value is at least as high as their opponents after one more turn.  Knocking will end a players turn and they cannot draw.  The other players get one more turn to improve their own hands, and then everyone reveals their cards.

A player can also declare 31 at any point in the game and must show their cards immediately to claim victory. This can happen in the final play after another player has knocked as well.

To add up the scores, players select the suit they want to use for their hand. The player with the lowest hand value loses a “life”. Should a knocker lose the hand by having a score lower than another player, they forfeit two “lives”. Should a tie occur between the knocker and another player, the non-knocker loses a “life”. Should the tie be between other players, all lose a “life”. When a player declares 31, all the remaining players must forfeit a “life”.

Once a player has lost all three lives they are eliminated.

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Crazy Eights is a fun and easy card game for kids to play with two or more people and is similar to Uno.  There are several variations on this game due to actions of certain cards.

Requirements

Space: Low

Level: Easy

Cards: A standard deck of 52 playing cards

Layout

Initially,  each player is dealt five cards face down. Once done, place the remaining cards in the center of the table and turn over the top card so it’s facing up.

Play

The object of the game is to get rid of all of your cards first before your opponents.

The person to the left of the dealer (or the youngest) begins play and can discard any card in their hand, provided that the card matches the suit or the number of the card in the stockpile.  For example: if there is a 3 of diamonds  showing, the next player must have a 3 card or a diamond card.  The only other card that can be played is an 8 as it is wild (or crazy as the name suggests).

If a player discards an eight, that player gets to pick the next suit, or keep it the same.

Each player will take their turn discarding cards.

If a player does not have a card that matches the suit or number of the card that is currently face up, that player has to pick up from the pile and misses a turn.   Some variations have players continue picking cards from the discard pile until they can play.

Variations

Some people will play with cards having various actions.

If a 2 card is played, the player to their immediate left is required to pick up two cards from the stockpile.

If an Ace is played the direction reverses ex. from clockwise to counter clockwise.

If a Queen of spades is played, the player to their immediate left picks up five cards from the stockpile and misses a turn.

Video Tutorial

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All a player is required to do is to keep track of a running total which indicates whether the rest of the shoe is favourable, by a rather straightforward method which is accessible to a person of normal intelligence. The running total, also known as the “count,” indicates to the player when to amplify his bets when the deck is in his favour or decrease them when it is in favour of the house.

Is This Cheating?

The art of counting cards it is discouraged by casinos, which have achieved in showing the practice in a negative light to the point that many players believe that it is against the law. Where it is acceptable for casinos to do so, they will happily eject a player who counts cards. This is all a marketing campaign by the casinos to dissuade players from making the smart bet.

Cheating, by definition, is an interference which offsets the odds. A cheater may plot with the dealer, modify equipment, and use sleight of hand to increase his wager or swap his cards after the deal. The card counter, on the other hand, simply watches occurrences which are visible to any other player at the table under normal circumstances. When the ordinary course of events happens to turn in his favour, he simply makes the best of it.

This does not infringe on the rules of the game or alter the situation at all, any more than a sports punter who reflects on the past performances of a team prior to placing a wager for or against them.

Card counting does not guarantee a victory. Even in circumstances where the deck appears to favour the player by a large amount, the order and value of the cards continue to be random. Irrespective of the “weight” of the deck, the cards fall as they may. There is a greater likelihood of winning in some situations, and the card counter will increase his wager consequently nevertheless the possibility of losing is always there.

For these reasons, casinos have failed in their efforts to lobby for legislation against card counters. The practice continues to be completely legal. In places where a casino is allowed to refuse service to anyone, card counters are keenly pursued, ousted, and banned from the premises. To put it simply, the house does not want to serve a punter who stands a good, or even chance of winning.

How Card Counting Works

A popular saying is “chance has no memory”. This saying is often used to deter players from taking an interest in the previous outcomes since history offers no advantage. In the majority cases, this is true.

For example, a coin could land on heads five times in a row; this does not mean that the next toss is more likely to be tails; this is due to the fact that each toss is an independent random event. There will still be a still 50/50 possibility of heads or tails on the sixth toss. The same holds true for most casino games.

However, blackjack is an exception to this rule since the outcome, is random, but not totally independent. Once card has been dealt, it cannot be dealt again, its nonexistence from the remaining deck affects the probability of the outcomes of future hands (until the cards are shuffled).

If all four kings come out of a single deck in the initial hand dealt, it completely guarantees that no others will be dealt until the deck is shuffled. If two kings came out in the initial deal, it doesn’t ensure the kings will not come out as players hit their hands, but it does make it 50% less likely. This is what card counting is based around.

Numerous mathematical models have been run to determine the exact effect which removing an individual card has on the deck. Their results are shown to the right. As a general rule, the removal of low cards favours the player, while the removal of high cards favours the dealer. It’s also vital to keep in mind that this is the effect per deck. In a six-deck game, six fives are needed to be dealt before the remaining deck is altered by 0.64% in the player’s favour.

At a glance, the concentration of high cards in the deck doesn’t seem to matter, as they are just as likely to be dealt to the dealer. However, consider these factors:

1. A player is paid a 50% bonus when a blackjack is dealt, and loses only the original wager if the dealer receives blackjack.
2. A player is permitted to double down on a low or soft hand, and usually does best when dealt a high card.
3. A player may surrender any hand that they don’t feel will win, releasing half his original wager.
4. The player may stand at any time, while the dealer must hit to 17 or bust. A bust is more probable when there are more high-value cards in the deck.

The Rewards of Counting

As with any other player, a card counter will not walk away with a large amount of winnings every time. Simply due to the fact that the order of the cards is forever random, and because there is an equal chance of a decent hand being dealt to either side of the table when the count is high.

Basic strategy by itself lowers the house’s edge to around half a percent, and after a shuffle, the card counter has no advantage. From here, the balance moves to the player by about half a percent times the count (the “true count,” which is explained later).

On average, a player who combines basic strategy with card counting will have a 1% advantage over the house over the course of each shoe, meaning he will lose a little less and win a little more than a player who just uses basic strategy.

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