Pokerwebpages.com → Games of Playing cards
Paganini
DOUBLE-PACK
Paganini is a double-pack patience poker game, similar in principle to but more interesting than, the single-pack game known as spaces. It was composed by Mr Charles Jewell. The entire pack is dealt face upwards on the table in eight rows of thirteen cards each, as shown in the accompanying illustration.
The object of the game is so to arrange the cards that each row consists of one suit beginning with an Ace (on the left ) and ending with a King (on the right). No row is singled out for any particular suit; the player makes his own decision but, having made it, must not alter it.
Play begins by moving one of the Aces to the extreme left of a row. It will be appreciated, therefore, that as the game proceeds the whole of the layout is moved one space to the left so to speak. When a card is moved it leaves a space in the layout which is filled with the next higher card of the same suit as the card on the left of the space. Filling a space leaves another space in the layout. In turn this is filled in the same way, and so on, until a run is brought to an end by removing a card from the right-hand side of a King, because no card is available to be played to the space on the right of a King.
The game calls for a show of poker skill. To begin, a player has to decide which of the eight Aces he will move first and to the extreme left of which of the eight Aces he will move first and to the extreme left of which of the eight rows he will move it to. Then, whenever a card is moved in the layout, there is, at all events early in the play, a choice of two cards to fill the available space. It will be seen, therefore, that when all eight Aces have been moved to the extreme left of the layout, each move will offer the choice of filling one of eight spaces with either of two cards.
The layout in the illustration is not as difficult as it may appear. Indeed, with a little care the game should be won.
After a general survey of the possibilities in the game, the A♥ in the bottom row should be moved to the extreme left of the row; the Q♥ in the fifth row is moved to the space left vacant by the A♥ and the 9♣ in the bottom row is moved into the space left vacant by the Q♥. The space left vacant by the 9♣ may be filled either with the 2♥ in the second row or the one in the seventh row. Consideration shows that it should be filled with the one in the second row, because the 6♣ in the top row can be moved into the vacant space, the A♣ in the fifth row can be moved to the extreme left of the top row, the 6♣ in the top row can be moved to the space in the second row left vacant by the 2♥, and either the 2♣ in the second row or that in the fourth row can be moved into the space (alongside the A♣) left vacant by the 6♣. And so on.
Robin Post
DOUBLE-PACK
Robin Post is a 2-pack patience composed by Colonel G.H.Latham, R.E. It is one that call s for considerable thought and skill, not only because so many moves are available but because every move opens the door to a number of variations.
Fifty-two cards are dealt face upwards in rows of four, five, six, seven, eight, seven, six, five, four, with a space of one card’s width between each card so that the cards only touch each other corner to corner. In Plate 7, the cards are laid out in a smaller area, but it is to be imagined that the 2 a on the extreme right, for instance, has its left hand corners touching the 3 and 6♠, while its right hand corners are free.
The object of the poker tour game is to release one Ace and one king of each suit, play them to the centre as foundations, and build on the Aces ascending suit-sequence to the Kings, and on the Kings descending suit-sequences to the Aces. At any stage of the play, if the top cards of two foundation-piles of the same suit are in sequence, any or all of the cards of one pile (with the exceptions of the original Ace-or King –foundation card) may be reversed onto the other.
The cards in the layout are subject to the following four rules:
- A card which has two or more corners free may be lifted and played. In Plate 7, the cards with two or more corners free are the 6♠ and 2 a on the extreme edges of the layout, and those in the top and bottom rows.
- A card which has only one corner free may not be lifted and played, but may be packed on either in ascending or descending sequence of alternate color.
- A card that has no corner free may neither be lifted and played nor packed on.
- A movable sequence must be moved as a whole, not as a part, and may be reversed only onto a single card.
The remaining fifty-two cards of the pack are turned one at a time and played to a waste heap if they cannot be built on the foundation cards or packed on the cards in the layout. At any stage of the online poker game, however, the layout may be completed with cards from the stock. The cards must be dealt to the original top row of the layout, from left to right, and provided there are enough cards left in the stock, the layout must be filled before further moves are made either to the foundations or within the layout.
In Plate 7 the Q♣ in the top row can be packed on the J a at the left of the fourth row. Similarly the 10 a in the top row can be packed on the 9♠ at the left of the second row. This will provide both the A♣ and 5♠ with two free corners and the A♣ can be played to the center as a foundation.