How to Play Bassett
Description
The betting game that made gambling houses fashionable across seventeenth-century Europe. Simple, relentless, and once described as the most dangerous game in Paris.
Also known as: Basset
Objective
Bet on which ranks will come up favorably as the banker deals through the deck.
Setup
Any number of players against one banker. Each player has a personal set of thirteen cards, one of each rank, laid face up in front of them.
Players place stakes on whichever of their own ranks they want to bet on.
Rules
The banker deals through a shuffled deck two cards at a time.
The first card of each pair loses for any stakes on that rank — the banker collects them.
The second card of each pair wins for any stakes on that rank — the banker pays out.
Winning players can choose to let their winnings ride for a bigger payout on the next matching card, at increasing risk.
Winning
Play continues through the deck until every stake is resolved.
The very last card dealt is a permanent advantage to the banker, regardless of what it is.