Monte Bank

Monte Bank is the major banking card game of illegal gambling clubs in America. It is also called Monte or Spanish Monte.

1) One standard 52-card deck from which all the 8s, 9s, and l0s have been removed, leaving 40 cards. (Generally, this pack of cards is known as a Spanish pack.)

From two to as many as can get around the gaming table. One of the players is banker. There is also a non-playing house official called a Cutter. He assists the banker, and collects a 25% cut from certain bets. When the bank passes, the amount collected by the Cutter is divided equally between the house and the retiring banker.

The objective for a player is to bet on the layout card or cards that will be matched first in play. Normally a card is matched when another card of the same denomination appears at the top of the deck.

Choice of first banker is by low cut.

The banker places in front of him, in cash, the total amount he wishes to put at risk. The banker does not have to pay out an amount greater than this on any one hand. If the result of a hand presents a banker with losses exceeding the bank total, he pays off the highest bet first, then the next highest, until the bank is exhausted. Other bets are then void, and are returned to the players.

The minimum bet is governed by house rules. The maximum bet is the amount of the bank. A player betting the maximum on a hand does not prevent other players betting, because his bet may lose.

The dealer shuffles. Any other player may claim the right to shuffle before the cut, but the dealer shuffles last.

The dealer then places the cards in front of the player to his right. Any other player may claim the right to cut, but the player to the dealer's right must cut last.

Holding the deck face down, the banker deals two cards from the bottom. He places them face up on the table, slightly apart. These form the top layout. He then deals two cards from the top of the deck, and places them face upon the table, just below the first two cards, and slightly apart. These form the bottom layout.

Figure 1                                                   Pair in Top Layout

If the two cards of the bottom layout of the same denomination, the deal is void. The cards are collected and reshuffled. The same applies if two cards, one in each layout, are of the same denomination.

If the two cards of the top layout are of the same denomination (a in Figures 1 & 2), the dealer places them one on top of the other, and deals another card alongside (b in Figures 1 & 2);
If this card is also of the same denomination, it is placed with the others, and a further card is dealt (c in Figure 2);
If this card is the fourth of the the same denomination, the deal is void. The cards are collected and reshuffled.

Figure 2                                                   Triple in Top Layout

Betting involves which of two cards, or two groups of cards, on the layout will be matched earliest. Players back a certain card or cards to be matched before another specified card or cards. Normally a card is matched, when another card of the same denomination appears at the top of the undealt portion of the deck.

Bets are placed, in cash, on the layout. The position of a bet shows the card(s) bet for, and the card(s) bet against. There are four types of bet:
1) Circle bet;
2) Criss-cross bet;
3) Doubler bet;
4) Monte Carlo bet.

1) Circle bet
The player bets that a specified card will be matched, before any of the other three cards on the layout. A successful circle bet is paid at 3 to 1.

2) Criss-cross bet
The player bets that the specified card before one other specified card on the layout. A successful criss-cross bet is paid at evens (1 to 1).

3) Doubler bet
The player bets that one of the cards (unspecified) in the top layout will be matched before either one of the cards in the bottom layout, or vice-versa. Alternatively, he bets that one of the cards (unspecified) to the dealer's right will be matched before either one of the cards to the dealer's left, or vice-versa. A successful doubler bet is paid at evens (1 to 1).

4) Monte Carlo bet
This is a combination of the other three types of bet.

a) bets 7 of Spades; b) bets Ace of Diamonds; c) bets 7 of Spades against 3 of Clubs; d) bets King of Hearts against Ace of Diamonds; e) bets 3 of Clubs against King of Hearts; f) bets Ace of Diamonds against 7 of Spades; g) bets left layout; h) bets bottom layout.   Figure 3   Sample betting

When cards of the same denomination have been dealt to the top layout, they are placed together (see the section on pairs and triples above). A pair or triple is matched as usual, when a further card of the same denomination appears from the undealt part of the deck. But other cards on the layout are not necessarily matched, when a card of their own denomination appears. To give all cards an equal chance, the colour of the cards appearing at the top of the deck is taken into consideration.

When a denomination in the top layout has been paired, then another card on the layout is matched only by a card that is of its own denomination and of a different colour.         Figure 4 Matching with pairs

When a denomination on the layout has been tripled, another card on the layout is matched only by a card that is of its own denomination and of the same colour.         Figure 5 Matching with triples

Cards turned up: 1) Jack of Clubs — no action; 2) Ace of Hearts — bet d) loses (criss-cross bet, not involving pair); all other bets are undecided; 3) 7 of Hearts — bet a) wins, paid 3-1; bets c) and g) win, paid evens; bets b), f) and h) lose; bet e) is undecided; 4) 6 of Clubs — no action; 5) King of Diamonds — bet e) loses.     Figure 6     Sample play

An unmatched pair or triple will be involved in some way in all bets on a layout, with the exception of those criss-cross bets in which neither of the two cards bet is the pair (or triple).

Such criss-cross bets are settled as soon as one of the two cards involved is matched in the normal way, i.e., by the appearance of any other card of its denomination.

For other purposes the card is not considered matched.

After bets have been placed, the Cutter says, 'That's all."

The dealer then turns the deck face up, showing the bottom card only.

If the card matches any of the cards on the layout, all bets involved are settled, and the matched card is removed from the layout.

If the card does not match any card on the layout, or if there are still other bets unsettled, the dealer removes the bottom card and places it to one side, exposing the next face-up card. This continues until all bets have been won or lost, each exposed card being added to the discard pile.

The deal is complete, as soon as the last bet on the layout has been settled. (This will happen before all cards on the layout have been matched.) The dealer then gathers all cards, and shuffles them for the next deal.

When a player wins because the card he has backed is matched by the very first card exposed, the house takes a 25% cut from the player's winnings. When the bank passes, the total collected is divided equally between the house and the retiring banker. House cuts are collected by the Cutter.

A banker may hold the bank for as long as he wishes, or he may be limited to a set number of deals, agreed by players beforehand. A banker may, however, pass the bank at any time when there are no unsettled bets on the table. He indicates that he is passing the bank by saying "Aces".

If the bank becomes exhausted, the role of banker passes immediately.

The role of banker always passes to the next player to the left.

Sometimes the dealer adds unmatched cards from the deck to the layout. Players may then place further bets on them, as in Ziginette.

From 'The Official World Encyclopedia of Sports and Games'
© Diagram Visual Information Ltd 1979