Playing a card game is a favorite pastime while camping. Many of us have pain or hand fatigue while holding our hand of playing cards. Some folks due to arthritis, or perhaps from a disability. Kid’s small hands can find it hard to hold a full hand of cards as well.
While pondering how to continue game time without pain, my brain had an “aha!” moment. I could hardly wait to experiment with my idea to see if it would work.
Easy fix
The materials needed are a length of foam pipe insulation and popsicle sticks. The only tool I needed was either a utility knife or a pair of sharp scissors or shears. Easy peasy.
We went to the hardware store and purchased a length of tube style foam pipe insulation for ½’ copper pipe. The foam tube has a slit along its length for easy installation on copper piping. A length of tubing will make multiple cardholders for less than a few bucks.
I cut the foam tube long enough to hold 10 cards for a game of Gin which came out to 10 inches. The playing cards are firmly held when inserted into the slit. To keep the cards upright and from rolling, I simply pushed a popsicle stick through the side of one end of the foam tube.
Side view of playing cards holder
Pushing the stick further out on one end, lets the card loaded tube sit at an angle to easily see your hand of cards, while not being exposed to the opposing player. Also, you can pull the tube forward towards you to rest the cards faced down when not in play or you take a break from the game.
We really enjoy this simple solution to keeping our hands free from holding the cards. This holder works well for playing the game of Hearts too. We hope you will find this tip helpful for longer playing time as well. Don’t tell Pres, but I think I am beating him more often with this easy hack, wink.
Top view of slit holding the cards
Easy to make holders for your hand of cards
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If you found our hack helpful feel free to buy me a coffee to keep me winning at Gin and writing blog posts. Thanks!
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How to play Gin
Don’t know how to play Gin? There are lots of online tutorials. Check out this YouTube video to get you started:
