RACEHORSE: Another name for Airplane (this page).

RAILROAD EUCHRE: Partnership Euchre with a variety of options. See Railroad Euchre, this page.

RAMS: An old-time game for three to five players, using a thirty-two-card pack in which each suit once ranked K, Q, J, A, 10, 9, 8, 7; but in modern play A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7 is customary. The dealer puts five chips in a pool and deals five cards to each player usually dealing two, then three, or vice versa. He also deals an extra hand face down, to serve as a “widow,” and turns up the top card of the pack to designate a trump suit. The player at dealer’s left may “pass,” by laying his hand face down; or he may “play,” either with the hand dealt to him or by laying it face down and taking up the “widow” instead.

The remaining players may decide to pass or play in turn, but once the widow has been taken up, no further exchange is allowed. If all pass until the player just before the dealer, that player must play or pay the dealer five chips. If only one player decides to play, the dealer must play against him; but always the dealer can discard one card and take up the turned-up trump instead.

The first player who decides to play leads any card, and the rest must follow suit if they can; if not, they must trump if they can; in either case, always playing higher, if possible. Highest card of suit led wins unless trumped. Winner of each trick leads to the next, and for each trick won the winner takes one-fifth of the pool. Any active player who fails to win a trick must contribute five chips to the next pool; and the deal moves to the left, the new dealer putting up the usual five chips.

“General Rams” may be announced by a player who thinks he can win all five tricks. Any who passed pick up their hands or exchange for the widow if available. All then play against the announcer, who collects five chips from each, plus the pool, if he wins. If he loses, he must pay five chips to each player and double the total chips in the pool. The player announcing “General Rams” leads to the first trick.

RANA: A form of Frog (this page), played in Mexico.

RANGDOODLES: Poker. See this page.

RANTER-GO-ROUND: A fast but simple game played by up to a few dozen players with a fifty-two-card pack, ranking K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A. Each is given three counters and is then dealt a single face-down card. The lowest card is a loser and each player, in turn, can say, “Stand,” keeping a card that he thinks is high enough to be safe; or he can say, “Exchange” and pass a low card face down to the player on his left, receiving that player’s face-down card in return. This continues around to the dealer; if he is dissatisfied with his card, he can replace it in the pack, drawing another instead.

Cards are then shown and player with the lowest puts a counter into a pool. The deal moves on and the game continues with a player dropping out after losing all his counters, until only one player remains in the game and wins the pool. In case two or more are tied for low, each loses a counter. Kings are immune; any player holding one turns it face up and is passed by in the play. The game may be played with minor variations and is also known as “chase the ace,” because an ace is chased around the table.

RAP POKER: See Knock Poker, this page.

RAZZLE DAZZLE: Another name for Auction Cinch. See Cinch, this page.

RED AND BLACK: A name for Trente et Quarante, this page.

RED AND BLACK: Each of several players announces a bet of “red” or “black.” Each is dealt five face-up cards, and the dealer pays off if the majority are the color named. If not, the dealer collects. With all five of one color, the amount is doubled. This game may be played as “dealer’s choice,” in Poker, this page.

RED DOG: A betting game played with a standard fifty-two-card pack, with each suit valued in descending order, A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. All players contribute a specified number of chips to a common pool, or pot, and five cards are dealt face down to each player. Upon looking at his hand, each player in turn bets from one chip up to the entire pot that his hand contains a card higher in value than the top card of the pack, and of the same suit.

The dealer turns up the next card, and if the player beats it, he takes the amount of his bet from the pot. If he loses, his bet goes into the pot. For example, a player holding K, 5, 10, 9, 4, might bet five chips. If the 7 should turn up, the player would win; but if the J should turn up, he would lose. In winning, the player shows only the card that beats the one turned up by the dealer; if he loses, he throws in his hand without showing it.

Despite its simplicity, red dog can build up to high stakes if several players in succession “bet the pot” and lose. Whenever a player wins a pot, all must contribute to a new pot, so that play can resume. Obviously, a hand with four aces is a sure winner; but some hands with very high cards can lose, particularly those that are totally lacking in one suit; for any card of that suit can beat them. A variant of red dog is played with only four cards being dealt to each player, making it more difficult to hold a winning hand. It can also be played with only three cards per player, so that a “sure win” hand is impossible.

RED OR BLACK: Another name for Plus or Minus, this page.

REVERSI: A forerunner of Hearts, this page, in which players avoided taking any tricks, not just any hearts, or else tried to take all the tricks.

RICKEY DE LAET: A form of Poker. See this page.

ROLLING STONE: Another name for Enflé, this page. Also called Schwellen.

ROODLES: Poker. See this page.

ROTHSCHILD: A form of High-Low Five-Card Stud. See Rothschild. this page. Also called Push Poker, described on this page.

ROUGE ET NOIR: A name for Trente et Quarante, this page.

ROUNCE: A modernized version of Rams, this page, with three to nine players using a fifty-two-card pack, ranking A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. Players are dealt five cards each with six to the widow. After exchanging his hand for the widow, a player discards one card. Trump is turned up as in rams and the first player may lead any card; but others are not required to play higher or to trump if out of the suit led. However, whoever wins the first trick must lead a trump to the next trick if he has one. There is no “general call” as in Rams. In all other respects, play is the same.

ROUND THE CORNER GIN: See Gin Rummy, this page.

ROUND THE CORNER RUMMY: See this page.

ROUND THE WORLD: An abbreviated form of Cincinnati, this page.

ROYAL CASSINO: Standard Cassino, this page, but with face cards given numerical values: jack, 11; queen, 12; king, 13. This allows “building” to those totals, exactly as with spot cards. As an option, an ace can be valued at either 1 or 14, thus allowing further builds or combinations. Royal cassino is also played with special packs containing cards with eleven and twelve spots. In that case, face cards are valued: jack, 13; queen, 14; king, 15; with an option of ace, 1 or 16.

ROYAL DRAW CASSINO: Royal Cassino played with a draw instead of a repeated deal. See Draw Cassino, this page.

ROYAL MARRIAGE: Another name for Betrothal Solitaire this page.

ROYAL SPADE CASSINO: A combination of Spade Cassino, this page, and Royal Cassino, this page, played with the rules of both.

ROYALTON: A form of Auction Bridge with special scoring rules. See this page.

RUBICON BEZIQUE: A modern form of Bezique played with a double pack (128 cards) and special scoring rules. See this page.

RUBICON PIQUET: The most popular form of Piquet, played on a basis of deals, rather than score. See Piquet, this page.

RUFFS AND HONORS: An early form of Whist, this page.

RUMMY: One of the most popular of all card games, rummy forms the nucleus for many others, which will be described under various heads, but knowledge of the basic game will prove helpful in understanding all. The players number from two to six, each on his own, utilizing a standard pack of fifty-two cards, valued in descending order: K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A. With two players each is dealt ten cards singly, face down; with three or four players, seven cards in clockwise order; with more players, six cards. The pack is placed face down in the center of the table, and the top card is turned up beside it to start a discard pile.

The player at the dealer’s left (or opposite him when only two are in the game) looks at his hand and draws a card from the top of the pack, or from the discard pile if he prefers. He adds this to his hand, which he arranges toward the formation of melds composed of three or four of the same value (as J–J–J–J) or sequences of three or more cards of the same suit (as 5 4 3 or Q J 10 9 8 7). He places any such groups face up in front of him, thus “laying down” a meld. Whether or not he melded, he then discards a single card face up on the discard pile, this being known as the “upcard.”

The next player then draws from the pack or takes the upcard, and lays down whatever meld he can. He is also allowed to “lay off” one or more cards on any melds made by the previous player. For example, if the first player melded a “set” composed of 9, 9, 9, the next player could add the 9 for “four nines.” Or, if the first player melded 7 6 5, the next could add 9 8 to one end and 4 3 to the other, none of these being sufficient for melds in their own right. The player then discards and the next takes his turn.

This continues player by player until one “goes out” by disposing of his last card by melding it, laying it off, or discarding it, thus becoming winner of that deal. He then collects chips or scores points for cards remaining in each opponent’s hand: 10 for each face card; 1 for each ace; others according to their numerical value. If a player holds back on his melds, so that he can dispose of all his cards at once, by going out in a single turn, he “goes rummy” and collects double from each opponent. That, of course, is a calculated risk, because if someone else goes out in the meantime, the player hoping to go rummy must pay for all the cards he holds, even though some are ready to be melded.

Occasionally, the entire pack is drawn before anyone goes out. In that case, the next player may take the final upcard, then turn the whole pile face down as a new pack and discard alongside it. Or he can ignore the final upcard by turning the pack, drawing the top card, and making a discard as with the first play.

SIMPLE VARIANTS OF RUMMY: Special rules applicable to regulation rummy will be found in the forms listed below, some being used in combination with others.

Block Rummy: In going out, a player must finish with a discard. Hence he cannot meld if down to two cards, but can only lay off. Also, if the entire pack is drawn, players can draw only from the discard, until one declines; hands are then shown, and the player with the lowest count wins the difference from each of the others. In case of a tie, winners split the profits.

Boathouse Rummy: Whenever a player takes the upcard from the discard pile, he must draw from the pack as well; but he can only make a single discard. As an optional rule, the two top cards can be drawn from the discard pile. To win, a player must “go rummy” by laying down his entire hand; no earlier melds are allowed.

Call Rummy: If a player inadvertently discards a card that he could have “laid off” on an existing meld, another player can call, “Rummy!” and lay it off himself, then make a discard from his own hand. Play then resumes in proper order. If two players call, “Rummy” simultaneously, the one closer to the discarder’s left takes precedence.

High-Low Rummy: Regular rummy but with an ace ranking high as well as low, so it can begin a sequence running A–K–Q as well as one ending 3–2–A. Each ace counts 11 points instead of only 1.

One-Meld Rummy: No one is allowed to meld until one player can announce, “Rummy” and lay down his entire hand in melds, discarding an odd card if necessary. He collects the total points represented by the cards in his own meld from each opponent.

Round the Corner Rummy: Here, an ace can be both low and high in the same meld, allowing a sequence of 2–A–K, with additions at either end. An ace counts 11 points as in High-Low Rummy.

Two-Meld Rummy: The standard game, but no one can “go rummy” by melding an entire hand. To prevent this, a player must make a preliminary meld, or lay off, holding back a final meld until his next turn, thus warning opponents that they had better meld or be caught.

Wild-Card Rummy: A player must “go rummy” by melding his entire hand, as in one-meld rummy, but deuces are “wild cards” representing any card the holder needs to fill a set or sequence. (Thus 9–9–29–9–9; or 6–2–46–5–4.) Each deuce counts 25 points and winner collects his total points from each opponent. One or two jokers can be added to the pack as additional wild cards, rating as extra deuces.

MICHIGAN RUMMY: An elaboration of rummy in which the discard pile is spread so that players can keep track of cards they want. A player may take up any card but must also take up all those above it; and he must use that card in an immediate meld, either with cards from his hand or from the pile, unless he can lay it off on a meld that somebody has already made. Cards rank in descending order: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A, with the ace counting 15 points except in a low sequence as 3–2–A, when it counts only 1. Face cards are worth 10 each, and all others are valued according to their spots.

A running score is kept of each player’s meld, and whoever first disposes of his entire hand becomes the winner. As such, he scores additional points for all cards remaining in the hands of the other players. The game proceeds deal by deal until one player’s total passes the 500 mark, when he wins the game and collects from each opponent according to the difference in their individual scores. If so agreed, settlement can be made at the end of each deal instead of playing to 500.

Polish Rummy is a name applied to a variant in which a player can pick up the entire discard pile whenever he wants to take it. In all forms, if the pack is exhausted before anyone goes rummy, the best plan is to turn it face down and continue. Otherwise, there is no winner and each player simply scores the total of his meld less whatever points are remaining in his hand.

FIVE HUNDRED RUMMY: Known also as Pinochle Rummy, this is an advanced form of Michigan rummy, involving special scoring features. Cards are valued according to the same schedule: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, A, with ace counting 15 points, except when lowest card of a sequence (as 3, 2, A) when it counts only 1. Face cards are 10 each, with other cards according to their spots.

However, no score is kept during play; instead, a player keeps his melds in front of him, and although he can lay off on another’s meld, he merely indicates that he has done so, still keeping all his cards intact. If a player “goes rummy,” play ends before the pack is exhausted. Either way, each player then adds the total of his meld and from that deducts whatever points he still has in his hand. Thus a player melding 92 points might have 61 in hand, giving him a gain of 31 points; or another might meld 46 points and still have 80 in hand, giving him a loss of 34 points.

Such gains or losses are totaled deal by deal, with play continuing until one player reaches 500 and becomes the winner, collecting from each opponent individually according to the difference in the scores. The game can be played by four players, with those seated opposite operating as partners, keeping their melds separate but combining their scores at the end of each deal, until one team reaches 500 and wins.

PERSIAN RUMMY: Originally known as “five hundred joker rummy,” this game gained a new name by getting away from the old scoring method. It incorporates these special features:

Four players participate as two teams of partners, each being dealt seven cards from a fifty-six-card pack that includes four jokers, each valued at 20 points, while the others rank: A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, with aces valued at 15 each; face cards 10; the rest according to their spots. Note that an ace is high only, not high or low, as in earlier games of this type. The jokers are not wild cards, but simply form a value of their own, enabling them to be melded in sets of three or four.

The game proceeds as in partnership five hundred rummy, with each player melding individually, but with partners adding their scores at the end of each deal. However, if a set of four is melded intact (as 8–8–8–8), it counts double, so players give preference to such melds. If a player goes rummy, ending the play for that deal, his team scores 25 points as a bonus.

The game ends after two or three deals, whichever is agreed upon, and the winning team counts the difference between its score and that of the losing team to determine the margin of victory. Otherwise, the rules of five hundred rummy prevail.

PINOCHLE RUMMY: See Five Hundred Rummy, this page.

RUSSIAN BANK: A highly popular game resembling double solitaire, this page, with two players each using a fifty-two-card pack, with each suit ranking A, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, in ascending order for building purposes only. From his shuffled pack, each player deals twelve face-down cards, placing them in a packet at his right to serve as his “stock.” From there he deals a column of four face-up cards toward the other player. He places the remainder of his cards face down at his left as his “hand.” The space between the columns is reserved for building, with aces as bases (see diagram this page).

Whoever deals the lowest face-up card plays first, as Player X, the other being Player Y. If both are tied for low, the next lowest card is the decider, and so on. If all four cards are identical in value, whoever dealt the lowest first becomes Player X, and play proceeds as follows:

If an ace is showing in the layout, Player X must place it in the center space, and follow by building others of the same suit if available. In the example given in the diagram, Player X would put the A in the center and then build the 2 and the 3 upon it. The player can then move cards from one layout pile to another, in descending sequence, alternate in color, as red on black, or black on red. This is optional but it the usual procedure.

Thus, in the example given, Player X would put the Q on the K and the J on the Q. He could not put the 5 on the 6, as they both are red and therefore do not alternate in color.

Player X next turns up the top card of his stock. If it is an ace, he must start another base, or a card of another value must be built on an existing base if possible. In the example, if the 4 turned up, X would have to build it on the 3. If unable to build, X can add a turned-up card to a layout sequence if suitable (as 10 on J), or he can fill a layout vacancy with any card that cannot be built, and can move a suitable layout card onto it, making another vacancy in the layout. He then turns up another card from the stock, treating it the same way.

In the example, there would be five gaps to fill, enabling X to turn up at least six cards on the stock, but due to builds and moves, he might continue to turn up cards on the stock almost indefinitely.

When this good thing comes to an end, Player X is still not fully frustrated. He now turns up the top card of his hand and uses it in builds or moves if possible. If this enables him to use the card that is showing on the stock, he does so, and continues turning up the stock, reverting to the hand later. When unable to use a card turned up on the hand, he lays it face up between the hand and the stock, to begin a discard pile, from which no card can be played. His turn ends there, with the top card of the stock face up, the top card of the hand face down, and a face-up card on the discard pile.

It is then Player Y’s turn to go through the same procedure, but with an added privilege. He can “feed” or “load” cards from his stock, hand, or from the layout, if available, onto Player X’s stock or discard pile, provided it is the same suit and in sequence, either up or down. As a simple example: X ends his play with the 8 showing on his stock and the Q on his discard pile. Y turns up the 7 on his stock and promptly feeds it on to X’s 8, then feeds the 6 and 5 from the layout. This not only loads X with three cards he doesn’t want; it gives Y two vacancies in the layout, which he can fill by turning up his stock. Assume that Y finishes his play by turning up the K on his hand. He could load it on the Q that X discarded and then turn up another card on his own hand.

In his turn, X can sometimes retaliate by feeding cards on to Y’s stock or discard pile. So it goes, turn after turn, and as the game progresses, a player may have a chance to “unload” from his stock. If a base should be started with the A and followed by builds of 2, 3, 4, Player X would build 5, 6, 7, 8 from his stock, thus getting rid of those surplus cards.

When a player uses up his entire stock, he simply turns up the top card of the hand instead. When he uses up his entire hand, he turns his entire discard pile face down and uses it as a new hand. This gives him an opportunity to unload any cards that were fed to his discard pile. All this is in keeping with a player’s main purpose; namely, to get rid of all his cards by building them onto bases, placing them on layout piles, or feeding them to his opponent. The player who does that becomes the winner.

Score for winning the game is 30 points, plus 2 points for each card that an opponent still is holding in his stock; and 1 point for each card still in the opponent’s hand or discard. If neither player can get rid of all his cards, the game is a draw, regardless of how far ahead one player may be.

The following procedures govern the play in Russian bank:

A player must build on a base whenever possible; first from the stock instead of from the layout, if there is a choice—as is possible if the player has just built from his hand to a base. Also, a build must be made on a base before playing onto the layout, or moving cards there, or feeding cards to the opponent.

Spaces in the layout may be filled either from the stock or by moving the uppermost card of another layout pile into the vacancy. However, all such vacancies must be filled before a card is turned up on the hand, unless the stock is exhausted. In that case, the hand serves as the stock and all vacancies must be filled before discarding from the hand.

If a player violates any of those rules or starts one play and switches to another, his opponent can call, “Stop!” and begin his own turn from there. If a player turns up two cards on his stock at the same time or turns up a card on his hand too soon, the stop rule also applies. However, modern rules allow a player to turn up the top card of his stock before playing or moving from the layout, since the card on the stock might be playable on a base and therefore take precedence.

Dedicated devotees of Russian bank are sticklers on the stop rule, demanding its enforcement on the slightest provocation, which is quite justifiable, because oversights are common to the game and should be penalized accordingly. In contrast, minor infractions can be overlooked if so agreed, but that should be determined beforehand. However, the following rules are now generally accepted:

After playing from his stock, a player may turn up the next card before making layout moves or any plays from there. This is because that next card may have some bearing on the layout moves; and if playable to a base, it will take precedence over anything involving the layout.

Although layout moves are normally optional, the opponent may demand that the player add to sequences in order to provide a space that the player may then fill from his stock; for example, by putting a lone 8 in the layout onto a 9.

An opponent may also demand that a player shift layout cards in order to free a card that is playable on a base. Suppose a base has been built up to 8, leaving a space in the layout. There is a layout sequence running 9, 8, 7, and another, 10, 9. By moving the 7 to the space, then transferring the 8 to the 9, the 9 is freed and built on the 8.

The reason the opponent is allowed to “spell out” such procedures is that, when a player is far behind, he may try to block the play in order to produce a drawn game. That is contrary to the philosophy of Russian bank, and by letting the opponent “call the shots” it can be nullified. Also, there are times when the opponent is simply calling attention to a series of moves that the player has honestly overlooked.

A card built upon a base can never be withdrawn, and a player is not allowed to take a face-up card from his opponent’s stock, though after calling, “Stop,” he can demand that it be played to a base where it should have gone. By modern rules, no card can be drawn from either discard pile. If a player wants to look back through his discard pile, he may do so, but must show those cards to his opponent if the latter wants to see them.