Have you heard about the 2Up game? Some have heard of it, and it's still played in areas today. You may have seen it being played on shows like Peaky Blinders or movies like The Sundowner. It's a game that goes back centuries. It takes very little equipment and can be played anywhere.
How 2Up is Played
The 2Up game is played with two coins, usually pennies, that have a bit of weight to them. The two coins are tossed in the air after players place their bet – heads or tails.
Players bet on how they think the coins will land. Will it be two face-up coins? Two face-down coins? Maybe, the coins will land so that one is face up and one is face down and a new toss is needed. The person tossing the coin bets against someone else in the crowd. Those in the crowd can bet against each other.
Coins are tossed higher than the person's head and must flip while in the air. Before they're tossed, they're placed on a wooden board and are both heads up. If those rules are not followed, the toss is deemed illegal and must be done again.
The odds in 2Up are usual 1 to 1 for heads or tails. Three correct bets in a row lead to odds of 15 to 2. Five odds in a row pays 28 to 1.
How Did Two-Up Originate?
No one is really sure. It's believed that the game came from a game called Pitch and Toss that was popular with the British. Pitch and Toss was a gambling game where a coin was tossed into the air and allowed to fall. People bet on how that coin would fall.
From there, it spread to other countries. There are accounts of it being a way Australian soldiers spent time when they weren't on the battlefields in WWI.
Terminology to Know Before You Play
There are some terms you should know before you play 2Up. First, the players that bet on the coins are called the “school.” The coins are tossed in the ring by a designated person who is called a spinner. The person that collects the bets never participates in the betting and is called a boxer.
When placing a bet, options are heads (face up) or tails (face down). If the coins land so that one is heads and one is tails, it's called “odds” and the coins are tossed again. When the boxer calls “come in spinner” all bets have been placed and the coin toss occurs.
Gather your friends and try the 2Up game. It's easy to play and often leads to great rewards. When you're not trying that game of chance out, you'll find games like Baccarat, Craps, and slots also require a bit of luck after you've made you bet. Have fun and give it a try.