Horserace Drinking Game Card Games
Posted : admin On 3/19/2022Card Games; Drinking Games; Board Games; Horserace Drinking Game Rules. By Dave on July 15, 2019 July 15, 2019. Get togethers can be relaxing and a nice time to catch up with friends. However, sometimes you don’t want to just sit there and chat, you want to have fun and play games. Before the game begins, each player makes bets based on their horse being as simple as 'five on diamonds' but can get as complex as any true horse race such as Trifectas, Exactas, Daily Doubles.
OBJECTIVE OF HORSERACE: Bet on the right ace or get wasted!
MATERIALS: Beer, Standard deck of card, a table
AUDIENCE: Adult
TYPE OF GAME: Drinking
INTRODUCTION TO HORSE RACE (HORSERACE)
Horserace is a drinking gamethat utilizes a standard deck of playing cards. The game is inspired by horse racing, as alluded to by its namesake.
To set up the game, shuffle through the deck to find the four aces, and place them in a horizontal row across the table. These aces are the horses. Deal 8 cards from the top of the deck to form an L with the Aces: the cards should be dealt in a vertical column perpendicular to the row of Aces. Each card in the column is referred to as a “link.”
Set-Up
Prior to starting the game, players bet on which horse (ace) they think will win. Bets are quantified by a number of drinks and a suit, for example, 4 on hearts. Players must drink half of the drinks they bet before the race begins.
1 Drink = 1 oz (2/3 a shot or 1/12 of a beer)
THE PLAY
One player, who can be chosen by any method players choose, in the announcer. After all bets are accounted for, the announcer flips over the top card of the deck. It is only the suit of the card that is significant, the ace of that suit moves forward 1 link.
Each time a horse moves up to a link for the first time, the link card is flipped over by the announcer and the ace of that suit moves back 1 link. Horses that haven’t moved yet cannot be set back 1 link. The announcer continues to flip cards from the deck and the horses gallop forward along the links until one ace passes the final link, across the finish line, to the winner’s circle.
Once the race has finished, the players who bet on the correct ace winning give twice the number of drinks they wagered while losers drink half their wager.
A deck of cards
The active participation of one player, the Announcer
Setup:
The game requires active participation by only one person: the Announcer. The announcer prepares the field by searching through the deck, taking out the ace (horse) of each suit, and laying them face-up and side-by-side at one end of the table (this is 'the gates'). He then shuffles the deck and lays out a variable number of cards face-down (these form the 'links' of the race) in a straight line perpendicular to the row of aces. The cards thus appear to form an 'L' or the two legs of a right triangle. The field is now set.
Playing:
Before the game begins, each player makes bets based on their horse being as simple as 'five on diamonds' but can get as complex as any true horse race such as Trifectas, Exactas, Daily Doubles, and others. In another variation, players may simply pick their favorite horse, and the payout is set at 20 drinks for the first-place horse, 15 for second place, and 10 for third place. Placing a small bet on the 'first horse out of the gates' is a popular bet that excites the crowd early. Penalties may be applied to bettors who bet on an ace that never leaves the starting gates. Safeguards are often instituted to prevent players from placing exorbitant bets such as 'one hundred on hearts.' Such safeguards may include setting bet limits, requiring players to drink a portion of their bet before the race begins, or forcing losers to drink a portion of their bet at the end.
Once all bets are in, the announcer begins the race. He flips over the top card of the remaining deck. Only the suit of this card matters; the ace of that suit moves forward to the first link. The announcer narrates the ebb and flow of the game as the betters cheer on their horse. The announcer continues flipping cards and advancing horses accordingly until one horse wins by passing the final link into the winner's circle.
Horse Race Card Game Drinking
Variations exist including:
Winners distribute drinks equal to the amount they bet or double.
Winners become immune to drinking.
Horse Race Card Game Rules
Horse Race Drinking Game Card Games Free
Another variation is Faltering. Each time a horse moves up to a new link for the first time (and only the first time), the announcer flips over the card on the side of that link. The suit shown on this sideboard card must move back one space (falter). Thus in an eight-link horserace, there are eight instances of faltering that can totally change the outcome of the game. As a rule, any horse in the gates can not be knocked back any further by faltering. Another variation is Stumble in which all horses except the leader move forward one space if a designated wild card is flipped over, such as the Joker.