Batta Maki [バッタまき] is a gambling game in which a group of players bet between two groups of cards, and the higher scoring group wins.
It was once the most popular form of gambling in the Kanto region of Japan, and is known as Honbiki [ホンビキ] in the west, and Atosaki [アトサキ] in the east. There seems to be a theory that Tehonbiki, another gambling game from the Kansai region of Japan, got introduced and took over its popularity as a gambling game.
Variants of this game also exist:
- Atosaki - if Batta Maki is used as a sub-game of Hana-awase.
- Koi-Koi no Atosaki - if Batta Maki is used as a sub-game of Koi-koi.
- Mutsu-wari - a variant of Batta Maki that uses only 40 cards.
- Hankan - a variant of Batta Maki that uses 45 cards and has 9 cards on the field per round.
- Shoniban - if Hankan is used as a sub-game of Tensho/Hon-biki.
- Takame - a variant of Batta Maki where players bet between two cards.
¶ Setup
Any number of players may play this game.
Game setup involves choosing a dealer - 親 [おや, oya] and shuffling the deck. Certain ground rules should also be agreed upon before play begins.
¶ Equipment
A standard 48-card hanafuda deck is used, with each month representing the numbers 1 to 12 using the standard month sequence.
There is also an option to use two standard hanafuda decks- one red and one black- mixed together to form a deck of 96 cards, to make the gameplay longer.
You must be familiar with the Hanafuda month sequence to play the game.
In addition to the deck, a collection of chips to represent points will be highly useful, assuming the game is played casually and not for actual gambling.
Using different colours of chips for each player will help with tracking bets.
¶ Choosing the Dealer
If the dealer represents an establishment- say, when playing at a casino or gambling parlour- then their role will obviously be fixed. If played only casually, then the dealer may be decided as follows.
To begin, each player draws a card from the deck. The player with the earliest month becomes the dealer, and the remaining players seat themselves on the other side of the table facing the dealer.
In the event of a tie, the players in question may either draw a second card and compare again, or use the card types to determine which one is more valuable.
¶ Gameplay
¶ Dealing the Cards
The dealer shuffles the deck, draws 3 cards from the top of the deck and places them in a stack face down near him/her. This first batch of 3 cards is called “Saki”.
Next, the dealer draws 3 more cards from the top of the deck and places them in a stack face down near the players. This 2nd batch of 3 cards is called “Ato”.
The dealer then arranges each stack into rows of 3 face-down cards, starting with the “Saki”.
Afterward, the dealer calls out “Ato or Saki? Choose one only!”, and the betting begins.
¶ Betting Round
Players then choose whether to place their wager on “Ato” or “Saki”.
Any limits regarding the amount in the players’ wagers has not been attested. House rules prevail.
If the total wagers placed on “Ato” and on “Saki” are not equal, then the dealer must entice the players to place an amount on the batch with the lower wager to equalize them.
It is the skill of the dealer as a representative of the gambling parlor to entice the players to place wagers such that the two batches’ wagers become as close to being equal as possible.
Once the players have already decided that they are done placing wagers, then the dealer places his/her own wager on the batch with the lower wager to make them exactly equal.
¶ Showdown
Once all betting has been done, the dealer then exposes all cards from the two batches.
The score of each batch is determined by adding the total month points of all 3 cards of the batch. Totals that go over 9 ‘wrap around’ by discarding the tens digit. So 10 is equivalent to 0, 11 is equivalent to 1, and so on, much like Baccarat.
The batch with a higher score is considered the winning batch.
- Players who bet on the winning batch wins 100% of the amount of the wager they placed.
If playing for money, then only 90% of the amount of the wager is won. (The remaining 10% is considered as “rental fee” [寺銭 - てらぜん, terazen] for the gambling parlor).
- Players who bet on the other batch loses their wager; it is taken by the dealer.
- The dealer’s bet goes back to the dealer, whether it is placed on the winning batch or not.
In case of a tie, then the either all bets are returned to their original holders, or the dealer takes all bets. It must be decided first before playing the game.
¶ Additional Rounds
The dealer keeps dealing cards from the deck for each additional round, and the game ends when the deck runs out of cards.
8 rounds are played in a standard hanafuda deck.
If two decks are used, the game can last for 16 rounds.
¶ Atosaki (Batta Maki variant)
It seems that the game of Batta Maki was also played by spectators at the start of every round of a Hana-awase game. In this case, the game is called Atosaki [アトサキ].
¶ Cards
The month sequence of the cards is standard, except that all 
November and 
December cards are counted as “10”.
¶ Setup
Set up a Hana-awase game like normal. Players playing the Hana-awase game do not participate in the game of Atosaki except for the dealer and the spectators watching the game.
¶ Gameplay
Dealer deals 4 cards to each player, and 3 cards on the field face down.This first batch of 3 cards is called “Saki”.
Next, the dealer deals another 3 cards to each player, and another 3 cards on the field face down.This second batch of 3 cards is called “Ato”.
Afterward, the dealer calls out “Ato or Saki? Choose one only!”, and the betting proceeds like in Batta Maki.
Once both “Ato” and “Saki” have equal bets, then proceed to showdown and determine the strength of each set like in Batta Maki.
Spectators who have bet on the winning set must take all the bets and split it between them.
In the case of a tie, one of the following methods may be used to determine the winning set:
- Draw 2 cards and place a drawn card on each of the sets to change their value. (These 2 cards are returned to the deck and shuffled afterward.)
- The card points based on the type of hanafuda cards are considered instead of the ones digit.
- The total month points is considered instead of just the ones digit.
- The pot is carried over to the next round of Atosaki.
Then the game of Hana-awase proceeds as normal.
¶ Koi-Koi no Atosaki (Batta Maki variant)
If the game of Batta Maki is played by spectators at the start of every round of Koi-Koi, the betting game is called Koi-Koi no Atosaki [こいこいのアトサキ].
The game is identical to Atosaki, except that each set of “Ato” or “Saki” consists of 4 cards instead of 3.
¶ Mutsu-wari (Batta Maki variant)
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Mutsu-wari [六ツ割 - むつわり, lit. “six pieces”] is a Batta Maki variant played in Hamamatsu City in Japan.
Its rules and setup are thought to be identical to Batta Maki or Atosaki, except that only 40 cards of the hanafuda deck (with all November and December cards removed) are used.
¶ Hankan (Batta Maki variant)
Hankan [半貫, lit. “half cash”] is a Batta Maki variant that uses the Nagoya sequence of months instead of the standard sequence. It is attested to be a popular gambling game in the Chūkyō region of Japan.
The name comes from the fact that you only win half the amount you have bet. (The other half goes to the dealer as a “rental fee” [寺銭 - てらぜん, terazen] for the gambling parlor.)
The major difference between this game and Batta Maki is that 3 sets of 3 cards are placed on the table instead of just 2 sets; however, players only choose to bet between the last two sets only.
Another Batta Maki variant is closely related to this game: Shoniban.
¶ Cards
The same cards used in Tensho or Hon-bana are used: 45 cards of a hanafuda deck, with all 3 Paulownia Chaffs removed.
The values of the cards correspond to the Nagoya sequence of months, except that all 
November and 
December cards are counted as “10”.
¶ Setup
Any number of players may play this game.
Game setup involves choosing a dealer - 親 [おや, oya] and shuffling the deck. Certain ground rules should also be agreed upon before play begins.
¶ Gameplay
Dealer deals 3 cards on the field face up. The first row is called “Shi-e” [初絵], and will not be used in the game, but can be seen by the players as reference.
Next, the dealer deals 2 face-down rows of 3 cards each. The second and third rows are called “Naka-e” [中絵] and “Oto-e” [乙絵] respectively.
Players will then choose whether to bet on “Naka-e” or “Oto-e”.
Once players have finished betting, then proceed to showdown: The two sets are revealed to the players, and the strength of each set is determined as described below.
Since the payout is not as big as in Batta Maki, it is not required to equalize the bets between the two sets before proceeding with the showdown. However, the dealer may need to encourage players to bet on the other set if one set has much more bets than the other.
Players who have bet on the winning set wins 50% of the amount that they have bet.
The game is played for 5 rounds; afterward, the game ends.
¶ Strength of a Set
- Arashi (Triplet) - 3 cards of any month. This is the strongest set.
- Tsuke (2, 2, 1) - consists of 2 Willows and a
Pine. - Ones digit of sum - Take the ones digit of the sum of the month numbers, like in Oicho-Kabu. 9 is strongest; 0 is weakest.
If the two sets are tied, then the set with the highest amount of card points is declared the winning set.
¶ Shoniban (Batta Maki variant)
Shoniban [初二番 - しょにばん, lit. “first two numbers”] is a Batta Maki variant that uses the Nagoya sequence of months instead of the standard sequence.
It is closely related to the game Hankan; however, just like Atosaki, this betting game is played at the start of every round of a Hana-awase type game, specifically the games Tensho and Hon-bana, which explains why the game uses the Nagoya month sequence.
¶ Cards
The same cards used in Tensho or Hon-bana are used: 45 cards of a hanafuda deck, with all 3 Paulownia Chaffs removed.
The values of the cards correspond to the Nagoya sequence of months, except that all November and December cards are counted as “10”.
¶ Setup
Set up a Tensho/Hon-bana game like normal. Players playing Tensho/Hon-bana do not participate in the game of Shoniban except for the dealer and the spectators watching the game.
¶ Gameplay
Dealer deals cards like they normally would in Tensho/Hon-bana, except that the 9 normally face up cards are now face down.
These 9 cards are divided into 3 rows of 3 cards each:
- The first row is called “Shi-e” [初絵], and will not be used in the game of Shoniban.
- The second and third rows are called “Naka-e” [中絵] and “Oto-e” [乙絵] respectively. The spectators will choose whether to bet on “Naka-e” or “Oto-e”.
Once both “Naka-e” and “Oto-e” have equal bets, then proceed to showdown and determine the strength of each set as described below.
Spectators who have bet on the winning set must take all the bets and split it between them.
¶ Strength of a Set
- Arashi (Triplet) - 3 cards of any month. This is the strongest set.
- Tsuke (2, 2, 1) - consists of 2 Willows and a Pine.
- Ones digit of sum - Take the ones digit of the sum of the month numbers, like in Oicho-Kabu. 9 is strongest; 0 is weakest.
If the two sets are tied, then the set with the highest amount of card points is declared the winning set.
Once a round of Shoniban is finished, then the game of Tensho/Hon-bana proceeds as normal.
¶ Bibliography
- https://www.h-eba.com/heba/gamble/main09.html
- Takeshi Ichinose, “Atarashii Hanafuda Nyuumon”