Gambling in Regency England

Many romances set in Regency England often depict the characters gambling and engaging in high-stakes betting. In general, Regency gentlemen wagered on a wider range of activities including cards, dice, horse races, cock fights… well, pretty much anything.

Some of the most famous gentlemen’s clubs of London included White’s, Brook’s, The Cocoa Tree and Almack’s, and were often referred to as ‘golden halls’.  (Fun side note: Men’s clubs for the lower classes were called ‘copper hells’.)

Card games were an acceptable pastime for both sexes at private parties and assemblies. For the most part, these games were meant to entertain but some gentlemen sought out more disreputable ‘gaming hells’ to satisfy their addiction. Great fortunes were won and lost at the gaming tables during this time period. 

Lucky for you, I compiled a list of the most common games played in the Regency period. Enjoy!

Card Games:

Whist- The precursor of today’s Contract Bridge, was one of the period’s most popular card games. The game requires four players, playing in partners. A trump suit is chosen and tricks are won. In Whist, strategy improves the player’s ability to win, so a poor player is a great frustration to a more skilled partner.

Piquet-  It is played by two players and has a complicated scoring system and possibilities of huge bonus points. Skill, strategy, and memory for cards are all very important for success in Piquet.

Loo- In its five card version, a permanent high trump is selected, called “Pam.” Like whist, the players play for tricks, but at the beginning of the hand, they may choose to play, fold, or pick up and play an extra hand dealt, called a “miss.” A player who wins no tricks is “looed.”

Vingt-et-un- Is essentially today’s game of Twenty-One. Each player tries to beat the dealer by earning twenty-one points or reaching a higher number of points without exceeding twenty-one.

Games of Chance:

Faro- is not really a card game but a game of chance using cards. It is played at a green baize table displaying pictures of playing cards. The player bets on whether a certain card will be dealt from a special wooden box.

Hazard- Is a dice game. The player must roll a certain number on the dice. There is some strategy involved in which numbers the player selects to roll, but Hazard is essentially a game of chance.