Slahal

Slahal Lahal is the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast gambling game known as stickgame, bonegame, bloodless war game, handgame, or a name specific to each language. It is played throughout the western United States and Canada by indigenous peoples. The name of the game is a Chinook Jargon word. The name bone game comes from the fact that the bone sets historically used were the shin bones from the foreleg of a deer or other animal. The game is played with two opposing teams. There are two sets of bones, and two sets of sticks 10 sticks per team during aboriginal times, but in modern times usually played with 5 sticks per team and a kick or king stick -- an extra stick won by the team who gets to start the game in some areas a kick stick is not used. When a game is in play, one of the two teams will have two sets of bones, shown above. When your team is guessing, your objective is to get the right bone, the one without the stripe. When you have the bones, your objective is to make sure the other team guesses wrong on the bones set. When the other team guesses wrong, you gain a point. When a team has the two sets of bones, two separate individuals will hide the bones and swap them around from hand to hand each person has a striped and non-striped bone. Eventually the bones are brought forward, but are concealed as to not show the other team what one has a stripe on it. The game is usually accompanied by drumming and singing used to boost the morale of the team. The side that has the bones sings, while the other tries to guess. The musical accompaniment is also sometimes used to taunt the other team. Gambling could be done by players, or spectators of a match, placing bets on teams, or individual matches within the game between one guess and the other team's bone hiders. Oral histories indicate that slahal is an ancient game, dating to before the last ice age.citation needed In the Coast Salish tradition, the Creator gave stickgame to humanity as an alternative to war at the beginning of time. Thus the game straddles multiple roles in Native culture -- it is at once entertainment, a family pastime, a sacred ritual and a means of economic gain through gambling. These juxtapositions are sometimes difficult to comprehend for the Western mind, but to many members of the Native community they are woven together effortlessly as a harmonic whole.

Bouillotte

Bouillotte, a vying 18th century French gambling card game of the Revolution, based on Brelan, very popular during the 19th century in France and again in America for some years from 1830. Bouillotte is regarded as one of the games that influenced the open-card stud variation in poker.

A piquet pack is used, from which, in case five play, the sevens are removed. When four the knaves, and when three the queens are omitted. The ace is the highest card in play and in cutting. Counters or chips, as in poker, are used. Before the deal each player antes one counter to the pot, after which each, the age passing, may raise the pot; those not seeing the raise being obliged to drop out.

Three cards are dealt to each player, and a thirteenth, called the retourné, when four play, turned up. Each player must then bet, call, raise or drop out. When a call is made the hands are shown and the best hand wins. The hands rank as follows:

Simple Brélan, three of a kind, ace being high.

Brélan Carré, four of a kind, one being the retourné.

Brélan Favori, three of a kind, one being the retourné.

If more than one player has a brélan, the best is one that matches the rank of the turn up a brélan carré, or squared-up brelan. If none matches, that of highest rank wins. Any player with a brelan receives a side-payment of one chip, two if it is a carré, from each opponent.

If no player holds a brélan, the hand holding the greatest number of pips wins. All hands are turned face up, including those of players who dropped. The face values of all these cards are totalled for each suit, ace counting 11, court cards 10 and numerals their face value. The best suit is the one with the highest visible total, and the player holding the highest card of it wins the pot, provided that he has not previously dropped. If he has, the winner is the player counting the greatest face value of cards in any other suit.