The History of Baccarat
The origin of Baccarat is unknown yet, and many European countries insist on the original belonging of this game to this or that state, it is more often France or Italy. Really, it is quite difficult to follow the source of the origin of this ancient game as its varieties exist in many countries: in Spain the similar game is called Punto Banco, in France – “chemin de fer” (a railway), in other countries it is the Nine or Macao.
According to a well-known version of its origin, this game was invented by an Italian Felix Falguere. If translated from Italian, Baccarat stands for “zero”. It is connected with the fact that the value of cards from ten up to pictures makes zero in this game. They first played Baccarat in ancient times using Tarot. Later, in 1490 this game appeared in France and remained the main way of the aristocracy’s entertainment for a long time. Baccarat was played exceptionally by the highest strata of the aristocratic society. It was later that Baccarat was presented in casinos.
According to the legend, Falguere invented the game basing on Etruscan (Etruscans were ancient tribes inhabited the north-west of peninsula Appeninsky, ancient Etruria, modern Tuscany in the first millennium B.C.) ritual of worship nine gods when a throw of a nine-side die determined the virgins’ destiny. If the numbers 8 or 9 fell to a young girl, she became a priestess, if the numbers were 6 or 7 she was forbidden to take part in any religious rites. If she threw a number less than 6, she had to drown in the sea. The scheme of the game has retained up to the present days, only stakes have become less dramatic.
As to the American version of Baccarat, it was brought from England and spread throughout South America in the late 50-s of the twentieth century. They say, Tommy Rencony presented this game in America and at that time it existed in two variants – the European Baccarat and the French “chemin de fer”.
Through all its history Baccarat was a symbol of belonging to aristocracy and the favorite amusement of high-rollers. Up to nowadays, Baccarat has been associated with high stakes and rich punters sitting at separate tables in VIP-zones of the casino and unbosoming themselves of thousands of dollars for a game. Such a reputation of the game scared away average players, however, nowadays the situation has changed. Many people have really estimated Baccarat at its true worth – its simplicity and a small advantage of the casino.
In American casinos, gaming tables for Mini-Baccarat are very popular. Mini-Baccarat differs from the standard game in the fact that cards are dealt round by the dealer while the player has no right to touch them. Moreover, stakes in Mini-Baccarat are much lower. One can even see gaming tables with the minimum stake of 5$. There’s no doubt, the simpler game rules and low bets have become the main factor of the popularization of the game in the USA.