Table of Contents

Foreword xvii

Introduction 1

Part I: Discovering Card Games 7

Chapter 1: Card Game Basics 9

Chapter 2: Solitaire 21

Chapter 3: Children’s Games 45

Part II: Getting Rid of Cards 61

Chapter 4: Rummy 63

Chapter 5: Canasta 85

Chapter 6: Eights 103

Chapter 7: Fan Tan 111

Part III: Taking Tricks 119

Chapter 8: Whist 121

Chapter 9: Oh Hell! and Other Exact Bidding Games 135

Chapter 10: Euchre 151

Chapter 11: Spades 161

Chapter 12: Contract Bridge and Mini-Bridge 177

Part IV: Scoring or Avoiding Points 187

Chapter 13: Hearts 189

Chapter 14: Pinochle 201

Chapter 15: Setback 225

Part V: Adding and Climbing 237

Chapter 16: Cribbage 239

Chapter 17: President 253

Chapter 18: Blackjack 263

Part VI: Playing Poker 279

Chapter 19: Shuffling Through Poker Basics 281

Chapter 20: Draw Poker 293

Chapter 21: Stud Poker 301

Chapter 22: Texas Hold ’Em 311

Chapter 23: Omaha 329

Part VII: The Part of Tens 343

Chapter 24: Ten Ways to Improve Your Game and Have More Fun 345

Chapter 25: Ten Places to Find More Information on Your Game 349

About the Author

Barry Rigal was born with a deck of cards in his hand. Having started with the children’s games, Whist, Rummy, and Solitaire, he moved on to Bridge at the age of 12. After graduating from Oxford University (where he captained the Bridge team), he worked in accountancy. Highlights of his work career were learning how to play Piquet and Clobyosh in the Tax Department of Thomson McLintock. After four years with Price Waterhouse, supervising the partnership’s Bridge team, he went into the world of business, working seven years in the Oil Taxation department of Conoco. During that time he began a career as a journalist and commentator on card games. Over the course of the last two decades he has written newspaper and magazine articles and six books on Bridge.