Trente et Quarante
Trente et Quarante (Thirty and Forty) is a French card game that has been played at the Casino de Monte-Carlo and other grand European casinos since the 17th century. It is one of the oldest continuously played casino card games and one of the most elegant — played with six decks on a specially designed table, it produces house edges as low as 1% on certain configurations, rivalling European Roulette in player-friendliness. Despite its long history and excellent odds, the game is virtually unknown outside France, Monaco, and a handful of Italian casinos, making it a genuine discovery for international casino visitors.
Rules & Gameplay
Six decks are shuffled. The dealer deals a row of cards to Black (Noir) and a row to Red (Rouge) until each row exceeds 30. Aces count 1, face cards count 10, all others face value. The row that first exceeds 30 (gets closest to 31 without going to 40+) wins. Bets: Noir (pays 1:1), Rouge (pays 1:1), Couleur (first card of winning row matches bet colour, pays 1:1 with bonus), and Inverse (pays opposite). If both rows tie, the result is a refait (half-loss). The house edge arises from the refait: approximately 1.28% on Rouge/Noir. Players can buy insurance against the refait for 1% of their bet, reducing the house edge to 1% exactly. The game proceeds at a slow, deliberate pace with large cards visible across the table.
Basic Strategy
Trente et Quarante offers among the lowest house edges available at any casino table game. Play Rouge or Noir — both carry an identical 1.28% house edge (or 1.0% with insurance). Purchase the refait insurance on large bets to reduce variance as well as house edge. The Couleur bet offers slightly different odds but is statistically equivalent in most configurations. Unlike most casino games, there are no bad bets on the main layout — avoid any side bets not on the primary table. The slow pace makes session bankroll management straightforward — set a unit size appropriate for a 2-hour session and use flat betting throughout.
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