Trente et Quarante

Trente et Quarante (Thirty and Forty), also called Rouge et Noir (Red and Black), is a 17th-century gambling card game of French origin played with cards and a special table. It is rarely found in US casinos,^[1] but still very popular in Continental Europe casinos, and one of the two games played in the gambling rooms at Monte Carlo, roulette being the other. It is a simple game that usually gives the players a very good expected return of more than 98%.^[2]

Gameplay

Two croupiers sit on each side of the table, one of them being the dealer; behind the two on the side opposite to the dealer a supervisor of the game has his seat. Six packs of fifty-two cards each are used; these are well shuffled, and the croupier asks any of the players to cut, handing him a blank card with which to divide the mixed packs. There are only four chances at trente et quarante: rouge or noir, known as the grand tableau', couleur or inverse, known as the petit tableau.

Aces are worth 1 point, court cards 10 and pip cards their face value.^[3] A tie is a stand-off, and on a 31-point tie, players may double or quit on the next coup or immediately lose half their stake.^[4] The winning total will range between 30 and 40 card points, which is from where the name of the game derives.^[5]

Winning row

If this should be also the color of the winning row, the player wins. Assuming, for example, that the first card dealt is red, and that the lower row of the cards dealt is nearest to thirty, the dealer will announce "Rouge gagne et la couleur." If the first card dealt is red, but the black or top row of cards is nearest to thirty, the dealer announces "Rouge perd et la couleur."

It frequently happens that both rows of cards when added together give the same number. Should they both, for instance, add up to thirty-three, the dealer will announce "Trois après," and the deal goes for nothing except in the event of their adding up to thirty-one.

Refait

Un apres (i.e. thirty-one) is known as a refait; the stakes are put in prison to be left for the decision of the next deal, or if the player prefers it he can withdraw half his stake, leaving the other half for the bank. Assurance against a refait can be made by paying 1% on the value of the stake with a minimum of five francs. When thus insured against a refait the player is at liberty to withdraw his whole stake. It has been calculated that on an average a refait occurs once in thirty-eight coups. Refaits are the source of the sole house advantage in the game.

After each deal the cards are pushed into a metal bowl let into the table in front of the dealer. When he has not enough left to complete the two rows, he remarks "Les cartes passent" (The cards pass); they are taken from the bowl, reshuffled, and another deal begins.

References

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press