AMONG the commemorations, dawn services and gunfire breakfasts, an age-old coin game will take place this Anzac Day.

Two-up will be played across the country in selected RSLs tomorrow where an exception has been made to the law (the game is illegal to play otherwise). 

Creswick-Smeaton RSL assistant secretary Blue McGuinness will serve as the ‘ringer’ at the two-up game to be held at the Farmers Arms Hotel in Creswick.

Two-up is a coin game whereby a nominated ‘spinner’ throws two coins in the air above head height. Players gamble on whether both coins will land heads or tails up. 

A ringer oversees the game and ensures players are paid accordingly.

“The spinner gets three throws. If he throws three odds, he’s out. If he gets two of what he wants, then he is free to continue. Then the crowd gets involved and you do immediate bets with the bloke next to you,” Mr McGuinness said.

“It’s a commemoration of those who have sacrificed their life in service of our country.” 

Mr McGuinness said there was much speculation abouyt the origins of the game but he believed it began on the goldfields and then later Australian diggers played the game on deployment.

“It was just guys finding a way to gamble and it is an easy game to play. The Australians were the best paid soldiers in the Empire – six shillings a day,” he said.

Buninyong, Ballan and Sebastopol RSL clubs will not host two-up.