Chapter 4

With a pair, if you decide to play, discard the remaining three cards. You have then three chances of triplets.

With triplets discard one, your chance of getting fours is remote, and you leave your opponents in doubt as to whether you are not trying for a flush.

With triplets you may generally risk _seeing_ your opponent.

Never try for the completing card of a sequence. If, for instance, you have 3, 4, 6, 7 and king, do not play--[47] discarding the king on the chance of receiving a 5. Throw up your hand. With a sequence you may generally wait till your opponents think fit to see you.

With fours, discard the odd card, in order to mislead your opponents. This hand, or anything better, so seldom comes to a player, that he is justified in staking as much as possible upon it.

Be content to pass sometimes with the better hand. The best players do so, since it costs less than the habit of calling.

Neither borrow nor lend a penny at the table.

_RULES OF THE GAME_.

_The Deal_.

1. The cards shall be the ordinary pack of fifty-two cards.

2. The players, after being seated, shall each draw a card from the pack, face downwards, and the player drawing the card lowest in value (ace being lowest), shall deal in the first game. If two or more players draw cards of equal value, such cards being the lowest, such players only shall draw again for the deal.

3. Any player may demand to shuffle the cards, but the dealer shall have a right to the last shuffle before the cards are cut.

4. The pack shall be shuffled by the dealer, and cut by the player on the right of the dealer, before every deal.

5. The cards shall be shuffled, face downwards, above the table.

6. The cards shall be dealt, face downwards, so that their faces cannot be seen; and they must be placed by the dealer on the table in front of the players to whom they are severally dealt.

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7. The dealer shall give one card from the top of the pack to each player in turn from right to left, beginning with the player at his left hand, and in this order shall give to each player five cards.

8. If the cards be dealt without the pack having been cut, and if the fact be pointed out to the dealer before the deal is finished, it is a misdeal, and there shall be a new deal by the same dealer.

9. If the fact that the cards have been dealt without the pack having been cut for such deal be not pointed out to the dealer before such deal is finished, the deal shall stand.

10. If a card be found face upwards in the pack before the deal is finished, it is a misdeal, and there shall be a new deal by the same dealer.

11. If the dealer, while dealing, accidentally expose a card, such card shall be accepted by the player to whom it is dealt, as though it had not been exposed, and the dealer shall not, nor shall any player, exchange such exposed card for another, except in the regular course of discarding after the deal is completed.

12. If any player have more or less than five cards dealt to him, and if such player, or any player, announce the fact before the cards are raised from the table, it is a misdeal, and there shall be a new deal by the same dealer.

13. If any player have more or less than five cards dealt to him, and if the fact be not announced before any portion of the hand is raised from the table, such hand is a foul hand, and the player to whom it is dealt shall place his cards, face downwards, on the table, and retire from the game, and shall forfeit his stake in that game.

14. If a player be compelled to retire from the game in consequence of having a foul hand dealt to him, his stake, [49] if he has staked, shall remain in the pool, and the dealer shall refund such player the amount of his ante or straddle only in that game.

15. No player shall speak to the dealer while the cards are being dealt..

16. If any player speak to the dealer, or distract him by noise or gesture, while the cards are being dealt, such player, and not the dealer, shall refund, as provided by Rule 14, the ante or straddle of any player to whom a foul hand is dealt in that deal.

17. The deal shall be finished when every player has received five cards.

18. The duty of dealing shall devolve upon each player in turn, from right to left; the player to the left of the last dealer shall be the dealer in the next game. If the dealer in a game pass and retire, he shall continue his duty as dealer in that game.

_The Ante_.

19. The ante shall not exceed one-half the amount of the limit.

20. The ante shall be staked by the player to the left of the dealer before the cards are dealt.

21. The right to straddle shall belong to the player to the left of ante. If he does not straddle, no other player shall, do so; but if he does straddle, the succeeding players shall have, in turn from right to left, and ending with the dealer, the right to increase the straddle in every case by the amount of the ante.

22. The ante shall not be straddled by a player, or by successive players, to an amount exceeding one-half the limit.

23. If the ante be not straddled, the player to the left of [50] ante shall have first say after the deal, and ante shall have the last say.

24. If the ante be straddled, the player to the left of the straddler (or of the last straddler, if there be more than one) shall have first say after the deal, and the last straddler shall have the last say.

_The Play_.

25. The turn to say shall pads from right to left, and the player who has first say after the deal shall, if he open the game, stake a sum at least double the amount of ante.

26. Each succeeding player shall, if he play, at least make good his stake to that of the preceding player.

27. If a player pass, he shall place his cards, face downwards, on the table, and shall not again take them into his hand, and he shall forfeit unconditionally his stake and his right to play in that game.

28. A player who retires from the game shall not divulge the cards nor the value of the hand he has thrown down.

_The Jack-pot_.

29. If the game be not opened by any player, the ante and straddles, if any, shall remain in the pool, and the next game shall be a Jack-pot.

30. In a Jack-pot every player shall pay into the pool a sum equal to the ante, and the game shall not be opened by any player unless he have two knaves, or better, in his original hand.

31. If a Jack-pot be not opened by any player, each player shall again pay into the pool a sum equal to the ante, and the next game shall be a Jack-pot, and shall not be opened by any player unless he have two queens, or better, in his original hand.

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32. A third successive Jack-pot shall not be opened with less than two kings, and for successive Jack-pots the series of two knaves, two queens, two kings shall be maintained as the minimum hands with which the games may severally be opened.

33. If a player open a Jack-pot and win the stakes, he shall show his hand (notwithstanding any law which in ordinary circumstances permits him to keep it concealed) before he shall claim the pool; and if he have not two knaves, or the minimum hand with which the game may be opened according to the above laws, or a better hand, he shall not claim the pool, and he shall pay into the pool, as penalty, a sum equal to double the ante, and the next game shall be a Jack-pot as if the previous game had not been opened.

_The Draw_.

34. The first player to the left of the dealer shall have first draw.

35. The turn to draw shall pass from right to left.

36. Before drawing any card or cards, a player shall make his stake equal to the highest stake on the table, and he shall discard as many cards, and no more, as he intends to draw.

37. Cards discarded shall be placed on the table, face downwards, and shall not again be taken into the hand of the player discarding them.

38. If a player, when it is his turn to draw, do not discard or have not discarded, he shall forfeit his right to discard and draw in that game.

39. Each player, after discarding, shall ask for the same number of cards he has discarded, and the dealer shall place on the table, in front of such player, such number of cards, face downwards, from the top of the pack.

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40. If the dealer, in giving to any player the number of cards demanded after the discard, expose a card or cards; such exposed card or cards shall be returned to the pack, and shall not be given to the player.

41. If the dealer have not sufficient cards remaining in the pack to give to every player the number of cards demanded after the discard, the dealer shall call upon any player who has not discarded, but who intends to discard, to do so, and to announce the number he discards, and the dealer also shall discard, and the dealer (or some player for him) shall then collect the whole of the cards discarded, and shall collect them in a pack and shuffle them, and shall have them cut by the player at his right hand, and shall then use them to supply the players who have discarded.

42. If the dealer give to any player more than the number of cards demanded by such player, and such player or any player point out the excess before any of the cards so given are raised from the table, the dealer shall take back and return to the pack the card or cards given in excess of the number demanded.

43. If the dealer give to any player less than the number of cards demanded by such player, the dealer shall make good such deficiency if it be pointed out by any player before the cards already given have been raised from the table.

44. If a player demand a greater or less number of cards than he has discarded, the dealer need not give him such wrong number, but may demand to see how many cards have been discarded, and give him that number.

45. If the dealer give to a player the number of cards demanded by such player, and such number prove to be more or less than the number of cards discarded, the hand of such player shall be a foul hand, whether it be raised from [53] the table or not, and such player shall retire from the game and forfeit his stake in that game.

46. It there be a dispute between a player and the dealer, as to the number of cards demanded, the evidence of the person at the left hand of the dealer (whether he be playing in that game or have retired) shall be taken as deciding the matter; and if the person at the left hand of the dealer cannot give evidence, or if he be the player who is disputing with the dealer, the evidence of the person to the right of the dealer shall be taken, and shall be held conclusive, and if the person to the right of the dealer cannot give evidence, the evidence of the first person (beginning with the first person to the left of the disputing player, and going in succession to each person from right to left) who can give evidence, shall be taken as conclusive; and if no person at the table can give evidence, the disputing player shall be held to have demanded the proper number of cards.

47. If the dealer draw more or less than the number of cards he has discarded, he shall be held to have demanded such improper number, and his hand shall be a foul hand, and he shall retire from the game and shall forfeit his state in that game.

48. If cards drawn be raised from the table, and the hand be found to contain more or less than five cards, such hand shall be a foul hand, and the player to whom it belongs shall retire from the game and shall forfeit his stake in that game.

49. Any player after drawing, but before raising his hand from the table, may ask the dealer how many cards he, the dealer, drew, and the dealer shall answer correctly.

50. If a player raise from the table the cards he has drawn, or if he bet, he shall forfeit his right to ask the dealer how many cards he, the dealer, drew.

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51. The dealer shall not give any information as to the number of cards drawn by any other player.

_The Betting_.

52. All bets shall be deposited in the pool.

53. The first player to the left of the ante shall have first right to bet after the draw, whether the ante-man have retired or not. The turn to bet shall pass to each player from right to left, and each player shall stake a sum at least equal to that staked by the preceding player.

54. If, when his turn comes, any player have not staked, and does not stake a sum at least equal to that staked by the preceding player, such player shall place his cards, face downwards, on the table, and shall retire from the game, and shall forfeit his stake in that game.

55. A bet once made, whether made in proper turn or not, cannot be recalled.

56. A bet* is complete and irrevocable when the player making it has deposited the amount in money or value on the table, and such deposit shall be considered as a deposit into the pool.

*_i.e._: The bet is the actual amount deposited, and the player's statement that he intends or intended depositing another amount is of no value.

57. The statement of his intention to bet, or to refrain from betting, shall not invalidate the right of any player to bet or pass when his turn comes.

58. If a player bet or raise the stake of a previous player, and no other player call or raise him, such player wins the pool, and shall not be compelled to show his hand.

59. When the bets of all the players are equal, each player in turn, beginning with the player to the left of the [55] last player, shall show his hand, and the player with the best hand shall win the pool.

60. If a player's bet be raised, and such player have not funds to call the raise, he may deposit in the pool whatever funds he has, and demand a show for that amount. If, when the game is over, he prove to hold the best hand, he shall claim from the pool the amount of the ante and straddle or straddles (if any), and also a sum equal to his stake from every player in the game at the time of his demanding a show, out of their stakes. The holder of the next best hand shall claim the remainder of the pool.

61. A player demanding a show for a certain sum under the above rule, shall not stop the game if there be other players who wish to continue the betting, and he shall not show his hand until the game is over.

62. If a player borrow money to raise, he shall borrow to call.

63. If a player bet with a foul hand, he shall lose his stake.

64. If any player be found to have a foul hand at the end of the game, he shall forfeit his stake; and if there be only one other player, that player shall claim the pool; and if there be more than one other player, the holder of the best hand shall claim the pool.

_The Hands_.

65. The following shall be the hands in order of value; the first being the highest:--1, Sequence flush; 2, Fours; 3, Full; 4, Flush; 5, Sequence not a flush; 6, Threes; 7, Two pairs; 8, A pair.

66. If there be two or more flush sequences shown, the player whose sequence contains the highest card (ace being the lowest) shall be held to have the best hand.

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67. If there be two or more fours shown, fours being the best hand, the player who has the four cards highest in value shall be held to have the best hand.

68. If there be two or more full hands shown, a full hand being the best hand, the player whose full hand contains threes highest in value shall be held to have the best hand.

69. If there be two or more flush hands shown, a flush hand being the best hand, a flush in hearts shall be held to be the best hand; and if there be no flush hand in hearts, the flush hand which contains the card highest in value, and which is not tied by a card of equal value in another flush hand, shall be the best hand.

70. If there be two or more sequences shown, a sequence being the best hand, the player whose sequence contains the highest card (ace being the lowest) shall be held to be the best hand; and if there be two or more sequences of cards of equal value, a sequence in hearts, _ceteris paribus_, shall be the best hand.

71. The ace shall only begin a sequence; it shall not end a sequence after a king, nor shall it be an intermediate card between a king and a two.*

*This law, and the others which are involved in it, has only the authority of custom in this country. Some American writers permit of the ace being used at the beginning or end of a sequence, making ten to ace the highest sequence.

72. If there be two or more threes shown, threes being the best hand, the hand containing the threes highest in value shall be the best hand.

73. If there be two or more two-pairs shown, two-pairs being the best hand, the hand containing the pair highest in value shall be the best hand; and if two two-pair hands contain pairs equally high in value, such pairs being the [57] highest, the value of the other pair shall decide which is the better hand.

74. If there be two or more pairs, pairs being the best hand, the hand containing the pair highest in value shall be the best hand; and if two hands contain equally high pairs, the hand containing the highest card which is not tied by an equally high card in the other hand shall be the better hand.

75. If no pair hand nor any better hand be shown, the player whose hand contains the card highest in value which is not tied by a card of similar value in another competing hand, shall be held to have the best hand.

76. If, when the final call is made and the hands shown, two or more players hold hands identical in value, such players shall share the pool equally between them.

_Disputes_.

77. Any dispute shall be referred to the dealer, unless he be one of the disputing persons; and if on a matter of fact his decision shall be final and binding; and if on a matter of law, he shall interpret these laws literally, and not by implication.

78. If the dealer be one of the disputing persons, the dispute shall be referred to the person on the left of the dealer, and if he be one of the disputing persons, it shall be referred to the person on the tight of the dealer.

79. In a dispute, the dealer, or any player appointed to settle such dispute, may appeal to any person at the table for evidence, and if such person can give evidence, he shall do so.

80. If the players agree to waive a particular rule on a particular occasion, a like concession cannot be claimed on another similar occasion.

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81. These rules shall be binding on all players, unless a departure from them has been agreed upon unanimously before play begins, and if one or more rules he abrogated by common consent, such abrogation shall hold only for that sitting, and for that sitting only so long as there is no change of players, and it shall not apply to any future sitting.

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VINGT-UN.

Vingt-un, or twenty-one, is another game we find described in books published at the commencement of the present century. Its name would seem to imply that it is of French origin; but in reference to this, as well as in regard to the date of its introduction into the country, we have no definite details. The manner of playing it at the present time is very little different from that practised at the earlier date mentioned, although modifications have been introduced in some minor points, and the tendency is to make yet further departures from the methods adopted in years gone by.

The game is well suited for a large number of players, and may also be engaged in by smaller parties; its practice, with even only two competing, being both interesting and exciting. It is purely a game of chance, and little or no skill is required in playing it, although a little judgment may often prove of advantage to the player who exercises it.

Vingt-un is played with an ordinary pack of fifty-two cards, which count in accordance with the number of pips on each, the ace reckoning as either one or eleven, at the option of the player, and each of the court cards counting ten. No distinction is made during any part of the game in the various suits, each of the four sorts being of equal value in counting the points.

A player may retire after the completion of any hand, [60] and the game itself may be concluded at the same period, although it is desirable to arrive at some understanding, previous to the commencement of play, as to the method to be adopted in closing it, as, from the fact of the deal being an advantage, it is unfair to conclude until each of those engaged has had a turn, or equal number of turns, as dealer. This is assuming that the deal goes round in rotation, which is the arrangement now generally adopted, in lieu of the old-fashioned method of transferring the privilege to the player throwing the dealer out by the declaration of a "natural" Vingt-un, as explained later on. It must be understood, however, that with several players engaged it may take a considerable time for the deal to pass round, unless it be further agreed that each player shall hold the deal for a limited period, another modification, and one possessing many advantages over the old system, which was, in reality, a mere question of chance, and often resulted in the privilege of dealing being very unevenly divided among those engaged in play.

As already mentioned, the deal is an advantage, and the earliest consideration should be to decide who is first to enjoy the privilege, and for how long. By the old system one player retained the deal until put out by one of the others receiving a natural Vingt-un, that is, an ace (counting as 11) and a 10, or court card (counting as 10), and, as a consequence, the deal often remained for a considerable period with the same person, to the disadvantage of all the others engaged in the game; and even when a change was made, it was not in any definite order, but by mere chance, governed by the fall of the cards.

Modern innovations in the method of playing the game have tended to remove these objections,--firstly, by arranging that the deal shall pass in regular order from left to right; [61] and secondly, by placing a limit on the number of rounds to be dealt by each player in turn. Although the latter of these changes is not yet generally adopted, the former is almost universal; and we shall now proceed to explain the game on that basis, ignoring the second point, for the time being, as, although its adoption may make matters more equal, it has, perhaps, the disadvantage of depriving the game of one of its main elements of chance, and, in the opinion of many, thereby robs it of much of its attractiveness.

The limits of the stakes are first determined, and then the dealer is decided upon. The minimum is usually one coin or counter, and the maximum whatever may be agreed upon. The maximum is understood to mean the highest amount that may be staked by a player on his card, and not the maximum that may be lost or won over any hand, for, by the rules of the game, the dealer is allowed to double the stakes, even if a player has staked the maximum. If after that any one secures a Vingt-un, _i_._e_ twenty-one points, that again doubles the stakes, and thus it is quite possible for a player to win or lose four times the amount of the maximum over one hand.

_DESCRIPTION_.