Acey Deucey

Acey Deucey, also known as 'In Between' and 'Sheets', is more of a fun game than a card game, but you can still win a lot of money playing it. The general principle behind Acey Deucey is that the player is dealt two cards face up. He/she then bets whether the next card will fall numerically between the first two cards. If it does, the player wins! Acey Deucey is suitable for as few as two and as many as ten players.

The Cards

Standard deck of 52 cards. Cards rank A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.

Perliminaries

Each player is given a stack of chips, to bet. The first dealer is chosen by dealing cards around the table face up. The person with the highest becomes the first dealer; thereafter the deal proceeds to the left.

The Ante

Each player puts up one chip to form the pool.

The Deal

Any player may shuffle the cards, but the Dealer gets the shuffle last, and should ask the player to their right if they would like to cut the cards last.

Deal and Play

The Dealer deals to each player one at a time. So, beginning with the player to his/her immediate left, the Dealer deals out two cards in front of him, face up. The player can either pass, or place a bet that the next card will lie in numerical value, between the first two cards. The player may bet as little as one chip, or as much is as in the pool. If the next card turned does lie between the first two cards, then the player wins from the pool as much as he bet. If the next card turned is equal to, or lies outside the first two cards, then the player loses, and his bet is added to the pool.

Naturally, the best deal you can get is an Ace and a Two – Acey Deucey! If the first two cards are consecutive, such as a three and a four, then they are laid to one side, and the Dealer lays out another two cards for the player. If the first two cards are a pair, then the player bets whether the next card turned will be higher or lower. If the next card is the same, the player must double their bet.

Once the player has finished his/her turn, the dealer lays those cards aside, face down, and deals to the next player playing his/her turn, and on around the table until each player has had a turn, including the dealer, at which time the deal proceed to the left.

If at any time the pool runs out of chips, each player is required to replenish it with one chip from their stack.

The games ends when you get sick of it, and the winner is, of course, the player with the largest stack of chips.

Variations

Ante to the play – In this variation, the player antes up one trip before his cards are turned. If he passes, he renounces his bet, and loses it to the pool. If the player receives consecutive cards, such as a five and a six, then he/she immediately loses their ante to the pool. This keeps things ticking over.

Another variation, if the third card matches either of the first two cards, it’s called a ‘Post’, and the player must double his/her bet and a fourth card is dealt. These are all just minor variations you can sought out for those anomalies which come up, like pairs and matching cards show up.

Multiple Decks – You can also play Acey Deucey by combining two decks. This is common in the United States, and works better when there are more players.

Splitting Pairs – Another variation allows you to split pairs, with each one played as a separate hand, like in BlackJack. The player must ante up for the second play, and each card in the pair has another card dealt out against it. The player may treat each one differently, betting as high or low based on the merits of each hand.

Aces – In these variations, special rules surround the Aces. If the first card turned is an Ace, then the player may either declare it a High Ace or a Low Ace. When an Ace comes out as the second card, it is always a High Ace. If a player posts on a pair of Aces, they have to quadruple their bet, and if the next card turned is an Ace, it’s an automatic loss. Furthermore, if an Ace is turned as the third card against any pair, then it triggers an automatic loss. Not so Acey Deucey.