Monte was played with a 40 card deck, the 8's, 9's and 10's were stripped out.

The cards were shuffled and cut.  The Dealer would pull the bottom two cards and places them face-up. This was known as the bottom layout.

Next the Dealer would pull the top two cards and spreads them face-up, making the top layout.

Players chose which layout to bet, top or bottom, and makes their bets.

Once bets were placed, the Dealer would turn the deck face-up. Top card showing is known as the,"Gate"

Players win if the "Gate" is of the same suit of either card in the layout they chose.  

Monte was a Spanish game and known by various names; Mountebank, Monte Bank and Spanish Monte. It should not be confused with "Three Card Monte", which is a shell game, not a card game but sometimes cards were used in place of shells.

This game was played extensively in the American Southwest, and was extremely popular with the Mexican and Indian populations. It remained a popular gambling house game throughout the 19th Century.