It is believed that Baccarat originated from Italy during the 1400's, where a man named Felix Falguiere called the game "baccara" which is an Italian word that means "zero" because the face and ten cards are worth zero. It became popular in France during the 1900's as King Charles VIII enjoyed the game so much that he himself introduced the game to other nobles where the game was called as Chemin de Fer or "Chemmy". Later on, the French spelling "Baccarat" was adopted world wide.
Others believe that Baccarat might have originated in China (960-1279 BCE) as there was a game called "Pai Gow", which translates to "make nine". Since nine is the best score in Baccarat, there is a strong possibility that Pai Gow is the earliest iteration of Baccarat.
I'm noticing a pattern here, almost all betting games have a french correlation added to them, any ideas of why is it like this?
Thanks for the interesting post @evcj_ it is very interesting to me how games began and it looks like this is another one where we will never know the complete story. @lucianop yes it is interesting that there are a lot of French references accredited to inventors of these different games. The name "baccarat" certainly sounds French to me.
In all my years of gambling I have never actually played baccarat. It has never interested me TBH but some say that it can be very exciting. One day I will definitely learn the rules and give it a try.
@evcj_ I see you've been sharing a lot about hidtory in various games. Loving this series so far haha. Im learning a lot from it!
That's interesting, keep such history related posts coming champ. We're loving em.
So, baccarat might have French flair or Chinese roots? Either way, it's a game that’s been around long enough to earn its place in casino history. And if zeroes and nines are involved, you know it’s got to be classic
Another casino game which originated in French. No wonder these games are so popular in those countries and you can really see it in their history.
Thanks for the deets! Baccarat's journey from Italy to the French courts is wild. Love learning how these classic games came to be!
