Bragg

Number of players: 4 to 8
Type of game: Cards (vying)
Period: 1674

Bragg is the oldest British member of the Poker family. Every hand is played for three stakes: one for the highest face up card, one for the best pair (the Bragg itself, where players bet against each other), and one for the hand closest to 31. The Jack of Clubs is wild, which makes the betting all the more interesting.

History of Bragg

• Source: Bragg is described in Charles Cotton’s The Compleat Gamester of 1674.

• Family: It is considered the oldest British relation of Poker, and it survives today as the card game Brag.

• Vying: The betting in the second stake is called vying, an early word for betting that your hand is better than the other players’, much as in modern Poker.

• Rules Source: These rules are adapted from the card games booklet published by MacGregor Historic Games (historicgames.com).

Rules of Bragg

Setup

• Deck: A standard 52 card deck.

• Stakes: Each player antes an agreed amount into each of three stakes (pots).

• Deal: Deal three cards to each player, the first two face down and the third face up.

Objective

• Win as many of the three stakes as you can.

Gameplay

First Stake: The Highest Card

1. The player dealt the highest ranking face up card wins the first stake.

2. If there is a tie, the elder hand (the player dealt to first) wins, except that the Ace of Diamonds beats every other card.

Second Stake: The Bragg

1. Players vye, betting against each other as to who holds the best pair.

2. A Pair Royal (three of a kind) beats any pair.

3. Higher pairs beat lower pairs, with Aces the highest.

4. The Jack of Clubs is wild. It pairs with any other card, and makes a Pair Royal with a true pair.

Third Stake: Thirty-one

1. Court cards are worth 10 and all other cards their face value.

2. Players may draw extra cards from the deck to get closer to 31, or stand on their hand, as in modern Blackjack.

3. The player whose hand reaches 31, or comes closest without going over, wins the third stake.

Victory Conditions

• Each stake is won separately, as above.

• Under the strictest rules, a player who wins all three stakes in a single hand also collects an extra stake from every other player.

Optional and House Rules

1. Two Wild Cards

• A variation also made the 9 of Diamonds wild. Together with the Jack of Clubs and a natural Ace, it made a Pair Royal that beat all others.

2. Aces in Thirty-one

• The booklet does not give a value for Aces in the third stake. Count them as 11, as in Bone Ace and One and Thirty, or agree to count them as 1.

Summary Table

• Game
• Period

• Cards