Fan-Tan

Posted by salim14 on September 26th, 2010

Fan-Tan or fan tan is a form of gambling game frequently played in China. It is similar with the game roulette.A pile of white button, a cup and a wand are used in this game. This game is generally played on a large size of craps table.The middle place is the dealer's territory, which is covered with a clear plastic dome. each side of the table is considered as the betting area and at least six players can play comfortably from each betting area. After the outcome is identified all winnings bets will be removed , the same way as in sic bo.

Fan-Tan is no longer as popular as once it was. It has been replaced by modern casino games and other traditional chinese games such as Mah Jong and Pai Gow. However it was once a favorite past time of the Chinese in America. Jacob Riis, in his famous book about the underbelly of New York, How The Other Half Lives(1980) wrote of entering a Chinatown fan-tan parlor. 'At the first fool-fall of leather soles on the steps the hum of talk ceases, and the group of celestials, crouching over their game of fan-tan , stop playing and watch the stranger with ugly looks. Fan-Tan is their ruling passion.

San Francisco's large Chinatown was famous for fan tan houses in the 19th century . The city's former police commissioner Jess B. Cook wrote that in 1889 Chinatown had 50 fan-tan gambling houses with tables numbered from 1 to 24 according to the size of the room. Fan-Tan is still being played in many Macau casinos.