Editing Card game (section)

== Hand comparison games ==
Hand comparison games, also called comparing card games, are mostly gambling games that use cards. Players lay their initial stakes, are dealt cards, may or may not be able to exchange or add to them, and may or may not be able to raise their stakes, and the outcome is decided by some form of comparison of card values or combinations. The main groups are vying and banking games. A smaller mainly Oriental group are partition games in which players divide their hands before comparing.

{{anchor|Vying games}}

===Vying games===
Vying games, are those in which players bet or "vie" on who has the best hand. The player with the best combination of hand cards in a "showdown", or the player able to bluff the others into folding, wins the hand. Easily the best known of the group around the world is [[Poker]], which itself is a family of games with over 100 variants. Other examples include English [[Brag (card game)|Brag]] and the old Basque game of [[Mus (card game)|Mus]]. Most may be classified as gambling games and, while they may involve skill in terms of bluffing and memorizing and assessing odds, they involve little or no card playing skill.<ref name=pagatVG>[https://www.pagat.com/vying/ ''Vying Games''] at [[pagat.com]]. Retrieved 29 December 2023.</ref>

====Poker games====
{{see also|List of poker variants}}
[[Poker]] is a family of gambling games in which players bet into a pool, called the pot, the value of which changes as the game progresses that the value of the hand they carry will beat all others according to the [[list of poker hands|ranking system]]. Variants largely differ on how cards are dealt and the methods by which players can improve a hand. For many reasons, including its age and its popularity among Western militaries, it is one of the most universally known card games in existence.

=== Banking games ===
These are gambling games played for money or chips in which players compete, not against one another, but against a [[banker (cards)|banker]]. They are commonly played in casinos, but many have become domesticized, played at home for sweets, matchsticks or points. In [[casino game]]s, the banker will have a 'house advantage' that ensures a profit for the casino. Popular casino games include [[Blackjack]] and [[Baccarat]], while [[Pontoon (card game)|Pontoon]] is a cousin of Blackjack that emerged from the trenches of the [[First World War]] to become a popular British family game.<ref>[https://www.pagat.com/banking/ ''Banking Games''] at [[pagat.com]]. Retrieved 29 December 2023.</ref>