Of the above throws (at the outset of the game), double aces are reckoned the best, and double sixes next best. Double trois comes third, followed by trois ace and six ace. Doublets, if playable, are good, as covering greater distance.
Any throw in which the higher of the two numbers is two in advance of the other (as cinque trois, trois ace) is also good, as enabling you to make a point in your table.[[68]]
BAGATELLE.
Bagatelle is played with nine ivory balls on a special table or board, oblong in shape, from 6 to 10 ft. long, and in width about one-fourth of its length, as shown in Fig. 2. At that end of the board which in use is farthest from the player are sunk nine hemispherical holes or cups, one as a
centre, with the others in a circle round it. Each hole bears a number, as shown in Fig. 1.
| Fig. 2.—Bagatelle Board. | Fig. 3.—Playing off the Cushion. |
Of the nine balls one is black, four are white, and four are red. Whatever the diameter of the balls, that of the cups must exactly correspond with it.