Trente et Quarante

[3] Trente et Quarante is recorded as early as 1694 in a French dictionary that simply says it is a "type of card game".

However, if the first card dealt were black (an ace of clubs or spades), the dealer announces "Rouge gagne et la couleur perd."

Indeed the dealer always announces, in French, the winning or losing of rouge and colour, as follows: It frequently happens that both rows of cards when added together give the same number.

Should they both, for instance, add up to thirty-three, the dealer will announce "Trois après," and the deal goes for nothing except in the event of their adding up to thirty-one.

When he has not enough left to complete the two rows, he remarks "Les cartes passent" (The cards pass); they are taken from the bowl, reshuffled, and another deal begins.