Two-up is a time-honoured Australian game, which involves a ‘Spinner’ tossing two coins in the air. Usually, the coins are pennies because the weight and design makes them ideally suited for the game. They are stable and effortless to toss in the air. The pennies of pre-1939 have a head on the front side and writings on the backside, making it easy to see the result.
The Two-Up gameplay involves wagering whether the coins will come out both heads or both tails or a head and a tail. Two-Up history tells us that the game is usually played on ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) day in pubs all around Australia.
The exact Two-Up history is quite unclear. It is likely to have evolved from a game of pitch and toss. Pitch and toss is gambling game that involves throwing a single coin in the air. Players wager on the result of the thrown coin. The Two-Up gameplay is simple enough that the poorer Irish and English folks in the 18th century easily took it up. The game was quite popular to convicts as early as 1798. During the 1850s, the two-coin variant of pitch and toss was being played at the Eastern colonies. The game quickly spread across the country following the gold rush.
According to Two-Up history, soldiers during the first World War played Two-Up extensively thus becoming a regular part of ANZAC Day celebrations for returning soldiers.
The celebrated Thommo’s Two-up School, operated at different locations in Sydney, Australia from early 20th century up to 1979. It was Australia’s very first illegal gambling operations. The Two-Up gameplay popularity steadily declined from 1950 with the emergence of more stylish forms of gambling e.g. Baccarat. Based on Two-Up history, the rise of other forms of gambling in casinos like slot machines overshadowed Two-Up.
According to Two-Up history, the games legalization started with its introduction at the Hobart casino in 1973. The game is also legal on ANZAC day, when played in RSL (Returned Servicemen’s Leagues) clubs and hotels.
Here are some Two-Up gameplay terminologies:
The spinner is the individual who tosses the coin in the air. Each individual in a group takes turn at being the spinner. The boxer is the person in charge of managing the betting, he does not participate in the actual betting. The ringkeeper or ringy is the individual who guards the coin after each throw to avoid interference. The kip is a block of wood on which the coin is laid down before being thrown. One of the coin is laid down heads and the other tail. Odds is the Two-Up gameplay term used when one of the coin lands heads and the other tail. Come in Spinner is the signal shouted out by the boxer to indicate all the bets are in and the coin is ready to be thrown. Cockatoo is the name of the lookout back in the days when the Two-Up gameplay was illegal.
The Two-Up gameplay begins with the selection of a spinner. The spinner then tosses the coins up in the air until an outcome is resolved. The spinner wins when two-heads are the outcome. He loses when the outcome is two tails. On an Odds result, the spinner tosses again. The spinner places a bet that must be covered by another player. The boxer takes a commission on the wagers, while the other players places side bets on the result of the toss.
This article was written by Alexis.