THE GAMBLING HELLS OF LONDON.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1157, 2 May 1884, Page 3

THE GAMBLING HELLS OF LONDON.

Our club is one of the many in London 1 wherein cards are played daily. It is not 5 situate in a fashionable quarter, yet there is some pretence to smartness about it. The doorkeeper down stairs » in livery, and one or two of the attendants in the billiard room and card rooms are almost dandies. The exisiai co of tbe establishment is no secret, fur i s name, written in hold letters, meets the eye «f everyone who passes the j door. The list of mem era ciinpris.s men . well known in club-land proper, city men, I; wed-io-do tradesmen, and a few ledows in * diamond ringt and loud waichjchains, who ’ are. seen in the ring at race meetings. , Billiards go on from an early hour in the t day, but the baccarat players do not get to c work until towards evening A few even- . ings ago,- when I paid my first visit, I art i;ived at the,club as daylight was departing. , Whist was going on at one of the tables in , the uard-ioom, and here and there members . were dining. Oner of the servants was just { then calling upon the gentlemen to make a , bid for jthe bank. The bank goes alternately j to members. He whose name stands first oh the' slat.o kept for the‘purpose is entitled to keep the blub bank of L 26. The other is , a! sale bank, which goes to the highest bidder- / “.Bid for the bank, gentleman,,’! the servant cried “ IdO. Any advance on IdO, Lll, Lls, L2O, and going at L2I). Tmrd and last at L2O, and Mr Blank’s , bank.” The successful purchaser takes the armchair standing on the middle of the 1 table,’Which is about T2it by 3ft, coverel 1 with billiard cloth. Infi-put of him is a r disc drawn in chalk. 1 Hero the banker keeps k his money. Three packs of cards are now thrown upon the taole and mixed up together; Thfeo'cartla are placed in a box' like in shape to the gold scoops used by * binik cashiers; In front (if the card box is * a tray, into which the cards are thrown at ‘ the. conclusion of ‘eabhreoup. Facing the ’ ba.nker is a chalk line across the table, di- ' viding it into two aides. The banker produces a roll of bank iibtes, some' of which the servant changes for b me counters. A I black counter represents L 5, a red LI, a * blue 10s, and wfute,2s 6d. Counters to the value pf,L2O are put into the bank. At r each'side of the banker a croupier is seated. , These help him to collect and distribute tbe bets. - Each, have taken a small share * in the bank, The punters now seat > themselves at the table, some one i side and some at ihe other. A few

of them have bought; counters, others put gnlit anl notes on the table. The calls upon the punters to make i heir game, and before a cat'll la dealt they put down the amount for which they intend to back the hand. Nine, or the nearest • number to nine, wins. The ace counts as one, ten and the court cArds are baccarat. The dealer deals two cards to the right side, two to the left, and takes two himself. He looks at his cards. He holds a live and a three, and exposes them on the table. Neither of the other hands beat this, so the whole of the'money which has been posted by the company is swept into the bank. If the banker has less in his hand than eight he does not expose his hand. The punters look at their cards, and are entitled if they do not hold more than four points, to ask for another. The hanker, too, may take a third card.. He then declares his points. If both of the punters’ hands are higher than his he has to pay both. Should one be higher and the other lower he receives on one and pays on the other. The dealer holds the bank until the banker has been smashed or until he has exhausted his period of office by dealing twice through the packs iu the box. The first banker on the night in question ,had very bad luck, but the punters were shy, otherwise he might have lost a greet deal of money. As it was he bad to replenish the bank several times from his roll of notes, and when he withdrew he was between L7O and LBO to the bad. The retiring player was succeeded by a young man with a heavy moustache. He was altogether a holder and more deliberate gambler than his predecessor. He dealt the cards with much precision, and called upon the punteis in languid tones to make their coups. By this time the punters had been augmented by ue-w comers. During the whole of the evening men kept coming and going. Some punt boldly at first, but, their fumlg getting lower and lower, they backed only occasional bauds, and eventually go sorrowing away. Tie new banker had excellent luck. To begin with, he won the coups on both sides several times in succession. About eighty coups are playei in an hour, the average of the coup being between L2U and L3O. The hanker finished his second deal within three-quartern of an bur from the time of sitting down. When his deal was complete he filled the tray which had held cards with bank-notes, gold, and counters, and carried away his winnings to a small table to reckon them. His profit amounted to between L3OO and L4OO. The punters were shy by this time, and the bank was bought for a low figure. One or two of the players were in distress. Their bank notes and their counters were all gone. It is a I strict rule of the game that no one may | play on credit. Cio ques and lOD’s are never accepted on the game. A few of the broken punters drew cheques whi’h weie cashed by an offiiial connected with the establishment. The man wdh the moustache did not remain to risk any of his winnings, but, converting his counters into coins of the realm, be stuffed notes and gold inlo his browsers pockets and walked janntingly out of. the room. Some of the punters kept their seats for hours, and played c mtiously and steadily, These, however, were very few. One young o'au who appeared on the scene with a waistcoat pocket full of sovereigns soon went penniless a way. I* was difficult to fathom Ihe principle on which punters punt. All bets are made before a single card is drawn. Yet they will post several sovereigns on one hand, and although they win put only a few shillings on the next coup. yonug gentleman with his pocket lined with gold had the inisfor- uoe to stake with much regularity largo sums of money on the losing coups, and small sums only on those that the punters won. Another player, after osing a few pounds, became visibly excited. First he would back ihe punters on one side of the table, and then on the next coup the others But it generally happened that he was wrong, and he, too, must have lost a considerable amount. There is no sensational play, the bank rarely being worth more than L2OO. Play went on intbiawi.se for hours. One man, a prosperous tnidcsnipn. held the bank for a considerable time. Beginning with a pile of notes, ranging in value from fifty pounds to five, ho was et one time reduced to his last note. But his luck at th t moment changed, by Ihe t-nd of his next, deal the, bank was between L2O 1 and L3IJO fo the good. Ano'her steady run on Ins funds, however, was cum nenced, and his original cipital as well ns his winnings was almost entirely spent. Fortune seemed to bo playing see-saw with him, for again it changed in his favor. Coup after Coup fed to him in quick succession, but when ho had got his own money hack avail he gave up the hank and retired. When I left at midnight one player who had punted from the very first coup, and had cashed several cheques during the evening was still playing boldly in hopes of hotter look. Strangers to the game must be struck hy the fact that punters stroll in to hack cords which they never handle. The two are received by a seated pi iyer, who Mum thetri over and asks for another card if he is entitled to one. His loss is theirs. When a player has pelted his ni mey he is not long in doubt, for his coup is over and his fate settled in less than a minute. I suppose the authorities will soon settle whether baccarat is a game of chance or a game of skill It seems to me that the banker has scope for the exercise of some judgment, hot the punter none whatever.- * Pall Mall Gazutt,’ •