Stuss, also known as Jewish Faro, is a game of cards that originated in Chicago and New York during World War One. Stuss is more often played in back rooms and private houses, and has not seen much popularity commercially.

Stuss if a variant of the game Faro, a far more popular card game. While identical in many ways, cards in Stuss are dealt by hand instead of the shoe as is used in Faro. Gameplay and rules of Stuss mirror Faro is essentially every way. Stuss is generally not played in modern times, being resigned to private games shared by friends.

Playing Stuss

As the rules of Stuss are the same as Faro, players of Faro will be able to play Stuss without any hassle. The game is played with a full deck of cards. Among the players present, one played is designated as the banker, and the others are known as the punters. The punters use real money to purchase chips from the banker in order to start playing. The table that Stuss if played on is similar to many casinos tables, being oval, covered in green baize, and contained a small cut-out for the banker to stand in. This layout would differ from place to place, and Stuss, being a game played more in basements and back rooms, often has a more casual setup.

Cards are laid out in a certain order, usually alphabetical, and the punters can use these cards to make their bets. Multiple bets can be placed, while also being able to bet on a special high card usually found to the top of the card layout.

The Rules of Stuss

Once the punters have made all the bets, the cards are shuffled thoroughly. A first card is then removed, known as the soda, and is removed from the deck completely. The banker then draws two new cards from the deck, with the first card placed to the right, and the next card is placed on the left. Cards are continued to be laid down by the banker until a player’s card which they set their bet on is revealed, and the player wins the stake. This can conversely result in a loss, if the player’s chosen card is not revealed by the banker.

The pairs of cards during the game are known as turns, and there can be up to twenty five turns per round. If an entire set of turns are laid down, a fresh deck is then used, and the game continues from where it stopped. Once a player has won or lost, the round ends, and a new set of turns are started, where players can continue to make bets or lay down coppers.  Players could place a copper on top of cards that they believed were going to lose, and this was known as coppering.

Stuss in Summary

Stuss may not be as popular as it once was or comparing to poker, but it is still a unique and enjoyable card game, and is just one of many variations available.