How would you play Uno for money?
January 4, 2011 4:34 PM   Subscribe

How would you play Uno for money?

I learned a long time ago two things about me and cards -- I'm lousy at poker, but I'm great at Uno.

Okay, stop laughing. :)

Seriously, though, any suggestions for how would one play Uno for money? I'm thinking of having some friends over for an Uno night (instead of poker night, natch) and I'm trying to think of a fun way that you could play for money.

Anyone ever played with an ante or money per point?
posted by zooropa to Grab Bag (16 answers total) 6 users marked this as a favorite
 
Money per card left in your hand at the end of each round.
posted by thorny at 4:43 PM on January 4, 2011


keep score, bet on score before the hand, work out a money exchange for guessing appropriately.
posted by nadawi at 4:47 PM on January 4, 2011


You could put money per point left in hand in the pot, then redistributed evenly, so everyone wins the number of points less than average they have left. That way there isn't only one person winning money.
posted by monkeymadness at 4:48 PM on January 4, 2011


The simplest way is "If I win, you pay me $5. If you win, I pay you $5."
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 4:48 PM on January 4, 2011


An ante is made. The player first out of cards wins the kitty. But:

If a Skip or Draw two is played, the target player must put an additional amount into the kitty in addition to being skipped or drawing cards.

When a player plays a wild, all other players must put an additional amount into the kitty.

When a player plays Reverse, they get to take a small amount out of the kitty.

These amounts are predetermined: all players put in 5 bucks on the initial ante. Players having to add to the kitty on a Draw Two, Skip, or Wild must add two bucks. Players who get to take money out for a Reverse get to take two bucks. The first player to get UNO gets whatever is in the pot.
posted by sourwookie at 5:00 PM on January 4, 2011 [5 favorites]


I forget the rules for Uno, but basically you buy cards to start (so if you start with 10 cards, you pay $10; 4 people equals a $40 pot). First person out gets $25 (i.e. makes $15 after buy-in), second $15 (up $5), third $5 (down $5), fourth $0 (down $10).
posted by 2bucksplus at 5:18 PM on January 4, 2011


Did you just invent those rules off the top of your head, sourwookie, or have you played this before? Very impressive!
posted by obiwanwasabi at 5:45 PM on January 4, 2011


If a player can't play, will they draw one card, or keep drawing until they get one that plays? Is a player allowed to draw, even though they have a playable card in their hand, for strategic reasons?

In both cases, I've played both ways, but, if you're playing for money, it's important to make sure everybody knows the deal.
posted by box at 5:59 PM on January 4, 2011


Depends on how high you want the stakes to be. If it's mainly for fun, and you don't mind taking all evening, I'd just have everyone ante into a pot and then the winner takes all.
posted by Kadin2048 at 6:15 PM on January 4, 2011


Those rules that sourwookie defined are also conducive to a drinking variation.
posted by CathyG at 6:26 PM on January 4, 2011


Actually those were right off the top of my head. I haven't been near an UNO deck since I was a teen. Now that I look at it, it's more of an UNO/Dreidel mashup.

(I've invented an AWESOME variation of Texas Hold 'Em played with Scrabble tiles instead of cards too)
posted by sourwookie at 6:43 PM on January 4, 2011


I can't remember just what the rules were, but I played strip Uno once.
posted by SLC Mom at 6:52 PM on January 4, 2011


I "invented" a version called "Battle Uno," where two decks are combined, but all of the even-numbered cards are removed, which means you've got twice the Draws/Skips/Reverses than your numbers. Add that to sourwookie's rules for a little flavor.
posted by GamblingBlues at 6:58 PM on January 4, 2011


Sourwookie's rules are excellent, but I would make one change -- because each game starts with a clockwise flow, you have a natural advantage over the player on your left. For example:

If a Skip or Draw two is played, the target player must put an additional amount into the kitty

In this instance, you will be targeting the player on your left far more than the player on your right, because Reverses will not be played early in the game.

Solution: Rotate the "dealer" position with each hand, or reverse the starting flow with each hand (hand 1 starts clockwise, hand 2 is counter-clockwise).
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 7:07 PM on January 4, 2011 [1 favorite]


It's nice to reward overall play in addition to round-winning.

You can do this by keeping track of the points left in your hand at the end of each round. Then, the person with the least points at the end of the night gets the points jackpot.

When you ante for each round, you can put an ante towards the round pot, and a smaller ante towards the points pot.
posted by hoca efendi at 3:20 AM on January 5, 2011


I played strip Uno once.
posted by SLC Mom


I think I went to school with your son.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 7:15 PM on January 5, 2011


« Older The opposite of xenophobia, but in Mexican Spanish...   |   Please help me understand this bread recipe! Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.