Brain Damage

Also Known as...

Five Card Charlie, 7.5

Players

Equipment
1 Deck of cards with all 8s, 9s and red 10s removed, Booze.

Intoxication Level

Medium to High

Setup

Players gather in a circle with a Deck of Cards and Booze. The 8s, 9s, and 10s are removed from the Deck.

Gameplay

Play is similar to BlackJack, except the ideal score is 7 and a half, rather than 21.
The ranks of the cards are...
Face cards half a point
Aces 1 point
2-7 face value
10s wild

All cards are placed face down, and all Players flip one card from the pile. Highest card (keeping in mind 10s are wild) is the Dealer and deal will go in order of cards drawn (highest card pulled to lowest).

Players may not exit the game until they have been the Dealer.

The Dealer compiles the deck and deals one card face down to the first player and one card face down themself. the Dealt Player looks at the card then bets any amount of beer.

The Dealt Player keeps the first card face down, and may hit (request an additional card) as many times as they wish. If the Dealt Player goes over 7.5, they must show the flipped card and drink the bet made. If the Dealt Player stays (decides they want no more cards), the Dealer turns over their card, and then hits until they think thay have beat the Dealt Player. If Dealer busts (accumulates a total over 7 and a half), the Dealer must drink the bet.

If the dealer stays, the Dealt player must turn over the face down card. The Player with the lower total must drink the bet. If they are tied, the Dealt Player must drink the bet. The dealer then deals to the next player.
The Dealer continues until there are six or less cards remaining in the deck. If the dealer begins dealing with six or less cards, they must shuffle and deal the entire deck again as penalty. When the dealer has six or less cards, they must lay them face down, and the player (whose turn it is to be dealt) makes a bet. The Dealer and the Bidding Player both draw a card and the lower card drinks the bet. If they tie the Bidding Player must drink. Play continues until everyone has dealt.

Five Card Charlie (Variation A)

Some play that if the Dealt player gets five total cards (4 hits with no bust), the Dealt Player wins. The dealer may not attempt to tie.

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