Atlassino Academy · Other tables · Lesson 11
Treinta y Cuarenta: two rows, closest to 31
Treinta y Cuarenta is two rows of cards and four bets, under the national catalogue of games. Here is how the rows are dealt, which bet is paid, and what a tie on 31 costs.
Two rows of cards, a black side and a red side, and nobody at the table holds a single card. What are they betting on?
The short answer
On which row ends closer to 31, and on the colour of the first card. The croupier deals a black row and a red row, each until it reaches 31 or more, and all four bets are paid one to one. The only price is the tie on 31: then every bet is blocked and loses half. By our count both rows end on 31 on 2.19% of deals, so a bet costs 1.10% of itself on average, whichever of the four it is.
Leoformer dealer · rules and maths
Treinta y Cuarenta has no drawing and no standing. You choose your bet, and the croupier deals two rows by a fixed rule; the one choice you get comes after a tie on 31. Everything on this page comes from one catalogue.
Two rows, and no cards for you
The Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego lists Treinta y Cuarenta among the card games a casino may run, and its national catalogue of games sets the rules. The croupier forms two columns of cards on a table divided into two colours, black and red, and the shoe holds six to eight decks of 52 cards.
| Card | Counts |
|---|---|
| Ace | 1 |
| 2 to 10 | Its number |
| Jack, queen, king | 10 |
A picture card counts 10, like a ten, and the ace counts 1.
The table is not for a set number of seats: players may sit or stand, as many as the game can run smoothly with, and it is run by a main croupier and two support croupiers, who pay the bets. The amounts that can be bet at each game have to be posted in the room.
How the rows are dealt
Bets go down before any card is dealt, and once the croupier has begun the deal, no bet can be added, taken back or changed. Then a croupier deals the black row, NEGRO, until its count reaches 31 or more, and after it the red row, ROJO, until it reaches or passes 31. The main croupier calls out each row’s total and the bets that are paid.
Bets
On ROJO, NEGRO, COLOR or INVERSO, one or more of them, before the first card.
NEGRO
Cards for the black row until it reaches 31 or more.
ROJO
Then cards for the red row, the same way.
Called
The croupier calls out each row’s total and the bets that are paid.
Paid
Losing bets are taken, paid bets get one to one.
NEGRO
ROJO
- NEGRO 40
- ROJO 31
Here NEGRO stops on 40, three picture cards and a ten, and ROJO on 31 with five cards. ROJO is closer to 31.
Four bets
The table has four places to bet, ROJO, NEGRO, COLOR and INVERSO, and the four are not exclusive: you may play more than one.
| Bet | Paid when |
|---|---|
| NEGRO | The black row is closer to 31 |
| ROJO | The red row is closer to 31 |
| COLOR | The first card has the colour of the row that is paid |
| INVERSO | The first card has the other colour |
On ROJO or NEGRO, the row closer to 31 is paid. COLOR and INVERSO are decided by the first card: if it has the same colour as the row that is paid, COLOR is paid and INVERSO loses; if it has the other colour, INVERSO is paid and COLOR loses. Every bet that is paid gets the amount bet, one to one.
Equal rows, and the tie on 31
When both rows end on the same total, other than 31, the deal is neutral: nothing is paid or lost, and players may keep, take back or change their bets.
When both rows end on 31, the bets are blocked, and the players lose half of them. The catalogue then gives two choices. One is to hand the croupier the half of the bet that is blocked. The other is to wait for the next deal: if the choice you played is paid, your bet is set free; if not, all of it is lost.
A player may also pay the croupier 1% of the blocked bet as insurance against the next deal being another tie on 31.
What a bet costs
The catalogue prints the payouts, not a price. The table below is our own count: every way two rows can be dealt, with every card drawn as if from a full shoe, for a bet on any one of the four.
| The deal | Share of deals | Your bet of 10 units |
|---|---|---|
| Your choice is paid | 44.51% | 10 units paid |
| The other choice is paid | 44.51% | Lost |
| Equal rows, not on 31 | 8.78% | Stands |
| Both rows on 31 | 2.19% | Blocked, 5 units lost |
A row ends exactly on 31 in 14.81% of rows, more often than on any other total, because a row stops as soon as it reaches 31. Both rows end on 31 on 2.19% of deals. Paid and lost come up equally often and cancel out, so the whole price of a bet is the half it loses on a tie on 31: 1.10% of the bet a deal, if you hand the half over each time. That is the same for ROJO, NEGRO, COLOR and INVERSO, because in our count the colour of the first card has nothing to do with which row ends closer to 31.
Waiting instead of handing over half costs about the same. On the next deal your choice is as likely to be lost as paid, so waiting is close to an even chance between getting the whole bet back and losing all of it, which comes to half on average. What tips it one way or the other is another tie, and the catalogue does not say in full what happens to a blocked bet then.
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
A small price per deal is still a price on every deal, and the deals add up. Decide the money and the time at home, and leave when either runs out.
If the evening stops feeling like an evening out, self-exclusion and the regulator’s line are just below.
If it stops being fun
If gambling stops being fun, the SCJ self-exclusion applies in every casino in the country. Minimum entry age: 18 (age of majority under Law 19.221; Law 19.995 bars minors from gaming rooms). The casino may ask for an official ID. More on responsible gaming.
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Practice: read the rows, settle the bet
Level 1 shows both rows and asks which row’s bet is paid. Level 2 shows both rows and a bet of 10 units on one of the four places, and asks what happens to it. The 10 units is an example bet, not a suggested bet.
Nothing is bet here, and nothing is random. Each question is a set picture of cards, and the answer is worked out from the same rules as the rest of the page.
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NEGRO
ROJO
- NEGRO 40
- ROJO 31
Both rows are dealt. Which row’s bet is paid?
- NEGRO is paid Not here. ROJO has 31 and NEGRO 40: ROJO is closer to 31, so a bet on ROJO is paid and a bet on NEGRO is lost.
- ROJO is paid ROJO has 31 and NEGRO 40: ROJO is closer to 31, so a bet on ROJO is paid and a bet on NEGRO is lost.
- Neither: a neutral deal Not here. ROJO has 31 and NEGRO 40: ROJO is closer to 31, so a bet on ROJO is paid and a bet on NEGRO is lost.
- Both on 31: bets blocked Not here. ROJO has 31 and NEGRO 40: ROJO is closer to 31, so a bet on ROJO is paid and a bet on NEGRO is lost.
Each row is dealt until it reaches 31 or more, so every row ends between 31 and 40. The row closer to 31 is paid. Equal rows leave every bet standing, unless both rows are on 31: then the bets are blocked.
NEGRO
ROJO
- NEGRO 34
- ROJO 32
You have 10 units on COLOR. What happens to the bet?
- 10 units paid Not here. ROJO is closer to 31, and the first card is black: not the colour of the row that is paid, so INVERSO is paid and your bet on COLOR is lost.
- The bet is lost ROJO is closer to 31, and the first card is black: not the colour of the row that is paid, so INVERSO is paid and your bet on COLOR is lost.
- Nothing: the bet stands Not here. ROJO is closer to 31, and the first card is black: not the colour of the row that is paid, so INVERSO is paid and your bet on COLOR is lost.
- Blocked: 5 units lost Not here. ROJO is closer to 31, and the first card is black: not the colour of the row that is paid, so INVERSO is paid and your bet on COLOR is lost.
All four bets are paid one to one. NEGRO and ROJO follow the row closer to 31; COLOR is paid when the first card has the colour of the row that is paid, INVERSO when it has the other colour. A tie below 31 is neutral, and a tie on 31 blocks the bet and costs half of it.
Every question in the practice run is worked out the same way: the cards are put through the same rules as the rest of the page, and the answer comes out of that, not out of anybody’s memory.
How the practice run works
Where the questions come from. Every answer is worked out when the page is built, by the rules of the national catalogue: each row is checked to be dealt by the rule, and each bet is settled by it. The wrong answers are named mistakes: the higher total taken for the paid row, a tie below 31 taken for a loss, and a tie on 31 taken for a neutral deal. In every question the first cards of both rows have the same colour, so COLOR and INVERSO are settled the same way however “the first card” is read.
One strip, and no rounds. Every square on the strip is one question of this lesson, and all of the squares are there from the start. Your first answer fills the square it belongs to; when the squares of one level are full, the next level begins by itself. Practising a question you got wrong turns its cross into “fixed in practice” and does not change the count, because only first answers count.
Your progress stays in this browser, and nothing is sent anywhere.
Check yourself
Mayaformer floor supervisor · manners, money and breaks
Four quick ones. Pick an answer, then check it. No timer, no points: just whether it stuck.
Back to the question we opened with. They are betting on which of two rows ends closer to 31, or on the colour of the first card, all at one to one. The price of every one of those bets is the tie on 31.
Where to go next, and further reading
18+ across Chile · Play responsibly · help is further up this page
Further reading
- Catálogo de Juegos (Treinta y Cuarenta) · Superintendencia de Casinos de JuegoThe regulator’s rules for the table: the two rows, what the cards count, the four bets and the tie at 31.
- Funcionamiento de los juegos: Juegos de cartas · Superintendencia de Casinos de JuegoThe regulator’s plain-language page on card games, with Treinta y Cuarenta among them.
How it’s worked out
Rules, numbers, sources and hosts
Where the rules come from. Everything on this page follows section III.5 of the Catálogo de Juegos of the Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego, the national catalogue of the games a casino may run, in its March 2023 text, pages 156 to 162. The catalogue says which games a casino is allowed to run, not which tables a given casino has.
Numbers. Every row total is added up by our Treinta y Cuarenta engine from the card values of the catalogue. Every share and price is counted exactly over every way a row can be dealt to 31 or more, with both rows dealt the same way. Nothing here is typed in by hand.
What the count leaves out. Our count draws every card as if from a full shoe; with six to eight decks the cards already dealt change the shares a little, and we do not count that. The catalogue does not say what happens to a blocked bet when the next deal is a tie again, at 31 or below it, so waiting is not priced as a number. The 1% insurance against a second tie at 31 is not priced either: what it keeps is not spelled out in full. No document we could read prints how many deals an hour a table plays, so there is no price of an hour here.
Our readings. The catalogue opens the tie on 31 with the players losing 50% of their bets, and its first choice is to hand over the blocked half; we read that choice as losing half the bet, as the opening sentence says. COLOR and INVERSO are decided by la primera carta de la primera fila ganadora
, compared with the colour of the row that is paid; the price does not depend on which first card is meant, and every practice question is built so that the answer does not either.
Sources. Every rule on this page carries a button with the sentence it rests on, in the catalogue’s own Spanish, the publisher who wrote that sentence and the date we read it.
Hosts. Leo and Maya are illustrated characters. Their backstories, a former dealer and a former floor supervisor, are written for the course: neither is a real person, and neither speaks for any casino. The rules and numbers on this page come from the sources it cites, not from their experience.
No promise. Treinta y Cuarenta is played against a price. Nothing on this page changes which cards come out of the shoe, and nothing here says how an evening at the table would end.
Closest to 31
ROJO o NEGRO: gana la fila cuyas cartas tengan el valor más próximo a treinta y uno (31).Free translation: RED or BLACK: the row whose cards have the value closest to thirty-one (31) wins.
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
A neutral tie
Si la fila “NEGRO” y la fila “ROJO” obtuvieran un empate, exceptuando el empate en 31 puntos, la jugada será neutra y los jugadores podrán mantener, retirar o modificar sus apuestas.Free translation: If the "BLACK" row and the "RED" row tie, except for a tie at 31 points, the play will be neutral and players may keep, withdraw or change their bets.
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
The tie on 31
Si la fila “NEGRO” y la fila “ROJO” obtuvieran un empate en 31 puntos las apuestas quedan bloqueadas perdiendo los jugadores el 50% de éstas.Free translation: If the "BLACK" row and the "RED" row tie at 31 points, the bets are blocked and players lose 50% of them.
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
Handing over half
Entregar al croupier el 50% de su apuesta que se encuentra bloqueada, perdiendo la totalidad de lo apostado, oFree translation: Hand the dealer 50% of their blocked bet, losing that portion of the amount wagered, or
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
Waiting for the next deal
Esperar la siguiente jugada, donde su apuesta será librada si gana la opción que ha jugado. De no ganar la opción apostada, perderán el total de lo apostado.Free translation: Wait for the next play, in which their bet will be released if the option they played wins. If the option bet on does not win, they will lose the total amount wagered.
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
What each bet is paid
Las apuestas ganadoras en “ROJO” o “NEGRO”, recibirán una cantidad igual a la apostada (pagan 1 a 1). Las apuestas ganadoras en “COLOR” o “INVERSO” recibirán una cantidad igual a la apostada (pagan 1 a 1).Free translation: Winning bets on "RED" or "BLACK" will receive an amount equal to the amount bet (they pay 1 to 1). Winning bets on "COLOR" or "INVERSE" will receive an amount equal to the amount bet (they pay 1 to 1).
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
A game of the catalogue
Omaha Poker) War o Guerra, Treinta y Cuarenta.Free translation: Omaha Poker) War or Guerra, Treinta y Cuarenta.
Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego (SCJ) · Funcionamiento de los juegos: Juegos de cartas · read
Two rows
El Treinta y Cuarenta es un juego en que el croupier forma dos columnas de cartas, en una mesa separada en dos colores (negro y rojo)Free translation: Treinta y Cuarenta is a game in which the dealer forms two columns of cards, on a table divided into two colors (black and red)
Se usan de 6 a 8 barajas americanas de 52 cartas, todas las cuales deben tener el mismo dibujo en su reverso (filigrana).Free translation: From 6 to 8 American decks of 52 cards are used, all of which must have the same design on the back (filigree).
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
What each card counts
Para estos efectos se contarán: el As como uno (1), del dos (2) al diez (10) por su valor y figuras como diez (10).Free translation: For these purposes the cards are counted as follows: the Ace as one (1), from two (2) to ten (10) at their face value, and the face cards as ten (10).
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
An open table
La mesa está diseñada para un número indeterminado de jugadores los que podrán estar sentados o de pieFree translation: The table is designed for an unlimited number of players, who may be seated or standing
Cada mesa de juego debe ser atendida por un croupier principal y dos croupiers de apoyo (o pagadores)Free translation: Each gaming table must be staffed by one head dealer and two support dealers (or payers)
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
salvo en el caso del juego Treinta y Cuarenta, cuya mesa está diseñada para un número indeterminado de jugadoresFree translation: except in the case of the game Treinta y Cuarenta, whose table is designed for an unlimited number of players
Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego (SCJ) · Funcionamiento de los juegos: Juegos de cartas · read
Limits in the room
Los montos de las apuestas de cada juego deben ser informados en las salas de juego.Free translation: The bet amounts for each game must be posted in the gaming rooms.
Superintendencia de Casinos de Juego (SCJ) · Funcionamiento de los juegos: Juegos de cartas · read
Bets before the deal
Antes de que se distribuya carta alguna, los jugadores están obligados a hacer sus apuestas, colocando las fichas de dinero en los respectivos puntos de apuestas marcados en el paño.Free translation: Before any card is dealt, players are required to place their bets, putting their money chips on the respective betting spots marked on the cloth.
No puede realizar más apuestas, ni retirar, disminuir o aumentar su apuesta, una vez que el croupier ha dado inicio al pase.Free translation: A player may not place further bets, nor withdraw, reduce or increase their bet, once the dealer has started the deal.
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
The deal
El croupier de apoyo distribuirá obligatoriamente las cartas para la fila NEGRA, hasta que la cuenta de ésta sea igual o superior a 31. Luego se iniciará la distribución de cartas para la fila ROJA hasta que alcance o sobrepase los 31 puntos.Free translation: The support dealer shall deal the cards for the BLACK row, until its count is equal to or greater than 31. The dealing of cards for the RED row will then begin, until it reaches or exceeds 31 points.
el croupier principal anuncia en voz alta la puntuación de cada fila y las suertes ganadoras.Free translation: the head dealer announces aloud the score of each row and the winning outcomes.
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
Four bets
cubierta por un paño en el cual estarán demarcadas cuatro (4) casillas, dos de ellas de mayor tamaño, que corresponderán al “ROJO” y “NEGRO”, más otras dos casillas centrales que corresponderán a “COLOR” e “INVERSO”.Free translation: covered by a cloth on which four (4) boxes will be marked, two of them larger, corresponding to "RED" and "BLACK", plus two other central boxes corresponding to "COLOR" and "INVERSE".
tiene cuatro opciones para apostar que son: “ROJO”, “NEGRO”, “COLOR” e “INVERSO”, las cuales no son excluyentes.Free translation: has four betting options, which are: "RED", "BLACK", "COLOR" and "INVERSE", which are not mutually exclusive.
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
Closest to 31
ROJO o NEGRO: gana la fila cuyas cartas tengan el valor más próximo a treinta y uno (31).Free translation: RED or BLACK: the row whose cards have the value closest to thirty-one (31) wins.
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
Colour and inverse
Si la primera carta tiene el mismo color de la fila que ha ganado, “COLOR” gana e “INVERSO” pierde. Si la primera carta es de color diferente, “INVERSO” gana y “COLOR” pierde.Free translation: If the first card is the same color as the row that has won, "COLOR" wins and "INVERSE" loses. If the first card is of a different color, "INVERSE" wins and "COLOR" loses.
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
What each bet is paid
Las apuestas ganadoras en “ROJO” o “NEGRO”, recibirán una cantidad igual a la apostada (pagan 1 a 1). Las apuestas ganadoras en “COLOR” o “INVERSO” recibirán una cantidad igual a la apostada (pagan 1 a 1).Free translation: Winning bets on "RED" or "BLACK" will receive an amount equal to the amount bet (they pay 1 to 1). Winning bets on "COLOR" or "INVERSE" will receive an amount equal to the amount bet (they pay 1 to 1).
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
A neutral tie
Si la fila “NEGRO” y la fila “ROJO” obtuvieran un empate, exceptuando el empate en 31 puntos, la jugada será neutra y los jugadores podrán mantener, retirar o modificar sus apuestas.Free translation: If the "BLACK" row and the "RED" row tie, except for a tie at 31 points, the play will be neutral and players may keep, withdraw or change their bets.
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
The tie on 31
Si la fila “NEGRO” y la fila “ROJO” obtuvieran un empate en 31 puntos las apuestas quedan bloqueadas perdiendo los jugadores el 50% de éstas.Free translation: If the "BLACK" row and the "RED" row tie at 31 points, the bets are blocked and players lose 50% of them.
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
Handing over half
Entregar al croupier el 50% de su apuesta que se encuentra bloqueada, perdiendo la totalidad de lo apostado, oFree translation: Hand the dealer 50% of their blocked bet, losing that portion of the amount wagered, or
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
Waiting for the next deal
Esperar la siguiente jugada, donde su apuesta será librada si gana la opción que ha jugado. De no ganar la opción apostada, perderán el total de lo apostado.Free translation: Wait for the next play, in which their bet will be released if the option they played wins. If the option bet on does not win, they will lose the total amount wagered.
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)
Insurance at 1%
Además, los jugadores podrán asegurar sus apuestas pagando al croupier el equivalente al 1% de la apuesta bloqueada, ante la eventualidad de que la siguiente jugada sea un nuevo empate de 31Free translation: In addition, players may insure their bets by paying the dealer the equivalent of 1% of the blocked bet, in case the next play is a new tie at 31
Section III.5 Treinta y Cuarenta (págs. 156–162)