Author Archives: Nicolae Sfetcu

At its core, bridge is a game of skill played with randomly dealt cards, which makes each deal a game of chance. Despite this, chance can be largely eliminated by comparing pairs’ results in identical situations. This is achievable when … Read More

Fan-Tan, or fantan (Simplified Chinese: 番摊; Traditional Chinese: 番攤; pinyin: fāntān) is a form of gambling long played in China and among Chinese immigrants to America and other countries. History Fan-tan is no longer as popular as it once was, having been replaced by … Read More

 In poker, a made hand is one that does not need improvement to win, in contrast to a drawing hand. For example in Draw poker, if you have two pair, and your opponent is drawing for a straight or flush, you are said to have a … Read More

Trick-taking games can be traced back to the early 16th century. Whist became the dominant form, and enjoyed a loyal following for centuries. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word bridge is the English pronunciation of “biritch”, an older … Read More

Straperlo or Stra-Perlo was the brand of a fraudulent electric roulette game, promoted by Strauss and Perlowitz.In 1935 during the Second Spanish Republic, they tried to introduce the Stra-Perlo in the San Sebastián and Formentor casinos in Spain. Corruption connected with the prohibition of the game reached … Read More

 In poker, a drawing hand is a hand that is not yet “complete”; that is, one which does not yet rank highly, but which may later, depending on what cards a player receives. This contrasts with a made hand – a hand which is … Read More

Faro is a card game, a descendant of Basset. It enjoyed great popularity during the 18th century, particularly in England and France, and in the 19th Century in the United States, particularly on the American Frontier, where it was practiced by ‘faro dealers’ … Read More

After selecting their buttons, players assemble their dice. Most buttons have five dice, but some have more or fewer, and in certain cases the number of dice may change over the course of the game. The size—that is, number of … Read More

The Kelly Criterion or as it is sometimes referred to as the Kelly formula is a formula used to maximize the long-term growth rate of repeated plays of a given gamble that has positive expected value. The formula specifies the … Read More

In New Zealand, calling nicknames are not used as much as in the UK, but here are some of the more common ones. When calling, the caller will usually say both digits on their own first, and then the number … Read More

Two partnerships of two players each are needed to play bridge. The four players sit around a table with partners opposite one another. The compass directions are often used to refer to the four players, aligned with their seating pattern. … Read More

In gambling terminology a crimp is a bend that has been intentionally made on the corner(s) of a playing card to facilitate identification.A card cheat will typically bend some of the important cards during the game. Below are just several … Read More