A run, straight or sequence is a combination of
playing cards
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a fi ...
where cards have consecutive rank values.
[Parlett, David. ''The Penguin Book of Card Games''. London: Penguin (2008) p. 645. .] They need not normally be of the same suit. However, if they are, this is referred to as a suit sequence.
[Arnold, Peter (1988). ''The Book of Card Games''. NY: Barnes & Noble, p. xi.] Some games, such as
cribbage
Cribbage, or crib, is a card game, traditionally for two players, that involves playing and grouping cards in combinations which gain points. It can be adapted for three or four players.
Cribbage has several distinctive features: the cribbag ...
, specify that an ace counts as one ("ace low"); others specify that an ace counts above a King ("ace high"); yet others, such as
poker
Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...
, allow an ace to count either high or low.
Runs are one of the two types of
meld MELD may refer to:
* Model for End-Stage Liver Disease, a prognostic model
* A variant of the declarative language CycL
* Molecular orbital diagram, Molecular energy-level diagram, a type of one-dimensional plot with a significant qualitative aspec ...
that may be used in games where melding is part of the play; the other being a
set
Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to:
Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics
*Set (mathematics), a collection of elements
*Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively
Electro ...
or group, such as a pair or triplet.
A natural sequence, as opposed to one that is wild, is one that consists purely of 'natural cards', without any
wild cards
''Wild Cards'' is a series of science fiction superhero shared universe anthologies, mosaic novels, and solo novels. They are written by a collection of more than forty authors (referred to as the "Wild Cards Trust") and are edited by George R. ...
such as
jokers or
deuces.
[Parlett, David. ''A History of Card Games''. Oxford: OUP (1991) p. 127. .]
Examples
See also
*
Meld (cards)
In card games, a meld is a set of matching cards, typically three or more, that earn a player points and/or allow them to deplete their hand. Melds typically come in sequences of ascending cards belonging to the same suit known as '' runs'' () or ...
*
Set (cards)
A set or group in card games is a scoring combination consisting of three or more playing cards of the same rank;Parlett (2008) p. 489. in some games, such as Bieten, a set may also comprise just two cards (a 'pair').
Description
Sets are one ...
*
Straight (poker)
In poker, players form sets of five playing cards, called ''hands'', according to the rules of the game. Each hand has a rank, which is compared against the ranks of other hands participating in the showdown to decide who wins the pot. In high ...
References
Card game terminology
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