Chinese Gambling Game, in which the player has one card until the crowd dies
Fan Tan, a new member of Stokes' family of board games, is rapidly growing. It originated in Italy, but has now become popular worldwide. It is played in the same way that Chess, but with seven instead of five cards. It is also known as Seven-Card Stud (or Seven-Card Scrabble). It is still widely used as an official game in many countries. It is second only to Chess in popularity in Europe.
It is often played between two groups of people, called partners. Each player has seven cards facing him. The players alternately turn their heads and choose to stay in their respective corners or move their card(s), if necessary, one place to their left or right. When a player gets to move his card(s) forward, he must also discard a card from his hand, unless it is his partner's turn and he has moved all his counters ahead of his partner.
Fan Tan's rules are very similar to traditional Chinese gambling games such as Black and White, Rummy, and Chamomile. A 'level' is a goal for all players to collect pairs or cards at the end. The winner is determined by the last player standing. For a game of Fan Tan, the last level usually involves a minimum of four players; three to win the pot and one to lose it. In a seven card game, however, the minimum number of players is six.
Similar to its related nine-card version, Fan Tan has another important variant. In this variation, players alternate piles of cards - one pile of sevens and one pile of diamonds. Players who have rolled multiple sevens are not allowed to choose which pile of cards to receive their winnings. The same goes for players who have rolled one diamond. Traditional Chinese gambling games such as Fan Tan have a goal of winning. The aim is to be the first to come up with a combination that produces the fastest result. Fan-tan, however, has a different objective. You want to make the most combinations no matter how many others are participating.
The goal of regular Fan Tan is to make as many sets as possible of sevens. In this variant, the players alternate piles of cards. One stack of sevens is preferred over one stack. Players who have rolled several sevens are not allowed to choose which pile they will receive their winnings. The same goes for players who have rolled any diamond. The rule for seven-card games is that you keep the cards you have already won. However, fan-tan allows you the right to keep any cards that are revealed. The winner card of a "lottery ticket" is kept secret and only the player who bought it can see it.
When you participate in a fan-tan game, you are required to remove your shirts. It is imperative that players expose both their shirts as well as their pants when participating in fan-tan games. The "lottery" ticket is known by all those who have rolled it. It is important that you always have a shirt, and a pair or pants, when playing seven card games.
It is important that you take off all clothing except your shoes when you are participating in a seven-card fan tan game. You will almost certainly break this rule because many of these types gambling games require that your body be exposed. Once you've finished your roll you should again expose your clothes, but this one time, only one shoe. After you have done this, and everyone in the room has rolled their eyes at you, you should again expose your clothes, but this time only one shoe. Anyone who sees this will need a new shirt.
Fan Tan can either be played with a 52-card deck or a seven card draw. Each player will receive two cards from each of the seven-card draws. With the standard 52-card deck, players have the option to place any number of cards on a table regardless of their actual hand. Players can only place two cards facing up if they are playing with a seven card draw. Players can then place the "lowest card", the final card, and the three highest cards from their respective draw piles facing them. The game ends when everyone has drawn a card.