Sette e Mezzo

Italy’s Christmas classic with a 40-card pack. Get to seven and a half without going over, take turns holding the bank, and watch for the wild King. 2–8 players.

Who To Play With

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How to play Sette e Mezzo

  1. 1Italy’s Christmas favorite, played with chips only — never real money. Everyone starts with 1,000 chips.
  2. 2It uses a 40-card pack: ace to seven in each suit plus the Jack, Queen and King. Aces count 1, two to seven their number, and the court cards a half each. The King of Diamonds is wild: it counts whatever whole number from 1 to 7, or a half, suits you best.
  3. 3One player holds the bank each hand, and the bank moves one seat on after every hand. Everyone else bets 10–100 chips against the bank, in steps of 10.
  4. 4Each player gets one card face down. In turn, take more cards face up or stand. Aim for 7½ or as close as you can get without going over; over 7½ is bust and your bet goes to the bank straight away.
  5. 5The banker turns up their card last and draws or stands, seeing everyone’s face-up cards. If the banker busts, everyone still in wins. Otherwise you win only by beating the banker: ties go to the bank.
  6. 6Wins pay even money, but exactly 7½ in your first two cards is paid double. If the bank runs out of chips, it pays in turn order for as long as it can.
  7. 7Everyone holds the bank twice (three times with two or three players). Most chips at the end wins; anyone who can’t cover 10 chips is out.

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