Hanafuda (花札) is a style of Japaneseplaying cards used to play a variety of games. Hanafuda translates to 'flower cards'.^[1][2] The name also refers to some games played with the cards.

• List Of Gambling Card Games
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Take out all the cards from a 52 card deck except for the A, K, Q, J, 10, and 9 of every suit. The highest card in 66 is the ace, then A, 10, K, Q, J, 9. Deal three cards face down to your opponent then three face-down cards to you. Deal three more cards face down to your opponent and then three more face-down to you.

History[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gambling games.: Articles about individual gambling games, lotteries, and games used in casinos or card rooms. During prohibition, gambling with cards remained highly popular which led to disguised card designs. Each time gambling with a card deck of a particular design became too popular, the government banned it, which then prompted the creation of a new design. This cat and mouse game between the government and rebellious gamblers resulted in the.

Playing cards were introduced to Japan by the Portuguese in the mid-16th century. The Portuguese deck consisted of 48 cards, four suits divided into 12 ranks. The first Japanese-made decks made during the Tenshō period (1573-92) mimicked Portuguese decks and are referred to as Tenshō Karuta. The main game was a trick-taking game intermediate in evolution between Triunfo and Ombre.^[3] After Japan closed off all contact with the Western world in 1633, foreign playing cards were banned.^[4]

In 1648, Tenshō Karuta were banned by the Tokugawa shogunate.^[5] During prohibition, gambling with cards remained highly popular which led to disguised card designs. Each time gambling with a card deck of a particular design became too popular, the government banned it, which then prompted the creation of a new design. This cat and mouse game between the government and rebellious gamblers resulted in the creation of increasingly abstract and minimalist regional patterns (地方札). These designs were initially called Yomi Karuta after the popular Poch-like game of Yomi which was known by the 1680s.^[6]

Through the Meiwa, An'ei, and Tenmei eras (roughly 1764–1789), a game called Mekuri took the place of Yomi. It became so popular that Yomi Karuta was renamed Mekuri Karuta.^[6] Mechanically, Mekuri is similar to Chinese fishing games.^[7] Cards became so commonly used for gambling that they were banned in 1791, during the Kansei era.

The earliest known reference to Hana Awase (hanafuda) is from 1816 when it was recorded as a banned gambling tool. Unlike earlier decks it consists of 12 months (suits) divided into four rank-like categories. The majority of hanafuda games are descended from Mekuri although Yomi adaptations for the flower cards survived until the 20th century.^[6] Though they can still be used for gambling, its structure and design is less convenient than other decks such as Kabufuda. In the Meiji period, playing cards became tolerated by the authorities.

In 1889, Fusajiro Yamauchi founded Nintendo for the purposes of producing and selling hand-crafted hanafuda. Nintendo has focused on video games since the 1970s but continues to produce cards in Japan, including a few Mario-themed sets. Nintendo has licensed many third-party video game adaptations of hanafuda over the decades. The Koi-Koi game played with hanafuda cards is included in Nintendo's own Clubhouse Games (2006) for the Nintendo DS, and Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics (2020) for the Nintendo Switch.^[8]

Outside of Japan[edit]

In Hawaii, there is Hawaiian-style Koi-Koi which is also known as Sakura, Higobana, and sometimes Hanafura.

In South Korea, the cards are called Hwatu (Korean: 화투, Hanja: 花鬪); the name literally translates as battle of flowers. It most likely was brought to Korea during the late 1890s.^[9][10] Two of the most common Hwatu games are Go-stop (Korean: 고스톱)^[11] and Seotda (Korean: 섯다). Hwatu is very commonly played in South Korea during special holidays such as the Lunar New Years, and also during the Korean holiday of Chuseok (추석). Playing Go-stop at holiday family gatherings has been a Korean tradition for many years. The Korean version is usually played with three players, with two-person variants.

Hanafuda is also played in Micronesia (the former South Seas Mandate), where it is known as Hanahuda and is a four-person game, which is often paired cross-table.^[12]

Cards[edit]

There are 48 cards total, divided into twelve suits, representing months of the year. Each is designated by a flower and has four cards. The point values should be considered merely as a ranking mechanism, as the most popular games only concern themselves with certain combinations of taken cards.

Some decks may have an extra card which could be blank (to draw a replacement) or feature a manufacturer's logo. In the Korean Hwatu version, the November and December suits are swapped. Hwatu may also include a variety of extra cards ranging in functionality, including 'service cards' (서비스 패) which award various bonuses.^[13]

Card significance[edit]

The January and February poetry tanzaku cards ( ) have the phrase akayoroshi (あかよろし, “red is good”), using the hentaigana character 𛀙 for ka.

The March poetry tanzaku card ( ) reads mi-Yoshino (みよしの), referring to the town of Yoshino, Nara. Yoshino is known for its cherry trees, especially of its Somei-Yoshino hybrid.

The September sake cup card ( ) has the kanjikotobuki (寿, “long life”) inscribed on it.

Games[edit]

Mekuri derived games:

• Hana Awase
  • Minhwatu
  • Koi-Koi
  • Roppyakken
  • Mushi
• Hachi
• Hachi-hachi
  • Sudaoshi
• Tensho

Yomi derived games:

• Poka
• Hiyoko
• Isuri

Gabo Japgi/Kabufuda derived games:

• Seotda
• Doryjytgo-ttang

See also[edit]

• Tazza: The High Rollers (or The War of Flower)

Notes[edit]

1. ^Sometimes 芒 susuki is translated as pampas (grass).

References[edit]

1. ^McLeod, John. 'Games played with Flower Cards'. pagat.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
2. ^Pakarnian, John, 'Game Boy: Glossary of Japanese Gambling Games', Metropolis, January 22, 2010, p. 15.
3. ^Depaulis, Thierry (2009). 'Playing the Game: Iberian Triumphs Worldwide'. The Playing-Card. Vol 38-2, p. 134-137.
4. ^Harris, Blake J., Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation, It Books, 2014-May-13. ISBN978-0062276698. 'Chapter 5'
5. ^Mann, Sylvia; Wayland, Virginia (1973). The Dragons of Portugal. Farnham: Sanford. p. 46.
6. ^ ^abcKuromiya Kimihiko. (2005). 'Kakkuri: The Last Yomi Game of Japan'. The Playing-Card, Vol 33-4. p. 232-235.
7. ^McLeod, John; Dummett, Michael (1975). 'Hachi-Hachi'. The Playing-Card. 3 (4): 26–39.
8. ^Lane, Gavin. 'Nintendo Shares A Handy Infographic Featuring All 51 Worldwide Classic Clubhouse Games'. Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2020-07-21.
9. ^Kim, Kwang-ŏn. (2004). Tong Asia ŭi nori. Seoul: Minsogwŏn. ISBN89-5638-121-6. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
10. ^Fairbairn, John (1991). 'Modern Korean cards - a Japanese perspective'. The Playing-Card. 20 (2): 68–72.
11. ^McLeod, John. 'Rules of Card Games: Go Stop'. pagat.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
12. ^Iramk, Charlene. 'Hanahuda'. Hanahuda. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
13. ^Sloper, Tom. 'Go-Stop'. www.sloperama.com. Retrieved 20 December 2017.

External links[edit]

All Banking Card Games Fall Within Class III Gaming

Date: April 10, 1995

Subject: All Banking Card Games Fall Within Class III Gaming

The National Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC) was asked recently whether a player banked version of blackjack (21) falls within class II or class III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). After a thorough legal review, the NIGC has concluded that all banking card games, including card games banked by the gaming operation or by a player, fall within class III gaming. Because many tribes are conducting player banked card games, including player banked blackjack, as part of their class II gaming operations, the NIGC is issuing this bulletin.

List Of Gambling Card Games

In player banked blackjack (21), players are playing against a player bank. The banker/player has a mathematical percentage advantage over the other players similar to the advantage the gaming operation has in traditional blackjack. The tribal gaming operation does not participate in, or have any interest in, the outcome of the game. The gaming operation makes money by collecting an ante from each player per hand. A player takes on the role of banker, collecting all losses and paying all winnings.

In blackjack (21), as traditionally played, the gaming operation acts as the bank or banker. Apparently, some tribes are of the view that if the gaming operation does not bank the game, the game is a nonbanking card game and thus falls within class II gaming.

All banking card games, including three which are specifically enumerated, are excluded from class II gaming in the IGRA. Those specifically enumerated card games are baccarat, chemin de fer, and blackjack (21). See 25 U.S.C. § 2703(7)(B)(i). Baccarat and blackjack (21) are card games banked by the gaming operation, whereas chemin de fer is a player banked version of baccarat. See, John Scarne, Scarne's New Complete Guide to Gambling, 342, 459-460 (1986); Albert H. Moorehead, et al., The New Complete Hoyle, 513, 541-548 (1991).

NIGC regulations define class II card games as nonbanking card games. See 25 C.F.R.

§ 502.3(c). Class III games are defined as all games which are not class I or class II and includes house banked baccarat, chemin de fer, and blackjack (21). See 25 C.F.R. § 502.4.

Banking card games are classified as class III in the IGRA. The IGRA states that '[t]he term class II gaming does not include any banking card games, including baccarat, chemin de fer, or blackjack (21) ...' 25 U.S.C. § 2703(7)(B)(i). The term class III gaming means 'all forms of gaming that are not class I gaming or class II gaming.' 25 U.S.C. § 2703(8).

By excluding banking card games from class II gaming, the only card games Congress intended to fall within class II are nonbanking card games. As was previously discussed, chemin de fer is a player banked game, whereas baccarat and blackjack (21) are banked by the gaming operation. Therefore, by express language, as well as enumerating these specific card games, Congress clearly intended to exclude from class II gaming those card games banked by either the player or the gaming operation.

Popular Casino Card Games

Because the statutory language is clear and unambiguous, there is no need to look to the legislative history of the IGRA. United States v. Taylor, 487 U.S. 326, 344-346 (1988).

In the view of the Commission, non-banking card games are games where players play against each other. The game of poker would be the typical example. It has been asserted that in player banked blackjack, players are playing against each other. This is incorrect. In player banked blackjack, the players are not playing against each other. They are playing against a banker who happens to be another player. This player banker has a percentage or odds advantage over all other players. This advantage is a fundamental characteristic of a banking game.

To further clarify the distinction between class II gaming and class III gaming, the NIGC defined 'house banking' to mean 'any game of chance that is played with the house as a participant in the game, where the house takes on all players, collects from all losers, and pays all winners, and the house can win.' 25 C.F.R. § 502.11. The NIGC adopted the commonly understood definition of a banking game. In the view of the NIGC, the reference to the 'house' is not limited to the gaming operation, but refers to anyone who is a participant in the game, takes on all players, collects from the losers, and pays the winners. However, the NIGC recognizes that the reference to the 'house' may be confusing; therefore, the NIGC intends to amend sections 502.4 and 502.11 accordingly.

For further information, please contact the NIGC legal staff at (202) 632-7003.