“Any one except the player on the right of the dealer may cut. The player who cuts looks at the bottom card of those that he lifts, and if he thinks it is a lucky cut he accepts it and puts down the card he has lifted (pengĕrat).

“The dealer then puts the rest of the pack on top of the cut, and in his turn lifts a portion of the pack (pengangkat), and looks at the bottom card.

“There are all sorts of names for different cards and combinations of cards of various degrees of luck, and these are quoted by the cutter and dealer, each declaring his confidence in the luck coming to him by reason of the cutting or lifting of a particular card.

Five of clubs,Tiang ampat Penghuluchĕlong.
Chukup dengan gambala-nia.
Nine of diamonds,Bunga kachang rajabudiman.
Ten of clubs,Gagak sa-kawan rajadi-hilir.
Singgah makan pedindangmasak.
Masak pun lalu muda punlalu.
Ace of diamonds if cut,Buntut kris Raja Bandahara.
Do. if the hands of thedealer,Anak yatim jalansa’orang.
Satu pun tidak marabahaya.
Two of diamonds,Semut ginting Che Amatpelak.
Two of hearts,Batang jamban.
Six is an unlucky card,Daun anam jahanam.
Nine of hearts,Hari panas kubangber-ayer.

“A player does not hastily look at his three cards and learn his fate at once, but he prolongs the excitement by holding his cards tight together, and looking alternately at the outside ones, and last of all at the middle one, sliding out the latter between the two others little by little. Thus it is left uncertain for some time whether a card is an eight or a seven, a nine or a ten.

“A man to whom a court-card, an eight, and an ace is dealt (if the eight is in the middle), on finding that he has eleven by the two outside ones, says, for instance, Handak kaki tiga, and then commences to slide out the middle card, hoping that it is going to be an eight, or at all events a seven (three pips on each side). This particular hand is called lang siput, because it is certain to carry off something.

“A man who has just held a winning hand will say, in expressing a hope of continued good luck, ‘Tĕman handak pisang sarabu, sudah sa-batang sa-batang pula.’ (The plantain called sarabu is one which puts out fruit from every stem of the perdu about the same time, or one immediately after another.)”[173]

The following account of card games as played in Selangor was compiled some years ago by the writer. The names of the cards used in Selangor are these:—

Hearts,Lĕkok or Pangkah.
Diamonds,Rĕten (rĕtim), or Chiduk.
Clubs,K’lawer, or Kĕlalawer.
Spades,Dayong Kling, or Sakopong.
King,Raja.
Queen,Proh, or Nyonya.
Knave,Pekak, or Hamba.
Ace,Sat.
To shuffle,Banchoh, or Mĕnggaul.
To deal,Mĕmbagi.
To cut,K’rat.
To sweep the board,Mĕrĕlong, or Mĕngg’long.
To pay all round,Mĕndader chingkeh.
A picture or court card,Angkong, or Kuda.
A three,Jalor (e.g. two threes, dua jalor).
A card (ordinary),Daun.
A sequence,G’lik (Daun sa-g’lik).

The three most important card games are—(1) main sakopong, (2) main chabut, (3) main tiga ’lei, or pakau.