If the first bet is supposed to be flat upon the Ten itself, 2, 3 and 4 would take in the card next the Ten; 5 the cards on each side with the Ten; 6 and 7 the three cards behind which the bets are placed, the Ten being one in each instance; 8 and 9 take in the Ten and the card one remove from it in either direction; 10 and 11 are the same thing, but placed on the other card; 12 to 17 inclusive take in the various triangles of which the bet is the middle card; 18 and 19 take in the four cards surrounding them; 20 and 21 are heeled bets, the bottom counter being flat on the corner of the card, and the remainder being tilted over toward the card diagonally across from the one on which the bet is placed, playing both cards to win. In addition to these twenty-one bets, others might be made by heeling bets that would take certain cards to lose, and the Ten to win. Bets may also be strung behind odd or even cards on the side next the dealer. These show that the player bets the next case card that comes will win if it is an even card, and lose if it is odd; that is, if he places his string behind an even card.
If the player thinks a card will win, he bets it open, that is, with nothing but his counters. If he wants to play a card to lose, he coppers it, by placing a checker or button on his chips. If a player wishes to reach two cards widely separated, such as the deuce and Seven, and has not money enough to bet on both; he can ask the dealer for a marker, which is a flat oblong piece of ivory. This is placed on the card to be played with the same money, and the dealer may either trust his memory for the bet, or place another marker on it.
After the dealer has waved his hand preparatory to pushing the top card from the box, no bet can be made or changed. After the turn is made, the dealer first picks up all the bets he wins, and then pays all he loses, after which he waits for the players to rearrange their bets for the next turn. Between each turn a player may make any change he pleases. A lookout sits on the right of the dealer to see that he pays and takes correctly, and to watch that no bets are changed, or coppers slipped off, during the turn.
Splits. If two cards of the same denomination win and lose on the same turn, it is a split, and the dealer takes half the bets on the split card, no matter whether it is bet to win or lose. Splits should come about three times in two deals if the cards are honestly dealt.
Keeping Cases. As the cards are withdrawn from the box they are marked on a case-keeper, which is a suit of thirteen cards, with four buttons running on a steel rod opposite each of them. As the cards come out, these buttons are pushed along, so that the player may know how many of each card are still to come, and what cards are left in for the last turn. In brace games, when the cards are pulled out two at a time to change the run of them, the case-keeper is always a confederate of the dealer, and is signalled what cards have been pulled out under the cards shown, so that he can secretly mark them up. A bet placed or left upon a card of which none are left in the box is called a sleeper, and is public property; the first man that can get his hands on it keeps it.
When only one card of any denomination is in the box, it is obvious that such a card cannot be split, and that the bank has no advantage of the player. Such cards are called cases, and the betting limit on cases is only half the amount allowed on other cards. It is not considered comme il faut for a player to wait for cases, and those who play regularly usually make a number of small bets during the early part of the deal, and then bet high on the cases as they come along. A player who goes upon the principle that the dealer can cheat those who bet high, and who follows and goes against the big bets with small ones, or who plays one-chip bets all over the board, hoping to strike a good spot to fish on, is called a piker; and when a game runs small this way, the dealers call it a piking game.
Keeping Tab. In addition to the case-keeper, score sheets are provided on which the players may keep a record of what cards win and lose on each turn. These tabs are printed in vertical columns, about five deals to a sheet. A dot indicates the soda card; a dash, hoc. All winners are marked with a down stroke, and all losers with a cypher. The diagram in the margin will give a very good idea of a faro tab for a complete deal. The Queen was soda, the Five split out, and the Eight was in hoc.
| A | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | X | |
| 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | - |
| 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Q | . | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| K | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Systems. On the manner in which the cards will go, a great many systems of play are based. There are sixteen different ways for a card to “play,” which are simply the permutations of the stroke and the cypher arranged in rows of four at a time. If a player is betting three on a side, he will take each card as it becomes a case, and bet that it either wins three times and loses once, or loses once and wins three times. In the foregoing deal he would have bet on the A 3 4 6 9 J to lose on the fourth card out of the box, and would have bet on the case cards of the 2 7 8 10 Q K to win. The Soda, it must be remembered, is really a winning card. Of these bets he would have won 5 out of twelve, taking back his money on the 8, as that card was left in hoc. Playing break even, these bets would have been exactly reversed, as all the cards would have played either to win and lose an equal number of times, or to win or lose out; that is, to do the same thing all four times.