what to call the player who isn't the dealer?

December 23, 2021 6:53 AM

I am writing some code related to a two-player card game. I often need to refer to the players by their role (rather than, say, by whose turn it currently is). One player is the dealer, but the other player is the... what? Is there a standard term for this? I've been using "responder" but I don't like it.
posted by dbx to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (14 answers total)

Player?
posted by box at 6:57 AM on December 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

Non-dealer.
posted by Umami Dearest at 6:58 AM on December 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

Individual players in poker, bridge, canasta, and every other card game I've played are called players, unless they hold a special role (e.g. dealer, or one of the blinds in poker). There are special terms like defenders in bridge, but this applies to a pair of players, not an individual.

So one player is the dealer, the other player is the player.
posted by underclocked at 7:00 AM on December 23, 2021 [2 favorites]

I don't think there's an actual good word for this ("player" is too overloaded in a game context), so I'd have a bit of fun with it: Mark. Rube. Pleb.
posted by neckro23 at 7:10 AM on December 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

Dealee.
posted by saladin at 7:11 AM on December 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

Going with neckro23: the sucker.
posted by Ghidorah at 7:17 AM on December 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

Best answer: In cribbage it’s the pone.
posted by Jawn at 7:24 AM on December 23, 2021 [8 favorites]

Response by poster: I guess I should add: the game is cribbage, which has a fair amount of game-specific terminology already. The two roles are even more asymmetric than in most games, where once the dealing is done it's really just about turn order. In cribbage, the dealer has cards that the rube doesn't (thx necro, rube is currently leading xD).

underclocked, thanks for reminding me about bridge! In addition to the terms you mention, players are usually given cardinal directions, and by convention South usually deals. There's also the Dummy, which could be a contender here, too. Great suggestions so far!
posted by dbx at 7:25 AM on December 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

pitcher, catcher
posted by thelonius at 7:25 AM on December 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: And Jawn snuck it in under the wire. Thanks!!
posted by dbx at 7:26 AM on December 23, 2021

In piquet the dealer is called "younger hand", the other is "elder hand".
posted by BobTheScientist at 7:36 AM on December 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

I'd never heard of 'pone', but on looking it up, I see an unsourced assertion that it's short for 'opponent'. Mentioning it here because 'opponent' itself might be a suitable generic word for the player opposing the dealer.
posted by yuwtze at 7:37 AM on December 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

I think in whist the player to the right of the dealer was called the seat? It's been ages since I played whist so might be wrong.
posted by fiercekitten at 7:58 AM on December 23, 2021 [1 favorite]

In poker the first to move after the dealer is UTG: “under the gun”
posted by Jobst at 9:41 AM on December 23, 2021 [1 favorite]