4 would take in the card next the Ten; 5 the cards on each side with
the Ten; 6 and 7 the three cards behind which the bets are placed, the
Ten being one in each instance; 8 and 9 take in the Ten and the card
one remove from it in either direction; 10 and 11 are the same thing,
but placed on the other card; 12 to 17 inclusive take in the various
triangles of which the bet is the middle card; 18 and 19 take in the
four cards surrounding them; 20 and 21 are _=heeled=_ bets, the bottom
counter being flat on the corner of the card, and the remainder being
tilted over toward the card diagonally across from the one on which
the bet is placed, playing both cards to win. In addition to these
twenty-one bets, others might be made by heeling bets that would take
certain cards to lose, and the Ten to win. Bets may also be _=strung=_
behind odd or even cards on the side next the dealer. These show that
the player bets the next case card that comes will win if it is an even
card, and lose if it is odd; that is, if he places his string behind an
even card.
If the player thinks a card will win, he bets it _=open=_, that is,
with nothing but his counters. If he wants to play a card to lose,
he _=coppers=_ it, by placing a checker or button on his chips. If a
player wishes to reach two cards widely separated, such as the deuce
and Seven, and has not money enough to bet on both; he can ask the
dealer for a _=marker=_, which is a flat oblong piece of ivory. This is
placed on the card to be played with the same money, and the dealer may
either trust his memory for the bet, or place another marker on it.
After the dealer has waved his hand preparatory to pushing the top card
from the box, no bet can be made or changed. After the turn is made,
the dealer first picks up all the bets he wins, and then pays all he
loses, after which he waits for the players to rearrange their bets
for the next turn. Between each turn a player may make any change he
pleases. A lookout sits on the right of the dealer to see that he pays
and takes correctly, and to watch that no bets are changed, or coppers
slipped off, during the turn.
_=Splits.=_ If two cards of the same denomination win and lose on the
same turn, it is a split, and the dealer takes half the bets on the
split card, no matter whether it is bet to win or lose. Splits should
come about three times in two deals if the cards are honestly dealt.
_=Keeping Cases.=_ As the cards are withdrawn from the box they are
marked on a case-keeper, which is a suit of thirteen cards, with four
buttons running on a steel rod opposite each of them. As the cards come
out, these buttons are pushed along, so that the player may know how
many of each card are still to come, and what cards are left in for the
last turn. In brace games, when the cards are pulled out two at a time
to change the run of them, the case-keeper is always a confederate of
the dealer, and is signalled what cards have been pulled out under the
cards shown, so that he can secretly mark them up. A bet placed or left
upon a card of which none are left in the box is called a _=sleeper=_,
and is public property; the first man that can get his hands on it
keeps it.
When only one card of any denomination is in the box, it is obvious
that such a card cannot be split, and that the bank has no advantage
of the player. Such cards are called _=cases=_, and the betting limit
on cases is only half the amount allowed on other cards. It is not
considered _comme il faut_ for a player to wait for cases, and those
who play regularly usually make a number of small bets during the early
part of the deal, and then bet high on the cases as they come along.
A player who goes upon the principle that the dealer can cheat those
who bet high, and who follows and goes against the big bets with small
ones, or who plays one-chip bets all over the board, hoping to strike
a good spot to fish on, is called a piker; and when a game runs small
this way, the dealers call it a _=piking game=_.
_=Keeping Tab.=_ In addition to the case-keeper, score sheets are
provided on which the players may keep a record of what cards win and
lose on each turn. These tabs are printed in vertical columns, about
five deals to a sheet. A dot indicates the soda card; a dash, hoc. All
winners are marked with a down stroke, and all losers with a cypher.
The diagram in the margin will give a very good idea of a faro tab for
a complete deal. The Queen was soda, the Five split out, and the Eight
was in hoc.
A | 0 0 1 0
2 | 0 1 1 1
3 | 0 0 1 1
4 | 1 0 0 0
5 | 0 0 X
6 | 1 1 1 1
7 | 0 1 1 0
8 | 1 1 0 -
9 | 0 1 0 1
10 | 0 0 0 0
J | 1 1 1 0
Q | . 0 1 0
K | 1 0 1 1
_=Systems.=_ On the manner in which the cards will go, a great many
systems of play are based. There are sixteen different ways for a
card to “play,” which are simply the permutations of the stroke and
the cypher arranged in rows of four at a time. If a player is betting
_=three on a side=_, he will take each card as it becomes a case, and
bet that it either wins three times and loses once, or loses once and
wins three times. In the foregoing deal he would have bet on the A 3
4 6 9 J to lose on the fourth card out of the box, and would have bet
on the case cards of the 2 7 8 10 Q K to win. The Soda, it must be
remembered, is really a winning card. Of these bets he would have won
5 out of twelve, taking back his money on the 8, as that card was left
in hoc. Playing _=break even=_, these bets would have been exactly
reversed, as all the cards would have played either to win and lose an
equal number of times, or to _=win=_ or _=lose out=_; that is, to do
the same thing all four times.
Another favourite system is colours. The player takes some definite
card, such as the soda, or the first winner or loser, as his starter,
and whatever the colour of the third card of each denomination,
that is, the card that makes it a case, he plays it to win or lose,
according to the system of colours he is playing. Many players reverse
on the last turn.
When a player bets one card to lose and another to win, and loses both
bets on the same turn, he is _=whipsawed=_.
_=The Last Turn.=_ If three different cards are left in for the last
turn, the players can _=call the turn=_, naming the order in which they
think the cards will be found. Suppose the three cards left in the box
are the 9 8 2, these may come in six different ways:--
9 8 2 9 2 8 8 9 2 8 2 9 2 9 8 2 8 9
The odds against any one of these ways are 5 to 1; but the dealer pays
4 for 1 only. In calling the turn, the bet is strung from the selected
loser to the selected winner. If the third card intervenes, the bet is
strung away from it, to show that it goes round the layout to the other
card.
If there are two cards of the same denomination in the last turn, it is
called a _=cat-hop=_; and as it can come only three ways, the dealer
pays 2 for 1. Suppose the cards are 8 8 5, they can come:--
8 8 5 8 5 8 5 8 8
If three cards of the same denomination are left, the call is by the
colour, and is paid 2 for 1. Suppose two black and one red card are
left. These may come:--
B B R B R B R B B
The bets are placed on the dealer’s right for red first; on his left
for black and red, and in front of him for two blacks.
_=CHEATING.=_ If Faro were honestly played, it would be one of the
prettiest banking games in the world; but unfortunately the money to be
made at this game is so great that the richest prizes in the gambling
world are offered to the men who can so handle the cards as to “protect
the money of the house.” All systems are not only worthless, but
dangerous to use, when opposed to the skill of the modern faro dealer.
A first-class “mechanic” can get from one to two hundred dollars a
week, and a percentage of the profits; but it is hardly necessary to
say that he is not paid that amount simply for pulling cards out of a
box. Before venturing to “buck the tiger” get some one to show you how
fifty-three cards are shuffled up, so as to make the last turn come the
way that there is most money in it for the house. Watch the movements
carefully, so that you will know them the next time you see them in a
fashionable house, which you imagine to be “dead square.” If you see a
dealer with a shuffling board as thick as his dealing box, don’t play
against that game. If you see a dealer take up the cards already taken
from the box, slipping them one under the other, as if to straighten
them up, the sooner you cash your chips the better, for you are up
against a brace game, no matter where it is dealt.
The proprietors of some fashionable “clubs,” especially at watering
places, pretend to be above all such things as cheating at faro, and
get indignant at the suggestion of the possibility of there being
anything crooked in their establishments. The author has but one reply
to all such. If it is true that there is nothing unfair in your game,
let me put a type-writer girl in the dealer’s place to shuffle and pull
out the cards, and let your men just see to paying and taking bets.
The boast of all these fashionable gambling houses is that they never
won a man’s money except in a square game. Strange to say, this is
generally true, and the explanation is very simple. If you are losing
there is no necessity to cheat you, so you lose your money in a square
game. If you are winning, it is the bank’s money, and not yours, that
they would win if they started to cheat you; and as the dealer is paid
to “protect the money of the house,” as they call it, he is perfectly
justified in throwing the harpoon into you for a few deals, just to get
his own money back; but he is very careful not to cheat you out of any
of your own money. You may lose if you like, but you cannot win; faro
banks are not run that way.
ROUGE ET NOIR, OR TRENTE-ET-QUARANTE.
The banker and his assistant, called the croupier, sit opposite each
other at the sides of a long table, on each end of which are two large
diamonds, one red and the other black, separated by a square space and
a triangle. Any number of persons can play against the bank, placing
their bets on the colour they select, red or black.
Six packs of fifty-two cards each are shuffled together and used as
one, the dealer taking a convenient number in his hand for each deal.
The players having made their bets, and cut the cards, the dealer
turns one card face upward on the table in front of him, at the same
time announcing the colour he deals for, which is always for _=black
first=_. The dealer continues to turn up cards one by one, announcing
their total pip value each time, until he reaches or passes 31. Court
cards and Tens count 10 each, the ace and all others for their face
value. Having reached or passed 31 for black, the _=red=_ is dealt for
in the same manner, and whichever colour most closely approaches 31,
wins. Suppose 35 was dealt for black, and 38 for red; black would win.
The number dealt must never exceed 40.
The colour of the first card dealt in each coup is noted, and if the
same colour wins the coup, the banker pays all bets placed on the space
marked _=Couleur=_. If the opposite colour wins, he pays all bets in
the triangle marked _=Inverse=_. All bets are paid in even money, there
being no odds at this game.
Although black is the first colour dealt for, both it and inverse are
ignored in the announcement of the result, red and colour being the
only ones mentioned, win or lose.
If the same number is reached for both colours, it is called a
_=refait=_, and is announced by the word, “Après,” which means that
all bets are a stand-off for that coup. If the refait happens to be
exactly 31, however, the bank wins half the money on the table, no
matter how it is placed. The players may either pay this half at once,
or may move their entire stake into the first prison, a little square
marked out on the table, and belonging to the colour they bet upon. If
they win the next coup, their stake is free; if not, they lose it all.
Should a second refait of 31 occur, they would have to lose a fourth of
this imprisoned stake, and the remainder would be moved into a second
prison, to await the result of the next coup, which would either free
it or lose it all.
_=Probabilities.=_ It has been found that of the ten numbers that can
be dealt, 31 to 40, the number 31 will come oftener than any other. The
proportions are as follow:--
31--13 times,
32--12 times,
33--11 times,
34--10 times,
35--9 times,
36--8 times,
37--7 times,
38--6 times,
39--5 times,
40--4 times.
The 31 refait also comes oftener than any other. Although the odds
against it are supposed to be 63 to 1, the bankers expect it about
twice in three deals, and each deal will produce from 28 to 33 coups.
ROULETTE.
It is probable that more money has been lost at the wheel than at any
other gambling game in the world. In conjunction with Rouge et Noir, it
forms the chief attraction at Monte Carlo, and other public gambling
casinos. The rage for these games was so great, and the trickery
connected with them so common, that they were banished from France
by the law of 18 juillet, 1836, and had to take refuge in Baden and
Homburg. Before that time the public revenue from the gaming houses
amounted to five or six millions a year, all of which was lost by
closing them up. The evil was not exterminated, however, for there are
to-day hundreds of gambling hells in Europe, which make up for the
brevity of their existence by the rapidity with which they fleece their
patrons.
In America, the wheel has always been popular, but Rouge et Noir is
practically unknown, the reason being that in the latter game there
is no variety, and therefore no chance for the player to exercise any
judgment, or to play any “system” in making his bets, as he can in Faro.
_=The Wheel.=_ The roulette wheel is turned by a small cross-bar
rising from its axis. The surface of the wheel slopes from the axis to
the outer edge, which is divided into small square pockets, coloured
alternately red and black, and each having a number just above it, on
the surface of the wheel. These numbers may be in any order, according
to the fancy of the maker of the wheel, and they may run from 1 to
27, to 30, to 33, or to 36. In addition to the numbers there are zero
marks, which are called _=single=_ and _=double 0=_, and _=Eagle
Bird=_. All three of these are used in American wheels, and they are
green, so that they win for neither colour. In some of the European
wheels there are two zeros, the single 0 being red, and the double 0
black. The single 0 also counts as “odd,” and as below 19; while the
double 0 is “even,” and above 18. Bets on odd or even, above and below,
are not paid, however, but must remain on the table until the next
roll, when the player either gets back twice his money or loses it
all. At Monte Carlo there is only one zero, which is green, and takes
everything but bets on itself. The numbers on the wheel are arranged as
follows at Monte Carlo, the heavy type being the black:--
[Illustration]
The pockets on the edge of the wheel are at the bottom of a sort of
circular valley, the centre of which is formed by the revolving wheel,
and the outer slope by a stationary but rising margin or border, at
the top of which is an overhanging edge, under which the banker spins
a small ivory ball, always in the direction opposite to that in which
the wheel is turning. As the ball loses its momentum it strikes some
little brass ridges, which cause it to jump onto the wheel, and then to
run into one of the pockets. The number, the colour, odd or even, and
whether above or below, is immediately announced by the banker, and all
bets are taken and paid accordingly.
_=The Layout.=_ The wheel is sunk in the middle of a long table, on
each end of which is a layout, and on these layouts all bets are
placed. The divisions are as follows:--
The heavy faced type indicates the black numbers:
[Illustration:
+------+
| 0 |
+--------+------+------+------+--------+
| | 1 | =2= | 3 | |
| +------+------+------+ |
| | =4= | 5 | =6= | |
| Passe +------+------+------+ Manque |
| | 7 | =8= | 9 | |
| +------+------+------+ |
| | =10= | =11= | 12 | |
+--------+------+------+------+--------+
| | =13= | 14 | =15= | |
| +------+------+------+ |
| | 16 | =17= | 18 | |
| Pair +------+------+------+ Impair |
| | 19 | =20= | 21 | |
| +------+------+------+ |
| | =22= | 23 | =24= | |
+--------+------+------+------+--------+
| | 25 | =26= | 27 | |
| +------+------+------+ |
| | =28= | =29= | 30 | |
| Noir +------+------+------+ Rouge |
| | =31= | 32 | =33= | |
| +------+------+------+ |
| | 34 | =35= | 36 | |
+--+--+--+------+------+------+--+--+--+
| P| M| D| | | | P| M| D|
|12|12|12| | | |12|12|12|
+--+--+--+------+------+------+--+--+--+
]
Bets may be made on the following chances:
1. _=En plein.=_ Flat upon any number, which pays 35 for 1. The betting
limit at Monte Carlo is 180 francs.
2. _=A cheval=_, on the line between two numbers, which pays 17 for 1.
Betting limit on this chance is 360 francs.
3. _=Un carré=_, on a cross line, taking in four numbers. This pays 8
for 1. Limit is 750 francs.
4. _=Transversale=_, at the end of any three numbers, and taking them
in horizontally. Pays 11 for 1. Limit is 560 francs.
5. _=Transversale Six=_, placed on the line at the end, taking in the
three numbers horizontally above and below. This pays 5 for 1. Limit is
1,200 francs.
6. _=Bas.=_ At the bottom of any of the three vertical columns, taking
in the twelve numbers. This pays 2 for 1. Limit is 3,000 francs.
7. _=Bas à cheval=_, between any two of these columns. This pays ½ for
1. Limit is 3,000 francs.
8. _=Premier, Milieu, Dernier.=_ Bets placed in the spaces marked P 12,
M 12, and D 12, are upon the first, middle and last twelve numbers;
that is, from 1 to 12, 13 to 24, and 25 to 36 respectively. This pays 2
for 1. Limit is 3,000 francs.
A cheval between any two of the last mentioned, pays ½ for 1.
In addition to the foregoing, all the following chances may be bet
upon. They all pay even money. The limit is 6,000 francs.
9. _=Impair.=_ That the number will be odd.
10. _=Pair.=_ That the number will be even.
11. _=Manque.=_ That the number will be from 1 to 18.
12. _=Passe.=_ That the number will be from 19 to 36.
13. _=Rouge=_ or _=Noir=_. Red or Black.
The foregoing are the payments at Monte Carlo; but wheels with less
numbers are scaled down accordingly. The players can bet on the zero
if they choose, and they will be paid if it comes up, 35 for 1, but
all other bets are lost. In wheels with two zeros, red and black, the
bank wins on the colour which does not come, and the bets on the right
colour are neither paid nor taken, but must remain until the next
turn of the wheel. This is now the practice at Monte Carlo, with the
single-zero wheels.
_=Systems.=_ As at Faro, gamblers at Roulette are never tired of
devising systems to beat the game; but none of them are of any further
use than to afford a little passing amusement to their inventors.
Persons who are interested in systems will find in the New York Sun,
July 5, 1896, a very interesting tabulation of every roll of the ball
at Monte Carlo for seven successive days, 4,012 in all, of which 120
were zeros. If they can find a system that will beat the wheel for
seven days, and have a return ticket, Monte Carlo will take care of all
their spare cash.
One curious fallacy about some systems is to imagine that they will win
if the player will quit when he is a certain amount ahead, and not play
again until next day. Until some rule can be given by which the exact
hour can be fixed to begin play, all such systems must be delusions,
as there is no reason why a second man should not begin where the first
left off, and therefore no reason why the first should not continue
playing all the time.
It is in the interest of the proprietors of all gambling houses to
pretend to be afraid of systems. The word is passed round, and the
deluded gamesters think they have found the thread which has held the
sword of Damocles above the banker’s head so long. As a matter of
fact, there is no one so welcome at a gambling house as a player with
a system. A man may be fortunate enough for a long time to guess right
oftener than he will guess wrong, and a lucky man in good guessing form
is a very dangerous customer, that no cold deck will beat; but a man
with a system surrenders to a double foe; the inevitable percentage of
the game, and the skill of the banker, who can beat any system if the
player will only promise to stick to it.
KENO, OR LOTTO.
This game is played with a large number of cards, on which are printed
various permutations of the numbers 1 to 90, taken five at a time; but
each of the five numbers selected for one combination must be in a
separate division of tens, such combinations as 2 4 8 16 18 not being
allowed on any card, because the 2 4 and 8, for instance, are all
in the first ten numbers of the 90. These cards have each a number,
printed in large red type across the face of the other figures. The
following might be a keno card, No. 325:--
[Illustration:
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| 1 | | 26 | | 45 | 53 | | 77 | |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| | 10 | 28 | =3=| =2=| =5=| 62 | 79 | 83 |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
| 4 | 12 | | 37 | | 67 | | 90 |
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
]
Some cards have more than three rows of figures on them, but none have
more than five in one row.
The cards are left on the tables in large numbers, and any number of
persons may play. Each selects as many cards as he wishes, or thinks he
can watch, and places upon them their price, usually twenty-five cents
each. An assistant comes round and calls out the numbers of all the
cards to be played, and they are “pegged” on a large board provided for
the purpose.
Ninety small ivory balls, with flattened surfaces to carry the numbers,
are placed in a keno goose, which looks like a coffee urn with the
spout at the bottom. This spout can be screwed out to put in the
balls, and is controlled with a spring cut-off like a powder horn,
which lets out only one ball at a time. When all the cards have been
pegged, the goose is rapidly revolved several times back and forth, and
then a number is taken out, and placed in a little tray with ninety
depressions in it, numbered in regular order, which hold the balls as
they come from the goose. The keno roller calls each number distinctly,
and the players who find it on their cards cover it with a button. The
first player to get a horizontal row of five numbers covered in this
manner, calls out “Keno!” or bangs the table with a card, and that
stops the game. An assistant comes round to the table and calls out the
number of the card; if it has been paid for and pegged, he proceeds to
call the numbers forming the keno, and these are checked by the roller
from the balls on the tray. If everything is correct, the player is
given all the money paid by the other players for their cards, less the
ten per cent which goes to the house. If two kenos are made on the same
number, they divide the pool equally.
As an illustration of the profitable nature of the game for the house,
it may be remarked that if ten men were to play keno for a dollar a
card, and each of them made keno ten times, they would all be “dead
broke;” because on each of the hundred kenos at ten dollars each, the
bank would have taken out its dollar percentage.
CHUCK-LUCK.
This game is sometimes called _=Sweat=_, and again, but erroneously,
_=Hazard=_. It is played with three dice, which are usually thrown down
a funnel in which several cross-bars are placed. The player is offered
five different forms of betting, all of which appear on the _=Layout=_,
and which cover all the combinations possible with three dice.
[Illustration:
+-----------------------+
| Single Numbers. |
HIGH. +---+---+---+---+---+---+ LOW.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| 18| 17| 16| 15| 14| 13| 12| 11| 10| 9| 8| 7| 6| 5| 4| 3|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
|180| 60| 29| 18| 12| 8| 6| 6| 6| 6| 8| 12| 18| 29| 60|180|
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
+-----------------------+
| Raffles. |
ODD. +---+---+---+---+---+---+ EVEN.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+
]
The Raffles are sometimes indicated by a representation of one face of
a die. Bets on single numbers pay even money, if the number bet on
comes up on the face of any of the three dice. If it comes up on two
of them, such as two deuces, it pays double; but if all three dice are
alike it is a _=raffle=_, and the house takes all bets not placed on
raffles. Bets on the numbers from 18 to 3 are upon the total count of
the pips on the upper faces of the three dice. The small figures under
these numbers show the odds paid; 14, for instance, pays twelve for
one. All raffles pay 180 for one; the same as 18 or 3.
Bets on High and Low, Odd or Even, pay even money. High throws are all
above 10, and low throws are all below 11. This would be perfectly even
betting if the house did not take raffles. Some houses allow a player
to bet on raffles generally; that is, to bet that a raffle of some kind
will come. Such bets are paid 30 for 1.