Card Game Terms, Hands, Ranks and Definitions
About Runs, Straights, Groups, Melds, Sequences, Tricks and Trumps
Sep 19, 2009
When players understand the basics of playing cards and the terminology used in the rules of game play, they will feel more comfortable exploring and learning new games that they otherwise might not have known. There are many books and articles that a player can use to learn new card games and knowing terms and definitions can help give them the confidence they may need to try new games.
Rules of Hands, Ranks and Card Playing Definitions
Many games use the terms"meld" or "lay down" or "table". These terms mean to lay a combination of cards down on the table, usually in front of the player that played them. The type of combination that is put down depends on the rules of the game being played. Many games look for melds that include "Pairs", "Triples", "Sets" or "Groups", "Sequences", "Runs" and "Straights".
A pair consists of two cards of the same value such as two fives. A triple, set or group consists of three cards of the same value. In some game rules these can be groups of more than three, however it will always be cards of the same value.
In the rules of Poker, a straight is a sequence of five cards in numerical order such as 9, 10, J, Q, K that do not necessarily need to be of the same suit. In almost all other card games a sequence, run or straight is a sequence of four or more cards in numerical order that are of the same suit.
When a player has used all of the cards in his hand or has fulfilled all of the obligations of the game he is playing, he can "go out". Going out usually involves discarding the last card in a hand or fulfilling the needed cards to meld as completely as the game requires. In some games the player is required to have a discard. This simply means that he must have a card that he is not able to play, to lay on the discard pile when going out. In many games, as with most Rummy games, if the card he lays down is able to be played, he must wait another turn to go out. This can vary according to the rules of the specific game.
Trick-Taking Card Games
"Trick-taking" games are games that are centered around a series of hands in which each player plays one or more cards and one player wins by playing the highest or most valuable card for that round. Very often "trump" cards are used in these types of games. Trumps are usually a chosen suit which is deemed to be more valuable than the other suits for the purpose of a particular game. For instance in the game "Spades", the trump is always spades and any spade card that is played is of a higher value than any other suit played.
Card game rules change and adapt over time when being passed down from generation to generation and family to family. Sometimes rules are made up to specifically remedy a problem that occurs during game play. These rule variations are considered "House Rules". Card playing etiquette states that when a person hosting a party has changed the rules to a game, he should let all new players know these rule changes and all players should abide by them. "My house, my rules" applies in this instance. Usually these rules have been adapted and voted on by previous players and have been determined to be the best rules for the circumstances or at least the most fun, in their opinion.
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