Card games in Turkey

In Turkey the 52 card international pack is in general use. Games played with this pack include:

• King - a compendium game in which most contracts involve avoiding taking particular cards in tricks.
• 3-5-8 - a plain-trick game for three players whose objectives are to take 3, 5 and 8 tricks. Oddly, this game is also known in Turkey as Russian King, even though the game King played in Russia is similar to King in Turkety, not to 3-5-8.
• Pişti - a fishing game in which the layout is a single discard pile which is captured as a whole if its top card is matched.
• Papaz kacti (king escapes) seems to be a game related to Old Maid in which the aim is not to be left with a king at the end.
• Batak - a four player game similar to Oh Hell!
• Prafa A trick-taking game for three players played in villages on the west coast of Turkey - possibly a version of Preference.
• Hoskin is a game played in southern Turkey, similar to double Pinochle.
• Blöf - a bluffing game similar to verish' ne versish'.
• Kapti kacti (take and run) - a fishing game in which cards can be captured from the opponents' capture piles as well as from the layout.
• Dost kazigi ("friend soak") - similar to kapti kacti, but the object is to avoid capturing cards.
• Maca kizi Turkish version of Hearts, but with different rules.
• Pis yedili ("dirty seven") is the Turkish version of Crazy Eights. Also, Levent Suberk describes a simpler game Püskiyon in which players simply follow number or suit, without any special effect cards, which he learned from a 70-year old neighbour in the 1970's.
• Bezik is the Turkish form of Bezique

Türk pokeri is a Turkish form of 5-card draw poker, played with a deck of 24 to 36 cards, depending on the number of players.

Some rummy games are played with set of 106 numbered tiles:

• Okey for four players who begin with 14 tiles each, the aim being simply to go out,
• Okey 101 for four players who begin with 21 tiles each, and score by melding during the play.

RMY, a simplified form of Turkish Rummy, attractively programmed in Flash, can be played against the computer on Yavuz Yilmaz's Rastaduck site.

The World Casino Directory includes a listing of Casinos in Turkey.