Polish poker: low points win the game
Members of the Castle Rock Senior Activity Center having a good time playing Polish Poker. The card game is played with pennies and is a favorite activity for many of the members.
In Polish Poker, also known as Turtle, Hara Kiri and Crazy Nines, the player with the lowest score wins the game. Think strokes in golf. The connection to poker is that success involves managing hidden information and memory.
The game can be played with two to six players. Each player receives six cards face down in a two-by-three card grid to start the game. To get things rolling, players, in turn, draw cards from the deck or the discard pile. The player has the option of swapping the drawn card for one of the six in their grid. Players can flip over cards in their grid to reveal them.
The game ends when a player has all cards face up or decides to “knock.” The player knocking assumes that he or she can win at that time. All other players then get a final turn. Once finished, all cards are turned up and counted. The winner has the least number of points.
Aces = 1
Number cards = Face value
Jacks and Queens = 10 points
Kings = 0 points
Pairs = 0 points
Jokers = 0 points
At the Castle Rock Senior Activity Center (CRSAC), Afternoon of Games is set twice a month where approximately 60 people gather to play. In addition to Polish Poker, games like Scrabble, Sequence, Mahjong, Hand & Foot, Zumba and bridge are also on the docket.
At CRSAC, Polish Poker is played with pennies, though the coming penny shortage may cause them to up the ante.
Diana Mullins, a member of CRSAC, moved to Douglas County to be near her daughter. Diana plays Polish Poker as well as engages in other CRSAC activities.
CRSAC is a nonprofit with the motto, “Loving Life in the Second Half.” The minimum age to join is 50; the dues are a modest $40 per year. The CRSAC even has its own pick-up and delivery fleet. CRSAC has an impressive lending library, puzzle room and knitting/crocheting club, as well as a conviviality that seems to prevail with every activity.
Could this be your year to become a Polish Poker player? What do you have to lose but a few pennies?
For more information, visit castlerockseniorcenter.org.
By Joe Gschwendtner; photos courtesy of the Castle Rock Senior Activity Center
