The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-12-09
THE CAME or cHE-FA.
Tt is Similar to the American Game
 of Policy Playing.

Tt is Similar to the American Game
 of Policy Playing.
 It Is a curious thing that here, in community where the Chinese gam bling game of che-fa has fOuTished for many years, comparatively few outside of those who are devotees at the shrine of the Goddess of Chance have even the faintest idea of how the game is played. Che-fa is 8 very simple game indeed, and in its very simplicity lies the difficulty which the authorities here, as elsewhere. find in suppression. It needs no apparatus, or layout" as do roulette, faro and other games Of chance. It does not even need a pack of cards or a supply of chips.
 Simply judged as a gambling game and conceding for the moment, that it is played on the square, che-fa has its allurements, for it is on that basis a game in which every player has an equal chance and the bank simply col i lects a percentage of the money stab- ed. Unfortunately for the players how ever, there is not the slightest req son for doubting that the game, as ordinarily conducted, is as crooked as the traditional dogs hind leg. There are thirty-six characters on che-fa ticket, each representing some fami- liar object. The lion, tiger, moon, mouth, silver money, gold money, box, centipede, dog, rat are among i these, but many of the characters re- present things which are not generally discussed in polite society.
 A person who wishes to play the game seeks an agent and gives him what sum he wishes, from five cents up, at the same time indicating what character he chooses. This character is marked off on the agents ticket, and the fortune seeker receives a slip acknowledging his bet or stake. Should the particular character prove at the drawing to be the winning number, the lucky player wins thirty times the amount of his stake. Thus, if he stakes five cents he wins $50, or if he plunges heavily with, say, dollar, he wins $50. But he does not get all that he wins. There is the agent to be considered, and he collects 10 per cent. of the amount of the winning, so that the man who won $S0 would re- ceive only $27 from the hands of the agent. .%>
 It is one of the odd traits in the Chinese character that made che-fa so popular with them. They are devot- ed believers in dreams. If China man dreams of a rat for instance, he will lose no time in seeking a che-fa agent and backing the rat to win, and no number of recurrent losses seems to upset the Chinese faith in the heav- en sent sign for success. Of course, 1t is apparent that if a man played on every one of the thirty-five characters he would in all probability win but his win would be a loss, for he would receive only thirty times the amount of the single bet on the winning char acter, less the agents commission of 10 per cent. Such is the game of che ia. Barring only the dream portion of it, it does not seem to possess any particular allurements. and to some people even the chance of betting that their dreams will come true does not seem attractive. Possibly the aver age American does not have the same kind of dreams as do the mild Ayed "chinks" That can easily be imagined from casual glimpse, at a Chinese meal and a reflection of the possibili- ties of what even a asimple Welsh rab- bit can accomplish Hawaiian Star. P {