Bastra


Basra is a popular fishing card game, similar to cassino, and very popular in Cyprus. The game is also popular in Egypt, Lebanon, and other Middle Eastern countries. The name is a Greek borrowing from the Arabic word basra. In Turkey, the game is known as pişti or pişpirik.

History

The game originated in Greece and is known in different variations such as diloti and kseri. The game has been exported by both the Cypriot and Turkish diasporas, and it is played in Cypriot communities in Australia, Canada, England, and the United States, usually passed on by the first generation of immigrants to their children and grandchildren. Despite this, the game is virtually unknown in these countries outside of the Cypriot and Greek communities. In Turkey, the game is still very popular.

The game

The game is played with a 52 card deck and can involve two, three, or four players, although the game is most interesting in the two or four player versions. In the four player version, the players can play for themselves or in two player teams. The first team or player to score 100 points is the winner.

The play

The dealer starts by dealing 1 card to each player, starting with the player on the dealer's left, until each player has 4 cards. The dealer then places 4 cards in the middle of the table, called the board. If 1 or more of the 4 cards is a jack, the dealer returns the jack to the bottom of the deck and replaces it or them with the next card from the top of the deck. The play begins with the player to the dealer's left, until all cards are played out. The players either collect cards from the board or add a card to the board, if they cannot fish any cards. After the cards are exhausted, the dealer then deals each player 4 more cards from the remaining deck. The dealer, however, does not deal 4 cards onto the board as done for the opening hand. The hands are played out until there are no remaining cards to be dealt.
In the two player version, each round has six hands. In the three player version, each round has four hands. In the four player version, each round consists of three hands.

Scoring

The scoring is as follows:
The object of the game is to collect total cards and cards that are worth various points. Cards are collected as follows:
On the last hand, there are often uncollected cards left on the board. These cards are awarded to the last player or team to collect a card.

Jack

The jack is the most powerful card because it can collect all the cards on the board. However, if a jack is played onto an empty board, it is lost and remains in play until one of the players can collect it, usually with another jack.

Basra

The basra is the most important scoring play of the game since it is worth 10 points. A basra occurs when a player succeeds in clearing the board without benefit of a jack. For example, if the board shows just a 7 and a player collects it with another 7, that player or team receives 10 points. In another scenario, if the board shows 3 and 2 and a player collects them with a 5, that player or team also receives 10 points. In the rare event that a jack takes a solitary jack, no basra is awarded

Placement of collected cards

The players place the collected cards close to their position at the table. To record bastras, the player places the bastra card face up, sticking out of the player's pile of collected cards. The dealer should be careful to place his or her collected cards away from the deck, so as to avoid confusion. Players are not allowed to look at their collected cards until the end of the hand. At the end of the hand, the players count their total cards and points.

End of game

The game ends when one player or team reaches 100 points. In the rare event of a tie there are various tie-breaking options, determined by the players by mutual consent. The game can be declared a draw, or an extra hand or hands can be played until the tie is broken. Or the players can extend the game to a fixed number of points.

Strategy

Although the rules and play of the game are relatively simple, the strategy is much more complex. The bastra is the most crucial element of the game, as a 20 or 30 point lead or deficit can be quickly frittered away or overturned by conceding or taking bastras.

Remembering which cards have been played

The most important element of the game is remembering which cards have been played. This way, if you are forced to play into an open board, you have an idea of the probability of which cards remain. For example, if you know that two 6s have been played and you hold a 6 in your hand, there is a good chance your opponent may not hold a 6. It is also important to remember which point cards have been played. For example, if you are holding two 10s and you know that the other 10s have been played, you could throw down the other 10 and have a good chance of collecting it with the 10 of diamonds later in the hand.

When to play point cards

The rule of thumb is to hold the point cards to the end, especially if you are in position to play the last card, since your opponents will in all likelihood hold on to their point cards as well. An ace played early in the hand will almost always be lost, usually through combining. The same applies to the 2 of clubs.

Use of the jacks

The jacks are very powerful cards. Although they are worth only 1 point each, they can lead to more points elsewhere. It is generally considered good strategy to hold the jacks to the end of the hand. This serves 2 purposes. On the one hand, if your opponents are holding point cards, you will collect them. On the other hand, you clear the board and increase your chances of getting a bastra by forcing your opponent to play into an open board at the start of the next hand, when you will have 4 fresh cards in your hands. You may, however, play the jack earlier in the hand, especially if there are points sitting on the board. You may also play the jack if there are a lot of cards on the board, in order to enhance your chances of winning the 3 bonus points for most cards. If you have 2 jacks in your hand, you should play one at the beginning of the hand. There is no point playing them back-to-back at the end. For the last hand, you have to be careful to play your jack early enough so as not to lose it. If you play the jack onto an open board at the end, your opponent will get it if he or she was the last player to collect cards.

Use of the face cards

The face cards appear to have little value, since they do not bring points. But they can be used as a tactic to prevent bastras. For example, if you are faced with a board that has just a 3, and your numeral cards risk giving a bastra, it would be a safe play to drop the king, thus preventing your opponent from having a bastra opportunity. It is also wise to drop the face cards in order to conserve numeral cards for later in the hand, in the event that your opponent plays a point card.

Using low cards to set up bastras

Sometimes it is good strategy to play a low card when facing an empty board if you are not sure of which cards have been played. For example, if you are holding 2, 6 and 8, you may want to drop the 2, forcing your opponent to set you up for a bastra himself if he does not have a 9, jack or a face card.

Order of playing cards

It is generally wise to build the hand by playing lower numeral cards ahead of the higher ones since combining is used to collect cards. For example, if you have 3, 4, 7 and 9, it would be wiser to start with the 3 and 4 and work your way up. Otherwise, it will be harder to collect cards if you start with the 9 and 7. As well, the higher cards can be used to collect aces in combination with other cards. In any scenario where you have the 2 of clubs and another 2, or the 10 of diamonds and another ten, never play the card with the point value first – if you lose the other 10, at least you are not losing any points!

Defensive strategies

As a general rule, a board with high cards and face cards will yield fewer opportunities for bastras. A very conservative tactic to prevent bastras is to play a jack into an open board. Although this is considered an unusual tactic, it can be justified near the end of a close game, where a bastra could change the balance of the scores. It is usually unwise to play point cards into an open board because the bastra conceded will be doubly painful. Winning the race to collect the most cards is not that crucial, since the game is almost always decided by the number of bastras taken and conceded. It is more important to collect point cards and bastras than total cards.
Be alert if your opponent drops a 2 or a 10, or tries to build combinations adding to 10 – your opponent may be trying to fish them out with the 2 of clubs or the 10 of diamonds. If you cannot fish these cards out yourself, you may want to collect other cards that will force your opponent to leave you with a bastra opportunity if your opponent decides to go ahead and collect the point card. For example, let's say your opponent plays the 10 of hearts and the board now shows 3, 8 and 10. If you had an 8, it would be wise to fish out the 8, that way, if your opponent did indeed have the 10 of diamonds, this would leave you a potential bastra with the 3 should your opponent decide to go ahead and fish out the 10. You could also solve this problem by clearing the board with a jack. In the same vein, try to avoid playing combinations that add up to 10, if the 10 of diamonds remains to be played.

Related games

Egyptian basra

The Egyptian fishing game, basra, has the same rules of bastra with the following differences:
Yemeni basra has the same rules of the Egyptian basra with the following differences:
Ethiopian basra has the same rules as Egyptian basra with the following differences:
Lebanese basra has two variants. It has the same rules of bastra with the following differences:
Lebanese basra variant A
Lebanese Basra variant B
This variant is called "ashush".
A version of basra is played in Palestine and Jordan. It has the same rules of bastra with these differences:
The Play
There are only 44 cards in the card deck. Kings and Queens cards are usually thrown out. 4 cards are usually dealt to each player although there is a variation where 5 cards are dealt
Scoring
If there is a tie, each team having 26 cards, no one gets 3 points.
Basra
In this version of Basra, the score for a Basra is twice the face value of the card used to make the capture. For example, a Basra with a 7 scores 14 points in the case of capturing a 7 Spades with a 7 Diamonds. If you capture a Jack with a lone Jack, there is no Basra.
End of game
The game ends when one player or team reaches 101 or 151 depending on agreement between players.

Jordanian Basra

In Jordan, there are two variants of Basra.
Jordanian Basra variant
This Basra variant is the same as Palestinian Basra. It should be born in mind that the Palestinian Basra is the most dominant Basra variant in Jordan.
Jordanian Basra variant
This version of Basra card game is reported by Muthana Haddad. This variant of Jordanian Basra is the same as Palestinian Basra except that the picture cards, Queens and Kings, are used and the value of these cards differs as well. If the picture cards, Queens and Kings are used, they count as 10 for this purpose, so if a Queen captures a lone Queen from the table the score will be 20 points.

Syrian Basra

In Syria, there is more than one variant of Basra.
Syrian Basra variant
This Basra variant is similar to the Palestinian Basra with the following differences:
The Play
There are only 52 cards in the card deck. Kings and Queens cards are not thrown out. 4 or 6 cards are usually dealt to each player.
Basra
The value of a Queen is 3 points, so if you capture a queen with another queen, you acquire the double point, that is 6 points.
The value of a King is 4 points, so if you capture a king with another king, you acquire the double point, that is 8 points.
Capturing a Jack with a Jack is as scored follows:- The value of a Jack is 12.5, so if you capture a Jack with another Jack, you acquire 25 points.
Syrian Basra variant
This Basra variant is called Homsi Basra. It is similar to the Palestinian Basra with the following difference:-
Basra
The value of a Jack is 12.5, so if you capture a Jack with another Jack, you acquire 25 points.