As a card player, I’ve had the privilege of kibitzing many card games. Some were seen while wandering past casino floors on the way to the arcade as a youngster, some were just between friends, and many have been on Bridge Base Online – and a great deal of them have been impromptu card games played by the side of the road or in the middle of a taxi rank, usually with a makeshift box for a table and a crowd standing around it.
The makeshift type of games are made to dismantle in a hurry: Grab the bets, grab the box and disappear into the shadows, usually discarding the deck and leaving it to the wind (where it will be picked up for a few miles in every direction).
It’s money betting on-the-go, with the usual game of choice being something called Sevens (alternatively spelled as Sevvens in some parts). Rarely, I’ve seen the game switch to poker and blackjack.
These games are also – usually – illegal.
I’ve never participated in one of these games myself, but I’ve been lucky enough to see many of them. Sometimes they’re played late at night by a bonfire to the backing track of Hip-Hop from a few shacks away, everyone with a Black Label beer in hand.
Sometimes these games are risky. When the game goes on, the risk goes up: The cops could show up and break up the festivities, a player might decide that he’s had enough of being on the losing end. I’ve seen bottles flying and knives drawn over too many of these games. It’s the one kind of game that it’s best to kibitz from a few feet away just in case.
Why do I keep watching – and honestly?
It’s honest, it’s incredible – and some of the best card players you’ll ever see.
I’ve learned a lot just by watching these illegal, impromptu card games for the length of one-and-a-half cigarette before walking home.
Here’s some of it.
Always Dress Sharp
Dress for the occasion, and dress well. Because first impressions matter, and because it’s going to get pretty damn cold when the sun sets. It doesn’t have to be a suit, but even in the midst of an illegal card game, most of the players there look good.
It’s Not the Deck That Does It
It’s usually not an authentic Bicycle deck to be seen at these games. These cost more, around R30 to R50. It’s a few dollars, but the money is usually better spent on essentials by most – and nobody wants to take the risk of throwing their treasured Bicycle deck into the wind when they see a blue suit.
Thus, cheap reproduction decks – poker size and available for about a dollar or under at most convenience stores and “spaza shops” – do the trick just fine.
It’s also worth mentioning that many of the players shuffle a cheap deck better than most people will ever riffle their way through a Bicycle deck.
It’s never a pricy deck, but it never matters. To me, it’s as good as proving that Jimi Hendrix would have been just as good on a cheaper $100 guitar. It’s in the hands, not the guitar or deck.
Calling At Lightning Speed
If you’ve ever thought that auctioneers are motor-mouthed and quick at rattling off the price of the next item, you’ve never walked into a card game like this and seen the speed at which cards are dropped on the cardboard box. The speed and calls are nothing short of incredible, and in the very beginnings of watching these games I found it very hard to keep up.
The Art of the Shuffle
Other than the ability to play at an incredible speed with not a player or dealer missing a single move or beat, you’ll also see incredibly fast shuffles. The overhanded shuffle was it at most games, for whatever reason, and some shufflers are so damn good at it that the eyes can barely catch the cards.
I walked up to a player one night and said, “I’ll buy you a beer of you teach me how to do what you just did.” It changed my life.
Cheaters Are Out
In spite of the fact that the majority of card games played in this fashion are highly illegal, the rules of the game are not. Usually, a sharp-eyed regular gets chosen as the dealer for the game – and in most of the ones I’ve seen, the dealer is as fair as a bridge game Tournament Director.
There are rare situations (including the typical “Find the Lady”) which are to be avoided at all costs: The dealer is always a sharp-dressed con artist showing you a losing game – and yes, most of the spectators are stooges, especially the first few people winning the bets.
As for the actual card games I’ve seen, cheating is never tolerated: And they might even get stabbed for their attempt to palm a card. Even though the average bridge game isn’t this violent (and most TD’s aren’t walking around with firearms), kibitzing these games taught me how to be fair in love, bridge and war.