upward in two rows of five each, and one row of three. Any two cards,
the pip value of which equals 10, may be withdrawn from the tableau,
and others dealt from the top of the pack in their places. Only two
cards may be used to form a 10. The K Q J 10 of each suit must be
lifted together, none of these cards being touched until all four of
the same suit are on the table together. When no cards can be lifted,
the game is lost.
The object in most patience games is to arrange the cards in sequences.
An ascending sequence is one in which the cards run from A 2 3 up to
the King; and a descending sequence is one in which they run down
to the ace. Sequences may be formed of one suit or of mixed suits,
according to the rules of the game.
_=THE CARPET.=_ Shuffle and cut the pack. Deal out twenty cards in
four rows of five cards each, face up. This is the carpet. Any aces
found in it are taken out and used to form a fifth row, either at the
bottom or the side. The holes made in the carpet by removing the aces
are then filled up from the pack. Cards are then taken from the carpet
to build upon the aces in ascending sequence, following suit, and the
holes in the carpet are continually filled up with fresh cards from the
top of the pack. As other aces appear they are laid aside to start the
sequence in the suit to which they belong. When you are stopped, deal
the cards remaining in the pack in a pile on the table by themselves,
face upward. If any card appears which can be used in the ascending
sequences, take it, and if this enables you to make more holes in the
carpet, do so. But after having been driven to deal this extra pile,
holes in the carpet can no longer be filled from the pack; they must be
patched up with the top cards on the extra pile until it is exhausted.
_=FOUR OF A KIND.=_ Shuffle and cut the pack, then deal out thirteen
cards face down in two rows of five each and one row of three. Deal
on the top of these until the pack is exhausted, which will give you
four cards in each pile, face down. Imagine that these piles represent
respectively the A 2 3 4 5 in the first row; the 6 7 8 9 10 in the
second, and the J Q K in the third. Take the top card from the ace
pile, turn it face upward, and place it, still face upward, under the
pile to which it belongs. If it is a Jack, for instance, it will go
face up under the first pile in the third row. Then take the top card
from the second pile, and so on, keeping the left hand as a marker on
the pile last drawn from. When you come to a pile which is complete,
all the cards being face up, you can skip it, and go on to the next.
If at the end you find that the last card to be turned up lies on its
proper pile, and needs turning over only, you win; but if you have to
remove it to another pile, you lose.
_=TRY AGAIN.=_ Shuffle and cut the pack, and deal the cards face
upward into four heaps. You are not obliged to deal to each pile in
succession, but may place the cards on any of the four piles, according
to your judgment or pleasure. In dealing out in this manner it is not
good policy to cover one card with a higher, unless you are compelled
to do so. Every time you come to an ace, separate it from the others,
placing it in a new row, as a foundation for an ascending sequence,
which may be continued regardless of the suit of the cards used. The
top cards of the four piles are used to build up the sequence. After an
ace has appeared, the player may examine the cards in any or all of the
piles, but their order must not be disturbed. The object in looking at
the cards is to select the pile which is least likely to stop you, or
the one having the fewest cards in it.
_=TAKE FOURTEEN.=_ Shuffle and cut the pack, and deal the cards one at
a time, face upward, into twelve piles, and continue dealing on the top
of these twelve until the pack is exhausted. This will give you four
piles which contain one card more than the others. Then take off any
two of the top cards which will make 14, reckoning the Jack as 11, the
Queen as _12_ and the King as 13, all the others at their face value.
Only two cards must be used to make 14. If you succeed in taking off
all the cards in this manner, you win. You are at liberty to look at
the underneath cards in the various piles, but you must not disturb
their positions.
_=HELP YOUR NEIGHBOUR.=_ Take from the pack the four aces, and lay
them face upward on the table in a row. These are to be built upon in
ascending sequences, following suit. Shuffle and cut the remaining
forty-eight cards, and deal off four starters in a row, below the aces.
These cards are to be built down on, in descending sequence, regardless
of suit. The remainder of the pack is then taken in the left hand, and
the cards turned up one by one from the top. Any card which can be used
to build up on the ace row, or down on the second row, is placed on its
proper pile at once. If the card is unavailable for either purpose,
it must be placed in a separate and ninth pile, known as the talon,
or deadwood. The ascending sequences may be built up from any of the
three sources; cards from the top of the pack, those on the top of the
various descending sequences, or those on the top of the deadwood.
The top card in any descending sequence may be moved from one pile
to another, or a card may be taken from an ascending sequence and
placed on a descending, always provided that such a card continues
the sequence in the pile to which it is removed. If any of the piles
occupied by the descending sequences are exhausted, new cards may be
placed there at any time the player thinks fit. Such new piles may be
started from the pack, from the deadwood, or from any other pile.
KLONDIKE.
This game is sometimes mistakenly called “Canfield”, but that is a
distinct game, described elsewhere, in which there are separate piles
for stock and foundations.
Shuffle the full pack of fifty-two cards, cut and turn up the top card.
Lay six more cards in a row to the right of the first card, but all
face down. Upon the second card of this row place another card face
up, and then cards face down on the remaining five of the top row. On
the third pile from the left, place another card face up, and then four
more face down to the right. Continue this until you have seven cards
face up, which will give you twenty-eight cards in your layout.
Take out any aces showing, and place them in a row by themselves for
“foundations.” Build up on these aces in sequence and suit to kings. On
the layout, build in descending sequence, red on black, black on red,
turning up the top card when any pile is left without a faced card upon
it. If there is more than one card face up on any pile, they must be
removed together or not at all. Spaces may be filled only with kings.
The stock is run off three cards at a time, and any card showing can
be used. The pack can be run through in this manner until no cards
showing can be used, but there must be no shuffling or rearrangement of
the cards. Sometimes it is the rule to run through the pack once only,
turning up one card at a time.
The object of the game is to see how many cards can be built on the ace
row. A better average can usually be obtained when the pack is run off
three at a time with the privilege of running through again and again
as long as any card can be used.
FORTUNE TELLING.
Whatever the arrangement employed for laying out the tableau in fortune
telling, the result of the reading will always be dependent on the
person’s ability to string together in a connected story the meanings
which are attached to the various cards. According to Eittella, the
father of all fortune telling, only 32 cards should be used, and it
is essential that they should be single heads, because a court card
standing firmly on its feet is a very different thing from one standing
on its head. If single-head cards are not at hand, the lower part of
the double-head cards must be cancelled in some manner.
The following are the interpretations of the various cards, the initial
_=R=_ meaning that the card is reversed, or standing on its head.
_=HEARTS.=_ Ace. The house, or home.
King. A benefactor. _=R.=_ He will not be able to do you much good,
although he means well.
Queen. Everything that is lovely in woman. _=R.=_ You will have to wait
awhile for the realization of your hopes.
Jack. A person who may be useful to you. _=R.=_ He will not prove of
much account.
Ten. A pleasant surprise.
Nine. Reconciliation.
Eight. Children.
Seven. A good marriage. _=R.=_ Fair to middling.
_=CLUBS.=_ Ace. Profits from business or gambling.
King. A just man, who has taken a fancy to you. _=R.=_ Something will
interfere with his good intentions.
Queen. Your best girl. _=R.=_ She is jealous.
Jack. A probable marriage. _=R.=_ It may have to be postponed.
Ten. Success in business. If followed by ♢ 9, the note will not be paid
when it is due; if followed by the ♠ 9 you will lose the entire account.
Nine. Success in love.
Eight. Great anticipations.
Seven. Trifling love affairs. _=R.=_ They will get you into trouble.
_=DIAMONDS.=_ Ace. A letter, or a written notice.
King. A person to beware of. _=R.=_ Will annoy you in any case.
Queen. A shrew or gossip. _=R.=_ She will make you tired.
Jack. A bearer of bad news. _=R.=_ Worse than you expected.
Ten. An unexpected journey.
Nine. That expected money will not come to hand.
Eight. Some surprising actions on the part of a young man.
Seven. Success in lotteries, gambling or speculation. _=R.=_ The amount
will be very small.
_=SPADES.=_ Ace. Love affairs.
King. Police or sheriffs. _=R.=_ Loss of a lawsuit.
Queen. A gay and deceptive widow. _=R.=_ She’s fooling thee.
Jack. Disagreeable young man. _=R.=_ He will do you an injury or
injustice of some kind.
Ten. Prison.
Nine. Vexatious delays in business matters.
Eight. Bad news. If followed by the ♢ 7, quarrels.
Seven. Quarrels which will be lasting unless the card is followed by
some hearts. _=R.=_ Family rows.
_=COMBINATIONS.=_ 4 aces, death; 3 aces, dissipation; 2 aces, enmity.
4 Kings, honours; 3 Kings, success in business; 2 Kings, good advice.
4 Queens, scandal; 3 Queens, dissipation; 2 Queens, friendship.
4 Jacks, contagious diseases; 3 Jacks, idleness; 2 Jacks, quarrels.
4 Tens, disagreeable events; 3 Tens, change of residence; 2 Tens, loss.
4 Nines, good actions; 3 Nines, imprudence; 2 Nines, money.
4 Eights, reverses in business or love; 3 Eights, marriage; 2 Eights,
trouble.
4 Sevens, intrigues; 3 Sevens, pleasure; 2 Sevens, small affairs and
gossip.
_=THE CONSULTATION.=_ There are several ways of telling fortunes, but
one example will suffice. The most important thing is to know what your
client wants to be told, and the next is to be sure that she cuts the
cards with her left hand.
The cards are shuffled, presented to be cut, and then counted off into
sevens, every seventh card being laid face up on the table, the six
intermediates being placed on the bottom of the pack each time. When
twelve cards have been obtained in this manner, they are laid out in
a row, and examined to see if the card representing the questioner is
among them. If not, they must be gathered, shuffled, cut, and dealt
again. A married man with light hair would be the ♢ K, with dark hair,
the ♣ K. If he claims to be single, the ♡ J. If your client is a woman,
the ♡ Q will do for blondes, the ♣ Q for brunettes. Do not ask if she
is married, and take no notice of rings.
Having obtained the necessary twelve cards, the more you know about
the consultant’s history, hopes, and prospects, and the better you can
judge her character, the less attention you need pay to the cards, and
the more satisfactory the result of the consultation will be. It is
not necessary to stick too closely to the meanings of the cards, nor
to their combinations; the great thing is to tell your client what she
wants to hear.
In order to confirm the truth of the pleasing story you have built upon
the twelve cards, they must be gathered together, shuffled, presented
to be cut with the left hand, and then divided into four packets of
three cards each. The first packet is for the Person, the second for
the House, the third for the Future, and the fourth for the Surprise.
Each packet is successively turned up, and its contents interpreted in
connection with the part of the questioner’s life which it represents.
In case there should be nothing very surprising in the last pack, it
is well to have a few generalities on hand, which will be true of a
person’s future six times out of ten. The expert at fortune telling
has a stock of vague suggestions, supposed to be given by the cards,
which are so framed as to draw from the client the drift of her hopes
and fears. The scent once found, most of the fortune telling is in
the nature of confirming the client’s own views of the situation.
Nevertheless, when well done, by a good talker, fortune telling is very
amusing, especially in a small company.
BANKING GAMES.
There are two distinct classes of banking games; those that can be
played without any apparatus but a pack of cards and some counters;
and those which require a permanent establishment and expensive
paraphernalia. Among the first, probably the best known banking games
are: Vingt-et-un, Baccara, Blind Hookey, and Fan Tan, the latter
requiring only one card, the face of which is never seen. In the second
class, which are often called table games, probably the best known are:
Faro, Keno, Roulette, Rouge et Noir, and Chuck Luck.
Each of these games has a number of offshoots, and the distinctions
between the original and the variation are sometimes so minute as to
be hardly worth mentioning. As a matter of reference, and for the
convenience of those who hear these variations spoken of, their names
and chief characteristics are here given.
Banking games, properly so-called, are those in which one player is
continually opposed to all the others. In round games, each player
is for himself, but no player is selected for the common enemy. In
partnership games, the sides are equally divided, and any advantage in
the deal or lead passes alternately from one to the other. In other
games, the single player that may be opposed to two or three others
usually takes the responsibility upon himself, and for one deal only,
so that any advantage he may have is temporary. In banking games, on
the contrary, one player is selected as opposed to all others, and the
opposition is continual. If there is any advantage in being the banker,
it is supposed to be a permanent one, and if the banker has not been
at any special expense in securing the advantages of his position he
is obliged to surrender it from time to time and give other players a
chance. This is the rule in Vingt-et-un, Baccara, and Blind Hookey.
If the banker is not changed occasionally, he retains his position on
account of the expense he has been put to to provide the apparatus for
the play, as in Faro, Keno, Roulette, and Rouge et Noir. To justify
this expenditure he must have some permanent advantage, and if no such
advantage or “percentage” is inherent in the principles of the game,
any person playing against such a banker is probably being cheated.
At Monte Carlo, everything is perfectly fair and straightforward, but
no games are played except those in which the percentage in favour
of the bank is evident, and is openly acknowledged. In Faro there is
no such advantage, and no honest faro bank can live. It is for that
reason that the game is not played at Monte Carlo, in spite of the many
thousands of Americans who have begged the management to introduce it.
The so-called percentage of “splits” at Faro is a mere sham, and any
candid dealer will admit that they do not pay for the gas. Roulette,
Rouge et Noir, Keno, and Chuck Luck are all percentage games, although
the banker in the latter is seldom satisfied with his legitimate gains.
The peculiarity about all percentage banking games is that no system,
as a system, will beat them. The mathematical expectation of loss
is so nicely adjusted to the probabilities of gain that the player
must always get just a little the worst of it if he will only play
long enough. Take any system of martingales, and suppose for the sake
of illustration that in 1000 coups you will win 180 counters. The
mathematical expectation of the game is such that just about once in
a thousand coups your martingale will carry you to a point in which
you will lose 200 counters, leaving you just 20 behind on every 1000
if you keep on playing. Every system has been carefully investigated,
and enormous labour has been expended on the compilation of tables
recording for a long series of time every number rolled at Roulette,
and every coup raked in at Rouge et Noir, and the result of all
systems is found to be the same, the bank succeeds in building up its
percentage like a coral island, while the player’s money disappears
like water in the sand.
VINGT-ET-UN.
Any number of persons may play Vingt-et-un, and a full pack of
fifty-two cards is used. The _=cards=_ have no rank, but a counting
value is attached to each, the ace being reckoned as 11 or 1, at the
option of the holder, all court cards as 10 each, and the others at
their face value.
The cards are thrown round for the first deal, and the first ace takes
it. The dealer is also the banker. Each player is provided with a
certain number of _=counters=_, usually 25 or 50, and a betting limit
is agreed on before play begins. The players on the dealer’s right and
left are known as the pone and the eldest hand respectively.
The _=object=_ of the game is to get as near 21 as possible in the
total pip value of the cards held.
_=Stakes.=_ Before the cards are dealt, each player except the dealer
places before him the amount he bets upon his chances for that deal.
This amount may be either at the option of the player, within the
betting limit, or it may be a fixed sum, such as one counter. In one
variation each player is allowed to look at the first card dealt him
before making his bet, and before receiving a second card. When it
comes to the dealer’s turn, he does not stake anything upon his card,
but he has the privilege of calling upon all the others to _=double=_
the amount they have placed on theirs. Any player refusing to double
must pass over to the dealer the stake already put up, and stand out of
the game for that hand.
Another variation is to allow any player whose second card is of the
same denomination as the first to separate them, and to place upon
the second card a bet equal in amount to that upon his first card,
afterward drawing to each separately, as if they were two different
hands.
_=Dealing.=_ The bets made, the cards are shuffled and presented to the
pone to be cut; four must be left in each packet. Two cards are given
to each player, including the dealer, one at a time in two rounds. If
the dealer gives too many cards to any player, either in the first
deal or in the draw, he must correct the error at once. If the player
has seen the superfluous card he may keep any two he chooses of those
dealt him. If the dealer gives himself too many he must keep them all.
The last card in the pack must not be dealt. If there are not enough
cards to supply the players, the discards must be gathered up, shuffled
together, and cut.
_=Naturals.=_ The cards all dealt, the dealer first examines his
hand. If he has exactly 21, an Ace and a tenth card, which is called
a natural, he shows it at once, and the players must pay him twice
the amount they have staked in front of them, unless they also have a
natural, when it is a stand-off. If the dealer has not a natural, each
player in turn, beginning with the eldest hand, examines his two cards
to see how nearly their total value approaches 21. If he has a natural,
he exposes it immediately, and the dealer must pay him double the
amount staked. It is sometimes the rule for the holder of a natural,
the dealer having none, to take the stakes of all the other players;
but this variation is not in favour.
_=Drawing.=_ No natural being shown, each player in turn may draw
another card, or stand on the two dealt him, which are not shown under
any circumstances. If he is content, he says: “I stand.” If he wants a
card he says: “One,” and the dealer gives it to him, face up. If the
pips on the card drawn, added to those already in his hand, make his
total greater than 21, he is créve, and passes over to the dealer his
stake, throwing his cards in the centre of the table, still face down.
If the total is not 21, he may draw another card, and so on until he
is créve or stands. The first player disposed of in this manner, the
dealer goes on to the next one, and so on until he comes to himself. He
turns his two cards face upward, and draws or stands to suit himself.
If he overdraws, all the other players expose their first two cards
to show that they have 21 or less, and he then pays each of them the
amount they have staked. If he stands, either before or after drawing,
the others expose their cards in the same way, and those that have the
same number are tied, and win or lose nothing. Those who have less than
the dealer lose their stake; those that have more than the dealer, but
still not more than 21, he must pay. When the result is a tie, it is
called _=paying in cards=_.
_=The Banker.=_ The banker for the next deal may be decided upon in
various ways. The old rule was for one player to continue to act as
banker and to deal the cards until one of his adversaries held a
natural, the dealer having none to offset it. When this occurred, the
player who held the natural took the bank and the deal until some one
else held a natural. Another way was to agree upon a certain number of
rounds for a banker, after which the privilege was drawn for again.
Another was for one player to remain the banker until he had lost or
won a certain amount, when the privilege was drawn for again. The
modern practice is for each player to be the banker in turn, the deal
passing in regular rotation to the left. When this is done there must
be a penalty for dealing twice in succession, and it is usually fixed
at having to pay ties, if the error is not discovered until one player
has drawn cards. If before that, it is a misdeal.
_=Pools.=_ Vingt-et-un is sometimes played with a pool. Each player
contributes one counter at the start, and the pool is afterward fed by
penalties. Every player who is créve puts in a counter; all ties with
the dealer pay one, and the dealer pays one for any irregularity in
dealing. The pool may be kept to pay for refreshments, like the kitty
in Poker, or it may be won by the first natural shown, as may be agreed.
_=Probabilities.=_ The only point in the game is for a player to know
what hands to stand on, and what to draw to. The dealer is guided by
the cards dealt to other players, and by what they ask for. The other
players should stand on 17, but draw on 16. In practice it has been
found that the odds are about 2 to 1 in favour of drawing at 16; 3
to 1 for drawing at 15. The rules for drawing, etc., are more fully
described in connection with the very similar game of Baccara.
MACAO.
In this variety of Vingt-et-un only one card is dealt to each player;
court cards and tens count nothing, and the Ace is always worth one.
The number to be reached is 9, instead of 21, and if a player has a 9
natural, he receives from the banker three times his stake; if an 8
natural, he receives double, and for a 7 natural, he is paid. If the
banker has an equal number of points natural, it is a tie; and if the
banker has a 7, 8, or 9 natural he receives from each of the others
once, twice, or three times the amount of their stakes. If none of
these naturals are shown, the players draw in turn, as at Vingt-et-un,
and the dealer receives from those who have less points than he, or who
are créve, and pays those who have more, but have not passed 9.
FARMER.
Any number of persons may play. All the 8’s and all the 6’s but the ♡6
are discarded from a pack of fifty-two cards. All court cards count
for 10, the ace for 1, and all others at their face value. A pool is
then made up by each player contributing one counter. This is the farm,
and it is sold to the highest bidder, who must put into it the price
he pays for it. He then becomes the farmer, and deals one card to each
player, but takes none himself.