• Thirty-one is a simple card game also known as Scat and Blitz. You can play 31 with two to 10 players and a standard deck of cards. The game is simple enough for younger children and requires both skill and luck as players try to balance getting a good hand and catching others with.
• The Draw card was the four of hearts, for a total of 24 points in hearts. With 24 total points, my Ante paid even money, and the play bet paid 2 to 1. The Natural 31 Bonus is paid based on my original three cards, which totaled 20 points, which pays 1 to 1. Demo Game Click the game image in the example above to enjoy 31 Classic for yourself.
• Play online Thirty one at GamePoint! Create a username for free and play Thirty one!

• 31 Card Game Cool Math
• 31 Card Game Rules - LearnPlayWin
• 31 Card Game Three Of A Kind

This page is based on information from Alexandros Kouridakis and Martin Heath.

Several games in the company’s portfolio are based on the popular family style card game “31” (also known as Scat, Blitz, Tonk 31, Knock and a number of other names). 31 is a different style of card game. The object of the game is to combine the point values of up to 3 suited cards, to get a hand as close to 31 points as possible. Mar 29, 2019 Thirty One is a fun points-based card game that you can play with a friend or a big group of people. The goal of the game is simple: try to get a high score so you can hold onto your tokens and be the last player standing.

Introduction

Thirty-one is a classic hand comparison card game played in Greece. Although it involves betting, it is never encountered in casinos or formal gaming environments, but is played as a home game, particularly on special occasions such as New Year’s Eve parties. It is suitable for a largish group of up to around 8 people, and the basic aim is to collect cards with a total value as near as possible to 31 without exceeding that number.

The players do not compete with each other but only with the dealer, who acts as a banker, paying the players with winning hands and collecting the bets of the losers. However in 31, unlike most casino banking games (such as Blackjack for example), the same player does not keep dealing throughout the game. When the dealer is 'bust', having a hand worth more than 31 points, the right to deal passes on to the next player.

Players and Equipment

The minimum number of players is 2, but the game works well for larger groups of up to 8 players or more. Deal and play are anticlockwise.

31 is played with a standard international 52-card pack without jokers. With a larger group of players, more decks may be added. It is recommended to use two decks if there are more than 5 players.

Before beginning, the players should agree whether they will be playing for real money or for tokens (play money). They should also agree the minimum and maximum bet allowed per deal. The currency (real or not) may be represented by any agreed means. It is convenient to use poker chips, but in casual games other types of token such as nuts may be used. Very often the game is played with actual money, and the players bet using bank notes and coins.

Card Values and Objective

The cards have numerical values. Cards from 2 to 10 are worth their face value, Jacks, Queens and Kings are worth 10, and Aces count as 1 or 11 at the player's choice. However, a player who has more than one Ace must count at least one of them as 11. So for example A-K-7 can count as 18 or 28, but A-A-9-3 must count as 24 and not as 14.

A hand counts as the total value of its cards with one exception: a two-card hand consisting of a pair of Twos is worth 14 (instead of 4). This rule does not apply if the Twos are accompanied by other cards - for example 9-8-2-2 is worth 21, not 31.

• The best hand is one with a value of exactly 31 points.
• Second best is a hand of 14 points.
• Below that come hands with 30 or fewer points, the more points the better.
• A hand with more than 31 points is worthless (bust).

The effect of the special rule that a pair of Twos without other cards counts 14 is that whatever card a player is dealt first, there is always a chance that their second card will make 14, which is the second strongest hand, for example A+3, 2+2, 3+A, 4+10, 5+9, 6+8, 7+7 and so on.

Deal and Play

The initial dealer is chosen by any convenient method. This player shuffles the deck before dealing the first hand.

To begin, the dealer deals one card face-up in front of each of the other players in anticlockwise order, beginning with the player to dealer's right and ending with the player to dealer's left. Each player then places a bet on their card, which can be any amount between the agreed minimum and maximum.

Next, the dealer draws cards from the top of the deck, without showing them to the other players, aiming to make a winning total without going over 31. The dealer can choose to 'stand' (stop drawing cards) at any point when satisfied with the total. There are four possible results of this process:

1. The dealer draws a card that makes the total more than 31. The dealer is 'bust' and must stop drawing cards. All the dealer's cards are exposed, and the dealer pays each of the other players an amount equal to their bet. This ends the deal.
2. The dealer stands with a total of exactly 31. All the dealer's cards are exposed, and the dealer collects all the bets placed by the players. This ends the deal.
3. The dealer stands with a total of exactly 14. All the dealer's cards are exposed, and each player in turn has a chance to try to beat the dealer's total.
4. The dealer stand with a total of less than 31, but not 14. The dealer chooses any one card to keep concealed and must expose all their other cards. Each player in turn has a chance to try to beat the dealer's total.

In cases 3 and 4, each of the other players now has a turn, beginning with the player to dealer's right. At your turn, you call for cards to be dealt face up one at a time by the dealer and added to your hand. You may do this as many times as you wish, until either your total exceeds 31 or you decide to 'stand' and take no more cards. Then it is the next player's turn. In case 3, where the dealer has 14, you will go on until either you win with 31 or you bust. In case 4 the dealer has one face-down card so the dealer's total is unknown, and you have to judge how close to 31 to go before standing rather than risking a bust with the next card.

If a player's total exceeds 31 the dealer immediately collects their bet. If as player stands with exactly 31 the dealer pays them the amount that they bet. In all other cases, the settlement must wait until all players have had their turns. Then the dealer's concealed card is exposed. The dealer pays each player who has a better hand than the dealer an amount equal to their bet, and collects the bets of all players whose hand is equal to the dealer's hand or worse.

All used cards are added to the bottom of the deck, without shuffling. Cards belonging to players who had more than 31 points are placed on the bottom of the deck as soon as they go bust; all other used cards are gathered up and added after all the bets have been settled.

If the dealer was not bust, the same player deals the next hand. If the dealer was bust and has dealt at least two hands in succession, the turn to deal passes to the dealer's right-hand neighbour. However, a player who becomes the dealer always has the opportunity to deal at least two hands, even if they are bust on their first deal.

End of the Game

It should be agreed at the start of the session whether to allow players to 'buy in' during the game - buying more chips or introducing extra money into the game. If buying in is allowed, the game continues until the players agree to stop playing.

Alternatively the players may agree to play for table stakes, in which case players can only bet using the money or tokens that was on the table at the start of the session and anyone who runs out of money is eliminated from the game. In this case the game can continue until one player has collected all the money on the table. It can of course finish earlier if the players agree. In this version, if the dealer is running short of money/chips, then the total amount bet by the other players cannot exceed the amount the dealer has in front of them. This may prevent some players later in the turn order from betting at all.

Variations

Some play that the deck is shuffled only before the first deal. After this cards are dealt from the top and used cards are placed on the bottom of the deck without shuffling between deals. To avoid the same cards repeatedly coming up in a similar sequence, some prefer that each new dealer should shuffle the deck before dealing for the first time when the cards are passed on to them.

The version of 31 described by Martin Heath differs from the above game as follows.

• A hand consisting just of a pair of Twos is better than a normal hand with value 14. So if the dealer has an ordinary 14, this can be beaten by a player's pair of Twos, but if dealer has a pair of Twos, the only hand that can beat it is a 31.
• Aces in a hand must be valued alternately as 1 and 11. So one Ace can be 1 or 11, but two Aces must be worth 12. Three Aces can be worth 13 or 23, but four Aces must be counted as 24 (not 14).

31 Classic Rules of Play

31 Classic is a three card style casino card game with a single draw card option. The objective of the game is to combine up to 3 suited cards to get a point value of 17 or higher. Blackjack scoring is used, where the faces are equal to 10 points and aces are eleven. The game is played with up to six players playing the odds versus a pay table (not vs. a dealer).

The way the game is played goes as follows:

1) Place an Ante wager, optional Natural 31 Bonus wager and/or optional 4 Card Royal Family Bonus Wager.

2) Get three cards face down

3) Decide to Play (match Ante Wager) or Fold

4) If you play, you will receive one additional “Draw” card from the dealer. Folding hands forfeit their Ante wagers. Bonus wagers stay active until the end of the hand.

5) After all final hands are viewed the hand is over. The dealer will then distribute the chips accordingly.

Game Intro Video:

Wagers:

Ante:

31 Card Game Cool Math

The ante wager must be placed at the beginning of each hand to receive the initial three cards. This wager must be between the table minimum and the table maximum at the time of the hand. The ante wager pushes or receives a 1 to 1 payout on any winning hand according to the play wager pay table.

*Game demo- Place the Ante wager by clicking the “Ante” circle.

Play:

The play wager must be placed when the player decides he/she would like to play the hand and receive one new card from the dealer. This Wager must always be equal to the ante wager. The play wager receives a payout according to the Play wager pay table when the hands qualify.

*Game demo- Place the Play wager by clicking the “Play” button.

Natural 31 Bonus:

This is an optional wager that is not required to play the hand. If the player decides to place this wager they must place the desired chip denomination in the golden “31” circle prior to the dealing of any cards. The only hands eligible for a payout on this wager are natural hands (initial three cards dealt). The payouts for this wager are expressed in the “Natural 31 Bonus” pay table.

31 Card Game Rules - LearnPlayWin

*Game demo- Place the bonus wager by clicking the “31” circle.

4 Card Royal Family Bonus:

This is an optional wager that is not required to play the hand. If the player decides to place this wager they must place the desired chip denomination in the “4 Card Royal Family Bonus” circle prior to the dealing of any cards. All for of the player’s cards must be used to win this wager. The payouts for this wager are expressed in the “4 Card Royal Family Bonus” pay table.

31 Card Game Three Of A Kind

*Game demo- Place the bonus wager by clicking the “4 Card Royal Family Bonus” circle.