Bitta Mekuri [ビッタメクリ] is a simple gambling game using hanafuda in which a group of players places a bet on the pot hoping to be the first to be dealt the 
Crane card and win the entire pot.
Up to 48 players may play at the same time.
¶ Equipment
The game is attested to be played with a 48-card hanafuda deck (remove the onifuda/shirofuda from the deck, if there are any).
However, due to the simplicity of the game, you can pretty much use any kind of card deck, and assigning the role of the Crane card on any one of the cards in the deck.
¶ Gameplay
First, the bet amount must be agreed upon before starting the game.
Then, the dealer - 親 [おや, oya] - must be chosen in whichever method preferred. The seating arrangement of the other players may also be decided as well.
The dealer then shuffles the deck, and the player to the dealer’s right cuts the shuffled deck.
Each player (including the dealer) then places the agreed-upon bet amount in the middle of the table, and the dealer then starts to deal the cards.
Starting from the player to the right counter-clockwise, the dealer deals 1 card to each player face-up, and continues to deal 1 card to each player until a player receives a Crane card.
The player who receives the Crane card wins the round, takes all bets on the table to themself, and becomes the dealer for the next round.
¶ Bibliography
- Yamaguchi Yasuhiko, “Saigo no Yomikaruta”