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.

[58]

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.

[59]

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 a.s.suming 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 pa.s.s 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 pa.s.s 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_.

The object of the players is to secure from their cards--the pips on which count as already mentioned--twenty-one points, or as near that number as possible; hence the t.i.tle. During the progress of the game the dealer pays those players who secure better hands than his own, and receives from all who over-draw, or whose points are lower or equal to his, the only exception being in the case of a tie with a natural Vingt-un, when neither the holder nor the dealer pays anything to the other, the tie in such a case [62] simply nullifying matters between the two. If the dealer over-draws, he only pays to those who are standing in, and does not return anything to those players who have paid him on their over-drawing; and herein lies the main advantage of the deal, for, as will be found in practice, the majority of hands are decided by over-drawing, which must necessarily be to the benefit of the dealer.

The dealer having been decided upon, takes the pack of cards and shuffles them, after which he has the pack cut by the player on his right-hand side, and then proceeds to distribute one card, face downwards and unexposed, to each player, dealing in regular order from left to right.

Each player, in turn, looks at his card, and stakes on it whatever amount he chooses--which he usually does by placing coins or counters in front of him. In deciding on the amount of his stake, a player is guided by the chance he considers the card gives him of ultimately making twenty-one, or a near approach thereto. When it comes round to the dealer's turn, he also looks at his card, but does not stake anything upon it; he may, however, if he considers his card a good one, double the stakes of the other players, which he does by calling "double." In that case the individual players add the "double" to their stake, and the amounts being thus settled all round, the dealer gives a second card to each player, in the same order as the first, and also unexposed. The dealer then looks at his own two cards, and if he should have received a natural Vingt-un, he at once declares it; throws the two cards, face upwards, on the table, and collects the stakes from the other players, the amount in this case being double from each, as the result of the Vingt-un; so that, if the dealer had previously doubled, as he probably would have done when he found his first card was an ace or a 10 (or court card), [63] he would collect four times the amount staked by each o the players on their original card. The only exception to this is in the case of a player who, like the dealer, has received a natural Vingt-un--in that case neither pays to the other, as previously mentioned.

If either of the players other than the dealer should receive a natural Vingt-un, he should at once declare it, and claim double the amount of his stake, or of the double, if that was called, from the dealer, who is thereupon deprived of his privilege of dealing, the right of continuing the deal pa.s.sing to the player on his left-hand side.--It is often agreed that a natural shall not throw out the dealer, and in some cases the holder of a natural receives a stake from each of the other players.

(_See_ Variations in regard to the two points.)

If the dealer has not secured a natural Vingt-un, he turns to the player on his left, and, if that player desires it, he gives him--face upwards, and from off the top of the remainder of the pack--a third, fourth, or fifth card; in fact, as many more as may be required by the player, until he considers it safe to stand, or has over-drawn, _i.e._, got beyond the 21 points. For instance, suppose a player receives at first a 4, and then a 9, making 13; he asks for a third card, and may receive a 7, making his total 20, on which he would stand. Had his third card been a 9, it would have been an over-draw, and the player would have had to pay the dealer the amount he staked, or the double, if the dealer had doubled.

At the same time he would throw up his cards, or hand them to the player on the dealer's right, who is termed the pone, and whose duty it is to collect the cards as they are played and keep them in readiness for the dealer when he requires a further supply. A player when throwing up his cards must not expose the two first dealt [64] to him, neither may the pone or either of the other players look at them.

Having settled with the player on his left, the dealer goes to the next in order, and treats him in a similar manner, and so on, until he has gone the round of the table. He then turns up his own two cards in front of him, and in view of the company, and decides, as the others have done, as to whether he will stand on the two he has, or take a further card or cards. If he decides to stand on the two he already has, he calls on those players who have not over-drawn to declare their hands, and each in turn does so, the dealer receiving the stakes when his points are higher or are equal to those of the other players, and paying when his points are lower than theirs. If he elects to take a third card, he deals it from the top of the pack; and if the third card does not satisfy him, he may take more; when satisfied, he challenges the others, as just explained. If, however, he over-draws, he pays to all who are standing, but not to those who have previously over-drawn and thrown up.

If the dealer should succeed in securing such cards (other than an ace and 10) as to make exactly 21 points--a "drawn" Vingt-un--he receives double stakes from each of the players, excepting those who have also drawn a Vingt-un, who only pay the amount staked; and those who have previously over-drawn and thrown up, who do not have to pay anything further.

If a player has a drawn Vingt-un and the dealer has not, or the dealer has over-drawn, then the dealer has to pay the holder of the Vingt-un double the amount of his stake, or of the double if that has been called.

Should any of the players receive for the first cards two of the same denomination,--for instance, two aces, two twos, two kings, two queens, etc.,--he has the option of staking a [65] separate amount on each of them, but it is not compulsory that he should do so. If he decides to divide his pair, he puts on the second card a separate stake, the amount of which need not be similar to that of his original one, and then asks the dealer for two other cards with which to complete the two hands he then possesses.

If either of these later cards should be of the same denomination as the first two, the player may also stand independently on that card, in which case he would, of course, have three hands, with a separate stake on each.

The same opportunity would occur if he received all four of the kind --he could then play on four independent hands. This division of cards is equally available for the dealer, or all or any of the other players, so that two or more may have duplicate hands in the same round, provided they receive similar cards at the outset, for it is only when the original pairs occur in the first two cards that it is permissible to divide them; that is to say, if the third card received by any player matches either of those already in the hand, no division is allowable.

At this game the pack of cards is not re-united after each round; the dealer works with the one pack until he gets to the last card, and the pone collects the used cards as they are disposed of by the players.

When the dealer comes to the last card of the pack, he does not deal it or otherwise use it as he has done with the others, but hands it, unexposed, to the pone, who adds it to those already in his care, shuffles them, and hands them to the dealer, who proceeds with the game as before.

The same procedure is repeated until one of the players secures a natural Vingt-un, which, unless the dealer also holds a natural that hand, puts the dealer out, and the deal pa.s.ses, either to the next player, or to the holder of the natural, as may have been decided upon. It is, however, [66] best to adopt the former system, for the reason already given, and in that case it is often considered desirable to have a pool, which is secured by the player declaring the natural. (_See_ Variations.)

There is one exception to the power of a natural Vingt-un to put the dealer out--namely, when it occurs in the first hand of the deal; then the dealer disregards it, except that he has to pay to the holder as for a drawn Vingt-un, and proceeds with his deal until a second natural occurs.

We will now amplify, as far as is necessary, the points already touched upon, and introduce the Variations recognised in connection with the game.

_DEALING_.

The first dealer is settled by one of the company distributing the cards in the same manner as explained in connection with "Nap" (see page 9), except that in the case of Vingt-un the player to whom the first _ace_ is dealt becomes the dealer. He proceeds with the game as explained on page 61.

If, in preparing the pack for the dealer, any confusion occurs, or any card or cards are exposed, the whole pack must be re-shuffled and cut again.

If two cards are dealt to one player, the error may be rectified if discovered before a third card is dealt; but if a third card has been dealt, then the player receiving the surplus card must look at his hand, and reject which of the two he chooses. If the dealer gives himself two cards at one time, and the mistake is not discovered until another card has been dealt, then the pone must take one of the cards, at random, and add it to the used portion of the pack.

A card exposed in dealing may be kept or rejected at the [67] option of the player; but if the dealer exposes one of his own cards, he must retain it.