Do you like to play Rummy? You might also be interested in...

Rummy, by Tactic Games UK. Based upon the classic card game of Rummy, this game improves mathematical skills, memory and vigilance. This game is challenging for all ages, good for problem solving skills and logical thinking. Players place tiles on the table either as groups of the same value or runs of consecutive tiles of the same suit. The first player to empty his tile rack wins. The game is easy to learn and it is challenging enough even for experienced and skilled players.

Rummikub Game by Hasbro. Rummikub is the numbers strategy game that's never the same! Derived from the Rummy card game, Rummikub is a fast-paced game of tile manipulation that challenges each player's wit against the other. One of the world's most compulsive family games, like all the best, it's easy to learn and a challenge to master! Ages: 8 & Up. This game  is educational, helps with lateral thinking and really keeps you on your toes. I would recommend this game to everyone aged 8 and upwards

Gin Rummy: How to Play and Win by Sam Fry. This book was originally written in 1960. Sam Fry wrote a series of articles on the game of Gin Rummy, that were later bound together in what is now the book titled "Gin Rummy, How to Play and Win". The book is presented in the form of 20 separate articles. Each of them adresses a particular topic, so you can skip around if you like to find the information that you want right away. It's not the kind of book that you need to read from beginning to end for fear of becoming lost. And, since all of the information was originally in article form, the ideas are presented quickly. There might be times when you wished that he would go on and offer more examples, but you are never left thinking that I had somehow missed his point. Instead of filling an extra 40 pages about his life and times as a Gin player, the author focuses on the game and how it can be played. That extra attention to the gameplay makes me perfectly happy that it is a quick read. It's much less intimidating than many poker books that play heavily on math and highly specific situations. Recommended.

How to play Bridge

Bridge is an extremely popular card game that's played every day all over the world and of course millions of people play Bridge online. It's played with a standard deck of 52 cards and it is a partnership game in which two sets of players battle against each other. It's fair to say that Bridge is more complicated than other card games, in fact this puts many people off playing it. However, master the basics, learn how to play and you will join the millions of people who love to play Bridge.

The formal name for the game is Contract Bridge, but the shortened name "Bridge" is the most common name used today. Bridge was developed from the 17th Century card game Whist. The earliest recorded form of Bridge originated in 1886 when rules were introduced allowing the dealer to choose a trump and his or her partner's hand to become dummy. Bridge became Auction Bridge in the early 1900's, which allowed the trump suit to be decided by the highest bidding partnership. Harold Vanderbilt transformed Auction Bridge into Contract Bridge in the 1920's,when he introduced an improved method of scoring

So, are you baffled, or bemused by Bridge? Don't have a clue how to play? Well, first watch this great video made by omgbridge (1 minute 51 seconds) to get a sense of what Bridge is all about and then we'll take it step by step...




Ok, now let's follow some step by step instructions on how to play Bridge;

Step 1) A few basics.

• You need four players to play Bridge.  Players are assigned the positions of North, East, South & West. It's conventional in Bridge to use the four points of the compass to refer to the 4 players around the table.
• Remember that bridge is a partnership game. You always sit opposite your partner in Bridge.
  
• Use a standard 52 deck pack of cards.
• One player should deal the entire pack out to all players (13 cards each).
• In Bridge the suits are ranked in the following order: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs. We'll discuss why later..
  
• Ace is always high in Bridge.
• There are two main aspects to a game of Bridge. The Bidding and the Play.
  

Step 2) Tricks
The main object in Bridge is to win tricks. If you've ever played Hearts, Whist or Spades then you will already have some idea what a trick is. A trick is four cards, one played in turn from each player. So, in Bridge each time the cards have been dealt there are 13 tricks to be won. The intial card played in a trick is known as the "lead".

• If you are the lead, you can play any card from your hand
• Following the lead, the other three players must (if possible) play the same suit as the lead.
• For example, if the lead was a Diamond, you must play a Diamond, but you can play any Diamond you want to.
• If you cannot follow suit, you can choose any card to play from your hand, but that card cannot win the trick.
  
• After four cards have been played, the trick is complete. The card that wins the trick is the highest card played in the suit that was led.
• Bidding determines who leads first. The player who wins each subsequent trick leads the next trick.