Five Fun Facts About Baccarat

Baccarat is a classic casino game synonymous with style and sophistication. It is a much loved card game that has largely drawn high rollers with its high limits yet extremely favourable odds. Today online baccarat caters for all and has become one of the most popular games at Ruby Fortune. While baccarat may look complicated to play, it is actually quite simple and owes its appeal to the relative air of mystery surrounding it. Whether you know the rules of the baccarat game or not, here are five interesting and fun facts you may or may not yet know about baccarat.

1. Italian origins

While France is often credited with being the birthplace of the baccarat game, it does in fact originate from Italy. During the middle ages, a man named Felix Falquiere devised the game but it was quite different from the baccarat we know today. The game was in fact even originally played with tarot cards.

2. French twists

When baccarat made its way to France during the reign of Charles VII in the 1400s, tarot cards were no longer used but there were a number of variations of baccarat. France is where baccarat became incredibly popular and variations of baccarat such as baccarat banque, Chemin de Fer, Punto Banco or American baccarat were born. These are the variations of baccarat that are still widely played today.

3. 20th century: Vegas

Even though baccarat had been around for a very long while, it was only in 1959 that the baccarat game debuted in Vegas. Sin City’s notorious Sands Casino was the location of the baccarat debut, and on opening night, the casino was reported to have lost $250 000. Baccarat is a very popular game amongst Asians who are known to make up more than 70 percent of the baccarat players in Vegas.

4. What's in a name?

Many casino games such as blackjack are named after their highest winning hands. Baccarat, on the other hand, is named after the worst possible hand that can be held in a game of baccarat, which is a zero.

5. Baccarat on the big screen

Baccarat is famously known to be a favourite casino game of Agent 007. The James Bond film Casino Royale’s entire plot revolves around the game of baccarat and he’s often seen at the tables in other movies and in the books. Another notable moment in film for the baccarat game features in Rush Hour 3 where the character played by Chris Tucker mistakes baccarat for blackjack in a Paris casino.