CASINO

also spelled Cassino, card game for two to four players, best played with two. A 52-card deck is used. In the two-handed game the dealer gives his opponent two cards, deals two face up on the table, and gives two to himself. He repeats this, giving himself, his opponent, and the table a total of four cards each. No further cards are dealt to the table. The goal is to take in cards from the table. A card from the hand may take all others of the same rank on the table; called pairing, it is the only way face (court) cards can be taken. A card the numerical value of which equals that of two cards on the table (a 10, and 6 and 4) can take in those cards; this is called combining. A 10, for example, can take any 10 face up, as well as a 6, 3, and ace (1). Cards may also be won by building; a card is played to the table to form an announced combination that can be captured by another hand card on the next turn. The opponent may take the build if he has the necessary card. When a player is unable or unwilling to take in, he places a card from his hand on the table face up: this is called trailing. After the first four cards are played, the dealer deals four more to his opponent and himself, successively, until all cards are dealt. After all the cards in the deck have been dealt, each player totals the points in his hand. The suits of the cards have no point significance, except to capture spades and two special cards: big casinothe 10 of diamondsand little casinothe 2 of spades; only the number of cards held at the exhaustion of the deck counts. Points are scored as follows: the hand having the most cards, 3; the most spades, 1; big casino, 2; little casino, 1; and each ace, 1. Game is usually 11 or 21. Three-handed Casino follows the same rules as two-handed. In partnership Casino, four play in two partnerships.