Page:Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society (IA journalofstrait451906roya).pdf/117

 follow in Perak, hands of nine and eight pips; in Selangor, says Mr. Skeat, hands of three tens, and three court-cards in that order and then hands of nine, eight, seven pips and so on in descending order of value. "The highest hand counting by pips," Sir William Maxwell puts it clearly, "is that which contains the greatest number of pips after the tens are deduct- ed." In Perak, "a hand of three threes is really a good hand, being nine, but it is considered a propitiation of good luck to throw it down (without exposing it) and announce that one is bota in hopes of getting good luck afterwards."

Apparently, Singapore players recognize a different list of daun trus. The best hand is three court-cards, tiga kuda: the next best is three threes or a nine and two court cards. And then follow hands of nine, eight pips and so on in descending scale. The tens are not used at all. Court cards are valued at zero, except when you have three in one hand and so hold the best possible of daun trus. Three aces are reckoned as three pips only: so, a hand of three aces is absolutely worth- less, and a hand of two aces and a court card, for instance, makes you only two pips. If you hold one court card, one ace and one nine, the ace is counted as zero like a court-card and you score nine: so, this hand is one of the daun trus, equivalent to two court cards and a nine,

Then there are the phrases, handak kaki tiga, minta penoh, minta isi, minta kosong, used in the process, mengurut daun. "A player does not hastily, look at his three cards and learn his fate at once," says Sir William Maxwell, but he prolongs the excitement by holding his cards tight together, and looking alternately at the outside ones, and last of all at the middle one, sliding out the latter between the two others little by little. Thus it is left uncertain for some time whether a card is an eight or a seven, a nine or a ten" Handak kaki tiga is a player for a six, seven or eight cards having pips in rows of three. If after seeing my top and bottom cards I want the remaining card to have no pip in the centre; if, for example, I want a six and not a seven or eight, I am said to minta kosong: if, on the contrary, I want a pip or pips in the middle of the