Gambling terms, explained straight

Not to be confused with Happy Families, a specific British card game whose objective is to collect complete families.4

Card Games

Card game terms family

In card games, family refers either to a group of related games that share a common structure or ancestry, or, in solitaire, to cards built in sequence upon a foundation card.

Also called
families (solitaire sense)2
Applies to
Card-game classifications (e.g. poker family, rummy family) and solitaire sequence-building23

Key points

  • In the broad sense, a family groups games sharing a common structure or ancestry, such as poker or rummy.35
  • In solitaire, a family is built by placing cards in sequence on a foundation card.2
  • The term is not a standard glossary entry; it is used descriptively in both classification and solitaire contexts.12

Not the same as

  • Card game terms — the overall category of games that use cards, not a subgroup or sequence term
  • Card game terms and phrases — a play structure based on tricks, not a family/classification term
  • Card terms pack — a specific British card game whose objective is to collect complete families, not the glossary term itself
Card games Card game terms Explains common terminology used across card games. Card games Card game terms and phrases A broader list of phrases and slang from card games. Card games Hearts card game Rules and strategy for the trick-taking game Hearts. Card games Card terms boat Definition of 'boat' in card game contexts. Card games Card terms clear Definition of 'clear' in card game contexts. Card games Card terms pack Definition of 'pack' as used in card games.

Sources

  1. Glossary of card game terms en.wikipedia.org States that 'family' is not a standard glossary term in card games.
  2. Glossary of solitaire terms en.wikipedia.org Defines 'family' in the solitaire sense as cards built in sequence on a foundation.
  3. Card game en.wikipedia.org Explains the broad classification sense of 'family' for groups of related card games.
  4. Happy families en.wikipedia.org Distinguishes 'Happy Families' as a specific game, not the glossary term.
  5. Poker - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Supports the poker family as an example of a card-game classification.

Sources are drawn from regulators, universities and published research, and each one is labelled with what it actually is — a preprint is not called a paper. Bookmaker and affiliate pages are never cited here, because a page that sells betting is not a neutral authority on it.

Written and maintained by Ellis Warrender, writer and maintainer.

Last updated 28 July 2026. Spotted an error? Tell me and it gets fixed and logged on the corrections page.