Three, Seven, Ace
The year is 1890 in Bishee, Arizona. The air is dry and the wooden sign reading “Orient Saloon” is splintered and cracked. Stock promoters, road agents and con-men sit at a tension filled table, liable to erupt into a sudden shoot-out. Tony, the proprietor, keeping a close watchful eye on the singer, ‘Nifty’ Doyle, as Murphy, the dealer, puts down the losing card; a Queen of Spades. Mining stocks and life savings go to the lucky dealer in the black fedora. “‘A fine game!” said the players,” (Pushkin 182). Again, never losing a beat, the dealer collects bets.
Faro was undoubtedly one of the most popular card games during the eighteenth century. The rules of the game were simple. The dealer held a complete fifty-two card deck, from which he drew cards, one for himself, placed on the right, and the other placed on the left. The dealer won all the money stacked on the card on the right, and had to pay double the sums stacked on those on the left. With the......
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Approximate Word Count: 1035
Approximate Pages: 4 (260 words per double-spaced page) |