The exact origins of the game are obscure, but it seems to have evolved from “pitch and toss”, a gambling game involving tossing a single coin into the air and wagering on the result of the toss which was popular amongst poorer English and Irish citizens in the 18th century. The predilection of the convicts for this game was noted as early as 1798 by the colony’s first Judge Advocate, as well as the lack of skill and consequent losses at it.
There is evidence to suggest that pitch and toss had evolved into two-up, using two coins by the 1850′s, and the game was played on the goldfields of the eastern states, and spread across the country with subsequent goldrushes elsewhere in Australia. As time passed, increasingly elaborate illegal “two-up schools” grew around Australia, to the consternation of authorities but in fact with the assistance of corrupt police officers.
The game was played extensively by Australia’s soldiers during World War I, and games of two-up at which an even blinder official eye was cast became a regular part of ANZAC Day celebrations for the returned soldiers.
The games continued illegally for most of the 20th century throughout Australia, exclusively involving men and usually only Anglo-Australian men. Two-up was the basis of one of Australia’s first major illegal gaming operations, the legendary Thommo’s Two-up School, which operated at various locations in Sydney (sometimes even on boats and hired ferries) from the early years of the 20th century until well after World War II. Crime writer David Hickie claims that Thommo’s was turning over tens of thousands of pounds annually by the 1920s, and it is generally acknowledged that it flourished for decades thanks to endemic police and official corruption.
Legal two-up arrived in Australia with its introduction as a “table” game at the new casino in Hobart in 1973. Laws were subsequently passed legalising two-up on Anzac Day and also legalising it at several two-up schools in outback towns (mainly as a tourist attraction). Two-up is now played at many of Australia’s casinos, but from the 1960s onwards it began to drop out of the illegal gaming culture. It was at first supplanted by the card game baccarat, which enjoyed a considerable vogue in the 1960s at the numerous illegal gaming houses around Sydney, but ultimately it was overtaken by the mainstream adoption of poker machines (slot machines) in NSW clubs. It is also played at Returned Serviceman’s Leagues (RSLs) on Anzac Day.
Two-up (also known as swei or swy) is a gambling game, and one of Australia’s many contributions to the world of gambling (another being the totalisator).
Rules of the Game
The game is conducted in a flat circle of approximately 20 feet (6 metres) or larger. The only equipment required (aside from materials for tracking bets) is two coins (by tradition pre-decimal pennies), and a flat piece of wood called the “kip” approximately 8 inches in length which has holes carved in it to fit the coins neatly but loosely enough for the coins to come out when tossed.
The game is run by a “boxer”, who calls the first “spinner” (one of the players around the circle) in to toss the coins. The spinner wagers an amount of their choice on either “heads” or “tails”. Other players around the ring can then also bet on either “heads” or “tails”.
Once all bets are taken, the boxer calls “no more bets”, and the player tosses the coins in the air using the kip. To be a valid throw, they must go above the head height of the spinner, be rotating sufficiently and land entirely in the ring – if they do not the boxer calls “barred” and the throw is retaken. Ideally the call must occur before the coins settle.
If the coins land both on the same face, the round ends and non-spinning player’s bets are paid off, with people who bet on the same face as that landed winning. A new round of non-spinner bets is then taken before the spinner throws again.
If the coins come up with one tail and one head, the spinner spins again. If 5 “odds” come up, all players lose and a new spinner is selected.
If the spinner throws his nominated face three times before either 5 “odds” being thrown in a row, or a spin with both coins being the opposite face, the spinner wins and is paid at 7.5 to 1 (in most modern games).
Trente et Quarante, also called Rouge et Noir (Red and Black), is a game of French origin played with cards and a special table. It is one of the two games played in the gambling rooms at Monte Carlo, roulette being the other.Two croupiers sit on each side of the table, one of them being the dealer; behind the two on the side opposite to the dealer a supervisor of the game has his seat. Six packs of fifty-two cards each are used; these are well shuffled, and the croupier asks any of the players to cut, handing him a blank card with which to divide the mixed packs. There are only four chances at trente et quarante: rouge or noir, known as the grand tableau’, couleur or inverse, known as the petit tableau.
At Monte Carlo the stakes are placed on the divisions indicated on the table, the maximum being 12,000 francs and the minimum 20 francs which must be staked in gold. The dealer, who has placed all the cards before him, separates a few with the blank card, takes them in his left hand and invites the players to stake with the formula, “Messieurs, faites votre jeu!” After a pause he exclaims “Le jeu-est fait, rien ne va plus!” after which no stake can be made. He then deals the cards in a row until the aggregate number of pips is something more than thirty, upon which he deals a second row, and that which comes nearest to thirty wins, the top row being always distinguished as noir, and the lower as rouge. In announcing the result the word “trente” is always omitted, the dealer merely announcing “un, trois, quatre”, as the case may be, though when forty is turned up it is described as quarante. The words noir and inverse are also never used, the announcement being rouge gagne or rouge perd, couleur gagne or couleur perd. Gain or loss over couleur and inverse depends upon the color of the first card dealt.
If this should be also the color of the winning row, the player wins. Assuming, for example, that the first card dealt is red, and that the lower row of the cards dealt is nearest to thirty, the dealer will announce “Rouge gagne et le couleur.” If the first card dealt is red, but the black or top row of cards is nearest to thirty, the dealer announces “Rouge perd et le couleur.”
It frequently happens that both rows of cards when added together give the same number. Should they both, for instance, add up to thirty-three, the dealer will announce “Trois apres,” and the deal goes for nothing except in the event of their adding up to thirty-one.
Un apres (i.e. thirty-one) is known as a refait; the stakes are put in prison to be left for the decision of the next deal, or if the player prefers it he can withdraw half his stake, leaving the other half for the bank. Assurance against a refait can be made by paying 1% on the value of the stake with a minimum of five francs. When thus insured against a refait the player is at liberty to withdraw his whole stake. It has been calculated that on an average a refait occurs once in thirty-eight coups.
After each deal the cards are pushed into a metal bowl let into the table in front of the dealer. When he has not en’ough left to complete the two rows, he remarks “Les cartes passent”; they are taken from the bowl, reshuffled, and another deal begins.
References
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
Panguingue (also known as Pan) is a gambling card game similar to rummy. It is particularly popular in Las Vegas and other casinos in the American southwest.The game is played using a 320-card deck, contstructed from eight decks of playing cards, removing all eights, nines, tens, and Jokers.
The basic decision to be made in Pai Gow is how to arrange one’s hands. Given any four tiles, there are always three ways to arrange them into two hands (although some arrangements may be functionally identical to others). Sometimes one way will be clearly superior to another, but at other times it is difficult to determine the best strategy.
There are three ways to arrange these tiles into two hands. One of these ways is very unwise.
For instance, consider the four tiles at right. It would clearly be unwise to combine tile A with tile B, since each hand would be worth zero. It would make more sense to combine tile A with tile C, in which case both hands would be worth 5. Or you could pair tile A with tile D, in which case your front hand would be worth 3 and your rear hand would be worth 7. Which is a better choice?
If you think the dealer will have poor hands, such as a front of 1 and a rear of 6, you would want to pair tile A with tile D in order to maximize your chance of winning. If you are afraid the dealer may have a better hand, such as a front of 4 and a rear of 9, then you will want to pair tile A with tile C in order to maximize your chance of pushing. You might also consider that pairing tile A with tile D will make it more likely that a tie would break in your favor.
Experience will help a player get a feel for which hand combinations will work well in which situations. Many players use various superstitions as well, believing that one should (for instance) never pair a 6-4 tile with a nine.
Tiles are randomized on the table, and are stacked into eight stacks of four tiles each. This assembly is known as the woodpile. Various ritualistic “shuffles” are made, rearranging the tiles in the woodpile in standard ways that result in a new woodpile. Bets are then made.
Next, each player (including the dealer) is given four tiles with which to make two hands of two tiles each. The hand with the lower value is called the front hand, and the hand with the higher value is called the rear hand. If a player’s front hand beats the dealer’s front hand, and the player’s rear hand beats the dealer’s rear hand, then that player wins the bet. If a player’s front and rear hands both lose to the dealer’s respective hands, the player loses the bet. If one hand wins and the other loses, the player is said to push, and gets back only the money he or she bet. Generally seven players will play, and each player’s hands are compared only against the dealer’s hands.
Evaluations of three basic hands.
Basic scoring
The name “Pai Gow” is loosely translated as “Make Nine” or “Card Nine”. This reflects the fact that, with a few high-scoring exceptions, the best a hand can score is nine. To find the value of a hand, simply add the total number of pips on the two tiles, and drop the tens place. So for instance, a 1-3 tile (a tile with one pip on one end and three pips on the other, for a total of four pips) used with a 2-3 tile (with five total pips) will score nine, since four plus five is nine. A 2-3 tile with a 5-6 tile will score six, and not sixteen, because you drop the 1. And a 5-5 tile with a 4-6 tile will score zero, since ten plus ten is twenty, and twenty reduces to zero when you drop the tens place.
A Day tile (left) and a Teen tile (right}
Gongs and Wongs
There are special ways in which a hand can score more than nine points. The double-one tiles and double-six tiles are known as the Day and Teen tiles, respectively. If a Day or Teen tile is used with an eight, the pair is worth ten instead of the usual zero. (This is called a Gong.) If a Day or Teen tile is used with a nine, the hand is worth eleven instead of one. (This is called a Wong.) But a Day or Teen tile used with a ten is only worth two, not twelve; this is because only eights and nines can be combined with Days or Teens for higher values. (In other words, when Day or Teen tiles are combined with tiles other than an eight or nine, follow the normal scoring rules.)
The Gee Joon tiles
The 1-2 and the 2-4 tiles are called Gee Joon tiles (or sometimes called wildcards). Either tile can count as 3 or 6, whichever scores more. So a 1-2 tile can be used with a 5-6 tile to make a hand worth seven points, rather than four.
Pairs
The matching pair of eights (left) is worth more than the non-matching pair of eights (right). If a hand contained one of the tiles on the left and one of the tiles on the right, these would not form a pair at all, since the tiles that make pairs are defined by tradition.
The 32 tiles in a Chinese Dominoes set can be arranged into 16 pairs, as shown in the picture at the top of this article. Eleven of these pairs have identical tiles, and five of these pairs are made up of two tiles that score the same, but look different. (The latter group includes the Gee Joon tiles, which can score the same, whether as three or six.) If a hand is made up of a pair, it always scores higher than a non-pair, no matter what the value of the pips are. (Pairs are often thought of as being worth 14 points each.)
When two pairs are compared, the higher-valued pair wins. This is not determined by the sum of their pips, but by aesthetics. It must be memorized which pairs score more than other pairs. The highest pairs are the Gee Joon tiles, the Teens, the Days, and the red eights. The lowest scoring pairs are the mismatched nines, eights, sevens, and fives. But even the lowest-scoring pair will beat any non-pair.
Ties
When one of a player’s hands is compared to one of the dealer’s hands, it sometimes happens that both will have the same score. For instance, a player may have a front hand worth one point, consisting of a 3-4 tile and a 2-2 tile, and the dealer may have a front hand also worth one point, made up of a 5-6 tile and a 5-5 tile. In these cases, determine which tile in each hand has a higher value, as determined by the pair rankings mentioned above. In this case, the 2-2 tile is in a higher-ranking pair than the 3-4 tile, and the 5-5 tile is in a higher-ranking pair than the 5-6 tile. (Again, the rankings of the pairs follows no obvious pattern and must be memorized.) Since the 5-5 pair outranks the 2-2 pair, the dealer would win this front hand. In the unusual case of a true tie, where the dealer’s high tile would be in the same pair as the player’s high tile, the dealer wins the tie.
There are two exceptions to the method described above. First, although the Gee Joon tiles form the highest-ranking pair, they are considered to have no value when evaluating ties. Second, any zero-zero tie is won by the dealer, regardless of the tiles in the hand.
A set of Chinese dominoes. The top double-row of tiles lists the eleven matching pairs, in descending value from left to right. Below them are five non-matching pairs, worth less than the matching pairs, and also in descending value from left to right. The Gee Joon tiles, lower right, are the highest pair of all.
Pai Gow (Chinese: 牌九; pinyin: páijiǔ, Cantonese: paai4 gau2) is a Chinese gambling game. It is played with the Chinese dominoes tile set. The game is played in underground casinos in most Chinese communities. It is played openly in major casinos in Macau, China, Las Vegas, Nevada, Atlantic City, New Jersey, in many California cardrooms, and in some Australian casinos. It is an ancient game, thousands of years old, and steeped in tradition.
The name “Pai Gow” is sometimes used to refer to a card game called Pai Gow Poker (or Double Hand Poker ), also popular in Nevada, California and casinos in Detroit, MI. It is loosely based on the Chinese game.
Oicho-Kabu (おいちょかぶ) is a traditional Japanese gambling game similar to the Western games blackjack and baccarat. It is typically played with special kabufuda cards. A hanafuda deck can also be used, if the last two months are discarded. (Western playing cards can be used, if the face cards are removed from the deck and aces counted as 1.)The goal of the game is to reach a total closest to 9 without going over. As in baccarat, the last digit of any total over 10 makes your hand: a 15 counts as 5, a 12 as 2, and a 20 as 0.
The word yakuza originates from this game. The worst Oicho-Kabu hand is 8-9-3, or “ya-ku-sa”. This gives a sum total of 20, or 0 points.
Handgame, also known as stickgame, is a Native American guessing game.
Rules
Stickgame is played with a pair of bones, one white and one black or striped; and ten “point sticks,” which are used as counters. The two teams, one “defending” and one “guessing,” sit opposite one another; two members of the “defending” team take the bones and hide them under their hands while the others sing, drum, and attempt to distract the “guessing” team. The leader of the “guessing” team then must guess which defender is holding each of the two bones; for each incorrect guess, his team must turn over one stick to the defenders. Once the bones have been located, the teams reverse roles, and the game continues in this manner until one team holds all the sticks.
History
Handgame apparently originated with the Northern Paiute and Western Shoshone tribes of the Great Basin. Historical documentation states that games were once played for land use and female companions, and later on for horses and cattle. Today, handgame is played during traditional gatherings, powwows, and tribal celebrations. More recent versions of handgame played by tribes in the Northwest added an eleventh stick, or “kickstick”; this variation was promulgated by the Paiute medicine man Wovoka when he traveled to the Northwest to teach the Ghost Dance. Handgame bones and point sticks have been identified in ancient anthropological digs. Handgame continues to spread amongst Native American tribes; the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act classified it as Class I gaming, leaving its regulation to individual tribes.
References
Stewart Culin, Games of the North American Indian. 1907; reprint, New York: Dover Publications, 1975.
Frances Densmore, Music of the Teton Sioux. Smithsonian Institution Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 61. Washington, D.C.: 1918.
“Numaga Days celebrates games.” Geralda Miller, Reno Gazette-Journal. September 2, 2004.
Fan-Tan, or fantan (Simplified Chinese: 番摊; Traditional Chinese: 番攤; pinyin: fāntān) is a form of gambling long played in China and among Chinese immigrants to America and other countries.
History
Fan-tan is no longer as popular as it once was, having been replaced by modern casino games, and other traditional Chinese games such as Mah Jong and Pai Gow. However, it was once a favorite pastime of the Chinese in America. Jacob Riis, in his famous book about the underbelly of New York, How the Other Half Lives (1890), wrote of entering a Chinatown fan-tan parlor: “At the first foot-fall of leather soles on the steps the hum of talk ceases, and the group of celestials, crouching over their game of fan tan, stop playing and watch the comer with ugly looks. Fan tan is their ruling passion.”
San Francisco’s large Chinatown was also home to dozens of fan-tan houses in the 19th century. The city’s former police commissioner Jesse B. Cook wrote that in 1889 Chinatown had 50 fan-tan games, and that “in the 50 fan tan gambling houses the tables numbered from one to 24, according to the size of the room.”
Fan-tan is still played at Macau casinos, where play goes on day and night, every day of the week, and bets can be made from 5 cents to 500 dollars.
The game
The game is simple. A square is marked in the centre of an ordinary table, or a square piece of metal is laid on it, the sides being marked 1, 2, 3 and 4. The banker puts on the table a double handful of small buttons, beads, coins, dried beans, or similar articles, which he covers with a metal bowl, or “tan koi”.
The players then bet on the numbers, setting their stakes on the side of the square which bears the number selected. (Players can also bet on the corners, for example between No. 2 and No. 3). When all bets are placed, the bowl is removed, and the “tan kun” or croupier uses a small bamboo stick to remove the buttons from the heap, four at a time, until the final batch is reached. If it contains four buttons, the backer of No. 4 wins; if three, the backer of No. 3 wins, and so on.
A 25% commission is deducted from the stake by the banker, and the winner receives five times the amount of his stake thus reduced.
The Card Game Fantan
Fantan is also the name of a card game, played with an ordinary pack, by any number of players up to eight. The, deal decided, the cards are dealt singly, any that are left over forming a stock, and being placed face downwards on the table. Each player contributes a fixed stake or ante. The first player can enter if he has an ace; if he has not he pays an ante and takes a card from the stock; the second player is then called upon and acts similarly till an ace is played. This (and the other aces when played) is put face upwards on the table, and the piles are built up from the ace to the king. The pool goes to the player who first gets rid of all his cards. If a player fails to play, having a playable card, he is fined the amount of the ante for every card in the other players hands.
The card game Sevens is also sometimes called ‘Fan Tan’
A dead pool, or deathpool is a game of prediction which involves guessing when someone will die. Sometimes it is a bet where money is involved. The combination of dead or death and betting-pool, refers to such a gambling arrangement. A typical modern dead pool might have players pick out celebrities who they think will die within the year. There are several scoring variants. For example, a player might be rewarded few, if any, points for predicting the death of someone who is over 80 years old or is suffering from a terminal disease. Other pools require participants to form a list ranked on how sure they are that a person on the list will die, with points given based on how high a person on their list is ranked, and others award points based on how many other contestants selected the deceased celebrity. Another variant on the game has a single point awarded for each correct prediction, regardless of the celebrity’s age or medical condition. The advantage of this scoring method is that there is more scoring, and it rewards research (learning which celebrities are experiencing failing health) rather than luck.One example of the concept is a series of segments on the Howard Stern Radio Show, where show regulars would place bets into a celebrity death pool, each trying to predict the next celebrity to pass on. The practice has been expanded to include wagering on such abstract entities as businesses.
Definitions of celebrity vary from contest to contest. Smaller pools may rely on consensus of the players as to who is famous. Others require an obituary to appear in a recognized newswire such as the Associated Press or Reuters. The Lee Atwater Invitational employed a Fame Committee consisting of non-contestants who assess ahead of time the name-recognition of each celebrity. The Rotten.com Dead Pool, the largest in the world, uses NNDB as its source of qualified celebrities, and as arbiter of their life status.
The concept and success strategies are also detailed in an annual guide called “The Dead Pool”, written by KQRS radio personality Mike Gelfand and author Mike Wilkinson. KQRS also does an annual on air dead pool contest, similar to Stern’s, where show hosts and listners will attempt to pick which celebrity will die in that calendar year.
In most pools, killing the celebrity in question is considered cheating and results in the killer’s immediate disqualification from the pool. Such a dead pool was depicted in the aptly-titled Clint Eastwood movie, The Dead Pool.
Death List is unlike a traditional dead pool as there are no competitors involved and no points are awarded. The names on the list are chosen by a committee, members of Death List then track the well-being of the chosen celebrities over the course of the year. The Death List was first conceived in a student bar on November 29th 1986, the inspiration being the death of Cary Grant earlier the same day. The list’s aim is to predict which people in the public eye will die in the following year. Ever since 1987, a list has been drawn up, but starting in 1994 the Death List has consisted of 50 prominent people chosen annually by the committee, who might merit a prominent obituary in the UK media — ranging from politicans, religious figures and show business stars.
The Dead Pool is also an arena in the Mortal Kombat series only being featured in Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat: Deception. The stage itself is a pit surrounded with acid. On Mortal Kombat II, you had to wait for the “Finish Him/Her”" screen, then you could knock your opponent in the acid, and it would count as a Fatality. On Mortal Kombat Deception, you could just knock your opponent in the acid with a single powerful strike.
Casino war is a casino card game based on the children’s game of War. The game is arguably one of the most easily understood casino card games, but it also has a relatively large house edge compared to other games.The game is normally played with six standard 52 card decks. The cards are ranked in the same way that cards in poker games are ranked, except that aces are always high.
The deal
After the player has placed a bet, the dealer and the player are each dealt one card.
If the player’s card is ranked higher than the dealer’s, the player wins even money.
If the dealer’s card is ranked higher than the player’s, the player loses the bet to the house.
Ties
A tie occurs when the dealer and the player each have cards of the same rank. In a tie situation, the player has two options:
The player can surrender, in which case the player loses half the bet.
The player can go to war, in which case the player must place an additional wager the same size as the first wager.
Going to war
If the player goes to war, the dealer burns three cards before dealing each of them an additional card. If the player’s card is ranked higher than or the same as the dealer’s, then the player wins an amount equal to the size of the original bet only. If the dealer’s card is ranked higher than the player’s, the player loses both the original bet and the “going to war” bet.
House advantage
The dealer and the player each have a 50% chance of winning, so this seems like an even money game. The house advantage, however, comes from what happens in the case of a tie.
Some casinos offer a bonus payout in the event of a tie after going to war.
The house advantage increases with the number of decks in play and decreases in casinos who offer a bonus payout. The house advantage for this game is over 2%.
Strategy
Surrendering has a slightly higher advantage for the house, so a player should never surrender.
References
Brisman, Andrew. American Mensa Guide to Casino Gambling: Winning Ways (Stirling, 1999) ISBN 080694837X
Biribi, or cavagnole, a French game of chance, prohibited by law since 1837. It is played on a board on which the numbers 1 to 70 are marked. The players put their stakes on the numbers they wish to back. The banker is provided with a bag from which he draws a case containing a ticket, the tickets corresponding with the numbers on the board. The banker calls out the number, and the player who has backed it receives sixty-four times his stake; the other stakes go to the banker. In the French army “to be sent to Biribi” is a cant term for being sent to the disciplinary battalion in Algeria.
References
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
In Baccarat Chemin de Fer, it will have been noticed that a given bank only continues so long as the banker wins. So soon as he loses, it passes to another player. In Baccarat Banque the position of banker is much more permanent. Three packs of cards are shuffled together. (The number is not absolute, sometimes four packs, sometimes two only, being used; but three is the more usual number.) The banker (unless he retires either of his own free will or by reason of the exhaustion of his finances) holds office until all these cards have been dealt.
The bank is at the outset put up to auction, i.e. belongs to the player who will undertake to risk the largest amount. In some circles, the person who has first set down his name on the list of players has the right to hold the first bank, risking such amount as he may think proper.
The right to begin having been ascertained, the banker takes his place midway down one of the sides of an oval table, the croupier facing him, with the waste-basket between. On either side the banker are the punters (ten such constituting a full table). Any other persons desiring to take part remain standing, and can only play in the event of the amount in the bank for the time being not being covered by the seated players.
The croupier, having shuffled the cards, hands them for the same purpose to the players to the right and left of him, the banker being entitled to shuffle them last, and to select the person by whom they shall be cut. Each punter having made his stake, the banker deals three cards, the first to the player on his right, the second to the player on his left, and the third to himself; then three more in like manner. The five punters on the right (and any bystanders staking with them) win or lose by the cards dealt to that side; the five others by the cards dealt to the left side. The rules as to turning up with eight or nine, offering and accepting cards, and so on, are the same as at Baccarat Chemin de Fer.
Each punter continues to hold the cards for his side so long as he wins. If he loses, the next hand is dealt to the player next following him in rotation.
Any player may “go bank,” the first claim to do so belonging to the punter immediately on the right of the banker; the next to the player on his left, and so on alternatively in regular order. If two players on opposite sides desire to “go bank,” they go half shares.
A player going bank may either do so on a single hand, in the ordinary course, or a cheval, i.e. on two hands separately, one-half of the stake being played upon each hand. A player going bank and losing may, again go bank; and if he again loses, may go bank a third time, but not further.
A player undertaking to hold the bank must play out one hand, but may retire at anytime afterwards. On retiring, he is bound to state the amount with which he retires. It is then open to any other player (in order of rotation) to continue the bank, starting with the same amount, and dealing from the remainder of the pack, used by his predecessor. The outgoing banker takes the place previously occupied by his successor.
The breaking of the bank does not deprive the banker of the right to continue, provided that he has funds with which to replenish it, up to the agreed minimum.
Should the stakes of the punters exceed the amount for, the time being in the bank, the banker is not responsible for the amount of such excess. In the event of his losing, the croupier pays the punters in order of rotation, so far as the funds in the bank will extend; beyond this, they have no claim. The banker, may, however, in such a case, instead of resting on his right, declare the stakes accepted, forthwith putting up the needful funds to meet them. In such event the bank thenceforth becomes unlimited, and the banker must hold all stakes (to whatever amount) offered on any subsequent hand, or give up the bank.
The laws of baccarat are complicated and no one code is accepted as authoritative, the different clubs making their own rules.
Six full packs of cards of the same pattern are used, shuffled together. The players seat themselves round the table. In the centre is a basket for the reception of the used cards. If there is any question as to the relative positions of the players, it is decided by lot. The person who draws the first place seats himself next on the right hand of the croupier, and the rest follow in succession.
The croupier shuffles the cards, and then passes them on, each player having the right to shuffle in turn. When they have made the circuit of the table, the croupier again shuffles, and, having done so, offers the cards to the player on his left, who cuts. The croupier places the cards before him, and, taking a manageable quantity from the top, hands it to the player on his right, who for the time being is dealer, or “banker.” The other players are punters.
The dealer places before him the amount he is disposed to risk, and the players “make their stakes.” Any punter, beginning with the player on the immediate right of the dealer, is entitled to say “Banco”, meaning to “go bank,” to play against the whole of the banker’s stake. If no one does so, each player places his stake before him. If the total so staked by the seated players is not equal to the amount for the time being in the bank, other persons standing round may stake in addition. If it is more than equal to the amount in the bank, the punters nearest in order to the banker have the preference up to such amount, the banker having the right to decline any stake in excess of that limit.
The banker proceeds to deal four cards face downwards: the first, for the punters, to the right; the second to himself; the third for the punters, the fourth to himself. The player who has the highest stake represents the punters. If two punters are equal in this respect, the player first in rotation has the preference. Each then looks at his cards. If he finds that they make either nine, the highest point at Baccarat, or eight, the next highest, he turns them up, announcing the number aloud, and the hand is at an end. If the banker’s point is the better, the stakes of the punter become the property of the bank. If the punters’ point is the better, the banker (or the croupier for him) pays each punter the amount of his stake.
The stakes are made afresh, and the game proceeds. If the banker has been the winner, he deals again. If otherwise, the cards are passed to the player next in order, who thereupon becomes banker in his turn.
If neither party turns up his cards, this is an admission that neither has eight or nine. In this case the banker is bound to offer a third card. If the point of the punter is baccarat (i.e. cards together amounting to ten or twenty, = 0), one, two, three, or four, he accepts as a matter of course, replying, “Yes,” or “Card.” A third card is then given to him, face upwards. If his point if already six or seven, he will, equally as a matter of course, REFUSE the offered card. To accept a card with six or seven, or refuse with baccarat, one, two, three, or four (known in either case as a “false draw”), is a breach of the established procedure of the game, and brings down upon the head of the offender the wrath of his fellow-punters; indeed, in some circles he is made liable for any loss they may incur thereby, and in others is punishable by a fine. At the point of five, and no other, is it optional to the punter whether to take a card or not; nobody has the right to advise him, or to remark upon his decision.
The banker has now to decide whether he himself will draw a card, being guided in his decision partly by the cards he already holds, partly by the card (if any) drawn by the punter, and partly by what he may know or guess of the latter’s mode of play. If he has hesitated over his decision, the banker may be pretty certain (unless such hesitation was an intentional blind) that his original point was five, and as the third card (if any) is exposed, his present point becomes equally a matter of certainty. The banker, having drawn or not drawn, as he may elect, exposes his cards, and receives or pays as the case may be. Ties neither win nor lose, but the stakes remain for the next hand.
The banker is not permitted to withdraw any part of his winnings, which go to increase the amount in the bank. Should he at any given moment, desire to retire, he says, “I pass the deal.” In such case each of the other players, in rotation, has the option of taking it, but he must start the bank with the same amount at which it stood when the last banker retired. Should no one present care to risk that high a figure, the deal passes to the player next on the right hand of the retiring banker, who is in such case at liberty to start the bank with such amount as he thinks fit, the late banker now being regarded as last in order of rotation, though the respective priorities are not otherwise affected.
A player who has “gone bank,” and lost, is entitled to do so again on the next hand, notwithstanding that the deal may have “passed” to another player.
When the first supply of cards is exhausted, the croupier takes a fresh handful from the heap before him, has them cut by the player on his left, and hands them to the banker. To constitute a valid deal, there must be not less than seven cards left in the dealer’s hand. Should the cards in hand fall below this number, they are thrown into the wastebasket, and the banker takes a fresh supply as above mentioned.
In the United States, Australia and Canada, a variation of baccarat is played in which the casino banks the game at all times. Punters may bet on either the player or the banker, which are merely designations for the two hands dealt in each game.
The cards are dealt, one to the ‘Player’ first then to the ‘Banker’, ‘Player’ then ‘Banker’ again. Each has two cards. This is the initial deal. Both cards in each hand are added together and the croupier calls the total. (e.g. five to the ‘Player’, three to the ‘Banker’) From this position the ‘Tableau’ or table of play is used to determine if further cards need to be drawn. A maximum of three cards per hand may be drawn to achieve a winning hand. Therefore the object of the game is to bet on the hand with the highest total.
The Tableau is as follows:
Pictures and 10s count as 0. If the initial deal has a hand totalling 8 or 9 no further cards are drawn.
If the ‘Player’ has an initial total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the ‘Player’ draws another card.
If the ‘Player’ has an initial total of 6 or 7, the ‘Player’ stands and draws no further card.
If the ‘Player’ has an initial total of 8 or 9, this is a natural and neither the ‘Player’ nor the ‘Banker’ draw further cards.
If the ‘Banker’ has an initial total of 0, 1 or 2, the ‘Banker’ draws another card.
If the ‘Banker’ has an initial total of 3, the ‘Banker’ draws another card when the ‘Player’s’ third card is anything but an 8.
If the ‘Banker’ has an initial total of 4, the ‘Banker’ draws another card when the ‘Player’s’ third card is a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7.
If the ‘Banker’ has an initial total of 5, the ‘Banker’ draws another card when the ‘Player’s’ third card is a 4, 5, 6, or 7.
If the ‘Banker’ has an initial total of 6, the ‘Banker’ draws another card when the ‘Player’s’ third card is a 6 or 7.
If the ‘Banker’ has an initial total of 7, the ‘Banker’ stands and draws no further cards.
If the ‘Banker’ has an initial total of 8 or 9, this is a natural and neither the ‘Player’ nor the ‘Banker’ draw further cards.
If the ‘Banker’ has an initial total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the ‘Player’ has an initial total of 6 or 7 and stands, the ‘Banker’ draws another card.
The ‘Banker’ must stand on 6 when the ‘Player’ has a 6 or 7 on the initial deal.
The croupier will deal the cards according to the tableau and the croupier will announce the winning hand – either ‘Player’ or ‘Banker’. Losing bets will be collected and the winning bets will be paid according to the rules of the house. Usually even money or 1-1 will be paid to the player and 95% to the ‘Banker’, 5% commission to the house. (Commission Baccarat) Some casinos pay even money or 1-1 to both ‘Player’ and ‘Banker’ except when the ‘Banker’ wins with a total of 6. Then the ‘Banker’ will be paid 50% or half the original bet.
Should both the ‘Banker’s’ hand and the ‘Player’s’ hand have the same value at the end of the deal the croupier shall announce “Egalite – tie bets win.” All tie bets will be paid at the odds of 8-1 and the croupier shall not touch the bets on either ‘Player’ or ‘Banker’.
The traditional form of punto banco baccarat is played at an oval table, similar to the chemin de fer version. The table is staffed by a croupier, who directs the play of the game, and two dealers who collect and pay bets as well as tallying commissions due. Six or eight decks of cards are used, normally shuffled only by the croupier and dealers. Like chemin de fer, the shoe is passed around from player to player, who acts as the dealer of the cards and as “banker,” but he or she does not actually bank the game. Indeed, the “banker” may bet on the player hand if he or she wishes, or may pass the shoe along to another player — the role of the “banker” is merely ceremonial. The person who bet the highest amount on the player hand is given the player-hand cards, though he or she simply turns the cards over, annoucing their total. The croupier instructs the “banker” on if or when to deal third cards, and then announces the winning hand.
In casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, this version of baccarat is usually played in special rooms separated from the main gaming floor, ostensibly to provide an extra measure of privacy and security because of the high stakes often involved. The game is frequented by the highest of high rollers, who may wager tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars on a single hand. Australian tycoon Kerry Packer was particularly fond of the game, having won and lost large sums over the years. Minimum bets are relatively high, often starting at 25 USD and going as high as 500 USD. Posted maximum bets are often arranged to suit a player, but maximums of 10,000 USD per hand are common
Despite its simplicity (or perhaps because of it), the punto banco version of baccarat offers some of the lowest house advantage available in a casino. The player bet has a house advantage of 1.24%, and the banker bet (despite the 5% commission) has an advantage of 1.06%. The tie bet has a much higher house advantage of 14.44%, based on six decks in play. [1]
Because of its attraction for wealthy players, a casino may win or lose millions of dollars a night on the game, and the house’s fortunes may even affect the bottom line of a corporation’s quarterly profit and loss — notations of the effects of major baccarat wins and losses are frequent in the quarterly reports of publicly-traded gaming companies.
Mini-baccarat is essentially the same game, but played at a smaller table very similar to a blackjack table. A single dealer handles the entire game, including dealing the cards. The pace is usually much faster than the “big baccarat” version. Betting minimums and maximums are usually lower. In casinos outside of Las Vegas and Atlantic City, this is frequently the only version of baccarat that is offered.
Baccarat is a gambling card game. It is believed to have been introduced into France from Italy during the reign of Charles VIII of France (ruled 1483-1498), and it is similar to Faro and to Basset. There are three accepted variants of the game: baccarat chemin de fer (railway), baccarat banque (or a deux tableaux), and punto banco (or North American baccarat).Baccarat (pronounced Back-a-rah) is a simple game with only three possible results – ‘Player’, ‘Banker’ and ‘Tie’. The term ‘Player’ does not refer to the customer and the term ‘Banker’ does not refer to the house. They are just options on which the customer can bet.
Baccarat is an unusual game in that any score of 10 is worth 0 (or ‘Baccarat’). The highest score that can be achieved is 9. Two picture cards would have a score of 0. A 9 and a 6 would not equal 15 but 5. (Minus the first digit) An ace counts as 1 and the rest of the cards retain their face value.
Trivia
Chemin de Fer is the game of choice by Ian Fleming’s secret agent, James Bond 007. He can be seen playing the game in numerous films and novels, including, most notably, the novel Casino Royale where Bond is tasked with bankrupting a SMERSH agent by defeating him at a table of Chemin de Fer.
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There are three ways to arrange these tiles into two hands. One of these ways is very unwise.
Evaluations of three basic hands.
A Day tile (left) and a Teen tile (right}
The matching pair of eights (left) is worth more than the non-matching pair of eights (right). If a hand contained one of the tiles on the left and one of the tiles on the right, these would not form a pair at all, since the tiles that make pairs are defined by tradition.
A set of Chinese dominoes. The top double-row of tiles lists the eleven matching pairs, in descending value from left to right. Below them are five non-matching pairs, worth less than the matching pairs, and also in descending value from left to right. The Gee Joon tiles, lower right, are the highest pair of all.
