The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-04-09
THE LACE HOUSE,
D. SAMUELS,
1913 to I20 Post Street, San Francisco.
THE LATEST NOVELTY.
The Game Cardinal" a Combination
of Billiards and SkittIes.

LOndoe IeleSraPh.
1t Is a long way from Paris to Monte
Carlo, and the cost Of travelling thither is
not conspicuous for cheapness. so possibly
this may be one of the reasons for The sud
den outbreak in Paris of a new gambling
craze, of which the curious manifestation is
a game called Cardinal" At one of tho
most fashionable cafes Of tue borlevards
this game, which appears to be a combina-
ton of billiards and skittles. is played night
after night. and to this establishment all
the professional gamblers in the French
capital are said to he fiOckng.
"CardinaP is not very intricate method
of gambling. A billiard table is provided,
and at one end of the green cloth are ranged
in rows thirty-oIe small ivory "Qnilles" or
skittles. the central one being red and the
remainder white. a red ball is placed on
spot" ana the play is made with one
white ball, which is projected by the cue
from the cushion about half way down the
tsb'eilt has to carrom of the red ball, and
rolling across the table, to knock over a GER
tain number OF DULLES. If an even number
are Knocked down the bank wins all the
money that has been staked, but If an IN
even number Of skittles are Overset the pun
tiers. or gallery" win, and the bank has to
cover their stakes
On the other hand, il In the number of
skittles reversed there is included the red
skittle. or cardinal" TIE bank wins and
sweeps the board whether the number be
odd or even. The btIliard-plaver's interest
is 10 play so that the bank should win, as
the syndicate 10 which he belongs receives
commission on each successful coup" 1t
must be understood that the public have
nothing whatever to do with the actual
play. That business is undertaken by
eonfederacy of billiard sharps who call
themselves professors" and, forming
themselves into a syndicate, como 10 az
arrangement with the proprietors of the
cafe for the privilege of converting a bill
liard-room Into public hell, and. to Judge
from sketch of O game of cardinal pub
lished 10 an illustrated contemporary, ladies
as we'll as gentlemen RTe permitted to stake
their money against the bank.
That this obviously gambling game is al
together unjust TO that portion of the public
who are silly enough tn risk their louis or
their 5-franc pieces at cardinal Is sufff-
GENTLY plain, seeing that the punter has
only one chauce-the odd one-aganst tie
bank; whereas the bank itself has another
chance, the red guile, or Cardinal itself,
and an expert professor might very cas- ly
train himself to knock over cardinal in al
least three out of five 'eOups."
1t is not, again. very probable that any
thing approaching a long run upon odd or
even would take place. and the bank may
therefore rely, first, on the chance of the
professor knocking down cardinal" and
next on the folly of the punters who hay-
ing won say twice on odd, will very likely
back their luck and double their stakes in
the anticipation of odd again occurring.
The bigger their stakes the more perllous it
will be. of course, to hem, seeing that there
is not only The risk of even turning up, but
the continuous danger of cardinal being
knocked down. There is, again, no kind of
guarantee to the public Of the professors"
DlaVlDP fairly