Horserace Drinking Game Card Games
This type of drinking game was inspired by horse racing where people bet on horses for money. Well, in this drinking game is basically the same, though when you bet for your “horses,” you bet it with a drink, and probably your life. In this drinking game, what you’ll need are a deck of cards and, of course, your preferred drinks. The level of intoxication of this game is so high, you’ll be so drunk, and it’ll be hard to pretend that you actually like the friends you’re playing with.
Horse Racing is an extremely interesting drinking game based on betting. It is particularly essential that the announcer be fun, loud, creative and retarded.
The Game
The set up for this game would be like this:
In this drinking game, what you’ll need are a deck of cards and, of course, your preferred drinks. The level of intoxication of this game is so high, you’ll be so drunk, and it’ll be hard to pretend that you actually like the friends you’re playing with. Horse Racing is an extremely interesting drinking game based on betting.
- Search through the entire deck and arrange the aces in a horizontal row across the table, which are now then called the “horses.”
- After which, deal the first 8 cards from the top of the deck in a vertical column perpendicular to the 4 Each card in this particular column is called a “link.” These will resemble a tall “L.”
- Finally, appoint someone who’ll be the race “announcer,” he/she will flip then the cards throughout this game.
Before the game begins, each player makes bets based on their horse being as simple as 'five on diamonds' but can get as complex as any true horse race such as Trifectas, Exactas, Daily Doubles. The Horse Race is an extremely exciting drinking game played with cards mostly in indoor gatherings or parties. Inspired by betting on racing horses. Horserace is a drinking game that utilizes a standard deck of playing cards. The game is inspired by horse racing, as alluded to by its namesake. To set up the game, shuffle through the deck to find the four aces, and place them in a horizontal row across the table. These aces are the horses.
Before each horse race commences, every player places a bet (number of drinks that are wagered) on a suit of their choice that he/she thinks will win the race (where the “ace” of that suit represents the horse). Then, before the race begins, each player drinks half of their bet. As a group, you get to decide if there is a maximum bet. Moreover, with this, the race is definitely on!
Horse Race Card Game Rules
- The announcer starts the game by flipping one card at a time from the top of the deck of the cards. When the ace matches the suit of the card as they flipped over, then the said ace will advance one row at a time. For example, if the five of spades were flipped, the Ace of Spades promotes one row.
- This process proceeds until one card eventually advances past the final row. If all the horses made it past a row on the course, you then need to turn the card over. Whatever “suit” that card is, the horse moves back one space.
- Each first time all four Aces have reached the same row (actually, they don’t need to be there at the same time), the faced down card signifying that row in the “L” shape is turned over to reveal its value, and the ace of that suit moves one row back. Continue playing until a horse crosses the finish line.
Fun variations
Now that you know the basics, I highly encouraged people to find new ways of making this game more fun.
- One can be, if a Joker was pulled, the front horse (or horses) “trip” or “stumble.” As a consequence, all horses except the leader advance one card. This will be an excellent rule for changing the pace of the game. Another one can be wagering drinks on what the side-column cards will be before they’re flipped.
- You can have various bets and payouts scheme in each of the race. The choice of schemes would depend on the willingness of all players.
- A player gets to bet on only one horse, or consequently, a player gets to bet on as many horses as he wants. You can also impose a maximum bet of 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 drinks. Another type of variation is when players are allowed to move back past the row of Aces if they keep drawing cards with number four or eight. These are rules that are not mutually exclusive. It’s up to you and your friends to mix and match which rules you prefer.
- Another variation is called “faltering”. Every time a horse moves up to a new link for the first time (and I mean, the first time), the announcer flips over the card on the side of that link. The suit shown on the sideboard card must move one space back (which actually means “falter”). Thus in an eight-link horse race, there are eight kinds of instances of faltering that can change the results of the said game. As a rule, any horse in the gates can’t be knocked back any further by faltering.
- The winners of this game can also be sources of variations of the game. Winners get to distribute drinks equal to the amount they bet or if he/she insists, double or triple it. Winners also can assign drinks to the losers only. (i.e., winners cannot assign drinks to one another). Also, the winning players can now ditch out their drinks, as a reward.
- Alternatively, how about this? Winners get to have a small amount of money at the end of every round. This drinking card game is mainly focused on wagering based on the number of drinks, so I recommend only betting a small amount of money, like forty-five cents to a dollar for each round. In this type of variation, each losing player gives the agreed amount of money to the winner. The winning players get to split the money if there is a tie. The winner/s being immune to their drinks and having these special “rewards” are tremendous motivators for all players.
- To add more spice to this game, you can make teams of two players play this game. One player is the horse and drinks the beer, the other one is the “horseman,” and he/she tries to guess the suit of the cards. Players can switch their role during the game, only when they’re done moving three steps since the last change.
Horse Racing Card Game
On a final note…
Horserace Drinking Game Card Games
As always, please be advised to drink responsibly! This drinking game is not meant to lead you to consume more alcohol; it’s for you and your friends to have fun during your drinking sessions. It would be a bore if you guys just sit there and drink. Bet, drink and enjoy!