[Note: This version requires multiple players to log in and play without revealing their hands to the dealer of other players. An online version of this version is being developed]
In the ring game (Sette e mezzo) players compete against the dealer, but not against each other. The objective of the game is to beat the dealer in the following ways:
Players, sitting around a table, each bet before being dealt their first card, which is dealt face down. After receiving it, each player in the ring, decides whether to stand (end their turn) or hit (receive another card). Players may stand or hit as long as they do not go BUST (exceed 7 1⁄2). When a player goes bust they must show their face down card. They immediately lose their bet to the pot, irrespective of whether the dealer goes bust later. When a player gets 7 1⁄2 they must announce it and show their face down card.
After all players had their turn, the dealer shows their face down card, then plays with the same rules as the other players. If the dealer goes bust, they must match the bet of all players who didn’t go bust, by drawing from the pot or from their own funds. If the dealer doesn’t go bust, and 'Stands', all players must reveal their face down card. The dealer wins against all players who scored lower or had tied points, collecting their bets. The dealer loses against all players who scored higher paying them back their bets 1:1. Whether a player with a natural 7 1⁄2 beats a dealer with a regular 7 1⁄2 depends on the variant being played. This is clarified before the start of the game.
If the role of dealer is not fixed. As in poker it, the dealer role is handed over in the clockwise direction of play after each hand. The new dealer shuffles the cards before dealing them.
Wild Cards - King of Diamonds (Italian); Queen of Hearts (French); or a Joker card. The wild card and may take the value of any other card at the discretion of the owning player, as long as the player has at least another card in their hand. If it is the only card in the player’s hand, it is only worth 1⁄2. When playing with the wild card variant, the cards are generally shuffled at the end of the hand, the wild card was dealt in. This enables the wild card to be available in the next hand.
Royal 7 1⁄2 - A natural 7 1⁄2 is paid 2:1 and the player who made it becomes the dealer (skipping the regular rotation). If two or more players make 7 1⁄2 at the same time with only two cards, the player closest to the dealer's right becomes the new dealer. If the dealer makes a natural 7 1⁄2, they’ll keep being the dealer for the next hand as well, and players might be required to pay double their bet (unless they obtained a natural 7 1⁄2 themselves).
Triple 7 1⁄2 - Various hands are paid 3:1 (with the same rules as for the royal variant). These hands are nominated before the start of play. The hands may inlcude:
a hand containing two 7s
a natural 7 1⁄2 with the face card being the wild card.
Burning Cards - Players whose first card is a 4 (or sometimes a 3) are allowed to burn it: the card is discarded it and the player receives a new (face-down) card from the dealer.
Pot-Play - The dealer adds an ante to the pot and then plays a single hand against each player in turn. The amount of money currently in the pot is the betting limit for the current hand. If a player wins, they collect their winnings from the pot, if they lose the bet stays in the pot, therefore the limit will be different for each player. After all players had their turn, the dealer collects the amount left in the pot.
Splitting (Spanish) - Players are allowed to split their hand when they have a face card as their first (face down) card and are dealt another face card as their second hand. To do that, they must double down on their bet; they may then play each hand separately.