CROWLEY POOL

   [THIS pool will be found superior to the "Calcutta Sweep" usually held on steamers.]

   1. A pack of cards is shuffled, cut, and sealed up by the purser, or other disinterested party.
   2. Tickets are bought, and numbers drawn as usual.
   3. The numbers from "Low Field" to "High Field" are sold by auction as usual, half the price going to the original drawer, half being added to the pool.
   4. The ship's run is declared, and the winner has a temporary claim on the pool.
   5. The purser now takes the sealed pack of cards and deals them one by one face upward, until he has dealt five plain cards.
   The sum of the pips on these five cards is the amount of the pool in sovereigns, or, "if the amount of the pool already exceed that amount," in sums of 2 Pounds.  [Thus, if 5 Spades, 2 Clubs, 10 Hearts, 3 Clubs, 8 Diamonds turn up, the winner takes (5 + 2 + 10 + 3 + 8) " Pounds"28.  If there be already more than " Pounds"28 in the pool, the amount will be " Pounds"56, and so on.  There must always be a "deficit."]
   6. If these 5 plain cards come out without interruption from Court Cards, the winner of the run takes the pool.  But any red court card shifts the sum higher, any black court card lower.  Aces 4, Kings 3, Queens 2, Knaves 1. ["E.G.," Let the {204} ship's run be 566 miles.  The holder of 566, if 5 plain cards turn up consecutively, wins.  But suppose among the 5 plain cards are drawn Ace Hearts, King Clubs, Queen Hearts, Knave Hearts, Ace Spades, Knave Spades ---

        After Ace Hearts   (566 + 4 =) 570 wins.
          "   King Clubs   (570 - 3 =) 567  "
          "   Queen Hearts (567 + 2 =) 569  "
          "   Knave Hearts (569 + 1 =) 570  "
          "   Ace Spades   (570 - 4 =) 566  "
          "   Knave Spades (566 - 1 =) 565  "
 Thus, until the fall of the fifth plain card, no one knows either the winner or the amount of the pool.]
   7. The holders of the remaining tickets (except the original winner of the run, who is free) make up the deficit of the pool in equal proportions. [Thus, if there be ten numbered tickets (564-573) besides High and low Fields, and 565 wins the pool and 566 the run, there will be 10 tickets liable.  And if there were " Pounds"61 from the deal of the original tickets and auction of numbers, and the five plain cards totalled 44, there would be " Pounds"88 - " Pounds"61 = " Pounds"27 to make up, a call of " Pounds"2 14s. per head on the ticket-holders.]

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