How to Play Cards

Imagine you’re in a hostel in Amsterdam or on a train trip between Prague and Vienna. There’s no better way to break the ice[1] with strangers than playing cards. Since the common language between you will be English, I guess I’d better teach you the ins-and-outs[2] of cards.

First you have to grab a standard deck[3] of 52 cards. Every deck of cards is divided into four suits: clubs, diamonds, hearts and spades[4]. Before every hand[5], or game, of cards, the dealer[6] has to shuffle[7] the cards in order to make sure they are completely mixed. Before dealing[8], the dealer might ask another player to cut[9] the deck; dividing the pile of cards into two and putting the bottom half on top. This proves that the dealer isn’t cheating[10]. The dealer should deal the cards clockwise[11]; starting with the player on his left, the dealer always deals himself last. The player on the left is usually the one who opens[12] play.

Now that you know the basics, I’ll teach you a simple game called Fan-Tan.

Players: 3 to 6 (deal out all of the cards, some players may have more than others).

Objective: Players take turns[13], throwing out[14] one card at a time. The winner is the person who runs out[15] of cards first.

Rules:

1. Starting to the left of the dealer, the first player, who can, throws out a “7” of any suit in the middle of the table.
2. The next player must throw either the next card higher (an “8”) or lower (a “6”) of the SAME suit, to build a COLUMN, or the “7” of another suit, to start a new column. If you can’t go, you pass[16]. If you can go, you HAVE TO go.
3. Continue throwing cards in numerical order, up to King (the highest) or down to Ace[17] (the lowest). Try to force the other opponents to pass, as long as possible[18].

Now, you’ll be able to meet new people and be the hit[19] of the party!

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[1] Romper el hielo, [2] saber de cabo a rabo, [3] baraja, [4] palos/colores: tréboles, diamantes, corazones y picas, [5] partida, [6] repartidor, [7] barajar, [8] repartir, [9] cortar, [10] hacer trampa, [11] en el sentido de las agujas de reloj, [12] empezar, [13] alternarse, [14] echar, [15] agotarse, [16] saltarse, [17] as, [18] mientras se puede, [19] éxito