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Anzac Day marks the anniversary of the first major military action fought by Australian and New Zealand forces during WWI.
April 25 is now a day of remembrance for the fallen and others who served - but why is 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.
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.
- 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.
Large crowds are expected to gather over a game of two-up on April 25 ever year. Here's where you can play ...
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 - from 3pm
- Coledale RSL - from 11.30am
- Corrimal RSL - from 1pm to 6pm
- Figtree Hotel - from noon
- Gerringong Bowlo - from 2pm
- Helensburgh Hotel - from noon
- Kiama Bowling Club - from 2pm to 6pm
- Mount Kembla Village Hotel - from noon
- Ryan's Hotel Thirroul - from 1pm to 4pm
- Scarborough Wombarra Bowlo - from 1pm
- The Bally Hotel - from noon
- The Oaks Hotel, Albion Park Rail - from 1pm
- The Shellharbour Club - from noon
- Towradgi Beach Hotel - from noon
- Wollongong City Diggers - from noon
- Warilla Hotel - from noon to 3pm
- Warilla Bowls and Recreation Club - from noon to 4pm
