Tweet
So I'm in OBX this week, on vacation with the family. Unlike past years, relatives aren't swinging by to vacay with us, so we've rented a condo instead of a house. Dad & Mom are staying two weeks, me and Sis are visiting for a week out of that.
As usual on these vacations, we'll take along some games to play, and one of our traditional games is Tripoley. But we play according to our own set of rules, rather than follow the mishmash of poker/gin rummy/whatever rules the game officially uses. We ante up into nine trays-- the Pot, the Kitty, and trays labeled 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace (of Hearts), Queen & King (of Hearts), and 8-9-10 All One Suit.
- Cards are dealt into one hand for each player, plus one extra hand.
- The dealer is allowed to look at their hand, then opt to swap it for the extra hand. But they are then stuck with the extra hand.
- If the dealer opts to stay with their initial hand, they announce it is 'up for sale.' Any player who doesn't like their hand may then bid for it. Likewise, if they take the extra hand, they're stuck with it.
- Play begins with the 2 of Clubs. In the event the 2 of Clubs is "buried" (i.e., in the unused hand), play starts with the next available card in the Clubs suit.
- Once the first card is played, the following card in the suit is played by whomever has it. This continues until a "buried" card is hit. The last person to play then selects the lowest card in an opposite colored suit that they have.
- If someone plays one of the tray cards (10, J, Q, K, A of Hearts) they may claim the money therein.
- If a player hits a "buried" card, but does not have any cards left in the opposing colored suits, play passes to the left.
- When a player plays their last card, they've won the hand. They claim the Pot. If they are also the dealer, they claim the Kitty as well. All losing players pay the winner one coin for each card they have left.
- In the event that play stops due to "buried" cards, but no one has any cards that can be played, all players pay one coin for each card they have left into the Pot.
Because it's possible that one won't get to play the Heart cards on a round, and it's not as common for someone to get both the Queen and King of Hearts-- and even LESS common for someone to get 8-9-10 all in one suit, sometimes those trays can accumulate for a while.
In past years, we've played with chips, or pennies-- but only for fun. All winnings just stayed in the game box until the following year.
This year, Mom decided we'd play for keeps, and traded $40 in for nickels. Everyone got $10 and we sat down to play tonight.
It was especially frustrating because I'll rarely buy the extra hand or swap for it if I'm dealing. Sis was cleaning up, winning multiple rounds, and if she wasn't winning, Mom usually was. Dad and I were getting grumpy about it, and there was a brief period when Mom (dealing that round) said she might sell the extra hand to Dad, but "only if you offer more than a nickel." Dad and I both protested that, and Katie (being naturally argumentative-- it's why she became a lawyer) backed up Mom in saying that she (Mom) didn't have to sell if if she didn't want to, and so on until I got fed up and yelled that we should just play the round already.
Well, we still had some fun, even if Dad and I both ended up losing more than Mom or Sis. When Dad got tired, Mom decided we'd play two more rounds. "First round winner gets the 8-9-10" (which hadn't been claimed all night) "second round winner gets the King & Queen tray." Dad sat back down for that one.
It's a good thing he did. He didn't win the round, but he DID get dealt the 8, 9, and 10 of Hearts, which we promptly told him he could take. Mom ended up winning the final round, and we all took our winnings with us.
We may end up playing again on Sunday night, but Sis may have left by then.
As usual on these vacations, we'll take along some games to play, and one of our traditional games is Tripoley. But we play according to our own set of rules, rather than follow the mishmash of poker/gin rummy/whatever rules the game officially uses. We ante up into nine trays-- the Pot, the Kitty, and trays labeled 10, Jack, Queen, King, Ace (of Hearts), Queen & King (of Hearts), and 8-9-10 All One Suit.
- Cards are dealt into one hand for each player, plus one extra hand.
- The dealer is allowed to look at their hand, then opt to swap it for the extra hand. But they are then stuck with the extra hand.
- If the dealer opts to stay with their initial hand, they announce it is 'up for sale.' Any player who doesn't like their hand may then bid for it. Likewise, if they take the extra hand, they're stuck with it.
- Play begins with the 2 of Clubs. In the event the 2 of Clubs is "buried" (i.e., in the unused hand), play starts with the next available card in the Clubs suit.
- Once the first card is played, the following card in the suit is played by whomever has it. This continues until a "buried" card is hit. The last person to play then selects the lowest card in an opposite colored suit that they have.
- If someone plays one of the tray cards (10, J, Q, K, A of Hearts) they may claim the money therein.
- If a player hits a "buried" card, but does not have any cards left in the opposing colored suits, play passes to the left.
- When a player plays their last card, they've won the hand. They claim the Pot. If they are also the dealer, they claim the Kitty as well. All losing players pay the winner one coin for each card they have left.
- In the event that play stops due to "buried" cards, but no one has any cards that can be played, all players pay one coin for each card they have left into the Pot.
Because it's possible that one won't get to play the Heart cards on a round, and it's not as common for someone to get both the Queen and King of Hearts-- and even LESS common for someone to get 8-9-10 all in one suit, sometimes those trays can accumulate for a while.
In past years, we've played with chips, or pennies-- but only for fun. All winnings just stayed in the game box until the following year.
This year, Mom decided we'd play for keeps, and traded $40 in for nickels. Everyone got $10 and we sat down to play tonight.
It was especially frustrating because I'll rarely buy the extra hand or swap for it if I'm dealing. Sis was cleaning up, winning multiple rounds, and if she wasn't winning, Mom usually was. Dad and I were getting grumpy about it, and there was a brief period when Mom (dealing that round) said she might sell the extra hand to Dad, but "only if you offer more than a nickel." Dad and I both protested that, and Katie (being naturally argumentative-- it's why she became a lawyer) backed up Mom in saying that she (Mom) didn't have to sell if if she didn't want to, and so on until I got fed up and yelled that we should just play the round already.
Well, we still had some fun, even if Dad and I both ended up losing more than Mom or Sis. When Dad got tired, Mom decided we'd play two more rounds. "First round winner gets the 8-9-10" (which hadn't been claimed all night) "second round winner gets the King & Queen tray." Dad sat back down for that one.
It's a good thing he did. He didn't win the round, but he DID get dealt the 8, 9, and 10 of Hearts, which we promptly told him he could take. Mom ended up winning the final round, and we all took our winnings with us.
We may end up playing again on Sunday night, but Sis may have left by then.