Like many other popular casino games baccarat bears a French name, so often the uneducated credit the French with the invention of the game. And like many other popular casino games, this assumption is flawed. Drop the t from the end of the baccarat and you get baccara, the Italian word for “zero.” And it is here that we begin our baccarat history.

The Origins of Baccarat

The true origins of baccarat history are as yet unproven. Some experts believe that the game began as a pagan ritual, though that concept doesn't tie-in well with the modern objective of the game. Others credit a man named Lino Bussoli who was essentially a loan shark. Still others say it was actually the famed gambler Felix Falguierein that began the first official baccarat game late in the 15th Century. In all versions of the story, the game was first played with a tarot deck. This should come as no surprise, as the tarot deck is widely accepted to be the predecessor of today's common 52-card deck.

Though baccarat history began in Italy, there is no denying that the French had a strong influence on the game. So just how did it get to France? Again the theories vary. One theory states that the game passed peaceably across the border while another theory conjectures that French soldiers brought it back to their home country after the Franco-Italian war in 1494. It is widely accepted that the game became a quick favorite of King Charles VIII, though he had only a few sparse years to enjoy it before his death. The remaining nobility honored Charles' legacy by making the game a favored distraction among the French elite.

Baccarat history makes no indication that the game underwent any major changes in the next four hundred years, though many game historians have noted the similarities between 19th Century baccarat and 19th Century blackjack. Whether the similarities are coincidental or the games somehow crossed paths and influenced each other is unknown. What we do know is that the first official version of the game was Chemin de Fer (French for “railroad” in honor of how the positions were passed from player to player). By the 1900's, Chemin de Fer had become a regular feature in casinos on the French Riviera, and it was in these gambling houses that the offshoot off Baccarat Banque was formed.

Supposedly baccarat had already been passed to the American elite by their French friends, but the game failed to catch on. It was then reintroduced in South American casinos from which it made the jump to Cuban resorts. In the 1950's a man named Tommy Renzoni realized the potential for the game and brought it to America for a second try via Las Vegas. This time the game was a hit, though again only among a more selective, high stakes crowd. Since casino owners already had table games like craps and roulette to lure in the general public, they didn't mind making a special space for baccarat which made up for its small crowds by raking in big bets. Of course the American demand for instant gratification necessitated some minor changes to the game, hence the birth of both Punto Banco and mini-baccarat.

It wasn't until the last decade that baccarat history expanded to include a more middle class crowd. The internet made the game available to people who had been too shy, too broke, or too intimidated to try it in a live setting. Thanks to the accessibility and anonymity of internet casinos (as well as the relaxed betting minimums) millions of people have now tried baccarat online.

Visit our rules section and learn how to play baccarat.

......................................................................................................................................................................