FANTAN  , a

form of gambling highly popular among the Chinese . The game is simple . A square is marked in the centre of an ordinary table, or a square piece of metal is laid on it, the sides being marked r, 2, 3 and 4 . The banker puts on the table a double handful of small coins—in China " cash "—or similar articles, which he covers with a metal bowl . The players bet on the numbers, setting their stakes on the side of the square which bears the number selected . When all have staked, the bowl is removed, and the banker or croupier with a small stick removes coins from the heap, four at a time, till the final batch is reached . If it contains four coins, the backer of No . 4 wins; if three, the backer of No . 3 wins, and so on . Twenty-five per cent is deducted from the stake by the banker, and the winner receives five times the amount of his stake thus reduced . In Macao, the Monte Carlo of China, play goes on day and night, every day of the week, and bets can be made from 5 cents to Soo dollars, which are the limits . Fantan is also the name of a card game, played with an ordinary pack, by any number of players up to eight .

The

deal decided, the cards are dealt singly, any that are left over forming a stock, and being placed face downwards on the table . Each player contributes a fixed stake or " ante." The first player can enter if he has an ace; if he has not he pays an " ante " and takes a card from the stock; the second player is then called upon and acts similarly till an ace is played . This (and the other aces when played) is put face upwards on the table, and the piles are built up from the ace to the king . The pool goes to the player who first gets rid of all his cards . If a player fails to play, having a playable card, he is fined the amount of the ante for every card in the other players' hands .