Monte Bank
John David Borthwick, a Scottish artist portrayed the gambling element of Monte in this lithograph.
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| Origin | Spanish |
|---|---|
| Alternative names | Monte |
| Type | Gambling |
| Players | 2+ |
| Skills required | Chance |
| Cards | 40 |
| Deck | Spanish |
| Play | Counter-clockwise |
| Playing time | 5–10 min. |
| Random chance | Easy |
| Related games | |
| Baccarat | |
Monte Bank, Mountebank, Spanish Monte and Mexican Monte, sometimes just Monte, is a Spanish gambling card game and was known in the 19th century as the national card game of Mexico. It ultimately derives from basset, where the banker (dealer) pays on matching cards. The term "monte" has also been used for a variety of other gambling games, especially varieties of three-card poker, and for the swindle three-card monte.
The two-card version Mexican monte, and the four-card version Spanish monte, are card games played in Spain before coming to Mexico and then the American Southwest. They were originally played with Spanish playing cards and later with cards made expressly for the game, known as Monte cards, as well as modified standard decks. These games became popular in the United States, specially in Texas, after they were brought back by returning troops from the Mexican–American War in 1848. They remained popular through the end of the century particularly in the American West, and even among the American Indians.
Monte uses a deck of 40 playing cards (removing the 10’s, 9’s and 8’s from a standard 52-card deck). One or more people may play against the house, known as the "bank" or "banker", who is the dealer.
In some versions, the monte banker, or dealer, must have the whole of his bank, or money which he risks at the game, in sight upon the table. The play begins with the dealer drawing one card from the bottom of the deck and placing it face up on the table, this card becomes the “bottom layout”. Similarly, another card is drawn from the top of the deck, known as the “top layout”, and placed face up on the table, usually closer to the dealer. The remaining stack of cards, called the “monte”, is placed face-down in front of the dealer. Sometimes a monte box was used to hold the monte.
The players, sometimes known as punters, place bets on the layout of their choice, or on both. Starting with the player to banker's right and proceeding counter-clockwise, each player has one chance to place his stake on the layouts. After the last player has placed his stake, the banker turns the monte face-up. The card now showing is known as the “gate”. The banker pays, one for one, any bet on a matching suit. The banker takes all the bets from a layout if the “gate” did not match the suit in the layout.
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Wikipedia