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MORE WHIST CARD GAMES THAT YOU CAN PLAY

In all nullo games the object of play is to avoid winning tricks, or avoid taking certain cards in tricks. Most of the games are especially easy for children to learn, because they have practically no other rules. Only in Omnibus Hearts do we find the added wrinkle that you DO want to win some cards while you DON'T want to win others.

FOUR JACKS (POLIGNAC)

Number of Players: 4, 5, or 6.

Cards: With 4 players, 32 cards—a full deck with all 2's to 7's discarded. All the cards are dealt; each player thus receives 8.

With 5 or 6 players, 30 cards—same as above, but the two black 7's also discarded. Each player receives 6 or 5 cards. The Play: Player at left of the dealer leads first. The hands are played out in tricks. There is no trump suit. Each trick is won by the highest card played of the suit led. The object is generally to avoid winning any Jack. But before the opening lead, any player may announce that he will try to win all the tricks. This is called capot. Scoring: To begin a game, equal numbers of counters are distributed to all players. Payments for Jacks and capot are made into a common pool, which is divided equally among all the players when the game ends. Whenever one player is down to his last counter, all players take equal numbers of counters from the pool. If capot is announced and made, every other player must pay 5 counters. But if the capot player fails to win all the tricks, he alone pays 5 counters. When capot is not announced, the player who takes the Jack of Spades (called Polignac) must pay 2 counters into the pool, and 1 must be paid for each of the other three Jacks.

SLOBBERHANNES

This is much the same as Four Jacks, with the difference that what you want to avoid winning are: first trick, last trick, and the Queen of clubs. Each of these costs 1 counter, and if you unluckily take all three you must pay an extra counter, 4 in all.

Related terms include go fish card game and uno card game online.