Baccarat History

According to historians, it is extremely difficult to trace the origin of betting games, card games included. Baccarat is unfortunately no exception to the rule. However, there are several books, stories and evidence that this game was very influential in the middle ages, and in various regions of the world.

Baccarat, Blackjack and Tarot

Most researchers say that Baccarat is the cousin of other card games very known as Blackjack or Tarot. If Tarot is not a game where money is at stake, Blackjack is definitely a game of chance very similar to Baccarat in many aspects. In these two games, there is a certain mathematics approach. At Blackjack, the aim is to get the closer to 21 points while at Baccarat, some algorithmic systems are also used to bet either on the Player's hand, or on the Bank's hand. In addition, the cards employed in these two games look pretty much the same.

Baccarat: a game that travelled around the world

Baccarat was created in Italy. Therefore, this is not astonishing to realize that the term "baccara" already exists in the Italian language. In Italian, "baccara" means "nothing". Little by little, this entertainment made its own path and stopped off in France, during the 15th century. King Charles VIII was apparently a loyal supporter of this game. For a long time, Baccarat was considered as a purely European card game. The British Empire has exported this game to the four corners of the world, where new peoples got the opportunity to discover it by themselves. It is precisely in a former British colony that Baccarat peaked: the United States. In 1950, this game made its entry in Las Vegas. It was very appreciated by wealthy entrepreneur and big-time gamblers, who were not reluctant to bet large amounts of money on the tables.

Baccarat gives rise to Mini-Baccarat

At the beginning of the1980s, land-based casinos introduced a new game inspired by Baccarat and of which name is quite similar: Mini-Baccarat. If Baccarat is a more distinguished game, Mini-Baccarat does have the same rules. The only difference between the two is that the limits are set lower in the new variant. Mini-Baccarat was initially created in order to attract the masses, his older brother being rather the favorite pastime of the rich bourgeois and aristocrats. The Mini Baccarat sessions are as fluid and fast as in Blackjack but players might not win as many money as during a Baccarat game.