This game is played, like roulette, on a table covered with green cloth.
[Illustration: DIAGRAM OF ROUGE-ET-NOIR.]
The _tailleur_ (“cutter of the cards,” banker or dealer) seats himself
at the centre of the table, while opposite him, and at each end, are
croupiers (rakers-in), to see that no mistakes are made, to aid bettors
in placing stakes, and to draw or push money lost or won with long
wooden rakes.
On one side of the table is a piece of red cloth, diamond shaped, and,
opposite it, a piece of black cloth of the same shape.
The bettors who believe that red will win, put their money on the red
side, and those who believe in black, lay their wagers on the black
side.
The dealer continually calls out, “_Faites votre jeu_” (Make your play),
and when he sees that all the stakes are down on the table, he adds,
“_Le jeu est fait_” (The game is made), closing, as he begins to deal
out the cards, “_Rien ne va plus_” (no more stakes can be received).
All bets are then rejected, and all stakes pushed back.
_Mode of playing._—The game is played with six packs of cards, the court
cards counting ten each, and all the others according to the number of
spots upon their faces. They are shuffled and held face down, and laid
on the cloth face up in two rows or series. The dealer continues dealing
out, and counting in a loud voice, until the added numbers reach
thirty-one, but they must not be beyond forty. The first row counts for
black, and the second for red. Supposing that the first row or series of
black came thus:
[Illustration]
This makes in all 32, completing that series.
Now, supposing that the second row or series of red came thus:
[Illustration]
This makes in all, 37. In this case, black wins, because 32 is nearer 31
than 37.
The dealer, therefore, declares, “_Noir gagne_” (Black wins), or “_Rouge
perd_” (Red loses), whereupon all bets upon black are paid, and all the
stakes upon red taken in by the croupiers.
_Wagers on colour_ are made during the play, and decided by the colour
of the last card in the winning series.
Thus: if black wins, and the last card of that series be clubs or
spades, colour wins; but if hearts or diamonds has been turned up last,
colour loses.
The bank has, in the long run, advantages enough to defeat all players.
The advantage at Rouge-et-Noir is called the _refait_ (drawn game),
which happens when there is a tie between the two series, and both count
the same number between 32 and 40. For instance, 34 or 39 for both the
series, red and black.
In this case, neither bank nor players win or lose. The players may
change their stakes, or let them remain, at pleasure.
Should each of the series count 31 (which occurs once in thirty-eight or
forty times), bets are _en prison_ (dead); that is, there they must
remain until the next deal decides their fate. This seems fair, but it
is equivalent to giving the bank half the stakes. The Homburg Bank,
which is the most liberal, puts the stakes _en prison_ only when the
last card of the second series is black.
The _refait_ at Rouge-et-Noir is estimated to make the percentage of the
bank about two and two-thirds, which is diminished at Homburg to one and
a third.
The advantage at Rouge-et-Noir is less than at roulette; while the
minimum stake is two florins, and the maximum is 5,600 florins. The bank
capital at the present game must be something like five times that at
roulette. The extent of stake, on a simple chance, is 4,000 francs.
J. Ogden and Co., Printers, 172, St. John Street, E.C.
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[Illustration: _Clarendon House, upon the site and with the materials of
which 74 Piccadilly was built.—See_ EVELYN _and_ PEPYS.]