Thirty-one (card game)
Thirty-one or Trente et un is a gambling card game played by two to seven people, where players attempt to assemble a hand which totals 31. Such a goal has formed the whole or part of various games like Commerce, Cribbage, Trentuno, and Wit and Reason since the 15th century.[1]31 is popular in America and Britain.[2] Although the game is also known as Scat it has no connexion whatsoever with Germany's national card game of Skat. It should also not be confused with other games called 31 including Schwimmen (also known as Schnauz or Hosen 'runter) and the Greek banking game of 31.[2]
The game is also known as Blitz,[2] Scat,[2] Cadillac[2] in south Louisiana and Mississippi, Cad in Pennsylvania, Whammy! in central Indiana, Juble in Oklahoma and Kansas, as also as Kitty,[2] High Hat,[2] Ride the Bus[2] and Geronimo.[2]
Thirty-One is first mentioned in a French translation of a 1440 sermon by the Italian, Saint Bernadine, so may be of Italian origin. However, it spread rapidly across Europe to become popular in France, England and Ireland and is a precursor to Vingt-Un.[3] In the 1670s, Francis Willughby recorded Thirty-One being played in England.[4]
The object is to obtain a hand with a value total as close as possible to 31, from which the name of the game is taken.[5] The game is usually best played with at least four players.
Thirty-one uses a standard deck of 52 playing cards (in the Dutch version - Eenendertigen - only 32 cards - 7 and higher - are used). Aces are high, counting 11, court cards count 10, and all other cards count face value. Each player gets a hand of three cards, and three pennies as their "lives". The rest of the deck sits in the middle of the table as stock for the game, and the top card of the stock is turned over to begin the discard.
After the hands in the first round are dealt, play proceeds with each player, starting with the player to the immediate left of the dealer and going clockwise around the table, taking the top card of either the stock or the discard and subsequently discarding a card. All players are trying to collect a hand value of 31 (or the nearest to it) in the same suit. Play continues clockwise around the table until any player knocks or obtains a blitz.
