or Basette, a game with cards, said to have been invented by a noble Venetian, for which he was banished. It was first introduced in France by Signior Justiniani, ambassador of Venice, in 1674. Severe laws were made against it by Louis XIV. to elude which they disguised basset under the name of pour et contre, that is, "for and against," which occasioned new arrêts and prohibitions of parliament. The parties concerned in it are, a dealer or banker; his assistant, who supervises the loosing cards; and the punter, or any one who plays against the banker.

Besides these, there are other terms used in this game: as, 1. The faffe or face, which is the first card turned up by the tailleur belonging to the pack, by which he gains the value of half the money laid down on every card of that fort by the punters. 2. The couch, or first money which every punter puts on each card; each person that plays having a book of 13 several cards before him, on which he may lay his money, more or less, at discretion. 3. The paroli; which is, when a punter having won the first stake, and having a mind to pursue his good fortune, crooks the corner of his card, and lets his prize lie, aiming at a sept et le va. 4. The masse; when having won the first stake, the punter is willing to venture more money on the same card. 5. The pay; when the punter having won the first stake, be it a shilling, half crown, guinea, or whatever he laid down on his card, and not caring to hazard the paroli, leaves off, or goes the pay; in which case, if the card turns up wrong, he loses nothing, having won the couch before; whereas, if it turn right, he by this adventure wons double the money staked. 6. The alpiew; much the same with paroli, and used when a couch is won by turning up or crooking the corner of the winning card. 7. Sept et le va, the first great chance or prize, when the punter, having won the couch, makes a paroli, and goes on to a second chance; so that if his winning card turns up again, it comes to sept et le va, which is seven times as much as he laid down on his card. 8. Quinze et le va is the next higher prize, when the punter having won the former is resolved to push his fortune, and lay his money a second time on the same card by crooking another corner; in which case, if it comes up, he wins fifteen times the money he laid down. 9. Trent et le va is the next higher prize, when the punter, crooking the fourth corner of his winning card, if it turn up, wins 33 times the money he first staked. 10. Soixant et le va is the highest prize, and entitles the winner to 67 times his first money; which, if it were considerable, stands a chance to break the bank; but the bank stands many chances first of breaking the punter. This cannot be won but by the tailleur's dealing the cards over again.

The rules of the game of basset are as follow: 1. The banker holds a pack of 52 cards, and having shuffled them, he turns the whole pack at once, so as to discover the last card; after which he lays down all the cards by couples. 2. The punter has his book of 13 cards in his hand, from the king to the ace; out of these he takes one card, or more at pleasure, upon which he lays a stake. 3. The punter may, at his choice, either lay down his stake before the pack is turned, or immediately after it is turned, or after any number of couples are drawn. 4. Supposing the punter to lay down his stake after the pack is turned, and calling 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, &c. the places of those cards which follow the card in view, either immediately after the pack is turned, or after any number of couples are drawn. Then, 5. If the card upon which the punter has laid a stake comes out in any even place, except the first, he wins a stake equal to his own. 6. If the card upon which the punter has laid a stake comes out in any even place, except the second, he loes his stake. 7. If the card of the punter comes out in the first place, he neither wins nor loes, but takes his own stake again. 8. If the card of the punter comes out in the second place, he does not lose his whole stake, but only half; and this is the case in which the punter is said to be faced. 9. When the punter chooses to come in after any number of couples are down, if his card happens to be but once in the pack, and is the last of all, there is an exception from the general rule; for though it comes out in an odd place, which should entitle him to win a stake equal to his own, yet he neither wins nor loes from that circumstance, but takes back his own stake.

This game has been the object of mathematical calculations. M. de Moivre solves this problem; to estimate at basset the los of the punter under any circumstance of cards remaining in the stock when he lays his stake, and of any number of times that his card is repeated in the stock. From this solution he has formed a table showing the several losses of the punter in whatever circumstances he may happen to be. From this table it appears, 1. That the fewer the cards are in the stock, the greater is the los of the punter. 2. That the least los of the punter, under the same circumstances of cards remaining in the stock, is when the card is but twice in it; the next greater when but three times; still greater when four times; and the greatest when but once. The gain of the banker upon all the money adventured at basset is 15s. 3d. per cent.

Basset, Peter, a gentleman of good family, was chamberlain or gentleman of the privy chamber to King Henry V. a constant attendant on that brave prince, and an eye-witness of his most glorious actions both at home and abroad; all which he particularly described in a volume, entitled, The Acts of King Henry V. which remains in MS. in the college of heralds.