| 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.
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