Bastra

 

Bastra, the Greek deformation of the Arabic word Basra, which is also a similar game played in Egypt, Lebanon and other Middle-Eastern countries, is a popular fishing card game similar to Cassino very popular in Cyprus.

The game was probably introduced to the Cypriots through the Turks during the Ottoman occupation. There are also variations of the game played in Greece, such as Diloti and Kseri. The game has been exported by both the Cypriot and Turkish diasporas and is played in Cypriot communities in Australia, Canada, England and the United States, usually passed on by the first generation of immigrants to their children and grandchildren. Despite this, the game is virtually unknown in these countries outside of the Cypriot and Greek communities. In Turkey the game is still very popular.

The game is played with a 52 card deck and can involve two, three or four players, although the game is most interesting in the two or four player versions. In the four player version, the players can play for themselves or in two player teams. The first team or player to score 100 points is the winner.
The play

The dealer starts by dealing 1 card to each player, starting with the player on the dealer's left, until each player has 4 cards. The dealer then places 4 cards in the middle of the table, called the board. If 1 or more of the 4 cards is a jack, the dealer returns the jacks to the bottom of the deck and replaces it or them with the next cards from the top of the deck. The play begins with the player to the dealer’s left until all cards are played out. The players either collect fish cards from the board or add a card to the board if they cannot fish any cards. After the cards are exhausted, the dealer then deals each player 4 more cards from the remaining deck. The dealer, however, does not deal 4 cards onto the board as done for the opening hand. The hands are played out until there are no remaining cards to be dealt.

In the two player version, each round has six hands, in the three player version, each round has four hands, and in the four player version, each round consists of three hands.
Scoring

The scoring is as follows:

    The aces, which have a numeral value of 1, are worth 1 point each.
    The jacks are worth 1 point each.
    The two of clubs is worth 2 points.
    The ten of diamonds is worth 3 points.
    The player or team that collects the most cards in a given hand receives 3 points. In the event of a tie, each player or team receives 3 points.
    The player or team that collects all the cards in play without benefit of a jack receives 10 points, or a bastra.

Collecting cards

The object of the game is to collect total cards and cards that are worth various points. Cards are collected as follows:

    Pairing: Any card may be used to take another card or cards of the same denomination, i.e. a 7 takes a 7, a king takes a king, a 6 takes two 6s, etc.
    Combining: Multiple cards may be collected through adding the numeral value of the cards together. For example, the board shows 2, an ace, 5 and 4. A player with a 3 could take 2 and the ace 2+1=3, or a player holding a 9 could take 5 and 4 5+4=9, or a player holding a 7 could take 2, the ace and 4 2+1+4=7.
        A player may also collect combinations of the same sum. For example, if the board shows 5, 4, 2 and 7, a 9 would take all 4 cards, i.e. 5+4 and 2+7=9.
    Pairing and combining: Taking cards through pairing and combining can occur on the same play. For example, if the board showed 3 6 5 4 and 9, a 9 would take all the cards, i.e. 3+6 and 5+4=9, plus the 9 would be paired with the 9.

On the last hand, there are often uncollected cards left on the board. These cards are awarded to the last player or team to collect a card.
Jack

The jack is the most powerful card because it can collect all the cards on the board. However, if a jack is played onto an empty board, it is lost and remains in play until one of the players can collect it, usually with another jack.

 

The bastra is the most important scoring play of the game since it is worth 10 points. A bastra occurs when a player succeeds in clearing the board without benefit of a jack. For example, if the board shows just a 7 and a player collects it with another 7, that player or team receives 10 points. In another scenario, if the board shows 3 and 2 and a player collects them with a 5, that player or team also receives 10 points. In the rare event that a jack takes a solitary jack, a 50 point bastra is awarded.

 

The players place the collected cards close to their position at the table. To record bastras, the player places the bastra card face up, sticking out of the player's pile of collected cards. The dealer should be careful to place his or her collected cards away from the deck, so as to avoid confusion. Players are not allowed to look at their collected cards until the end of the hand. At the end of the hand, the players count their total cards and points.

 

The game ends when one player or team reaches 100 points. In the rare event of a tie 2 players or teams finish even beyond the 100 point mark there are various tie-breaking options, determined by the players by mutual consent. The game can be declared a draw, or an extra hand or hands can be played until the tie is broken. Or the players can extend the game to a fixed number of points 20, 30 or 50.

Poker Tournament

A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table called a "heads-up" tournament, and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables. The winner of the tournament is usually the person who wins every poker chip in the game and the others are awarded places based on the time of their elimination. To facilitate this, in most tournaments, blinds rise over the duration of the tournament. Unlike in a ring game or cash game, a player's chips in a tournament cannot be cashed out for money and serve only to determine the player's placing.

To enter a typical tournament, a player pays a fixed buy-in and at the start of play is given a certain quantity of tournament poker chips. Commercial venues may also charge a separate fee, or withhold a small portion of the buy-in, as the cost of running the event. Tournament chips have only notional value; they have no cash value, and only the tournament chips, not cash, may be used during play. Typically, the amount of each entrant's starting tournament chips is an integer multiple of the buy-in. Some tournaments offer the option of a re-buy or buy-back; this gives players the option of purchasing more chips. In some cases, re-buys are conditional for example, offered only to players low on or out of chips but in others they are available to all players called add-ons. When a player has no chips remaining and has exhausted or declined all re-buy options, if any are available he or she is eliminated from the tournament.

In most tournaments, the number of players at each table is kept even by moving players, either by switching one player or as the field shrinks taking an entire table out of play and distributing its players amongst the remaining tables. A few tournaments, called shoot-outs, do not do this; instead, the last player sometimes the last two or more players at a table moves on to a second or third round, akin to a single-elimination tournament found in other games.

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Poker Pineapple

Pineapple Poker

Pineapple is played with a standard 52-card deck. All players receive three cards dealt face down (hole cards) as their personal hand and then must immediately discard one of the three cards. The first round of betting occurs. Three cards are turned face up in the middle of the board simultaneously (flop). The second round of betting occurs. At this time players must discard one of their hole cards. One more card is dealt face up on the board (turn). A third round of betting occurs. The last card is dealt face up on the board (river card). The fourth round of betting occurs. Board cards are community cards for all players to use. A player may use any combination of five cards among the board cards and hole cards to form a poker hand. A player may choose to use all the board cards (playing the board) and no hole cards to form a poker hand. The highest five card poker hand wins the pot. In the event of a tie, the pot is split equally among the tied winning hands.