Baccarat History


Rules Of Baccarat	Baccarat Strategy	Mini Baccarat	Baccarat History

Baccarat History Baccarat is thought to have originated in Italy around five hundred years ago (Baccarat comes from the Italian word for zero). When introduced to France it became a game played by aristocrats. In the middle-ages Baccarat was played using a Tarot card deck and was a game played by the rich. The game evolved into European Baccarat and the French game Chemin De Fer (which means "railroad" in French).

Baccarat as played in North American casino's is actually a variation of Baccarat called Baccarat Punto (Baccarat Punto has become too many people as the only game called Baccarat). Chemin de fer is basically the same game that is played in casinos today except that one of the players banks each game rather than the casino. The role of "banker" is rotated around the table.

European Baccarat was developed in England and is known as American Baccarat. The game spread from England to America. In the late 1950's the then Cuban government closed the Havana casinos resulting in Baccarat being introduced at casinos in Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas casinos initially tried to retain Baccarat's reputation as a prestige game by targeting the game towards high rollers. Mini-Baccarat was introduced later when the casinos decided that Baccarat had mass-market appeal.

Mini-Baccarat is essentially the same game as regular Baccarat. The major difference between regular and mini Baccarat is the speed of the game. In regular Baccarat typically only 2-3 cards are dealt per minute, whereas Mini-Baccarat deals 5-6 hands per minute. This increase in speed is obtained because of the smaller size of the table and the rule preventing the players from touching the cards.

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