Big Deuce
Posted on 17. Jun, 2009 by Corey in All, Dayton Dragons Baseball, General Baseball.
A professional baseball team spends more time in a stadium clubhouse then it does on the field or sometimes even at home. A typical 7:00 PM first pitch can lead players to arrive in the clubhouse around noon for early work, medical treatments, or just to hang out.
While most modern clubhouses have TV’s, stereos and wireless internet, a lot of the player’s time can be spent hanging out with teammates and playing card games. For the Dayton Dragons, finding four players huddled around a table with a deck of cards is very common.
The most common game that is played is called “Big Deuce,” and normally played with four players and a standard 52-card deck. This game is also known as “Chinese poker” because of its Chinese origin and its use of poker hands.
Although it is known throughout the Cincinnati Reds system as “Big Deuce,” this card game has many names including “Big Two,” “Thirteen,” “Top Dog,” and “Da Lao Er” or “Choh Dai Di Dai Di” in other countries. The game is very popular in Asia where it is said to have originated. Like any card game, variations of it are played.
Throughout Spring Training in Sarasota, Florida, numerous games of “Big Deuce” are played in the mornings when players have some free moments in between work out sessions. During the season, it seems this card game is played whenever players find a free couple of minutes to play. Games have even been spotted being played on the bus.
The great thing about “Big Deuce” is that it is a very fast paced game and many hands can be played in a short amount of time. The person that finishes last in any hand must sit out the next round, letting new players into the game whenever they would like.
To see the rules on how to play this game, please CLICK HERE.
The game continues until all but one player runs out of cards. The first one to run out of cards is then declared victorious, and wins the game; however the game continues usually to fight for pride until only one player remains with cards in his hand. That person usually is asked to sit out the next game.
The game is a lot simpler that described above and usually easy to pick up after watching a few hands of “Big Deuce.” Among the Dragons players, the consensus is that pitcher Scott Gaffney is the best player on the team. Jordan Hotchkiss stated that “Gaff(ney) is the only one on the team to beat me heads up.”
Starting pitcher Josh Ravin received the remaining votes for best player, but finished way behind Gaffney. When asked who the best “Big Deuce” player on the team was, Gaffney smiled and said,”It has to be me.”
Curtis Partch, a Dragons starting pitcher, had a different take when asked who the best player was on the team. Partch said, “A lot of it is luck and what cards you are dealt.” He went on to talk about how he has the mindset each game to “play for third” so that he can stay in the game and not be eliminated and have to sit out a round or two.
Upon future research of the game “Big Deuce,” it was found that there is a special clause in the rules, where if a player is dealt a 13-card straight (2-A-K-Q-J-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3) of any suit, this hand is called a “Dragon” and the player is deemed to have won the game immediately. Odds in being dealt a “Dragon” are 0.0105% or once every 9,462 games.
The other day, Jordan Hotchkiss was dealt a 12-card hand that turned out to be a straight. The problem was that the dealer misdealt the cards, causing a reshuffle and deal and causing Hotchkiss to miss out on this legendary hand. As many games that are played in the Dayton clubhouse, we should be seeing a real “Dragon” any day now.
This was very interesting. We enjoy reading your blog. Keep up the good work!