My grandmother was a kick-ass Crazy Rummy player. Apparently she was a kick-ass card player in general. I've heard stories about her Bridge prowess--she earned the nickname "Flippin' Francis" for the way she would lay her cards down when she won a hand.
I only ever played Crazy Rummy with her. A crazy multi-deck variation of rummy--too hard to explain in this Blog. Basically, the object is to empty your hand before your opponents do--they accumulate points for cards left in their hand. The "twist" to the game is that each hand you need a different combination "set, run, etc.| in order to start laying down cards. Once you start laying down cards, you can lay down cards on other players cards that they have layed down. You also draw a card each turn....
Grandma Betty was a master of this game. Whenever we played we all fought to not be in the L.o.B. seat (that's Left of Betty), as she was a master discarder....
Many a hand I would have only one or two cards left in my hand, and she would have a handful of cards, yet to open (start laying down cards)...Sure of finally beating her, she would lay ALL of her cards down, playing her "opening" they getting rid of the rest of everyone else's piles, beating me once again.
I studied her play, and decided to try her strategy--hold on to all my cards, not putting any down on the table for others to play on, and waiting to be able to lay down all at once. Wow, did that ever backfire. She still went out first, and instead of accumulating a few points for the few cards in my hand, I accumulated massive points for having a mitt full of cards in my hand...
We buried my grandmother today. She was 91 years old.
Please join me in raising a glass (real or figurative) of Red Breast Irish Whiskey to her memory, and my Finnegan ancestors.
-Devo
devin, thank you for sharing this. wish i could have been there.
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