Turn Of A Friendly Card
Why Not Bourbon Rummy? Scotch Rummy? RUM Rummy!
I grew up playing Spades for a penny a point, so I wasn't too worried when Cisco Kid suggested we play Gin Rummy for money last Friday night.
1st Friday of every month is our usual poker night, but we fell afoul of people's vacation/holiday schedules, and couldn't manage to reach quorum. Rather than waste the evening watching the tube, we decided on playing some rummy for a nickel a point.
There was some debate as to what to play for per point. A penny a point seemed lame, but a dime a point could get expensive. While Cisco Kid & I have a steady paycheck, Nash Rambler is on a fixed disability income, and we didn't want to put him in a bind towards the end of the month if he lost big.
Well, when you play according to Hoyle using all the rules, even a nickel a point got pretty freakin' expensive. After just the first game up to 100 points, after calculating all the bonuses, Cisco Kid was up something like $14, and we'd only been playing for half an hour!
So, a little editing of the rules was agreed upon, and those bonuses that doubled and tripled scores were done away with, leaving a small bonus for going out via a gin hand rather than knocking, and a larger bonus if you "skunked" the other players.
It worked out well. With three players and two decks in play, we got some serious card playing accomplished. We quit about 3 a.m., with Cisco Kid's lead completely evaporated, leaving him owing each of us about $7 each.
All things being equal, I prefer spades. Gin rummy is a fun game, but there's just too much of a reliance on luck and the order the cards are dealt out. Spades has a better strategy element to it.
I grew up playing Spades for a penny a point, so I wasn't too worried when Cisco Kid suggested we play Gin Rummy for money last Friday night.
1st Friday of every month is our usual poker night, but we fell afoul of people's vacation/holiday schedules, and couldn't manage to reach quorum. Rather than waste the evening watching the tube, we decided on playing some rummy for a nickel a point.
There was some debate as to what to play for per point. A penny a point seemed lame, but a dime a point could get expensive. While Cisco Kid & I have a steady paycheck, Nash Rambler is on a fixed disability income, and we didn't want to put him in a bind towards the end of the month if he lost big.
Well, when you play according to Hoyle using all the rules, even a nickel a point got pretty freakin' expensive. After just the first game up to 100 points, after calculating all the bonuses, Cisco Kid was up something like $14, and we'd only been playing for half an hour!
So, a little editing of the rules was agreed upon, and those bonuses that doubled and tripled scores were done away with, leaving a small bonus for going out via a gin hand rather than knocking, and a larger bonus if you "skunked" the other players.
It worked out well. With three players and two decks in play, we got some serious card playing accomplished. We quit about 3 a.m., with Cisco Kid's lead completely evaporated, leaving him owing each of us about $7 each.
All things being equal, I prefer spades. Gin rummy is a fun game, but there's just too much of a reliance on luck and the order the cards are dealt out. Spades has a better strategy element to it.
posted by El Capitan | 3:28 PM
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