A casekeep was similar to an abacus, and someone (the “casekeeper,” or more colorfully, the “coffin driver”) would move a bead that indicated which card was displayed on every roll. The dealer’s card, player’s card, and final unused card (called the “hock”) would be turned, and players who correctly guessed the order of the last three cards won four-to-one.Ī “casekeep” was used at the table to assist the punters. The banker would “call the turn,” and punters would bet on the exact order of the last three cards.

Also, the betting changed when only three cards remained in the deck. The first card in a freshly shuffled deck was called the “soda” and discarded, leaving 51 cards. There were only a few exceptions to the play. The second was the “player’s card,” and any checks placed on that card were increased by the banker one-for-one (even money) and retained by the punter. The first was the “banker’s card,” and the banker kept any checks placed on that card. Then, the banker (dealer) would turn up two cards from the deck. Punters would bet by placing their “check” (a chip) on one of the cards. It was played with a single deck of cards on an oval table with a layout of cards glued to its surface. The Games, the Gamblers & the Great Gambling Halls of the Old West.Faro was a game of chance between the “bank” (or house) and one or more “punters” (or players).

Alex Garel-Frantzen: Gangsters & Organized Crime in Jewish Chicago.

Luc Sante: Low Life: Lures and Snares of Old New York.

How to Play and Win at Poker, Pinochle, Blackjack, Gin and Other Popular Card Games, 2nd ed., Courier Dover Publications, Mineola, N.Y.

The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Card Games, Sterling Publishing, New York 1995 p. 335-337 ISBN 0-4.

It was frequently played in ethnic immigrant neighborhoods.

Stuss was particularly popular in the late nineteenth century in New York City and Chicago in the United States, continuing until the time of World War I. This greatly increases the house's advantage over its patrons.

Also, the house wins all the money when drawing two equal cards, as opposed to half in traditional faro. In this version (played in house games, back rooms, and saloons), the cards are dealt from the dealer's hand, not from a shoe. Stuss or Jewish Faro is a card game, a variant of faro.

Faro card game