So popular was the game that players continued to play it illegally even after Louis Phillip banned casinos in 1837.

The French played two versions of the game: 'chemin de fer' and 'baccarat en banque' (also called 'baccarat deux tableux'). The French nobility embraced it with gusto, and baccarat became a favorite game of King Charles VIII and his court. Indeed, it remains a game that is particularly popular with high rollers, even now.įrom Italy, baccarat spread to France, most likely thanks to soldiers bringing it back with them from the Italian conflicts of the 1490s. Not only could players wager against the house, but they could also bet against each other.īaccarat became popular in Italy among wealthy players. There were four different dealers, with each player having a chance to be the banker. The earliest likely version of baccarat was less simple than the modern-day game. 'Baccara' is Italian for 'zero', in reference to the fact that tens, jacks, queens and kings all have zero value (though the French spelling, 'baccarat', was the one that the world embraced). An Italian named Felix Falguiere, or Falguierein, is usually credited with creating the game back in the 1400s. While the precise origins of card playing in Europe are lost to the sands of time, the history of baccarat is more well known. Further cards are drawn depending on those that have been dealt, with the winner being the hand that adds up closest to nine (ten, jack, queen and king all count as zero in this game). Once the player has placed their bet, the dealer draws four cards - two for the player and two for the banker. Players have to do little more than decide whether to wager (and how much to wager) on the player's hand, the banker's hand or a tie. It already accounts for 18% of the total casino wins along the entire Las Vegas strip, and industry professionals are expecting this to continue to rise.īaccarat is one of the simplest casino games to play. Forbes describes it as 'the number one casino game in the world', reporting that, in 2017, the 40 casinos in Macau made $33.2 billion - and a staggering 88% of that came from baccarat.īaccarat is now taking off in the US. It has a fascinating history, having spread from Europe to Asia and most recently to the US.īefore we delve into the history of baccarat, it's important to put the game in context. Baccarat: The History of the Worldâ€™s Biggest Card Gameīaccarat: The History of the World's Biggest Card Gameīaccarat is the world's biggest card game.

French card game casino