Herman Lasichin
Navy: Assistant Quartermaster
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Loyal's quick guide to playing at cards
not necessarily winning
Written by Edward Loyal, Frimary 12, 1766
You must have been invited to sit at a poker table at a party in the insanely rich area, or you want to join your office colleagues in their daily games of ruff, or maybe you want to try seducing vixens by challenging them to a lap of naughty kits. If you're one of the few beasts of bully harbor who has never played at cards before, this guide will teach you enough to let you join in and not be left out of the fun.
There are many different kinds of cards throughout the imperium, but nearly all games played in bully harbor are played with the same kind. All cards are the same size, look the same when looking at the back, and are meant to either lie on the table or to be held in the paw so that only the beast holding them can see what they are. It's the responsibility of each beast playing to make sure that nobody else can see their cards, and those with sloppy paws will either find themselves chased out of their seat, or lose every gilder they brought to the table.
Each card has a number and a suit. The numbers go ace (1), deuce (2), trey (3), and so on up to dix (10). In addition, above numbers there are 3 ranks with pictures on them: the knight (oft called the kit), queen or lady, and king or lord. Each card has a suit, represented by a suit symbol or multiple of one symbol arranged in a grid in case of the number cards. The suits are hearts, gilders, bats and daggers. There's a card of each rank and each suit, meaning that there are 4 cards of each number, 13 cards of each suit, and in total there are 52 cards in one deck.
Every beast who plays somewhat frequently is expected to know how to shuffle and deal. A friendly beast at the table might be willing to help you the first time or two, but if you fail at these basic tasks often you would be likely accused of cheating, which shouldn't be taken lightly. To shuffle the deck, split the deck in half, and then push the two halves together so that the cards interleave. Repeat this a few times, at least 3 times and not more than 5 or 6, and once you're done hand the deck to the beast to your right, who will split the deck, pulling out a portion of the deck out of the middle and placing it on top. Some cardsbeast circles depart from these customs, but the vast majority of them see them as unserious speculators and assume that their proponents have mischievous motives. The deal differs heavily between games, but there isn't much more to it than giving each player the same number of cards, usually giving one in turn. All cards should be given face down, in strict order from left to right, with you getting the cards last. Don't pick up the cards before you get them all!
What I wrote so far is almost all that the many different games at cards have in common. Every game has its own rules, that are followed as often as they are broken. It's a good habbit to get into when sitting down to play with strangers to agree on the rules of play, to avoid uncomfortable arguments later on, especially for a game such as poker or conquian where nearly every circle has their own rules and where the stakes can get very high. There has been much interest in an authoritative source for rules at games of cards, which is a worthy but not an easy project. I am certainly thinking of publishing an article on the rules of poker, since it has become a ubiquitous passtime of the harbor. Until then, here are general things all cardsbeasts, especially the new ones, should keep in mind.
not necessarily winning
Written by Edward Loyal, Frimary 12, 1766
You must have been invited to sit at a poker table at a party in the insanely rich area, or you want to join your office colleagues in their daily games of ruff, or maybe you want to try seducing vixens by challenging them to a lap of naughty kits. If you're one of the few beasts of bully harbor who has never played at cards before, this guide will teach you enough to let you join in and not be left out of the fun.
There are many different kinds of cards throughout the imperium, but nearly all games played in bully harbor are played with the same kind. All cards are the same size, look the same when looking at the back, and are meant to either lie on the table or to be held in the paw so that only the beast holding them can see what they are. It's the responsibility of each beast playing to make sure that nobody else can see their cards, and those with sloppy paws will either find themselves chased out of their seat, or lose every gilder they brought to the table.
Each card has a number and a suit. The numbers go ace (1), deuce (2), trey (3), and so on up to dix (10). In addition, above numbers there are 3 ranks with pictures on them: the knight (oft called the kit), queen or lady, and king or lord. Each card has a suit, represented by a suit symbol or multiple of one symbol arranged in a grid in case of the number cards. The suits are hearts, gilders, bats and daggers. There's a card of each rank and each suit, meaning that there are 4 cards of each number, 13 cards of each suit, and in total there are 52 cards in one deck.
Every beast who plays somewhat frequently is expected to know how to shuffle and deal. A friendly beast at the table might be willing to help you the first time or two, but if you fail at these basic tasks often you would be likely accused of cheating, which shouldn't be taken lightly. To shuffle the deck, split the deck in half, and then push the two halves together so that the cards interleave. Repeat this a few times, at least 3 times and not more than 5 or 6, and once you're done hand the deck to the beast to your right, who will split the deck, pulling out a portion of the deck out of the middle and placing it on top. Some cardsbeast circles depart from these customs, but the vast majority of them see them as unserious speculators and assume that their proponents have mischievous motives. The deal differs heavily between games, but there isn't much more to it than giving each player the same number of cards, usually giving one in turn. All cards should be given face down, in strict order from left to right, with you getting the cards last. Don't pick up the cards before you get them all!
What I wrote so far is almost all that the many different games at cards have in common. Every game has its own rules, that are followed as often as they are broken. It's a good habbit to get into when sitting down to play with strangers to agree on the rules of play, to avoid uncomfortable arguments later on, especially for a game such as poker or conquian where nearly every circle has their own rules and where the stakes can get very high. There has been much interest in an authoritative source for rules at games of cards, which is a worthy but not an easy project. I am certainly thinking of publishing an article on the rules of poker, since it has become a ubiquitous passtime of the harbor. Until then, here are general things all cardsbeasts, especially the new ones, should keep in mind.
- Only bad players need good luck.
- It's fair to assume that you win because of your good skill, and lose because of unfortunate fate.
- Every hand's a winner, and every hand's a loser.
- Playing for stakes, especially big ones, is only for the bright, composed, persistant and roothless.
- If you think somebeast is cheating, the only good move is not to play and to spread the word. The bad rumors will catch up to them.
- Don't say out loud what cards you have, or anything that others don't know. It doesn't ever help you, and in honorable games such as rough you will ruin the enjoyment of more attentive and experienced beasts.
- Don't even think of saying out loud a lie about the cards you have! Beasts bring swords to poker games just to strike anyone who goes for this cowardous move, along with many other reasons.
- And oh, the most important thing, make sure to have a weapon close by, if you need to defend yourself during games played for gilders.
