Top 5 Card Games For Poker Players

Top PokerRooms

9.7

Play

TrainingSites

9.5

Play

PokerSoftware

9.8

Play

Poker is undoubtedly one of the most exciting and popular card games in the world. It demands a high level of concentration, skill, and tactical knowledge. Due to the game being so engaging, many players who step away from the poker table find most other card games boring and not stimulating enough.

That said, there are a handful of card games that are sure to pique the interest of every player. If you’re a passionate poker player, these top five card games are well worth trying out!

Blackjack

Let’s start with an easy pick that serves as a great alternative for poker players who want a card game with simpler strategies and gameplay compared to standard poker rules. Alongside poker, blackjack is arguably the most popular card game in the world. It’s a superb poker replacement for poker players who want to unwind and enjoy a card game without any mind games and direct competition involved.

Even if you’ve never played the game, you probably understand the basics that will get you by at the blackjack table. In blackjack, you’re only playing against the dealer, so you don’t need to focus on any other players at the table.

The goal is to reach a total card value of 21 or as close as possible, without going over. You can decide when you want to add more cards (hit) or settle with the hand that you have (stand).

Due to its popularity, blackjack is easy to find in every casino and online gambling site. For instance, you can easily find a trusted site in Canada and play both classic online blackjack and live casino blackjack.

Rummy

Rummy is a fairly simple game that’s easy to learn. The basic gameplay involves matching cards of the same rank, suit, or sequence and creating sets and runs. Depending on the variation, the first player to “go out” or amass more points wins the round.

Like poker, Rummy involves head-to-head duels with other players. Moreover, it can also include a varying number of players, as anywhere between 2 and 6 players can participate.  

With that in mind, the element of luck plays a comparable role to the one in poker. While you can’t make a decision in regard to the cards you’re dealt, the way you use and combine them has a direct impact on your winning chances.

A game of Rummy involving skilled players can be very fast-paced and exciting. And, while the game doesn’t have an end objective, players can usually add up points and play up to a certain limit to track the results during multi-hour Rummy sessions.

Euchre

Euchre is a trick-taking game that has been around for around 200 years. It emerged in the US and quickly spread all across the world. Today, it’s most popular in New Zealand and Australia and has many fans in parts of the US. 

This card game involves a good deal of strategy and requires good communication between players on the same team. It also requires trust between two partners, so players need to keep a sharp eye and maintain concentration throughout the game.

The game uses a standard deck of cards with some cards omitted, depending on the variation. For instance, the best-known variation uses only 24 playing cards from the deck, while some other variations use either 28 or even 32 cards.

Another little-known fact about Euchre is that this game is responsible for introducing the Joker into the deck, a card that is nowadays included in many card games. The game is best played with four people, two in each team, although some variations can include more or fewer players.

Gin Rummy

Also known simply as Gin, this is a variation of rummy and is a two-player game exclusively. It was invented in the early 20th century and uses a standard 52-card deck with rules very similar to classic rummy.

Players form combinations consisting of three or more cards, receiving ten cards during the deal. The first player who includes all of their cards in a combination wins the round. While Gin doesn’t involve any mind games or bluffing like poker, it still shares tactical elements, as you need to be strategic when creating combinations.

Spades

Compared to the card games above, Spades is a relatively young game that only gained a wider international audience in the second half of the 20th century. Like poker, it uses a standard 52-card deck and can be played by two or more players.

Although Spades doesn’t have a fixed-end objective, games are usually played for up to 500 points. Players can add bonuses or suffer penalties based on how accurate they are in their bids. The beauty of Spades is that it can be played either in a partnership or in a “cutthroat” style, in which every player plays for themselves.