Object Of The Game: To have the lowest sum of the cards in your hand as compared to the other players. Each numerical card is worth its face value. Aces are worth one and face cards are worth ten.
The Play: Deal five cards to each player, then turn over the top card of the stock pile to form the discard pile.
The player to the left of the first dealer goes first. On subsequent rounds, the player who called "Yusef" goes first in the next round.
On your turn you can do ONE of three things:
(1) put down one card from your hand and trade it for the top card of the discard pile or take the top card from the stock pile.
(2) put down a group of cards with the same face such as a pair of sevens or three kings and trade them all for one top card of the discard pile or one from the stock pile.
(3) call “Yusef” which means you believe you have the lowest sum. If you have the lowest sum, your score for that round is zero and the other players score the sum in their hand. If anyone else has a lower sum, you get 30 points for that round and the other players score zero. If anybody ties the Yusef caller, they also score zero.
Continue playing until some specified amount such as 500 points. Remember that the lowest score wins.
Alternate Variations: If you get bored, put a spin on the game by allowing players to remove poker hands such as a "Full House," "Royal Flush," or "Straight."
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