Trente et quarante has been a very popular game in Continental European casinos, especially in France, where the game was developed. It is a simple luck game that gives the player a very good expected return of more than 98 percent. All the bets are even-money bets. The dealer uses a six-deck shoe. Cards are given their number value; aces count as one, and face cards count as ten. The dealer deals out two rows of cards. The first row is called noir (black); the second row is called rouge (red). Cards are dealt until each row has a collective card value between 31 and 40. For instance, the dealer deals a 6 of hearts, 10, queen, 3, and 8 for a total of 37 for the first (noir) row. Then he or she deals a 9, jack, ace, five, and seven for a total of 32 on the second (rouge) row. The row with the lower number (closest to 31) wins. In this example, the rouge row wins. Players betting on rouge win even money; for example. $100 on a $100 bet. The players may also make an even-money bet on whether or not the first card dealt (the 6 of hearts) has the same color as the winning line (rouge). As the heart is red, and the winning line is red, those betting “color” (yes) win. Those betting “inverse” (no) lose that bet. If the two lines tie, there is no bet, unless there is a tie on the number 31. Then the house takes half of all bets, giving the house a small edge of about 1.1%.
A side bet of 1% of the original stake (ergo, $1) may be made to insure that the 31 tie situation does not arise. If this insurance bet is placed and there is a 31 tie, the player does not lose half of his or her bet and keeps his or her insurance bet. If there is no 31 tie, the player loses the insurance bet, but the other bets are paid as if there were no insurance side bet. The insurance bet reduces the house edge to 0.9%. (If the casino requires an insurance bet in excess of 1 percent, it increases its edge, and players are wise to avoid the bet). There is a 2.19% chance that there will be a 31 tie.
Being a simple game with easily tracked results, trente et quarante attracts system bettors. The low house edge also makes the game very desirable for high rollers. It is also a fast game, making the table one of the most exciting places in the staid European casino halls.
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