Baccarat is one of the most popular casino games. It ranks among the top four, together with blackjack, roulette, and slots in both brick-and-mortar and online casinos. In Macau, for example, 80% of the revenues of the casinos come from baccarat. The game dominates in the casinos of Singapore as well. If you have seen the James Bond movie Casino Royale, you may remember Bond playing baccarat with the villain Le Chiffre. One reason for its popularity is the easy gameplay. Also, you don’t need a strategy to win, which is good for beginners.
The game goes back a long time too. Its origins are debated but many historians believe that baccarat comes from Medieval Italy. It was invented in Rome during the 1500s for the aristocrats and the upper class. They used to play with tarot cards, though. A gambler Felix Falguiere named it ‘baccara’ which means ‘zero’ in Italian, in reference to the card values in the game. In baccarat, jacks, kings, queens, and tens, all have a worth of zero.
However, the original Italian game was different than how it is played now. Four different dealers used to deal the cards. Each player could be the banker and the players were able to place their bets against the others and also the house. Now, there is just one dealer. The bets are placed against the house, which serves as the banker.
The Chinese Influence
Researchers at the University of Nevada’s Center of Gaming Research, however, feel that the game might have been influenced by the Pai Gow of China. This game was popular during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 BCE.). Pai Gow, which means ‘make nine’, used to be played with tiles instead of cards. Nine is the best score you can get in baccarat, which is why these researchers feel that Pai Gow could very well be baccarat’s earliest version.
The Spread of Baccarat
The game quickly spread to other areas. It went to France where the word ‘Baccarat’ that is popular now, was first used. Its quick popularity in the country can be attributed to King Charles VIII, who loved the game. The king played the game in his court with the French nobles and visiting dignitaries. Of course, it took many centuries for the game to achieve popularity among the masses and make it to online casinos. These days, you can play the game at traditional casinos and also play baccarat casino online at many websites.
The French people also invented Chemmy or ‘Chemin de Fer’ in the 19th century. It was a popular version of baccarat and a quicker version of the game. It is still played in the country. To this day, there are several versions of baccarat around the world. For example, ‘Punto Banco’, which is one of the simplest forms, is popular in Australia, Canada, and the US. To this day, this remains one of the easiest versions of baccarat.
The game reached the United States sometime in the 19th century and it became a hit quickly as the game did not require any strategy. Players wanting to test their luck tried playing baccarat.
Punto Banco
This version too is slightly different. Here, the players play only against the house and not against the others. The house is the bank. This version came to be known as ‘American Baccarat’. This card game entered the casino world when Tommy Renzoni introduced baccarat to the Sands Casino of Las Vegas in the late 1950s and later it was introduced into many other casinos. However, it did not become popular at the casinos immediately as most players used to favor the slots and roulette.
So, the casino owners offered the game only to their choicest customers and had special rooms with posh leather chairs for baccarat. The minimum bets were placed high. This attracted many more players.
Early Version vs. Modern Baccarat
The origin of baccarat is still disputed. There are many stories on how baccarat used to be played. Some people even feel that it used to be a game of life and death. A player could be given the death sentence if a card lower than 6 was drawn. Some historians feel that Felix Falguiere developed the game from an Etruscan legend.
According to old Etruscan Roman mythology, Rome was a virgin woman with golden hair. She had to throw a 9 sided dice and the result of her throw determined her fate. She would become a priestess if she threw an 8 or 9. She could live with 6 or 7 but would have to walk to the sea and drown with a throw less than 6. Interestingly, the modern-day card assignments are similar. You will lose if you draw less than 6.
Others believe the early version in Italy was played with tarot cards. In some versions, these two stories are combined.
Whichever version you believe, the game was certainly more complex than the versions that are played now both in online and offline casinos.
The online version is extremely popular now as almost every casino website offers baccarat to its players. There are some differences but the elements of the game popular with the players are all retained. The cards are dealt randomly. They are shown graphically on the screen. The table layout is marked clearly. The classic baccarat game is popular at offline casinos too.
