Liquor in the front Poker in the back

Growing up, I’d watch my parents and the neighbors play Swedish Rummy (aka Crazy Eights) at the cottage all summer. Each would have their own canister of coins to keep track of their winnings for the season.

Nowadays… it’s mostly Cribbage and its variations (solitaire, leaster, Canadian) as well as Up and Down the River and Sevens.

When visiting the in laws in Nebraska, it’s 10-point Pitch.

We recently played Wooden Horse Races on a game night … and will likely be a fixture in future gatherings. A lot of fun with 6 or more people and the chips/$$$ shift quickly.

 

Also Crib Wars is great if you like cribbage and have have plenty of time to work with. It’s cribbage meets Chutes and Ladders meets Sorry!

 

My dad had a version of this t-shirt in the '70s. I loved that shirt. I still might have it somewhere.

 

One of my favorite memories is of going swimming at my buddy’s house at other end of the court and after sandwiches we would play Spades with his mom (yeah she was smoking’). (Spades is similar to bridge).

When my boys were young, we played Hold ‘Em with my dad at family dinners too. Great life skill to pass along to future generations

 

Played a lot of poker in my early 20s. In person, casinos, online, etc. I'd say I came out slightly ahead over the years. Haven't played in a while, tho.

 

My mom’s family plays way too much euchre. Whenever we get together in a bigger group, every few years, they’ll play. I learn enough to be functional for a couple hands, but then I don’t play for four years and I lose any memory of it.

 

I like spades, but I like hearts even more.
Shooting the moon, sabotaging your opponents ... great fun.

 

At 8 years old, I became one of the only people in recorded history younger than 80 to play and enjoy pinochle.

 

Spades was a big game in college. I felt like I was a natural at it. It seemed pretty easy to pick up and I had a good sense of how to steal some books with low cards, to quickly clean out a suit in your hand, and when to dump bad cards. I never did more than dabble for fun, though. Never played for money.

 

Rook is a huge deal in Appalachia/the upper South. I was in my 30s before I was finally allowed to play with my mom’s family though. Had to learn it at high school, along with spades and hearts. When I got to college we added bridge to the mix.

Played some poker in college but I usually lost money. When I really felt like setting fire to my wallet we would play bourre, a five-card trick-taking game from Cajun country. Insane fun, but even playing for quarters you can run up a deep tab before you know it. That was the game that nearly got Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton into a pistol duel.

 

Lots of continental rummy which we called May I?

 

My father-in-law was a casino dealer on the weekends to make extra money while teaching and coaching. He’s teaching my 3-year old, who is really good with numbers, how to play cards. He knows all the suits and numbers and face cards and will have him move the cards on the IPad my fil uses to teach him.

My mom grew up in the Mennonite church. I am extraordinarily bad at cards.

The incongruity of my son being a card shark is already hilarious to me.