Editing Basset (banking game) (section)

==Basset in France==
Basset was first introduced into France by Signior Justiniani, ambassador of Venice, in 1674.
The game was very popular at the court of King [[Charles II of England|Charles II]], and even after 15 January 1691 when [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] issued an order from the privy council, by which he expressly forbade not only the officers belonging to his army, but likewise all other persons of whatever sex or denomination to play at Hoca, Pharaoh, Barbacole and Basset.<ref>A New and Enlarged Military Dictionary, Charles James, p. Jeu – T. Egerton, London 1805.<br />
The penalties for every infraction or breach of this order were as follow:<br />
''Those persons who played were fined 1000 livres or 40 [pounds sterling] and the master or mistress of the house where games of the above description were allowed, stood fined in 6000 livres or 240 [pounds sterling] for each offence. One third of these penalties was applied to his Majesty's use, one third to the relief of the poor of the place where the offence was committed, and the other third was paid to the informer. It was further ordained, that in case the persons so discovered were unable to pay the fines, their persons should be taken into custody. Those subjected to the penalty of 1000 livres were imprisoned four months, and those who incurred the fine of 6OOO livres, without having the means to pay it, were imprisoned one year. The Intendans, or Lords-Lieutenants of the Provinces and Annies, the Police Magistrates, and the Military Provosts, were all and severally directed to see this edict put into execution; and by a circular letter, which in 1712, was written, in the king's name, by M. Voisin, to the different governors and lords lieutenants of provinces, the prohibitions were extended to the lansquenet, or private soldier.''</ref> The sums of money lost in France at this game were so considerable that the [[nobility]] were in danger of being undone after many persons of distinction were ruined. Later the law against gambling was tightened eluding which they disguised Basset under the name of "pour et contre", that is, "for and against".

By the constitution of Basset, large advantages were secured to the ''tailleur'' (the dealer / keeper of the bank) and so vast were their gains, that the privilege of keeping a bank at Basset, where the stakes were unlimited, was granted only to cadets or other members of great families. It was basically certain that a considerable fortune could be realized by the ''tailleur'' in a short time. The advantages of the dealer arise in many ways, but mainly from the temptations for adventurous players to increase their stakes on certain desperate chances, which rarely turn up, and which in the long run told largely in favor of the bank. Where licenses were otherwise conceded for keeping a public Basset table in France, the stakes were strictly limited to twelve pence.