The Kraken Variant of Klaverjassen

Gambling comes in many forms and most of them rely on luck. From the slot machines to roulette, there are a lot of ways to gamble. However, none of these methods attract more gamblers than the cards games. As most gamblers would agree, wining at card games requires players to display prowess rather than rely on luck. It often follows that to be a successful card game gambler, one has to hone his or her skills. Most players prefer to play poker however, few know of the fact that playing, mastering and winning at Klaverjassen can be just as rewarding.

Though Klaverjassen isn’t played much in casinos, players can opt to play in Klaverjassen tournaments. However, if that’s not a viable option for you, you can still hold games and play with your playgroup. Playing in a playgroup instead of a tournament does have its own merits. One of those merits would be the fact that players can decide amongst themselves which variants and rules they’re going to follow. Klaverjassen has quite a number of variants and if you’re looking for the perfect variant for gambling, then the Kraken variant is for you and your playgroup.

The Kraken variant of Klaverjassen is played just like any standard game of Klaverjassen. The difference comes along during the choosing of trumps phase. Immediately after a particular player has chosen the trump suit, the player to his or her left is given the opportunity to challenge him or her player by saying out the word “kontra” or “ik kraak”. By declaring “kontra,” the player has expressed his or her desire to challenge the player, declaring that he or she will not be able to get more than half the points in that particular round.

When the challenge occurs the final scores will be doubled but things don’t end there. The defending team, the team who chose the trump suit, may also issue their own challenge, again doubling the final score. But still the chain doesn’t end there. The opposing team can again call for another challenge and again doubling the final score. This means that if that third and final challenge occurs, the final score now becomes multiplied by eight, giving the team who won the round a very huge advantage for the rest of the game. As one might notice, this variant of Klaverjassen incorporates the same basic mechanic that poker employs during betting, raising and calling phase of the game and gamblers even poker players will surely appreciate this adaptation.