The History of
Baccarat
There are many people who claim to
know the history of baccarat but with so many different versions about
its origins, one can only guess where this game, which has now become
so very popular, actually originated from.
Legend has it that the game of
baccarat began with the ancient Roman Etruscans in Italy. Evidently
they had a ritual whereby nine gods would pray for a blond virgin
while she threw a nine-studded die to decide her fate. If the virgin
threw a five or less she would be required to walk into the sea and
drown. If she threw a six or seven it meant she would be allowed to
live and would not be required to throw the die again. However, if
she threw an eight or a nine, then she was promoted to priestess.
Eventually, playing cards, which are
the tools which one needs in order to play baccarat, were brought back
with the Crusaders in the 14th century. However, until
Johann Gutenberg printed the first Bible, and also playing cards,
which later became the first tarot deck, it was the Church’s opinion
that playing cards were the incarnation of all evil.
The tarot deck had four suits, each
representing a class of society. Swords later became spades and
represented nobility. King David was the first King of Spades. The
merchant class was represented by coins, which later became
diamonds. Julius Caesar was the first King of Diamonds.
Cloverleaves were originally clubs and are still called by the name of
clubs, which represented the serfs. Alexander the Great was the first
King of Clubs. Cups, which represented the Church, later became
hearts. Charlemagne was the first King of Hearts.
Felix Falguiere revived the game of
baccarat in Italy in the 1480s from a deck of tarot cards. He took
the ancient Etruscan ritual and transformed it into a wagering game
which he called baccarat which was a Venetian slang term for zero –
zero being the value point that most cards hold.
Although some claim that baccarat was
invented by the French it would appear that baccarat was introduced to
the French by the Italians in the 1500s. Baccarat was very popular
with the French nobility of the time. They renamed baccarat Chemin
de Fer (which is French for railroad) during this time period. The
game required four players, each taking turns to be the banker. They
also introduced new terms to the game, namely “banco”, which meant
that the players bet on the total of the bank’s funds’ “cheval” which
meant that other players could bet on either hand; “non” which meant
the player chose to stand and finally “carte” when the player would
request another card.
Until legislation was passed which
began taxing baccarat and some of the proceedings given to the poor,
baccarat was illegal and the nobility played the game in secret.
Thereafter, baccarat was very popular as it now became an act of
charity. However, when Napoleon came to power at the end of the
1700s he frowned upon the game, even though he did not make it
illegal. Once baccarat lost its social acceptability it was no
longer a popular game. Baccarat and other forms of gambling were
outlawed when Louis Philippe took control 1830 and they continued to
be illegal until 1907.
In the mid 1900s baccarat found its
way from Europe to South American and then to the United States of
America. Surprisingly, it did not become as popular there as it did
in Europe. It was in Cuba that a few rule changes were made and it
became known as Punto Banco (American Baccarat). Whereas the European
version of the game allowed players to bet against each other and the
house took a percentage, in the American form all players were able to
bet against the house. A junior manager at the Capri Hotel Casino in
Havana decided to try his luck and moved the popularity of baccarat
away from Cuba towards Nevada where the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas
introduced the game by setting up a baccarat pit which included all
the fanfare that a normal baccarat playing area consisted of. The
area was then roped off. It is believed that the Sands Casino lost
$250,000 in the first night of play.
In the 1920s baccarat once again
became legal in France with bettors trying to crack the casinos. One
group of bettors, known as the Greek Syndicate succeeded in breaking
casinos’ banks across France. By reading body language and counting
cards they made over $5 in gambling loot.
In the 1950s and 1960s American
gamblers preferred informal games to baccarat which had a very formal
image. The casinos therefore invented mini-baccarat which could be
played on a table similar in size to a blackjack table making it far
less intimidating.
When baccarat was introduced to the
online casino scene, it became very popular. Now every player who has
access to an online casino can play this game which was previously out
of their reach due to the elegant dress code and exclusivity which was
attached to the game of baccarat in land casinos.
Help write the next chapter in
baccarat’s history and join the millions of people who are enjoying
discovering baccarat online. |
