A guessing game where everyone takes turns trying to beat one player, the dealer.
Setup: One person deals, holding the shuffled deck face-down. Aces count high or low, agree first (high is common).
How to play:
The player to the dealer's left guesses the rank of the top card (e.g. "seven"). Suits don't matter.
The dealer secretly looks at the card and says only "higher" or "lower."
The player guesses a second time.
If either guess was exactly right, the dealer drinks the difference between the wrong guess and the card (or a flat 4 sips if the first guess was right, agree beforehand).
If both guesses were wrong, the player drinks the difference between their second guess and the actual card (guessed 5, it was a 9 = 4 sips).
Place the revealed card face-up on the table, sorted by rank, so everyone can see which cards are gone. Play passes left.
Passing the deck: If two players in a row beat the dealer on the first guess, the dealer passes the deck to the next player. Getting stuck as dealer is the whole joke of the game. The game ends when the deck runs out.
Fuck the Dealer, Variations
Face-up graveyard: Arrange revealed cards by rank in a visible grid so card-counting becomes the real game, the dealer's odds get worse every round.
Three guesses: A gentler version gives players a third guess (higher/lower again) before drinking.
Stuck dealer: Harsher tables require three consecutive correct first guesses before the deck passes, dealers have been known to sit for a very long time.