thanks edward.  where did you find this on the internet?
-----Original Message-----
From: Edward B. Jelks <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, February 01, 2001 12:49 PM
Subject: Re: monte, anyone?


At 09:07 AM 1/26/01 -0800, you wrote:
>does anyone know how the game "monte" was played, as is referenced in
>numerous California Gold Rush-era accounts?  i've been able to find that it
>was a card game played with a 40-card deck and it was a favorite gambling
>game among Mexicans, with Mexican women often being keepers of the bank.

I found the following description of monte, sometimes called monte bank, on
the
internet.  This is not to be confused with three-card monte, a scam game.

Monte, one of the most popular card games, came out of the Mexican American
War.  It is a very
easy, fast game.  The two-card version, called Mexican Monte and the
four-card
called Spanish
Monte are played similarly.

The dealer uses a deck of 40 cards (leaving out the 10’s, 9’s  and 8’s).
Any
number of people
can play against the dealer, known as the bank.

To play two-card monte, the bank draws one card from the bottom and places
it
face up on the
table.  This is known as the bottom layout.  One card is drawn from the top
of
the pack and
placed face up on the table for the top layout.

The punters, (players) bet on either layout.  The pack is then turned face
up
and the card showing
on the bottom is know as the gate.  If the suit of this card (heart, spade,
etc.) matches one of the
layouts, the banker pays the bet.  The banker wins the bets if the gate is
not
the same suit as the
layout.

To play four-card monte, the bank draws two cards each for the top and
bottom
layouts.  This
makes it easier for the punters to win.  If either card of the layout they
bet
on matches the gate
card, they win their bet.