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Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during WWI and is a day of remembrance for the fallen and others that served - but why is the gambling game two-up a prominent fixture?
The game was brought over to Australia by the English and Irish, originally called pitch and toss. It was a popular pastime with soldiers during WWI.
In 1918 the war correspondent Charles Bean studied the daily life of a group of Australian soldiers stationed at a brewery in Querrieu in northern France and made the following observation in his diary. He places great emphasis on two-up, writing in his diary in 1918:
"Two-up' is the universal pastime of the men. ... It is a game which starts in any quarter of an hour's interval or lasts the whole afternoon," Bean wrote.
"The side road outside becomes every evening a perfect country fair with groups playing these games in it - a big crowd of 70 or 80 at the bottom the street, in the middle of the road; a smaller crowd of perhaps twenty on a doorstep further up. ... The game is supposed to be illegal, I think; but at any rate in this company they wink at it."
Large crowds are expected to gather over a game of two-up, celebrating true Aussie spirit and mateship at pubs and clubs across the Illawarra.
Two-up is a time honoured Australian tradition, operations manager of Club Bega Kyle Bourke told Australian Community Media.
April 25 is the only day of the year you are able to run two-up legally in Australia.
"Anzac Day is a national day that should be viewed as a solemn thing. It is a day to do what is Australian but to remember the fallen," Mr Bourke said.
"We encourage people to drink responsibly and to take on the right message of the day."
For those who look forward to the game, here is everything you need to know.
Definitions
Head the side of the penny opposite to that marked with a white cross.
Heads the two pennies lying on the floor of the ring with the head side uppermost on each.
Kip the wooden bat from which the pennies are thrown.
Ring the area inside boundaries drawn or identified on the Two-Up premises by the ringkeeper.
Boxer/Ringkeeper the person who controls the spinner and the conduct of the game.
Spinner the player who has elected to spin the pennies and has entered the centre of the ring.
Tail the side of the penny marked with a white cross
Tails the two pennies lying on the floor of the ring with the tail side uppermost on each.
Source: NSW liquor & gaming website.
Two-up explained
Traditionally, the game is played with two coins. To create a game that is faster some venues choose to use three coins which gets a result almost every time, according to Simon Owens of Club Bega.
- The "spinner" tosses two or three coins into the air from a special wooden paddle called a "kip."
- Players bet on whether the coins will land with both heads up, both tails up, or one head and one tail up. This is called "betting on the odds" (both heads or both tails) or "betting on the evens" (one head and one tail).
- If the coins land in the ring and both show the same result (both heads or both tails), the spinner wins and takes all the bets.
- If the coins land in the ring and show different results (one head and one tail), the spinner loses and the bets go to the players who bet on the opposite result.
- If the coins land outside the ring, or if they land in the ring but one or both coins fall out of the ring, the toss is considered a "no throw" and is repeated.
- The game continues with each player taking a turn at spinning the coins.
As far as bets go outside the ring, Mr Owens said generally people have a following and choose to back heads all day or tails all day. Some change it up, but traditionally you choose to bet either heads or tails for the day.
It is recommended to start your bets off small, Mr Owens suggests to save around $40 on the day and to begin with $5 bets.
Mostly bets played on the day are between $5-20. Occasionally you will have people wanting to place larger bets of $50 but that is quite rare.
"I wouldn't recommend going in and putting all your money on the first spin. You want to have a few goes because that coin toss is over quite quickly," he said.
"If you have enough to cover 10 losses you should be there for a while, you might make a bit of money unless you get a really bad run."
The atmosphere is described as intense but a tonne of fun. There are usually plenty of experienced punters there on the day to help answer any questions.
WHERE TO FIND TWO-UP*:
*Here are some places offering two-up games on Anzac Day - there may be others also.
- Albion Park RSL, from 1pm
- Central Hotel Shellharbour, in the function room from 11am to 3pm.
- Coledale RSL, from 11.30am
- Corrimal RSL, in the Jaffa Bistro from 1pm to 6pm.
- Figtree Hotel, from 12pm
- Gerringong Bowlo, in the Barefoot Bar from 2pm
- Helensburgh Hotel, in the outdoor beer garden from 12pm.
- Kiama Bowling Club, from 2pm to 6pm.
- Mount Kembla Village Hotel, open from 10am with two-up.
- Ryan's Hotel in Thirroul, from 1pm to 4pm.
- Scarborough Wombarra Bowlo, from 12pm until late.
- Towradgi Beach Hotel, from 12pm
- The Oaks Hotel, Albion Park Rail, from 12pm to 4pm.
- Wollongong City Diggers, in the Owen Room from 12pm.
- Warilla Hotel, from 12pm to 6pm.
- Warilla Club Cenotaph, from 12pm
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