Fan Tan

Fan Tan, Chinese gambling game and a Western card game. The gambling game is played on a table, the top of which has a square marked out, the sides of which are numbered from one to four. An unknown number of coins or other objects is placed within the square and covered with a metal bowl. As soon as the bettors have placed their stakes on the side of the square that bears the number they think will win, the banker lifts off the bowl and removes four objects at a time, until four or fewer remain. The number of the remainder indicates the winner, and players who had bet on that number are paid off at odds ranging from 2-1 to 5-1, according to the house rules. An amount, usually equal to 25 percent of the original bet, is deducted by the croupier as commission for the house.

As a card game, fan tan is played by two to eight players, with a standard pack of 52 cards. The deal is decided by cutting for high card. Dealing one card at a time, the dealer gives each player an equal number of cards, the number varying with local rules, and puts the remainder facedown in a stockpile in the center of the table. Each player antes a fixed stake, and play begins with the person at the left of the dealer. If the first player has an ace, it is placed faceup on the table; otherwise, the player draws a card from the stockpile and antes again, and the turn passes to the next player. Play proceeds until an ace is produced; then, from the aces, four stacks of cards are built up, consecutively and in suit. Whenever a player has no consecutive card to offer, he or she must ante and draw from the stockpile. The first player to be rid of all cards wins the pot. In a variation of the game, the seven, instead of the ace, is the initial card, and the players may build up or down from that card.