What do you know about popular card games in Russia? This country has many interesting and non-trivial games to play with friends or at online casinos. Check out the five most famous games that can be found in Russia.
Top-5 popular card games in Russia
Card games are very popular in Russia and some other post-Soviet countries. There is a wide variety of card games that are completely unknown to foreigners. However, they are no less exciting to play than such classics as poker or blackjack. Today, we will list the five most popular card games in Russia and briefly explain their rules.
To learn more about exotic games from different corners of the world, read online gambling guides for beginners.
Durak (The Fool)
Durak (The Fool) is the most popular card game in every post-Soviet country, including Russia. Almost every person knows how to play it. In 2021, everyone can find Durak at online casinos like 1xBet and play it for real money.
To play Durak, you need a 36-card deck and 2+ players. The rules are the following: each player is dealt six cards from the deck. A random card from the deck is placed in the table to designate a trump suit, so all cards of this suit get a higher value. The pile is placed next to the trump card face down.
The player with the lowest trump card in his hand starts the game. The objective is to get rid of all your cards by the end of the game; the last person who remains with cards in his hands is the fool.
Preferans
Preferans is one of the oldest games in Russia. It has been popular within the country for centuries, though it is rumored to have been derived from several European card games. However, the rules of Russian preferans are much more complicated.
To play preferans, 3-4 players are needed alongside the 36-car deck. The main principle of the game is to collect as many points as possible. To win, players can use general passes, bidding, misere, and all their persuasion skills to make the opponents lose. In other words, you have to bluff to win.
Bura
Bura is not the most common card game you will meet in Russia as it is extremely popular among…prisoners. Yes, this game is used by convicts to pass the time in jail but they also play it after the release. The objective of the game is to score 31 points using various combinations and card counting. To learn more about the game rules, read how to play bura.
Ved’ma (The Witch)
Ved’ma (The Witch) is one of the most popular card games in Russia. This game is suitable for parties and evenings in a family circle. To play it, at least two people have to be involved but the more players join the game, the better.
Each player is dealt an equal number of cards (the exact number depends on how many people play at the same time). No one shows his cards to the other players. Before the game starts, all players have to get rid of pairs if there are some in their hands (e.g. two 6s, two Js). However, the one who holds the Queen of Spades cannot throw it even if he has another Q. Then, all players blindly take one card from their neighbor’s hand and keep on throwing away pairs. The game lasts until there is one player left with two Queens with “witch” being one of them.
Russian Poker
Russian poker is a casino game developed in the 1990s. It has been extremely popular in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. This poker variation is notable as here players can make two poker hands from six cards. In all other aspects, Russian poker needs you to beat the dealer with standard poker hands.
