the following table, which gives the odds against the event, and the
odds which the house pays:--
The odds against 3 or 18 are 215 to 1; the house pays 180
” 4 ” 17 ” 71 ” 1 ” 60
” 5 ” 16 ” 35 ” 1 ” 29
” 6 ” 15 ” 20½ ” 1 ” 18
” 7 ” 14 ” 13¼ ” 1 ” 12
” 8 ” 13 ” 9¼ ” 1 ” 8
” 9 ” 12 ” 7¼ ” 1 ” 6
” 10 ” 11 ” 7 ” 1 ” 6
_=Cheating.=_ There are endless ways of swindling at Chuck-luck, the
most modern being to turn the dice over after they have reached the
table through the funnel. This is done by an apparatus under the cloth,
the dealer looking down the funnel to see how the dice lie, and then
adjusting them to suit himself. Another method is to hold out one die,
throwing only two down the funnel, and slipping the third down the
outside, turning it so that when it is combined with the two already
in the funnel it will beat the big bets on the layout. Raffles can be
forced in this way whenever the two dice in the funnel are paired.
RONDEAU.
This game is played on a pocket billiard table. The banker asks for
bets on the _=inside=_ and _=outside=_, and the amounts staked on each
side must balance. So long as they do not balance, the banker must ask
for what he wants: “Give me fourteen dollars on the outside to make
the game,” etc. As soon as the amounts balance, and no more bets are
offered, he says: “Roll. The game is made.”
A round stick, about a foot long, is placed behind nine small ivory
balls. Any person may roll. He takes his stand at one corner of the
table and rolls the balls across the table to the pocket diagonally
opposite him. At least one ball must go into the pocket and one must
be left out, or they must be rolled over again. The number of balls
left outside the pocket, odd or even, decides whether the inside or the
outside bets win; and after the banker has deducted his ten per cent,
the players who have backed the winning side get their money.
MONTE BANK.
The money staked by the banker is piled upon the table, so that all
players may see what is to be won. The banker takes a Spanish pack of
forty cards, shuffles them, and offers them to the players to be cut.
Holding the pack face down, the banker draws two cards from the bottom
and places them on the table, face up, for the “bottom layout.” He then
draws two cards from the top of the pack for the “top layout.”
The players can bet on either layout, and after all the bets are placed
the pack is turned face up. The card that shows is called the “gate.”
If it is of the same suit as either of the cards in the top layout, the
banker pays all bets on that layout. If there is a card of the same
suit as the gate in the bottom layout, the banker pays that also. If
there is no card of the same suit as the gate in either of the layouts,
the banker wins from that layout; so that he may win or lose from
either or both on the same gate.
The pack is then turned face down, the gate is drawn off and thrown
aside and two fresh layouts are made, as before and the bets placed
before the new gate is shown. This is continued until the pack is
exhausted.
THREE-CARD MONTE.
This is a purely gambling game, chiefly useful for separating fools
from their money. The dealer takes three cards, slightly bent
lengthwise, so as to be more easily picked up by the ends. One of these
is shown, and the players are told to watch it. After a few skilful
passes, the three cards come to rest on the layout, and the players are
asked to bet that they can pick out the card shown.
If the dealer will lay two to one, it is a fair gamble; but if he lays
even money only, the player is betting two to one against himself.
There are endless ways of pretending to mark the shown card, so that
it may be known by the back; but the dealer or his confederate always
knows that this is done, and the mark is shifted during the passes.
UNDER AND OVER SEVEN.
This game is played with a layout, divided and marked as follows:--
[Illustration:
+------+--------+------+
| _U_ | _7_ | _O_ |
| EVEN | 3 TO 1 | EVEN |
+------+--------+------+
]
The players can bet on any of the three spaces. Two dice are thrown by
the banker, and if the number thrown is _=under=_ seven he pays all
bets upon the U, even money, taking all those upon 7 and O. If the
throw is _=over=_ seven, he pays all bets upon the O, taking all those
upon U and 7. If seven is thrown, he pays all bets upon that number,
three for one, and takes all upon U and O.
As there are 36 possible throws with two dice, 15 being under and 15
over seven, the percentage in favour of the banker is always 21 to 15,
on U and O. As there are only 6 ways out of 36 to throw seven, the
odds against it are 5 to 1; but the banker pays only 3 for 1. In spite
of this enormous percentage in his favour, he frequently adds to his
revenue by skilful cheating.
LANSQUENET.
This is a banking game for any number of players, with a pack of
fifty-two cards. After the pack has been shuffled and cut, the dealer
lays off two cards, face up for “hand cards.” He then deals a card for
himself and one for the players, also face up. If either of these is of
the same denomination as either of the hand cards, it must be placed
with them, and another card dealt; because all bets must be made on
single cards.
Having two cards, one for the players and one for himself, the banker
turns up cards one at a time. If he draws the same denomination as
the players’ card, he wins all the bets upon it. If he draws his own
denomination, he loses all bets upon the other card. If he draws a card
that matches neither, and is not in the hand cards, it is placed on the
table, and the players can bet upon it.
As soon as the players’ card is matched, the banker withdraws both
cards, but he cannot withdraw his own card. All cards matching the hand
cards must be placed with them.
TABLE GAMES.
The common form of folding chess-board provides a field for three
of our best known games; Chess, Checkers, and Backgammon, which are
generally spoken of as “table games,” although, strictly speaking,
Backgammon is the only game of Tables. These three games were probably
played long before history noticed them, and they have survived almost
all ancient forms of amusement.
_=Chess=_ is not only the most important of the three, but the most
widely known, and possesses the most extensive literature. According
to Chatto, it is probable that all games of cards owe their origin
to chess, cards themselves having been derived from an old Indian
variation of chess, known as the Four Kings. Chess is also the most
fascinating of the table games, its charm being probably due to the
fact that, like whist, it is a game that no man ever mastered. Whether
or not this is in its favour is an open question. The amount of study
and practice required to make a person proficient in chess brings a
serious drain upon the time, and the fascinations of the game are such
that once a person has become thoroughly interested in it, everything
else is laid aside, and it is notorious that no man distinguished as a
chess-player has ever been good for anything else.
Mr. Blackburne, the English chess champion, regards the game as a
dangerous intellectual vice which is spreading to rather an alarming
extent. Discussing the matter, after his game with Mr. Bardeleben,
he said: “I know a lot of people who hold the view that chess is an
excellent means of training the mind in logic and shrewd calculation,
provision and caution. But I don’t find these qualities reflected in
the lives of chess-players. They are just as fallible and foolish as
other folks who don’t know a rook from a pawn. But even if it were a
form of mental discipline, which I doubt, I should still object to
it on the ground of its fatal fascination. Chess is a kind of mental
alcohol. It inebriates the man who plays it constantly. He lives in a
chess atmosphere, and his dreams are of gambits and the end of games. I
have known many an able man ruined by chess. The game has charmed him,
and, as a consequence, he has given up everything to the charmer. No,
unless a man has supreme self-control, it is better that he should not
learn to play chess. I have never allowed my children to learn it, for
I have seen too much of its evil results. Draughts is a better game, if
you must have a game.”
Chess is generally believed to have originated in India, and in
its primitive form was called Chaturanga. It is mentioned in the
Hindoo Puranas, at least 3000 years B. C. The game seems to have
spread eastward long before it came West, going through Burmah to
Thibet, Siam, China, Malacca, Java, and Borneo. Owing to the better
preservation of historical records in China, many persons have been
led to credit that country with the invention of chess, but recent
investigations have shown that the Chinese got it from India. At some
remote period of the world’s history the game was taken from China to
Japan, and there are to-day many points in common between the games
played in these two countries, especially in the arrangement of the
pieces, although the Japanese board has eighty-one squares.
Chess came westward through Constantinople, it having passed through
Persia sometime during the sixth century. The Arabs seem to have
learned the game, and taken it to Mecca and Medina, afterward passing
it along to Syria and the Byzantines, sometime during the seventh
century. Disbanded body-guards of the Byzantine emperors carried it to
Scandinavia and the North, while it was gradually spreading over Europe
by way of the Bosphoros and the Danube.
_=Draughts=_, or _=Checkers=_, is sometimes claimed to be an older game
than Chess: but it is much more probable that both are developments of
some still older game, all trace of which is lost. In Egypt and Nubia
there are illustrations of persons playing at draughts twenty centuries
before the Christian era. During recent explorations in Egypt quite a
variety of draughtmen have been found, some of which were used during
the reign of Rameses III. The usual form seems to have been circular,
about an inch in diameter, and surmounted by a round knob, something
like a chess pawn, so that the men could be easily picked up. From the
manner in which the men are shown mixed upon the board, it is evident
that they could not move or take backwards, as in Polish draughts, but
whether they advanced diagonally, as at the present day, there is no
evidence to show. The Japanese game of draughts has lately been revived
in England and America under the name of Go-Bang, but as it requires a
special board of 324 squares, it has never been popular.
_=Backgammon=_ cannot be traced to its origin. Several authorities
have fallen into the error of ascribing the game to a certain country
because the name is derived from a certain language, forgetting that in
ancient times every country invented its own names for games. Chess is
called Choke-choo-hong-ki in China, and Shogi in Japan; but that does
not make it either a Chinese or a Japanese game. Either of these names
might be used for Backgammon, as they have exactly the same meaning.
The Welsh words, bach, and cammen; or the Saxon bac, and gamen,
signify “a little battle;” while the Chinese and Japanese names for
Chess signify “mimic warfare.”
The Welsh and Saxons undoubtedly got Backgammon from the Romans, who
played it under the name of Scripta Duodecimo. They seemed to have got
it from the Greeks, who are known to have used a table called Abacus,
very much like a backgammon board in form, with lines drawn upon it,
and the men were moved from one line to another according to the throws
of the dice.
There is no trace of Backgammon among the games of the Egyptians or the
Hebrews, although the chief factors in the game, the dice, have been
known to all nations, and are probably the oldest gaming instruments in
the world.
As to the respective merits of these table games, there is little to be
said. Curiously enough they are played by entirely different classes of
people. Backgammon has always been highly respectable, and seems likely
to retain its position as the fashionable game. Draughts is peculiarly
the game of the middle classes, popular at the workman’s dinner hour,
in the sitting-rooms of cheap hotels, in country clubs, and in fire
engine stations; the latter being a favourite training ground for our
checker champions. Chess is probably the most universal game of all,
and its general character is understood by almost every educated person
in the world.
CHESS.
Chess is played upon a square board, divided into sixty-four smaller
squares of equal size. These small squares are usually of different
colours, alternately light and dark, and the board must be so placed
that each player shall have a light square at his right, on the side
nearer him.
Each player is provided with sixteen men, eight of which are called
_=pieces=_, and eight _=pawns=_. The men on one side are red or black,
and those on the other side are white or yellow, and they are usually
of a standard pattern, which is known as the Staunton model.
The eight pieces are:
The King, ♚ The Queen, ♛ Two Rooks or Castles, ♜
Two Bishops, ♝ and two Knights, ♞
These eight pieces are arranged on the side of the board nearer the
player, and immediately in front of them stand the eight Pawns, ♟.
Diagram No. 1 will show the proper arrangement of the men at the
beginning of a game:--
[Illustration: _No. 1._
BLACK.
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♜ | ♞ | ♝ | ♛ | ♚ | ♝ | ♞ | ♜ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♚ | ♚ | ♚ | ♚ | ♚ | ♚ | ♚ | ♚ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♖ | ♘ | ♗ | ♕ | ♔ | ♗ | ♘ | ♖ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
WHITE.
]
It will be observed that the two Queens are opposite each other, and
that each Queen stands upon a square of the same colour as herself. For
irregularities in setting up the men, see the Laws of Chess.
The _=players=_ are designated by the colour of the men with which they
play, Black or White, and White always has the first move. In a series
of games each player alternately takes the white men with the first
move. It is usual to draw for the first game, one player concealing
in each hand a pawn of a different colour, and offering the choice of
hands to his adversary. Whichever colour the chosen hand contains is
the one the chooser must take for the first game.
The duplicate pieces of each colour are distinguished by their position
with regard to the King or Queen; those on the King’s side being called
the King’s Bishop, the King’s Knight, and the King’s Rook. Those on the
Queen’s side are the Queen’s Bishop, Queen’s Knight, and Queen’s Rook.
The pawns are designated by the pieces in front of which they stand;
King’s Pawn; Queen’s Knight’s Pawn, etc.
The comparative _=value of the pieces=_ changes a little in the course
of play, the Rooks especially not being so valuable early in the game.
Authorities differ a little as to the exact value of the pieces, but if
we take the Pawn as a unit, the fighting value of the others will be
about as follows:--
A Knight is worth 3½ Pawns.
A Bishop is worth 5¼ Pawns.
A Rook is worth 9½ Pawns.
A Queen is worth 15 Pawns.
A King is worth 4½ Pawns.
_=THE MOVES.=_ Each piece has a movement peculiar to itself, and, with
the exception of the Pawns, any piece can capture and remove from the
board any opposing piece which it finds in its line of movement. The
captured piece is not jumped over, but the capturing piece simply
occupies the square on which the captured piece stood. The movement of
each piece should be studied separately.
♟ _=The Pawns=_ move straight forward, one square at a time, except
on the first move, when they have the privilege of moving either one
or two squares, at the option of the player. In capturing, the Pawn
does not take the piece directly in its path, but the one diagonally
in front of it on either side. Such a capture of course takes the Pawn
from the file it originally occupied, and it must then continue to
advance in a straight line on its new file. In Diagram No. 2, the white
Pawns could not capture either of the black Bishops or Rooks, but the
Pawn on the left could take either of the black Knights:--
[Illustration: _No. 2._
| ♞ | | ♞ | | | | ♙ | ♜ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | ♙ | | | ♝ | | ♜ | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | ♙ | ♝ | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
WHITE.
]
After a Pawn has crossed the middle line of the board into the
adversary’s territory, it is called a _=passed Pawn=_. If an adverse
Pawn attempts to pass this Pawn by availing itself of the privilege of
moving two squares the first time, that would not prevent the passed
Pawn from capturing it _=en passant=_. In the position shown in Diagram
No. 3, for instance, if the black Queen’s Pawn were to advance two
squares, the white Pawn could capture it en passant, lifting it from
the board, and taking the position that the black Pawn would have
occupied if it had moved only one square the first time; that is,
the first black square in front of the Queen. A Pawn can be taken en
passant only by another pawn, never by any other piece.
[Illustration: _No. 3._
BLACK.
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♜ | ♞ | ♝ | ♛ | ♚ | ♝ | ♞ | ♜ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | ♟ | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | ♙ | | | |
]
♜ _=The Rook=_ can be moved any number of squares at a time, forward or
backward, but only in vertical or horizontal lines, never diagonally.
The Rook’s movement is of course limited by pieces obstructing its
path, for it cannot jump over anything. At the beginning of the game,
for instance, the Rook cannot move at all.
♝ _=The Bishop=_ can be moved any number of squares at a time, forward
or backward, but only in diagonal lines, never horizontally or
vertically. For this reason the Bishop never leaves the squares of the
same colour as that on which it originally stood. A Bishop is often
spoken of as a white Bishop or a black Bishop, which does not mean that
it is one of White’s Bishops, or one of Black’s; but that it stands
upon a white or black square. Like the Rook, the Bishop cannot jump
over other pieces, and cannot be moved at all until one or other of the
two Pawns diagonally in front of it have opened the way.
♛ _=The Queen=_ combines the movements of the Rook and Bishop, and can
be moved horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, any number of squares
at a time, provided that the path is clear. Like the Rook and Bishop,
she cannot move at all until some of the adjoining pieces have made a
way for her.
♚ _=The King=_ has the same movement as the Queen, but is limited to
one square at a time. The King is not allowed to move to a square which
would expose him to capture by adverse pieces, for reasons which will
presently be explained.
♞ _=The Knight=_ has a very peculiar movement, which is L shaped, and
necessitates his changing the colour of the square he stands on, every
time he moves. The simplest way for the beginner to learn the Knight’s
move is to observe that he must go two squares, neither more nor less,
in a vertical or a horizontal direction, and must then change the
colour of the square he stands on by going one square either to the
right or left, which will complete the L shaped movement. Diagram No.
4 will show that when the Knight is away from the side of the board,
he may go to any one of eight different squares; but when he is in a
corner he can go to two only. For that reason Knights are much more
powerful when placed near the centre of the board.
[Illustration: _No. 4._
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | 8 | | 1 | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | 7 | | | | 2 |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | | ♞ | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | 6 | | | | 3 |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | | 5 | | 4 | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | 1 | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | 2 | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♞ | | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
]
The peculiarity of the Knight’s move is that it is not retarded by
other pieces, because the Knight can jump over them, a privilege which
is not given to any other piece on the board. In Diagram No. 5, for
instance, the Knights have been legitimately moved, but no other piece
could be moved until the Pawns had made way for it.
[Illustration: _No. 5._
| | | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | ♘ | | | ♘ | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♖ | | ♗ | ♕ | ♔ | ♗ | | ♖ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
]
There are one or two peculiar movements which are allowed only under
certain conditions. One of these is _=Castling=_. If there are no
pieces between the King and the Rook, and neither piece has been
moved, the King may be moved two squares toward the Rook, and at the
same time the Rook may be brought round to the other side of the King.
The movement must be made with both hands, each manipulating a piece.
In the position shown in Diagram No. 6, for instance, the King could
castle on either side, with the King’s Rook, or with the Queen’s Rook:--
[Illustration: _No. 6._
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♜ | | | | ♚ | | | ♜ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | | ♛ | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | ♞ | ♟ | ♝ | ♞ | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | ♝ | | ♟ | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | ♗ | | ♙ | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | ♘ | ♙ | ♗ | ♘ | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♙ | ♙ | ♙ | | ♕ | ♙ | ♙ | ♙ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♖ | | | | ♔ | | | ♖ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
]
If an adverse piece commands the square that would be passed over by
the King in castling, the move is not allowed; because a King must not
move into check, nor cross a square that is checked by an adverse piece
nor castle out of check.
In Diagram No. 7 the position that would result from castling with the
Queen’s Rook is shown by the black men.
[Illustration: _No. 7._
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | ♚ | ♜ | | | | ♜ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♟ | ♟ | ♟ | | ♛ | ♟ | | ♟ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | ♞ | ♟ | ♝ | ♞ | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | ♝ | | ♟ | | | |
]
_=Queening Pawns.=_ If a passed Pawn succeeds in reaching the last or
eighth square on any file, the player to whom the Pawn belongs may
call it anything he chooses, from a Queen to a Knight. If the piece he
chooses has already been captured, it must be replaced on the board,
and on the square occupied by the Pawn, which is then removed. If not,
some other piece must be put upon the board as a marker; a Rook upside
down, or a Pawn with a ring on it, may represent a second Queen.
_=OBJECT OF THE GAME.=_ If all the pieces could be captured, the object
of the game might be to clear the board of the adversary’s men, as in
Checkers; but the peculiarity of Chess is that one piece, the King,
cannot be captured, and the object is to get the adverse King in such
a position that he could not escape capture if he were a capturable
piece. When that is accomplished the King is said to be _=mated=_, and
the player who first succeeds in giving mate to the adversary’s King
wins the game, regardless of the number or value of the pieces either
side may have on the board at the time the mate is accomplished.
When an adverse piece is moved so that it could capture the King on
the next move, due notice must be given to the threatened King by
announcing “_=Check=_,” and the player must immediately move his King
out of check, interpose a piece or a Pawn, or capture the piece that
gives the check. If he cannot do one of these three things he is mated,
and loses the game. A very simple example of a mate is given in Diagram
No. 8.
[Illustration: _No. 8._
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | ♖ | | | | ♚ | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♝ | | | | | ♟ | ♟ | ♟ |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| ♞ | | | | | | | |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
| | | | ♔ | | | | |
]