I started playing cards when I was 4 or 5. Not actual playing cards. More like faux-playing cards.
In the era and area in which I lived, real playing cards were considered a tool of the devil.
Not being a big fan of the devil, I steered clear of the real thing.
We played ROOK.
ROOK is a game with four different colors and numbers from 1-14. The instruction manual for ROOK is filled with directions for games that seem a bit similar to games you might play with...say, devil cards.
But ROOK was OK since no royalty or fancy symbols were involved.
Keep it simple.
Colors and Numbers.
The road to hell is paved with spades and clubs...
When you say ROOK to anyone who plays ROOK it is assumed you are talking about a bidding game often played in teams. There are regional rules about whether "the bird" is played high (NO!), low (DUH!) or the dreaded 10 1/2 (STUPID!).
It is a really good game. One that can go on for hours or overnight in attempt to save your ROOK EGO.
It is no surprise that blog-Stedman is also a gamer. He plays a mean ROOK game and his family introduced me to "42".
42 is a bidding game played in teams with dominoes. If you see a table of old men on a Texas front porch playing dominoes, they are playing 42. The similarities between ROOK and 42 go far beyond their obvious avoidance of a pact with the devil using actual playing cards. If you play one game, you will be quick to learn the other.
Years have passed and the devil has put his foot in the Nirvana door with poker. And the corruption doesn't end with my generation.
Kids play poker too. We are counting on Ivy League Universities to be offering poker scholarships by the year 2019.
Ryan(7) has been playing for awhile. He is a frighteningly aggressive better with a tendency to over-value his hands.
Reid prefers to play on a team. There are no teams in poker!
Our latest convert is Rhett who at 3 y/o on any given hand is a wild card.
A few days ago my mom walked into the house finding the boys and I playing cards at the kitchen table.
Rhett: Wanna play poker, grandma?
Grandma: I don't know how.
Ryan: We will teach you.
The devil's work here is done.
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34 comments:
Excellent! I hope Grandma joined in. I learned to play Black Jack at the ripe old age of 4, sitting on my Mother's Lap at the Church Christmas Bazaar! By the time I was 6, I was betting my own money. Gotta Love Catholics!
That is hillarious....I stick with UNO....it's about all I can understnad....
lol. that is great. i love that it is a family affair. i have tried to play texas hold em with my husband b/c he LOVES to play and doesn't have many people that will or do play. I, personally, think i'm pretty good. my husband, though, has another opinion of my card playing skills. lol i'm thinking we need to teach our kids some card game skills and get them set for college through scholarships... we have three 2 yrs apart that will be a LARGE bill.
keep up the good work!!
xoxox
I know what we're doing this weekend!
1) i never learned how to play rook -- is this why i now do not know how to play poker
2) is ryan willing to teach me how to play poker?
3) i might swing by tomorrow morning for a cup of coffee...
That's so funny .. For some reason we let Schyler on the game way early in life . By the time he was 8 he knew most "poker" games. See at our house poker night is always dealer calls the game. It can be anything from hold 'em to jacks or better 2 two card nuts. or Bull%^#&.. Nothing like hearin a 8 year old Yell Bull &(* and it being acceptable. Yep thats why 18 yo don't make good parents.. hmm or do they???
I so want to give you a high five right now!
I started teaching my son, and he definitely wants to keep learning.
Christmas Eve at my house, Grandma was the one teaching the kids poker while I cooked. We're all spawn of the devil over here.
Poker scholarships? Really? Maybe ROOK will be a good gateway drug for my kids...
Hi! I just recently added your blog to my feeder.
I'm from Argentina and there is a card game, using Spanish Cards (cartas espanolas) that is our version of Poker, but it's played in partners. It's called Truco.
In case you want a new non-devil game... since your son likes partners :)
I have never really played poker! We played Spades A LOT in college but it has been so long I hardly remember how!
Oh and a poker scholasship would ROCK! I am hoping mine earn scholarships in Wii playing.
Actually, if they play poker well enough to earn a scholarship, will they even need a scholarship?
One time we were playing Rook and somehow we lost one of the cards while we were playing. We looked everywhere, and have yet to find that card to this day. I mean it just up and disappeared during the game.
my granny would have lit candles and called the priest.....you're going to H*** and taking the little ones too....lol
My parents used to have play Rook every weekend. The whole family would come over and the grown up would play Rook for hours while the kids just ran around with no supervision. Those were some of the best times as a kid.
Awesome! Your son totally looks like a mini Matt Damon so even if there are no poker scholarships we all know he can get his hustle on to pay for his tuition OR pay for his WSOP buy in. Just make sure he steers clear of any Oreo eating Russian guys.
Just putting it out there that I was at the final table when we played. Sure there were only two tables but STILL!
And don't think I didn't post that I made it to the final table at the Texas Holdem Tourney on Facebook. And sooo many people think I'm awesome at it now! Too bad I didn't win a single hand. Sigh.
So when will I have a chance to lose to you again?
I taught my kid to play poker and he beats me now. Yes, he's 9! I did a post on it too!
http://amylowrey.blogspot.com/search/label/Poker
Awesome! We also played Rook when I was a kid and it was the kind where you don't do the team/bet thing. And yes...the bird WAS low. =) I meet so few people that know what it is that I can usually only tell them that it is similar to spades, but not really. Makes perfect sense, right?
We also are gamers and were introduced to Phase 10 when we mooked to Mississippi. Talk about a LONG game. It's fun though...especially when you have friends who are gamers. Unfortunately, we are still looking for true gamers to be friends with since moving to Savannah.
Glad to know that I'm not the only one that came from a family that knows what to do with those silly cards. =)
Blackjack is the best game ever for teaching math facts.
Dude, no matter how many times I see Blog Stedman, it always stops me cold and I do the dreaded Silent Laugh thing at work.
And I LOVE the new blog design! Please tell me it hasn't been this way for six months and I'm just a loser, right here in public, and all.
I started playing sitting on my dad's knee. But, we always played the real game. And, I can remember shocking the adults by taking a pot or two by the time I was 4 or 5.
good work, mom. excellent.
It's the tool of the devil!
And let me know if you need an extra player ;)
Hahahaha! I love Rook! Brings back many college-era memories of staying up all night to play just ONE MORE HAND.
My grandpa taught us how to play poker and my mom was horrified one day to find my younger brother teaching all the neighbor kids to play, betting with Cheerios.
Most families go to church or spend the holidays doing loving family-together things or something like that over Christmas. My family has a great big casino, with different tables set up all over the house and a rulebook and official t-shirts that we made and everything. The devil has been very busy in my family.
Okay, my computer just bumped all my witty comments, so this is the best I can do. Benjy 'taught' Jessie how to play poker, and then lost five dollars to her. :)
I suck at poker. Mostly because my poker face is like this:
Good hand = Eyes wide and big smile with teeth showing. Legs shaking under table.
Bad hand = Head thrown back, tears in eyes.
Needless to say, I won't be winning any championships anytime soon.
I used to pay Rook with my grandfather when I was in the 4th grade. He always beat me.
I think he cheated.
I don't know how to play poker. Or Rook. But I'll throw down any day of the week with Go Fish or Uno.
Such memories you bring back! I think the last time I played a mean game of Rook was in college, but the card set we had at home was definitely the same vintage as yours. I need to find those cards....
THAT is funny! Well-written. I hate Rook (I hate bidding when on a team), but I'm not a poker fan,either. Just lousy at that.
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