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Fascinating FACTS about games that have been enjoyed by generations, like Poker and more.
Poker is a card game played in various forms throughout the world. Its popularity is greatest in the English-speaking countries and after the 1850's it was called "the national card game of the United States." Because Queen Victoria found the principle of the game interesting, poker had a brief vogue in British court circles in the 1870's, but its acceptance in Great Britain and on the continent came chiefly in the decade 1911-20 and was undoubtedly much influenced by the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I
In one respect poker is rather a family of games than a single game. It is played in countless variants and at least 150 are named and described in the literature of the game. All forms of poker, however, share certain essential features: A poker hand comprises of five cards. The value of the hand is in inverse proportion to its mathematical frequency; that is, the more unusual the combination of cards, the higher the hand ranks. Each player may bet that he has the best hand, and other players must either "call," meet his bet, or concede. Therefore a player may "bluff" by betting he has the best hand when in fact be does not, and he may win by bluffing if players holding superior hands will not call his bet.
General Principles of Poker The following principles apply to nearly all forms of poker: Players - There are forms of poker suitable to any number of players from 2 to 14, but in most forms the ideal number is 6, 7, or 8 players.
Cards - Poker is almost always played with the standard 52-card deck, the cards in each of the four suits (?, ?,?, ?) ranking A (high),K,Q,J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A (low only in the straight or straight flush 5-4-3-2-A).
Wild Cards - A wild card stands for any other card its holder wishes to name. There are many methods of introducing wild cards into the game. The most popular are: (1) Joker; a 53/54 card deck is used, including the joker(s) as a wild card. (2) Bug; the same 53/54-card deck that includes the joker(s) is used, but the joker (here called the bug) counts only as a fifth ace or to fill a flush, straight, or special hand. (3) Deuces wild pots; all four deuces are wild cards. (4) One-eyes; in the usual British or U.S. pack, the ?K, ?J and?J are the only cards shown in profile. They are often designated as wild cards.
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Bingo Notes: Bingo is a game of chance often played simultaneously by hundreds and even thousounds of people, and has, during its periodic crazes, been one of the most popular forms of low-priced gambling in the world. Be a Bingo Super Star.
To play bingo, which is a form of lottery, each player purchases one or more cards divided into numbered and black squares. Random numbers, usually up to 75 or 90, are called out (in England they are called out often in a vocabulary peculiar to the game - for example, "legs eleven" for 11; "two fat ladies" for 88). The first player to achieve a card, a line, or specified design with all of his numbers called, shouts "bingo!" and collects the entire stake of money, usually less a specified percentage, if that is permitted by local law.
The variations of and even the names for the game are numerous. The earliest name of lotto (or loto), a children's game, was first recorded in 1778. The original American form, called keno, kino, or po-keno, dates from the early 19th century.
The only form of gambling permitted in the British armed services, the game is called in the Royal Navy tombola (1880) and in the Army, house (1900) or housy-housy. Other U.S. names are beano, lucky, radio, and fortune. At the height of its popularity there when depressed business conditions turned people from higher-priced forms of recreation in the 1930's, a variant played in motion-picture theatres was called screeno, with one night in the week designated "bank night" when patrons received free screeno cards with their admission ticket; prizes amounted to hundreds of dollars in cash or merchandise.
The universality of the appeal of bingo is remarkable. It has been played enthusiastically in Japan and has even been introduced at the casino in Monte Carlo. In Great Britain the game received its greatest impetus when the Betting and Gaming Act of 1960 permitted the formation of a large number of commercial bingo clubs. Within a few years it achieved a popularity equaling or exceeding that which it had formerly enjoyed in the United States.
