baccarat

Baccarat is an Italian word meaning “Zero” in English and French too, so there are a lot many controversies about the origin. Whoever might be the inventor but the game is one of the oldest games being played in any casino. It is also said that the game was first originated by an Italian gambler Felix Falguierein and was first played with the deck of Tarot cards.
There is a myth attached to the game that it is based on the Etruscan ritual where a virgin threw nine sided dice and if the dice had eight or nine then she won, and became a priestess, if it came six or seven, she had to live but could not roll the dice ever again. However anything less than six meant she had lost the game and therefore, had to walk down the sea and drown herself.
The game was introduced in France during 1490 AD and was French pride till the time it came down to casinos. It was the game of nobles and was considered illegal in the earlier stages and was played secretly. Later the game was made legal by the legislation, however, was taxed and its proceeds were used for the development of the poor. Later at the time of Napoleon and Louis- Phillipe it again remained banned, and it when got legal again in France, it suddenly grew popular and casinos were built all over France. People all over France tried their best to learn the game. During early 20th century a team named Greek Syndicate, led by Nico Zographos, worked towards making themselves the greatest gambling team of all times. This group made around five million dollars as they counted cards and read body language. In France, the game was called Chemin de Fer meaning “railroad’ and is still know this way in France and Spain.
While baccarat was under dark covers in France, it was gaining popularity in England. The game gained more popularity when the playing partner of Queen Victoria’s son was caught in baccarat troubles. The game was popular all over the country and people started playing mostly for fun though some played just for money too. As Baccarat was growing popular, it reached America in the 20th century. Fashionable settings, dress codes and much was done in America to attract people towards the game. Gradually people started getting attracted and now baccarat was popular in America too.
Later mini-baccarat was introduced so that the people could play in the main casino area on the table exactly like that of Blackjack. Whatever the history of baccarat, there is no doubt that it is amongst the most played games in the casino. Baccarat has also grown popular online and one can easily trace the different variations in the game till now.