How to Play Casino

Casino is the best-known fishing game in the English-speaking world, played since the 18th century. You "fish" cards from the table by matching them; builds add a layer of planning that most fishing games lack.

Dealing

• A standard 52-card deck, two players. Each gets four cards, and four go face up on the table.
• When both hands are empty, four more each are dealt (no new table cards) until the deck runs out: six deals per round.

Your turn

Play one card from your hand and do exactly one of these:

1. Capture. Take table cards of the same rank as your card, plus any sets of number cards adding up to your card's value (ace 1, number cards face value). You may also take any builds whose value equals your card. Everything that qualifies may be taken in one go. Face cards have no value: a king captures only kings.
2. Build. Place your card on one or more table cards whose total with it is a value you hold in your hand (say a 3 on a 4 to build 7, holding a 7). A single build may later be raised by a card from hand (a 2 on the 7-build makes 9, if the player holds a 9). Equal sets may be added to make a multiple build (a 7 onto a 7-build), which can't be raised. Either player may raise or capture a build.
3. Trail. Lay your card face up on the table. Not allowed while you own a build, unless you have no capture or build to make (a fresh hand may lack the value).

Capturing everything on the table is a sweep, worth 1 point (not on the last play of a round). At the end of a round, whatever is left goes to the player who captured last.

Scoring

Ties for cards or spades score nothing. The first player to 21 after a round wins; if both pass 21 level, another round is played.

Playing on kawu

Tap a card in your hand, tap the table cards you want, then Take, Build N or Trail. Hint shows the hard computer's play. The computer plays at three levels.

Next: Casino strategy.

Last updated 2026-10-21