Desmoche
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Desmoche is a popular two to four player card game in Nicaragua, the country in which it originated. It is similar to games in the rummy family.
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[edit] Object of the game
The object of Desmoche is to play, in either runs or sets, exactly ten cards on the table.
[edit] The Deck
Desmoche uses a standard deck of 52 playing cards. Aces can be played high OR low.
[edit] Dealing
The game is played with 2, 3 or 4 players. Any player may start out as the dealer. Dealership then rotates from round to round in a counter-clockwise fashion. The player on the dealer's right cuts. The dealer then deals the cards face-down, counter-clockwise, starting with the player on the right and continuing until each player receives 9 cards. If the dealer deals an incorrect amount of cards to any player, he/she forfeits the hand, and his/her cards are removed from the game. Cards that are not dealt remain in the deck, which is placed in the middle of the table and used throughout the game.
[edit] Passing Cards
After the deal and before play begins, each player chooses one card from their hand and passes it face down to the player on their right.
[edit] Play
Each player always maintains nine cards in their possession (including both the cards in hand and the cards which have been played on the table), with the exception of the winner at the end of the game who will end with exactly ten cards.
The person to the right of the dealer begins play.
Each player, on their turn, draws the top card off of the deck and reviews it privately. If the player can make use of the card he/she does so; otherwise the card is placed in the discard pile
After a card has been placed on the discard pile, in may be picked up by any other player if the card immediately serves that player to make a meld.
If a player uses a card from either the deck or the discard pile, in order to maintain a count of nine cards the player must "pay" for this card by discarding a card from their own hand.
Once a player discards, play continues to that player's right, regardless of whether other player's turns seemed to have been skipped.
[edit] Melds
Melds in desmoche must contain at least three cards. They can be runs of the same suit (i.e. 8♠ 9♠ 10♠) containing three to ten cards or groups of three or four cards of identical rank (i.e 8♠ 8♥ 8♣). Once a player has played a meld on the table he/she can add to it at any time. He/she can also take a card from any of his/her melds to use in another meld, as long as all melds that remain on the table are still valid melds. There are strict rules for laying down melds. A player is disqualified if their cards aren't arranged in the correct order. Runs must be placed in ascending order (8♠ 9♠ 10♠ and not 8♠ 10♠ 9♠). Sets must be played with suit color alternating (8♠ 8♥ 8♣ not 8♠ 8♣ 8♥).
[edit] Other Rules
When a card is discarded and more than one person can make use of the card, the person closest in the counter-clockwise rotation to the player who discarded the card gets first priority. This means that, if the person on the far left of the circle wants to use the card, and, the person in the first order of the rotation wants to use it as well, the player in the first rotation gets to have that card. Often players signify in order when a card does not "serve" them by knocking on the table.
If a card placed on the discard pile can be added to a meld currently on the table, and the card is not taken by a player who is earlier in the rotation, then the card is automatically added to the meld and the player is forced to "pay" for that card. For example, if a player has the Ace, 2, and 3 of Hearts played on the table and the card being discarded is the 4 of Hearts, then the card is automatically placed on that sequence if no player earlier in the rotation claims it, and the player has to pay for that card. However, this rule is not always followed.
After the initial hands of nine cards are dealt, no other card is to enter a player's hand. All cards removed from the deck must either be moved directly to the discard pile, or directly to the table. If a player makes the mistake of bringing a card they have picked up from the deck to their hand, they forfeit that round.
Only the top card on the discard pile should be visible at anytime, and it is illegal to view the cards below.
[edit] Keeping Score - Betting
The betting in Desmoche unlike that in Poker; it takes place after the cards have been dealt, and one can bet only once. Each player can bet any amount they want; it all depends in their level of comfort with their cards on hand.
