Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-10-10
THE JAP As A GAMBLER
His Favorite Game 10 Hanna and He 10 in
for All He is Worth.

for All He is Worth.
From the San Francisco Chronicle.
Up In Chinatown, where both sides Of q GER
tain alley are lined for full block with little
cubby holes wherein the fascinating '.fan'' is
played. there is plenty of evidence that gaming
IL one Of the oriental vices. If more proof
were required it could be found in the records
OF the police courts where Chinese figure by
the score as players or keepers" in the
phraseology Of the courts. and in the large
amounts that flow into the city treasury in the
way OF fines and forfeited bail from almond
eyed gamesters caught in the act.
AS yet, however, little has been said Of the
Japanese in this respect. The other day San
franciscan who is familiar with the language
anu ways OF the little people from over the sea
commented on this fact. THE Japs are the
gamiest gamblers on earth" he said Not one
OF them who is addicted to play-and they are
nearly all OF that kind-but would stake the
shirt on his back rather than draw out of
good game There are several big resorts in
the city where hanna, their favorite game
Is called, furnishes nightly attractions for
Japanese students. servants. storekeepers, and
so on by the score. Their play runs high some
times, for they are naturally thrifty people.
and In times of excitement such as occur in
wallets without hesitation
The japanese word hanna" BY which the
national game is designated, means. in English,
mower. The game is as old as the race and is
apparently. combination of poker, casino and
euchre. The cards are Of thin pasteboard
about an inch wide and an inch and half long
Forty-eight of them make up the deck. The
full pack contains twelve combinations Of four
cards. each series but two representing a
month. and each card bearing. in bright colors
the picture OF some flower which blooms only
once year. The first combination is ''ich
Setsn," or first month, and the flower is the
bud OF the sugar pine tree" On two Of the
cards OF this month the flowers are not quite full
blown. These are only valuable for pairing
lhe third card is counted as five points and the
fourth. on which is pictured a flower in full
doom Is worth twenty points.
The nee getsu," or February series is de-
noted by the apricot blossom. and the highest
card Is worth ten points. The cherry blossom
Is for March. the wisteria for April, the flag
NV Tor May, the pampas grass for June and
the tulip for July. September is denoted by
the chrysanthemum and October has for its
emblem the leaf of the Japanese tree called
mo-ma-gee. the foliage of which turns from
green to "a bright red in October. The flower
OF december is the lockwood blossom.
me TWO months not represented by flowers
are August and November. The four cards of
the August series denote rain, the first two rep
resenting cloudy day and the others heavy
rain shower. "Otsnkesan," or the moon in
English, Is the sign of the November series, the
BEST IN the deck. One Of the cards shows the
u. o
whlie all the others are high cards, ranging
from five to twenty points each.
SIX players generally make up q "hanna"
party The table is usually round OF oval,
ana IN Weii-ordered Joints is of polished
wood. The players cut for deal, the handling
OF the cards going TO the holder of the highest
picture Four cards are dealt to each and
three to the table. face upward. The compost
ton OF the deck is such that at least two hands
OF the SIX are valueless. and their holders pass
OUT, leaving the game handed. Then
three more cards are added to each hand and a
like number to the board.
FROM this ON the play is much like ordinary
casino The dealer starts the ball rolling, put
ting up blind on the strength Of his hand.
Whle the others may ''see" or not as they
please. Then the player matches from his
nahd &c the table. at each trick turning up the
top card from the remainder of the deck II
ne should expose a card of which he has a
mate In his hand he may match it with any,
thing on the board as if from his own hand
When he has exhausted his pairs he retires
and the player to his right repeats the match
ing process. and SO it goes until the cards are
all out All open bets must be of the amount
set by the first player, but the wagers on the
SIDE arc permissible to make the game more
interesting The total number of points in
the game Is 130 and when the cards are all ont
the tricks are counted and the player holding
the highest number Of points takes the pool
turning over 10 per cent Of the whole amount
to the house.
The game is simple and rapidly played, and
the drop 1850 heavy that the profits of a
Japanese gaming establishment. are large. 1t
Is an unwritten law among gamblers and the
keepers OF the dens that player who loses
his all shall have good meal at the expense of
the house. so that restaurant is one of the
features OF every irst-class establishment
In San Francisco beer is the beverage most
popular among Japanese while at play, and is
consumed in large quantities The ..little