Moko

Moko is the lottery game that I invented several years ago. It combines the principles of Lotto, Standard Keno, and Bingo, plus several entirely new game principles. However, unlike any of the above mentioned games, Moko is played using only 20 numbers, one though 20. Every card given to the players has all 20 numbers on it: one through 20, and only one through 20, not a number more. All the player must do to win is guess whether the number, when called, will be a left, center, or right column number.

Requirements

1. Moko makes use of two Keno-type blowers, electrically operated, which are situated in front of the caller.
2. Fifty balls the size of Keno balls are used. Twenty of the balls are numbered from 1 to 20 inclusive and are placed in the moko blower to the right. The other Moko blower will contain 30 keno-sized Moko balls, ten of which are marked Left, ten of which are marked Center, and ten of which are marked Right.
3. Electrically lighted tally boards situated throughout the casino and in adjacent restaurants are used to record the numbered balls and their positions (left, right, or center) as they are drawn.
4. Moko tickers. Each ticket bears the numbers 1 through 20 in each of three vertical rows, one row headed by the word left, one by the word Center, and the other by the word Right. These moko tickets are placed on several tables in well-trafficked areas.
5. Black crayons are provided for the online poker players use in marking the players selections.
6. Moko receipt tickets. The tickets are imprinted with the name of the casino and the number of the game being played; space is provided for the date and for the amount wagered. They also bear the numbers 1 through 20 triplicated in three vertical rows, one row headed by the word Left, one by the word Center, and the other by the word Right.
7. Paper punches are used by the operator to punch out on the receipt tickets the numbers wagered on.

The Play

1. Moko can be dealt to one or more players. Each player may wager $60, $1.20, or $3.00 on a single ticker and may purchase as many single tickets as the rules permit.
2. The player marks on the moko ticket and may purchase as many single tickets the number or numbers he wishes to play Left, center, or Right. He also may insure a number by making it Left, center, and Right. He may bet on how one selected number will fall, how several selected numbers will fall, or on how a maximum of 15 selected indicates the sum he is wagering on the ticket.
3. The player presents his cash and his marked ticket at the moko counter where the operator makes to receipt tickets by punching out the selected numbers on two house tickers. The dealer gives the player one copy and retains the player’s marked ticket and the other house copy. These are checked after the game has been played and are paid off if the ticket wins.

Keno charts which players receive listing the various wagers that may be made.

4. The dealer announces the start of the game. Both Moko blowers are electrically operated, constantly mixing the balls in each blower. Then one ball is released from the drum that contains the numbers one through 20. For example, as the ball numbered 5 is released from this blower, the dealer calls “Number five.” The dealer then releases a ball from the drum containing the 30 balls marked Left, center, and Right. If the ball is marked Right, the dealer immediately announces “Right, number five.” This information is flashed on the electrically lighted tally board throughout the casino and restaurants. The numbered ball remains out of play, the ball indicating Left, center, or Right is returned to its proper Moko blower. When all 20 numbers have been released from the drum and their positions have been called out and recorded on the tally board, the game ends.
5. Winning tickets are then taken to the moko counter to be verified and they are paid off according to how many winning numbers are played and the amount wagered on the ticket.

CHINESE FAN TAN

In Chapter 16 I explained Chinese Fan Tan as it was played in the early days in the Western united States. However, this game dates back hundreds of years in China. Both games are very similar with the only differences being as follows:

1. The layout consists of a marked table, numbered in its corners 1,2,3, and 4.
2. Instead of using cards, the banker, after the bets are completed, takes a random handful of beans or small counters of some kind from a bowl, and places them in the center of the table. He then counts them off, four at a time, with a little stick. All completed fours are disregarded; the numbers of counters left at the end determines the poker winner. If the counters run out in even fours, bets on 4 win; otherwise, the remainder 3,2, or 1 wins.

MONEY POKER

Money Poker, also known as Liar Poker or Dollar Poker, is a fascinating guessing game played with one-dollar bills. It is most popular in bars, cafes, and clubs where it is usually played for the dollars used to play the game.
Requirements

1. Two to nine players. Five or six make for the best game.
2. Five or more one-dollar bills for each player, although only one bill is used by each player, although only one bill is used by each player to play the game. A dollar bill, as you probably know, possesses a two-letter eight-digit serial number on its face. The playing of Money play is based on these eight digits. The two letters are disregarded.

Rank of the Serial Numbers. O or zero (high), 9, 8,7, 6,5,4,3,2, and 1 (low).
The Object of the Game. To bid (call aloud ) a specific amount of digits that you believe are on the combined dollar bills held by all contestants. If the player who bids highest makes his bid, he is the winner and collects the dollar bills in play from each player. If he fails to make his bid, he must pay each player a dollar.
Start of the Game. The first dealer is decided by mutual consent. The dealer collects five one-dollar bills from each player and shuffles (mixes) them up with their serial numbers face down. Then the dealer, starting with the leader (player on his left), deals each player including himself five face-down bills, one-at-a-time, in a clockwise fashion. Then each player studies his five bills and selects any one he wishes. The remaining four bills are put aside for future use. caution is used by each player not to expose the serial number of the bill in play to the other players. This is usually accomplished by folding the bill in such a way that the serial number is visible only to the owner.
How to Score the Game. I recommended that the maximum amount of numbers that can be scored from each dollar be three. To illustrate, suppose a player’s bill shows five sixes. Only three of these sixes are counted toward the bid. The other two sixes do not count in the scoring. The reason for this three-number maximum count in the scoring is to nullify the advantage gained by a dishonest player when he introduces a bill into the game which possesses four, five, six, seven, or eight of the same number. However, if you are the trusting kind and want to count all the numbers on each bill, go ahead and do so but if you get rooked don’t say I didn’t warn you.
The Bidding. The leader has the first privilege of play. After studying the serial number of his bill, he must do one of two things:

1. He may bid any number he wants. Or,
2. He may pass, which indicates he passes his privilege of bidding for the present. However, he may reenter the bidding at any time that it is his turn to play.

After the leader has decided, each player in turn, starting with the player on the leader’s left and moving clockwise, must do the same (bid or pass). This procedure is followed until the end of the game. Each successive bid must be higher than the previous one, either in the amount or in the same amount of a higher-ranking number. Example: The leader bids two fives. The next bidder’s lowest progressive bid must be two sixes, two sevens, two eights, two nines; two 0’s (zeros), or three ones, three twos, three threes, three fours, three fives. When a player bids and all the other players pass, he (being the highest bidder) gets the bid. On the showdown, should he fulfill his bid. On the showdown, should he fulfill his bid, he is the winner. If he fails to fulfill his bid , he is the winner. If he fails to fulfill his bid, he is the winner. If he fails to fulfill his bid, he is the loser.
Players at the showdown usually take each other’s word as to the amount of numbers they hold and do not bother to verify. However, if a player so desires, he may ask each and every player to show his bill to verify the called count.
End of the Game. Once the bidding has ceased and the high bid of the last bidder calls out the amount of the bid number shown on his dollar. Let’s say his bid was nine eights and his dollar shows three eights. He calls “Three,” and the player to his left calls “Two” (indicating that his dollar possesses two eights). And so it goes, from player to player. Should the sum total of eights held by all the players total nine or more, the bidder wins and collects one dollar (the dollars in play) from each player. Should the number of eights total eight or less, the bidder loses and he must pay each player one dollar and that poker game is ended.
Start of a New Game. Each player selects one of his four remaining bills and the second game begins. If the previous bidder made his bid, the player to his left must bid first. But, if the previous bidder failed to make his bid, he must bid first.
The same procedure is followed game by game until each player’s five one-dollar bills have been played. Then a new shuffle of five one-dollar bills from each player takes place and a new series of five games is played.