The Game of Faro, as found in Hoyle's Treatise. THE GAME OF FARO. [From Hoyle's Treatise.] "The game of pharo, or faro, is very similar to basset, a game formerly much in vogue. It may be played by any number of persons; and each player, or punter, as he is termed, is furnished with a suit of cards denominated a livret, and four other cards which are called figures; viz. the first is a plain card, with a blue cross, and is called the little figure, and designates the ace, deuce, and three. The second is a yellow card, and answers for the four, five, and six. The third is a plain card, with a black lozenge in the centre; and designates the seven, eight, nine, and ten. The fourth is a red card, and answers for the king, queen, and knave. The game may be played without these figures, as every punter has a suit of cards; but they are convenient for those who wish to punt, or stake upon seven cards at a time. The money placed on the cards by the punter is answered by a banker, who limits the sums to be played for according to the magnitude of his bank. At public tables, the banker, according to the number of punters, has two, three, or more assistants, called croupiers, whose business it is to watch the games of the several punters. TERMS USED IN THE GAME OF FARO. Banker, the person who keeps the table. Coup, any two cards dealt alternately to the right or left. The Game of Faro, as found in Hoyle's Treatise. Croupier, an assistant to the dealer. Doublet is when the punter's card is turned up twice in the same coup; in which case the bank wins half the stake. A single parolet must be taken down, but if there are several, only one retires. Hockley signifies the last card but one, the chance of which the banker claims, and may refuse to let any punter withdraw a card when eight or less remain to be dealt. Livret, a suit of thirteen cards, with four others, called figures, viz.: one, named the little figure, has a blue cross on each side, and represents ace, deuce, trois; another yellow on both sides, styled the yellow figure, signifies 4, 5, 6; a third, with a black lozenge in the centre, named the black figure, stands for 7, 8, 9, 10; and a red card, called the great, or red figure, for knave, queen, king. L'une pour l'autre means a drawn game, and is said when two of the punter's cards are dealt in the same coup. Masque signifies turning a card, or placing another face downwards, during any number of coups, on that whereon the punter has staked, and which he may afterwards display at pleasure. Oppose is reversing the game, and having the cards on the right for the punter, and those on the left for the dealer. Paix, equivalent to double or quits, is, when the punter, having won, does not choose to parolet and risk his stake, but bends or makes a bridge of his card, signifying that he ventures his gains only. A double paix is, when the punter, having won twice, bends two cards, one over the other; treble paix, thrice, &c. A paix may follow a sept, &c., or quinze, &c. &c. The Game of Faro, as found in Hoyle's Treatise. Paix-Parolet is when a punter has gained a parolet, wishes then to play double or quits, and save his original stakes; double paix-parolet succeeds to winning a paixparolet; treble paix-parolet follows double, &c. Parolet, sometimes called cocking, is when a punter, being fortunate, chooses to venture both his stake and gains, which he intimates by bending a corner of his card upwards. Pli is when a punter, having lost half his stake by a doublet, bends a card in the middle, and setting it up with the points and foot towards the dealer, signifies thereby a desire either of recovering the moiety, or of losing all. Pont, the same as Paix. Punt, the punter or player. Quinze, et le va, is when the punter, having won a sept, &c., bends the third corner of the card, and ventures for fifteen times his stake. Sept, et le va, succeeds the gaining of a parolet, by which the punter, being entitled to thrice his stake, risks the whole again, and bending his card a second time, tries to win sevenfold. Soixante, et le va, is when the player having obtained a trente, ventures all once more, which is signified by making a fifth parolet, either on another card, if he has paroleted on one only before, or by breaking the side of that one which contains four, to pursue his luck in the next deal. Tailleur, the dealer; generally the banker. Trente, et le va, follows a quinze, &c., when the punter again tries his luck, and makes a fourth parolet. The Game of Faro, as found in Hoyle's Treatise. METHOD OF DEALING, RULES OF THE GAME, &c. 1. The dealer, who is generally the banker, is seated at such a part of the table where he can best observe the games of the several punters. He then takes an entire pack of cards, which he ought invariably to count, lest there should be one card more or less than fifty-two. When this happens to be the case, the dealer forfeits his deal, and the bank must then pay every stake depending on the cards of the different punters. 2. After the cards are counted, the dealer must shuffle and mix them well, as no one but himself, or one of the bankers, is suffered to touch the cards, except to cut them; which is generally done by one of the punters. 3. After the cards are cut, the dealer shows the bottom card to the company, and leaves one of the same sort turned up on the table, that every one may know what card is at the bottom, without asking the dealer. The punters having made their game, the dealer announces that he is about to begin his deal, by saying "Play." 4. He now proceeds to turn the cards up from the top of the pack, one by one, placing the first card on his right hand, the second on his left; thus continuing till he has turned up every card in the pack, laying twentysix on one side, and twenty-six on the other. He also specifies the cards he turns up, as thus, ace, queen, &c. The first card, which is placed on the right side, is for the bank; the second, which is placed on the left side, is for the punters, and so on alternately, until the whole pack is dealt out, stopping at the end of every second card, to observe if an event has taken place; in that The Game of Faro, as found in Hoyle's Treatise. case, to receive or pay, and to give the punters an opportunity of making their games. 5. When the punter wins upon his card, and does not desire to receive his money from the bank, but wishes to proceed on with his game, he makes a paix, or parolet. A paix is made by doubling his card, and leaving his stake on it, which, if he wins a second time, entitles him to receive double the amount of his stake; and if he loses upon the second event, he saves his stake, having only lost what he had won upon the first event. 6. If, having won a second, he ventures to proceed, he doubles another card, and places the card he plays on at the head of his double paix, and so on, as often as an event in his favor takes place, still continuing to save his original stake, if he loses, with the right to change his card, after every event; or even without an event, it is never refused, by asking leave of the dealer. 7. The parolet is made by cocking one corner of your card, and if you win the second time, it entitles you to three times the amount of your stake; but by the same rule, if you lose, you not only lose what you had won, upon the first event, but your stake likewise. 8. After making a successful parolet, it not unfrequently happens that the punter, in order to save his stake upon the next event, makes a paix-parolet; which is done by doubling his card as before, after he has made his first cock, and which, if he wins, entitles him to receive six times the amount of his stake. 9. But if the amount of the stake should be inconsiderable, he makes a second cock on his card, instead of doubling it, and which, if he wins, entitles him to receive seven times the amount of his stake, and is called Sept et le va. |