A Humorous Look at the Basic Mechanics of Card Games

Not all card games are created equal, but they are mostly all begun by the same mechanics, strategies and guidelines. In this article we will outline many of those commonalities in a rather tongue-in-cheek way, perhaps shedding some light on the rules that are not included in starting many games because it is assumed that everyone already knows them. Keep in mind that these are general statements and there will be many exceptions to them.

Beginning with the arrangement of players is usually how a card game starts. All the players sit around a flat surface where the game will be played; this is most often a table. Keeping strategic positioning in mind, the players face inward at an even distance so that other player's cards can not be seen, but their faces can be.

Next we have the actual pieces used to play the game. These are most often paper or plastic rectangles of exactly the same size. The cards come in packs or decks that can be used to play that particular card game. The backs of each card indistinguishable, but the faces of the cards are as individual as the players, with the common exception of decks or packs with duplicates for specific games. The "standard" deck of cards consists of 52 pieces featuring Kings, Queens, Jacks, Aces and numbers 2 through 10. These pieces are sorted in four groups, spades, clubs, heart and diamonds.

Dealing the cards is done by a chosen person who, after shuffling, passes cards to the other players one at a time until the appropriate number of cards has been dealt for that game. It is assumed that the dealing is done in a clockwise direction for games played in North America, North and West Europe and Russia. After the cards have been dealt, the game begins. Follow the rules of the game you are playing and go from there!