which case he at once declares it.

If the player trades for ready money, he throws out a card from his hand,
pays a stake to the dealer, and receives the top card from the pack; his
rejected card being placed at the bottom of the pack without being exposed.

If the player decides to barter, he turns to the player on his left-hand
side and offers a card, which must be exchanged for one of those in the
next player's hand, unless that player considers his cards sufficiently
strong to stand upon, in which case the winner is decided by the method
just described.

If the player has traded, either for ready money or barter, and has secured
a hand strong enough, he at once stands, and exposes his cards; if not,
the dealer passes or to the next player, and acts in a similar manner,
going round and round the table until one of the players decides to stand,
when the hands are exposed and the round settled.

A player may only purchase or exchange one card at each turn; he must
not do both, but he is compelled to do the one or the other, unless he
decides to stand. When once a player agrees to stand, the commerce on
that round ceases, and all the hands must be exposed.

[74]

_THE OLD GAME_.

The older mode of playing the game of Commerce differs materially from
the description given above, and as it does not present such chances,
but is of a more limited character, it is not so interesting, nor does
it afford so much scope for speculation and excitement.

The deal is decided and the cards are distributed in the same way as in the
more modern game, but here an additional hand, of three cards, is dealt,
and placed face upwards in the middle of the table. There is no trading
with the dealer or any of the players, the operations of commerce being
confined to the three cards exposed on the table. The player to the
left of the dealer has the first turn, and he must either stand, pass,
or exchange a card. In the latter case he takes one of those lying face
upwards on the table, adds it to his hand, and places one of his own cards,
face upwards, in place of the one removed. If the player passes, he says,
"I pass," and is then debarred from afterwards exchanging any of his cards
during that hand; while if he decides to stand, the next player decides
what he will do, and so on round the table, until two of the players are
satisfied with their hands, or all have declared to pass. If two of the
players stand then each of the