TRENTE ET QUARANTE is played with six packs of cards on a table marked out
as in the illustration (Fig. 3); this represents one-half of the table, the
other half being marked out in an exactly similar manner. There are but
four chances--_Rouge_, _Noir_, _Couleur_, and _Inverse_, which are played
on in the following manner. The six packs of cards, having been well
shuffled, are cut, and so many cards dealt out face upwards in a row until
the sum of the pips (Aces, Kings, Queens, Knaves, and tens counting ten
each, and the Ace one) _exceeds_ 30 in number. Then a second row is dealt
out in a similar manner, below the first one, until the number of the pips
in this second row also _exceeds_ 30. The top row is called "Black," the
second or underneath row "Red," and the Red or Blacks win according to
which row contains the fewer number of pips--_e.g._ whichever row of cards
adds up nearest to 30.
The number to which each row adds up is called "the point," and it will be
plain that the best point possible is 31, and the worst point possible 40.
It is customary, when calling out the "point" of Black and Red to drop the
"thirty" and say simply 2 and 6, which would mean that the point of Black
amounts to 32, and the point of Red 36, in which case the Black or top row
would win. The Black "point" is always called out first.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
{465} The other chance, the _Couleur_ and _Inverse_, is decided by the
colour of the _first_ card turned up. If the colour of this card
corresponds with the colour of the winning row, then _Couleur_ wins; if it
is of the opposite colour, then _Inverse_ wins. Thus suppose the top or
Black row of cards amounts to 35, and the _first_ card in this row is a
_Black_ card, and the Red row amounts to 36, then Black and _Couleur_ would
win; had the first card in the Black row been a Red card, then _Inverse_
would have won, being of the opposite colour to the winning row (Black).
The players wishing to back any particular chance place their stakes on
that portion of the table reserved for Black, Red, _Couleur_, or _Inverse_,
as shown in the illustration (Fig. 3). There are two _chefs-de-parties_
employed to supervise the game, and four croupiers to receive the losing
stakes and pay the winning ones, one of the croupiers also being the
_tailleur_, or dealer of the cards. The _tailleur_ calls the game by
saying, "_Messieurs, faites vos jeux_," when the players stake on the
different chances. He then says, "_Les jeux sont fait. Rien ne va plus_,"
after which no further stakes may be made. He then deals out the cards, and
when both rows are complete he calls the result thus, "_Deux, six, Rouge
perds et Couleur gagne_," or "_Rouge perds et Couleur_," as the case may
be, meaning that the point of Black is 32 and that of Red 36, so that Black
and the colour win; or Black wins and the colour loses. It should be noted
that the "_tailleur_" never mentions the words "Black" or "_Inverse_," but
always says that _Red_ wins or _Red_ loses, and that _the colour_ wins or
_the colour_ loses. On the conclusion {466} of each coup both rows of cards
are swept into a small basket called the "_talon_," which is let into the
centre of the table, and the game begins again. When the six packs of cards
are exhausted, the "_tailleur_" says, "_Monsieur, les cartes passent_,"
when all the cards are collected out of the _talons_, re-shuffled and cut,
and a fresh deal is started.
All four chances--Red, Black, _Couleur_, and _Inverse_--are of course even
chances, and are paid as such by the Bank; but should the total (or point)
of both rows of cards be exactly 31 each, the same procedure occurs as upon
the appearance of the zero at Roulette--that is to say, the stakes are put
_en prison_; then another deal is made, and those stakes which are on the
winning chances are allowed to be withdrawn by the players. Or, as at
Roulette, the stakes, at the players' option, may be halved with the Banker
in the first instance.
Saving 31, all other identical points made by the Red and Black cause that
deal to be null and void, the player being at liberty to remove his stake
or otherwise, as he chooses. The condition of affairs (both rows coming to
31 each) which corresponds to the Roulette zero is called a "_Refait_," and
is announced, as are all other identities of the points, by the word
"_apres_." Thus suppose the Black row counts up to 38, and the Red row to
the same figure, the _tailleur_ announces "_Huit, huit apres_." If it
happens to be a _Refait_, he says, "_Un, un apres_," and the stakes are put
into prison.
The _Refait_ is _said_ to occur once in 38 deals on the average; and if
this were true, the Bank would have a slightly less advantage at Trente et
Quarante than it has at Roulette. To arrive at the mathematical odds in
favour of the Bank would involve an exceedingly {467} complicated
calculation, and it is doubtful if they have ever been exactly computed. At
a glance it would seem that the odds against both rows being 31 each is 81
to 1; there being 10 possible points for each row, the chances against any
named point appearing would seem to be 9 to 1, in which case, of course,
the chances against _both_ points being identical would be 9 x 9, or 81 to
1. But as the point of 31 can be formed in 10 ways--for the last card may
be of any value, while the point of 32 can only be formed in 9 ways--for
now the last card cannot be an ace; and to form a point of 33 the last card
can be neither an ace nor a deuce, and so on with every point up to 40,
which can only be formed in one way--viz. when the last card is a 10--it is
obvious that 31 is the easiest possible point to arrive at, and the exact
chances against its formation have, as far as the writer's information
goes, never been calculated.[111]
In actual play, however, the punter may insure against the _Refait_ by
paying a premium of 1 per cent. on his stake (at a minimum cost of five
francs); thus it is safe to assume that for all practical purposes the
percentage in favour of the Bank is exactly 2 percent.[112] Thus it would
seem that once in 38 is an underestimate of the appearance of a _Refait_.
The maximum and minimum stakes allowed at Trente et Quarante are 12,000
francs and 20 francs respectively. Much heavier amounts are to be seen at
stake at this game than at Roulette. This probably arises from two facts:
because the games are generally {468} carried out in a quieter manner and
the coups are more quickly played than is the case at Roulette, and because
there is unquestionably a prevailing idea amongst the gamblers at Monte
Carlo that the Bank's advantage is not so great at Trente et Quarante as it
is at Roulette. The latter consideration is probably wrong; and, as far as
the writer's experience goes, it is a very paying business to insure the
stake at Trente et Quarante. If this really is so, it follows that the
percentage in favour of the Bank is over 2 per cent., or something like 1
per cent. _more_ than it is at Roulette.
Any system that is applicable to the even chances at the Roulette table can
of course be played at Trente et Quarante; but for some reason or other it
is unusual to see any system properly worked at this game, possibly because
too large a capital would be required.
The almost universal method of play is to follow the "_tableau_"--that is,
to follow the pattern of the card on which the game is marked. If there
have been two Reds followed by two Blacks, ninety-nine people out of a
hundred will stake on Red, in the expectation of two Reds now appearing,
while if there is a run of one colour, thousands of francs will be seen on
that colour, and not a single 20-franc piece on the other. Sometimes the
colours do run in the most inexplicable manner at Trente et Quarante. The
writer has played at a table where there were 17 consecutive Blacks, then 1
Red, to be followed by 16 consecutive Blacks. When such runs occur, the
Banks of course lose heavily, and are constantly broken. To break the Bank
in the true sense of the word is of course an impossibility. When a Bank
gets into low water the _chef-de-partie_ {469} sends for some more money,
which is "_Ajouter a la banque_," and to this extent only is it possible to
"break the Bank at Monte Carlo."