Poker Online PokerStars.com		Texas Holdem Play Free Online

Card games in the USA

This page is part of the National and Regional Card Games Index of the Card Games Web Site.

The international 52 card pack is in general use (French suits: spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs, with Ace King Queen Jack 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 in each suit). Most packs include one or two Jokers, which are used for some games.

Nearly all US games use this international deck, or a part of it, or several such decks mixed together. Although Contract Bridge and Poker have become international, the USA is where they were largely developed and popularised, and both games are more widespread in the USA than in other countries. The same could probably be said of Gin Rummy.

Hearts, Oh Hell! and Cribbage are popular in the USA as well as in other English speaking countries. Euchre is widely played in the Midwest and the Northeast, and was much played by American soldiers during the war in Iraq.

The gambling game Faro was fashionable in the 19th century during the gold rush but has now all but died out.

There are several games which are popular in the USA and almost unknown elsewhere, notably Pinochle, Pitch (Setback), Spades, Bid Whist and Tonk. Pegs and Jokers is American hybrid card / board game. Pishe Pasha is played predominantly in Jewish communities.

There are also many local games played in particular parts of the USA - many of these brought in and preserved by immigrants from Europe in the 19th and 20th centuries. Examples are Bourré (or Boo-Ray) in Louisiana, Pedro in Southern Louisiana, Pepper in Iowa and Ohio, Tribello in Illinois, Sheepshead and Skat in Wisconsin, Kloepper in Illinois, Minnesota Whist in Minnesota and Clabber in Indiana. Crazy Solo, played in Oregon, is a variant of Six-Bid Solo, which is probably still played in several places where there are communities of German origin.

The 48 card deck, with two each of A K Q J 10 9 in each of the four suits, is for Pinochle. Although this may look like a double deck, to Pinochle players it counts as a "single" deck. Double deck Pinochle is played with four identical copies cards of each card, omitting the 9's to give an 80 card deck.

The 54-card Tarok pack (32 suits cards and 22 trumps) is used by the Czech community around Fort Worth in Texas to play a version of Czech Taroky.

Double six dominoes (set of 28 - all combinations of numbers from 0-0 to 6-6) are used in Texas for the trick-taking games Forty-Two and Moon. The usual types of Western domino games such as Five Up are also played in the USA. It is also possible to find double 9 domino sets (0-0 to 9-9: 55 tiles), double 12 sets (0-0 to 12-12: 91 tiles) and even double 15 sets (136 tiles). The double 12 set is needed for Train.

Rook cards (four suits of 14 numbered 1 to 14 and coloured black, red, green and yellow, plus one card showing a bird) are used for the game Rook which is especially popular in Kentucky, and in the Mennonite communities of Pennsylvania and Ohio; also in parts of Canada.

The World Casino Directory includes a listing of Casinos in th USA.