Panguingue, also known as Pan, is a nineteenth century gambling card game, similar to rummy. It is thought to have originated in the Philippines, but was first described in America in 1905. It used to be extremely popular in the casinos of Las Vegas, and was in fact a staple of the gambling online NZ establishments during the Californian gold rush in the 1800s. It is still played in some regions of the western United States and Florida, as well as California. It is also found on some online poker sites, and is played often in house games.
This Game Is Played With a Huge Deck
Panguingue is played using eight 40 card packs. These Spanish style decks are created by stripping the 8s, 9s, and 10s from a standard 52 card deck. The game is thus played with a total of 320 cards in the resulting enormous deck. Cards rank from the highest, which is a King, down to the Ace, which is the lowest.
To determine who deals first, the deck is shuffled and each player draws a card. The player who draws the lowest card is the one to deal. The rotation of dealing and playing is counter clockwise, going to the right. The player to the dealer’s right is the eldest hand, and the winner of each hand becomes the eldest hand for the next round, with the player on his left being the dealer.
How to Play Panguingue
Each player puts one chip into the pot to be dealt into the game. Each player receives ten cards, in five rounds of two cards each. The remainder of the deck is placed face down in the middle of the table, the top card is turned up and placed next to the stock, and that is the discard pile. If a player decides not to play that hand, he has to pay a penalty, usually two chips. These will go to the player who wins the hand.
Each player in turn draws one card. If he draws from the top of the stock, he can use that card or discard it. If he draws the card on top of the discard pile he has to meld immediately. A drawn card must be melded, or laid off, or discarded. After drawing a card, the player can lay off as many cards as he wishes, and when he is done he has to discard one card on the discard pile.
The Aim of This Game
The objective of playing Panguingue is to be the first player to lay down, or meld, eleven cards. That means all the ten cards in your hand, plus the final card drawn. Melds in Panguingue consist of sets called spreads or sequences. A set consists of three or more cards of the same rank, either of three different suits, or of the same suit. Two cards of one suit and one of another do not constitute a valid set. Kings and Aces can form valid sets regardless of suit. A sequence is any three cards of consecutive value in the same suit. The Jack and seven are considered to be consecutive, since 8, 9 and 10s are not used.
In Panguingue a player cannot put down a meld unless he can use the top of the stock or the top of the discard pile. When the player can meld his eleven cards, the player will receive the pot, plus an additional payment from the active players for any exit they may have made.
