Card Practice

    What should we play tonight?

    Two different nights. At a table you need a pick, a one-pager, and a place to keep score. Alone, open a trainer and see every card.

    4 players

    GameKit
    Euchre24-card pack (9–A), partners across, paper and a pen, first to 10.
    HeartsFull 52, everyone for themselves, lowest to 100.
    Five Hundred43-card pack plus a joker, widow, race to 500. Not a standard 52.
    SpadesFull 52, partners, paper, 500.
    CanastaTwo 52s + 4 jokers, partners, paper, 5000.
    Pinochle48-card pinochle deck (9–A doubled), partners, paper, 1000.
    Texas Hold'emChips, blinds, and a dealer button. Not hash marks on paper.

    CardPractice house

    This site's house, not a survey. Count heads, then deal.

    4 players: Euchre first. 24-card pack 9–A, partners, first to 10. Mixed or easier four: Hearts — full 52, everyone for themselves, to 100.

    3 players: Cutthroat euchre (5 each, 9-card kitty) or 3-hand 500 (33-card pack, not the 43-card partnership pack). Never fake 4-player partnership euchre for three.

    2: Cribbage or gin. 5+: Hold'em or euchre at two tables.

    Picks by how many people

    2 players

    GameKit
    CribbageTwo people and a cribbage board. Paper is a poor substitute.
    Gin RummyTwo people, paper, first to 100, knock at 10.
    Texas Hold'emChips, blinds, and a dealer button. Not hash marks on paper.

    3 players

    GameKit
    Cutthroat euchre24-card pack (9–A), 5 each, 9-card kitty, first to 10 individually. The phone keeper is Us/Them, so paper is better for cutthroat.
    3-hand HeartsPull the 2♣, 17 each, pass 4, lowest to 100.
    3-hand Five Hundred33 cards (7–A + joker), 10 each, 3-card widow, race to 500. Not the 43-card partnership pack.
    3-hand Cribbage5 cards each, 1 discard each plus the dealer adds 1 so the crib stays 4. Race to 121. Three peg colors.
    Texas Hold'emChips, blinds, and a dealer button. Not hash marks on paper.

    4 players

    GameKit
    Euchre24-card pack (9–A), partners across, paper and a pen, first to 10.
    HeartsFull 52, everyone for themselves, lowest to 100.
    Five Hundred43-card pack plus a joker, widow, race to 500. Not a standard 52.
    SpadesFull 52, partners, paper, 500.
    CanastaTwo 52s + 4 jokers, partners, paper, 5000.
    Pinochle48-card pinochle deck (9–A doubled), partners, paper, 1000.
    Texas Hold'emChips, blinds, and a dealer button. Not hash marks on paper.

    5+

    GameKit
    Euchre24-card pack (9–A), partners across, paper and a pen, first to 10.
    Texas Hold'emChips, blinds, and a dealer button. Not hash marks on paper.

    Before you deal

    What if it is just me?

    Tap Just me. Games with a trainer show Practice first, then How to play. Spades, Canasta, and Pinochle are table how-tos — no trainer yet. Open a trainer, see every card, and you'll be faster when people show up.

    What if we have three people?

    Play. Cutthroat euchre, 3-hand Five Hundred, 3-hand cribbage, 3-hand Hearts, or Hold'em are all real tables of three. Full sitting-down list: Card games for 3 players.

    What do we need besides a deck?

    Depends on the game. Euchre wants a 24-card pack (9 through ace), partners across, and paper. Hearts is a full 52. Spades is a full 52, partners across, paper, first to 500. Canasta is two 52-card decks plus 4 jokers, partners, paper, first to 5000. Pinochle is a 48-card pinochle deck (9 through ace, two of each), partners, paper, first to 1000. Five Hundred is a 43-card pack plus a joker, not a standard 52. Cribbage needs a board. Hold'em needs chips, blinds, and a dealer button.

    Can we print the rules?

    Yes for euchre, hearts, cribbage, and Hold'em. Those overview pages have a Print button. Five Hundred, gin, Spades, Canasta, and Pinochle send you to the how-to article instead of a cheat sheet.

    Where do we keep score?

    Paper and a pen still work. Hash marks for euchre. Hearts and gin race to 100. Spades is paper, race to 500. Canasta is paper, race to 5000. Pinochle is paper, race to 1000. Cribbage wants a real board. Hold'em is chips, not a scoresheet. For euchre you can also keep score on your phone.

    Which game is easiest for a mixed table?

    Hearts or gin. Hearts is four people, everyone for themselves, lowest to 100. Gin is two people, knock at 10. If the table already knows trump, euchre is the usual Midwest pick.

    Bridge is coming later. Spades, Canasta, and Pinochle are in the four-player list as kitchen-table how-tos — no trainer yet.