Baccarat is a game of cards that is very popular among a lot of casinos in the world. There are many variants of this game that gamblers love to play. But this game, like a lot of other casino games, has a history that goes very far back in time. It is also called Bond’s game because the famous fictional agent James Bond played it on many of his adventures. But did you ever wonder where it all began? Well, we are here today to look into the history of Baccarat and learn about it together.
It Began in Italy
People believe that even though the name of the game is French, it actually began in Italy. But there is some doubt about this. Many believe that a predecessor of the game existed in the 900-800 BC Etruscan or present-day Tuscany. They had some rituals that had some elements of the modern game. But the more popular theory is that an Italian man named Felix Falguierein first invented this game in the 15th Century. He was a tarot enthusiast who used the Etruscan process and his tarot cards to first play it. In both Italian and French, the meaning of the name of the game is ‘zero’ because the value of all tens and the face cards in this game is zero. Even though it was first popular amongst the aristocrats of 15th Century Italy, the game became so popular in the neighboring country of France that the French spelling of ‘Baccarat’ became the norm.
And it is now undoubtedly one of the most popular games in casinos across the world.
Baccarat Now
Even though it probably began in Italy, the game became so popular in France that some believe that it originated in France. Even though the beginnings of this game are murky, its popularity is not. It was really big in among the aristocrats of France. In France, the game was called Chemin de Fer and it was a favorite of King Charles VII. It crossed the Channel and came over to the country of England. It also came to the United States and the Caribbean. In the USA, the simplest and most popular version of the game is Punto Banco. This means that you can either bet on the player winning, which is Punto or you can bet on the Bank or casino winning, which is called Banco. The name Punto Banco originated in England but is now the most popular form of Baccarat in North America.
Even though it is a pretty popular game, it never caught on in the casinos like Blackjack, Poker, or Roulette. So the casino owners came up with a strategy. They presented this game as something only a select few would play and made the minimum bets pretty high. Other than Chemin de Fer or Chemmy, and Punto Banco, there is another popular version of the game called Baccarat Banque or Deux Tableaux. The game also has a pretty high house edge which is often more than 1%.
In Popular Culture
When talking about the involvement of Baccarat in popular culture, we have to talk about James Bond. Ian Fleming learned the game in England and presented it to the public as an attribute that Bond has in many of his novels. Bond plays the Chemin De Fer version of the game. Fleming has shown Bond playing this game in many novels, namely the first novel, ‘Casino Royale. Agent 007 also plays the game in several of the movie adaptations of the classic novels.
Other than Bond, there are some other incidents that happened around Baccarat. One of the most popular scandals happened in 1891 which involved the future King Edward VII. People know it as the Tranby Croft affair and the Royal Baccarat Scandal. Even though the story centers around the disgraced socialite William Gordon Cumming, the involvement of Edward VII invoked great media interest. The game was also a part of the 1964 movie ‘A Hard Day’s Night’ by Richard Lester.
Conclusion
The past of the game of Baccarat may be murky but that’s just part of its appeal. The game still attracts a lot of players. People also consider it to be the game of the elites. Many gamblers, offline and online alike, love to play this game. If you are new to the world of gambling and are looking for an easy game, you may want to give Baccarat a try.
Since you already know by now the history of baccarat. It’s time to play it on the JeetWin platform. Come and register now before you play!
