What are Some Good 5 Player Card Games?

If you’re looking to move beyond blackjack, you’ve come to the right place! I searched high and low to find the top card games which are great for five or more players. 

While most online casinos offer a wide range of instant win or live dealer card games where you won’t necessarily be playing with your friends, if you’re playing in person, you’ll need a good number of games up your sleeve.

Luckily, I’ve done the hard work for you. Read on to find our favorite five player card games and how to play them.

1) Cheat

Like most non-traditional casino games, Cheat goes by many names including I Doubt It, Bluff or Liar. The key to Cheat is… well, cheating. The aim is to get rid of all your cards as quickly as possible. 

To play, you’ll need a standard 52-card deck and three or more players. If you have more than six players, you may want to use a second deck too. After shuffling the cards, deal them all to the players. The players then take it in turns to place between one and four cards in the centre, face down. The player will then make a statement on what the cards they’ve placed down are. In theory, they should all be of the same value (eg. three jacks). 

Here’s where it gets interesting. The other players can either accept the statement, or they can accuse them of cheating by falsely stating the value of the cards put down.

• If cheat is called: the cards placed down must be overturned. If the player cheated and was caught, they have to pick up the pile. If the player was telling the truth, the person who accused them of cheating must pick up the pile. 
• If cheat is not called: the next player would place cards face down. However, the statement they make must have the cards be the same value, one value up, or one value down from the previous player. For example, if player one placed down two 8s, player two can claim to play either 7s, 8s or 9s. 

The first player to clear their hand of cards wins, so think carefully before you accuse people of cheating!

2) Old Maid

Old Maid is a children’s classic because it’s easy to learn. Sometimes called Scabby Queen, it uses a standard deck of cards with one queen removed for a total of 51. The aim of the game is to make pairs of cards, discard them, and not be left with the partnerless queen at the end.

Like in cheat, the game starts when all the cards have been dealt out to players. From there, each player can remove any value pairs they have from their hand and place them face down. If they have three-of-a-kind, they can only discard two of the three. From there, player one will offer their hand (face down) to player two. Player two will choose a card, then make their pairs. The game continues around the circle until there is only one queen card left. The player holding that card is the loser. 

3) Crazy Eights

To keep the theme going, the aim in Crazy Eights is to clear your hand of cards. If you’ve ever played Uno, it’ll be a breeze! To begin, the dealer will deal every player five face-down cards. The remainder of the deck then goes (face down) in the center of the circle. The top card from that deck is then overturned and set to the side as the ‘starter.’ If that card is an eight, bury it in the center of the deck and overturn another. 

From there, each player has the opportunity, one at a time, to place a card onto the starter pile. Each card they play must match the card before, either in value or in suit. If unable to play a card in their hand, the player must pick up a new card from the face-down deck. If the deck runs out, they simply pass on their turn. For a longer game, you can also turn over all the cards in the starter deck except the most recently played one and draw from there. 

The 8s are the precious wild cards. They can be played at any time, and the player can then specify the next suit they’d like to play with. The first player to get rid of all their cards is the winner. 

All of our top five player card games can be played with a single standard deck.

4) Hearts

In Hearts, the aim is to be the lowest-scoring player at the end of the game. Here’s how it works. 

Before the game starts, assess the number of players in it. If there are five, remove two club cards from the deck. The dealer can then deal everyone ten cards each. From there, player one will place a card into the center. Every other player must submit a card of the same suit and the player who submits the highest value card wins the ‘trick.’ They can then choose the next card in the center.

Crucially, no player can play a heart card or the queen of spades on the first trick. However, if they lack the suit in play during any other trick, they can ‘break’ a heart by throwing it in the center. 

Once all the cards have been played, players can count up their tricks. 

• For every heart in their possession, they have one penalty point. 
• For the queen of spades, they have 13 penalty points. 
• The player with the jack of diamonds can subtract ten points from their score. 
• If a single player has all the penalty cards (all hearts plus the queen of spades), they are awarded zero penalty points and the other players are given 26 penalty points each. 

The game continues into the second round and onwards until a player has hit 50 or 100 penalty points. Then the player with the lowest amount of penalty points wins. 

5) Poker

If you’re looking to play for real money with four friends, it doesn’t get much better than poker. There are tons of poker variations, all with slightly different rules. Most of them can be played with just a single deck of cards. 

To learn the rules of fun versions like Texas Hold’em, Omaha or stud poker, check out our guides. You might even pick up on some top tips to snatch victory!

Don’t have four friends close by? Don’t worry! You can play online poker and other fun games of skill at top casino sites.

Head over to our expert casino reviews to find your perfect bonus and start playing.