FAN-TAN

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 109, 4 November 1925, Page 3

FAN-TAN

A CHINESE GAME

UtUEN-GOW- AND PAK:A-PU,

i' Two-up ■':&'■ been: called: Australia's national game' Fan-tan is the national game' of Cttina.' One of; the police officers' constantly -engaged in, the Chinese'quarter Sydney,.says the "Sun/ • "estimates that 60 per cent, of the Chi: nese' in^Sydney;. are':gamblers, and they "include all classes, from the KBrdener to' the. prosperous shopkeeper. J ; Pak-a-pu is' the only Chinese gamblirie game' in which w.hite- people, .participate/., the main attraction being the chanbe of '■'■ winning . £75 for sixpence,, or any amount up to, £300/ according to the proportional, increase in' the stake. Oh a; pak-a-pu ticket there are 80 Chinese characters: Ten of thenr are marked ' with a 'brush, on a card held by the bankers.: „It m the .task of the Ramblers to mark off .similar characters on their tickets, five correct markings being, "the lowest for" which a prize is paid. When all ten'tally/tbe gambler wins the: lriasirnum prize; the sum being divided if more .than one is suc,cessful. . ..'■ '.'.•■' ;■;.; .'-.. ./;.. •;" :: - . Fifty per cent, of the; pak-a-pu garnb^ ler* are white, the 'same, police officer ■estimates. Chinese do not care, for tte company-of jwhites in their; rooms, but pak-a-pu tickets can.be bought ; at many shops '.and marked there. The purchaser keeps a marked duplicate,,'. and later returns to compare.it with the one mirked "at' tHe'^drawing of. the, bank. The bank" is drawn. twice daily—at . i pm* and ,'B'.p.in.v arid only, ttie syndicate r(iririirig:it i«:present; .Result slips are'sent out-to shops selling tickets, lo dodge the'; police' the bank is drawn at »'• different place each ,time ; Each member of the syndicate, generally consisting : of; four/ puts. up -a- -certain" sum for the ",bapl?,'',,and a percentage of the. stakes is'retained.; If the bank is not broken in the^rst three months a, good dividend.is paid. , „ ,-.--. Fan-tan and Tuen-gow are played exclusively by Chinese.. In .'fari-tan, th» players stand round a table, while the croupier places a pile of beans m.the centre. A brass tray is - inverted -over the heap, and all the beans not covered are . cleared. away. Then the . tray n lifted and the croupier flicks away the remaining -.beans singly, or in tows, threes, or fours, according to the-call of one of the players.,' Odds are laid by the banker against the guessing of the last number to be nicked away with the hooked bamboo, all; those guessing: the correct 'number being paid, at once. Each game is f pvpr in.a: little mo»e than two minutes, and a different player calls: the number each tiriifi. ■..-■■' . ■■ ' The banker in a fari-tan school takes tenpence.out of, every £l.on the table, and when tobacco growers and gardeners are down from country centres on holiday it is common- for £100 to change hands after one game. ■ ' > Tuen-gQW is the Chinese form of dominoes. The dominoes are much larger than ours,' arid' niarked with red and white spotsL Therelare 66 in a;set. Each player casts two Chinese dice, which must hit th'e^'dominoes, piled', face down ward along the centre of the table, and the: number »f dominoes each', player ■takes corresponds with the number 1 he throws on -the dice. , Stakes are played for,' as in the European game. . Of the three games, fan-tan is most popular among the Chinese, because it i 3 the fairest; for the counter-part of the man who" rings in the grey ' .in/a twp-up school :is frequently. found among gamblers. It is.known that custom drifts from schools where a certain group of .Chinese plays. They are suspected of stacking the doniinoes., Fan-tan, or-'. tuen-gow, players would be more-comfortable sitting down, but raids by the police are frequent/and the officers have the power -to seize all furniture used in the gamble. It was a common, sight some time ago to see 30 or 40 tables for sale at the auctions in the Central Police Station yard. Now the Chinese stand up, and', use high, rough-built tables that are too awkward to shift. ■ . •

; It would be an impossibility to stamp out.Nganibling • among Chinese, but frequent raids by tlie police check its spread and keep it confined as nearly as possible to the Chinese themselves.;