Sette e mezzo

Sette e mezzo (Italian for "seven and a half") is an Italian card game and in Spanish is known as Siete y Media^[1] similar to blackjack. It is traditionally played in Italy during Christmas holidays. The game is also known in English as Seven and a half, with the Merriam Webster dictionary referring to the card game as its entry.^[2]

Overview

Sette e mezzo is played with a 40-card deck (card values from 1 to 7, and three face cards, with four suits). Face cards are worth half a point each, whereas cards from the ace to seven are worth their nominal value. The goal is reaching the highest possible score without exceeding 7½.

Rules

The purpose of the game is to achieve the highest score possible without busting, i.e. without exceeding 7½. The dealer must try to match or exceed the score of the largest possible number of players without going over. The dealer collects the amount wagered by all players who get knocked out, or who achieve a score of less than or equal to his own, and pay the equivalent of the bet players that exceed his or her score. The score of each player is calculated by adding the points of all the cards he has.

Cards from ace to 7 are worth as many points as their numeric value, with the ace equaling one point. Face cards are worth half a point. A variant includes the king of diamonds as being wild, may take the any value at the discretion of the owning player.

Variants

An Italian variant includes the rule that if the 7½ is made with only two cards, the player who receives double their wager and becomes the dealer. If two or more players make 7½ at the same time with only two cards, they will be paid double their wager and player closest to the dealer's right becomes the new dealer.

References