What is two-up?
Two-up is a traditional Australian gambling game in which players bet on how two coins will land when tossed into the air. It is famously played on Anzac Day, when it is legal in pubs and clubs in most states.
In two-up, a person called the spinner tosses two coins from a flat wooden paddle called a kip. Players bet on whether both coins will land heads up, both tails up, or one of each.
If one coin lands heads and the other tails, called odds, the coins are tossed again. The person running the game is called the boxer, and the ring where the game is played is called the ring or the school.
Links to the Anzacs
Two-up was popular among Australian soldiers during World War I, who played it in the trenches and camps. Because of this, it became connected with Anzac Day traditions.
Gambling on two-up is generally illegal outside licensed casinos, but it is allowed on Anzac Day in most states as a way to honor the tradition. Pubs and RSL clubs hold games after the dawn services and marches.
Two-up is also played year-round at some casinos, and at the historic two-up school in Kalgoorlie. Many Australians play it just once a year, on 25 April.