Gambling Game Faro
First becoming popular in 17th century France, the game of Faro quickly spread over the European continent. Then, thanks to the French colonist, the Americas fell to this addictive and easy game. By the 1800s it was probably the most popular card game across the US, with huge sums of cash changing hands every day. How to play Faro & Game Rules: Faro is a historical casino game for two or more players. It requires a standard 52 card deck, an extra set of 13 cards for each rank, a set of betting chips for each player, and a penny for each player. In Faro, Aces are low and Kings are high. The objective is to win the most bets.
Faro is a gambling game popular in the old west for two or more players. Choose the right card to win your bet! Find the video tutorial and written explanation for how to play faro below.
Faro Tutorial
Needed
52 card deck, additional ace through king of Spades, two or more players, betting chips, a penny per player
Card Rank
Highest to lowest - King, Queen, Jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, Ace
Setup
The additional spade cards are laid out from ace up to the king to form the betting board. Each player is given chips for betting and a penny. One player will need to be the banker and will handle the 52 card deck.
Objective
The object is to win bets. During game play, the banker will turn two cards over at a time. The first card is the losing card, and the second card is the winning card. Players with chips on the losing card will lose their bet. Players with chips on the winning card will win their bet.
Game Play
The game begins with the banker showing every player the first card. Then, players will place a bet on the card rank they think will be the winning card.
After all bets are made, the dealer will flip over the top two cards. The first card flipped is the losing card, and any players with bets on that card will lose the bet made to the banker.
The second card flipped is the winning card, and the banker will pay out all players with bets placed on the winning card. The payout is equal to the bet made by the player.
The two cards flipped are placed to the side. Players can keep their current bets, move their bets, or add and remove bets. Multiple bets can be made by a player, and players can bet on the same card rank.
The banker will then flip the next two cards over. The first card flipped is the losing card again. The second card flipped is the winning card again. The banker takes the losing bets and pays out the winning bets. Bets continue to be made in between each turn.
If the losing and winning cards are the same rank, the banker takes half of the bets made on that card rank.
A player can bet that the winning card will be higher than the losing card. This bet is made with the banker saying, betting the high card. If won, the banker pays out an equal amount as the bet.
A player can bet on the losing card by placing the penny on top of the chips. Players can place their penny on a high card bet to bet that the losing card is higher than the winning card.
The cards that have been flipped throughout the game are kept visible to all players. Players can reference these cards when determining what card rank to bet.
At the end of the round there will be three cards remaining before the last turn. Players have the option to place a bet on the order in which the last three card ranks will be flipped.
The turn is played as normal. Then, the last card is revealed. Any player to correctly guess the order of the three cards is paid out four times the bet. If the last three cards include a pair, the payout is two times the amount bet.
Rule
If a player makes a bet on a card that has already been flipped four times, it is known as making a dead bet. The first player to notice a dead bet, including the banker, can take the bet.
Faro, or pharaoh, is an increasingly popular casino card game that became trendy during the wild west days, with its origins spanning back to 17th century France.
While it doesn’t usually come on top of players’ wishlists when it comes to card games, faro has seen a resurgence over the past couple of years. Though it’s often compared with poker due to the speed of the gameplay and the odds, faro has remained a unique gambling experience for all who fancy this game.
The History of Faro
Faro, or pharaon, is an offshoot of the game of basset, which took France by storm during the latter part of the 17th century. The game saw its zenith during the early reign of Louis XIV. Nevertheless, the king had the game outlawed in 1691 as an attempt to combat the growing gambling problems that were gripping the French society of the time.
However, the prohibition didn’t snuff out the game, and it migrated across the channel to England and, from there, to the United States. By 1882, faro became the most popular gambling game across the wild west, surpassing all other games put together.
The game lost its shimmer following the second world war, although it has been making a reappearance over the past couple of years.
Faro Terms You Need to Know
As with any game, there are specific jargons associated with the game of faro:
- Bank – a round of faro, so called since one player is designated as the banker.
- Banker – card dealer.
- Punter – player.
- Check – chips that punters will purchase from the banker.
- Shoe – dealing box for the cards.
- Soda – first card pulled from a shoe.
- Hock – last card pulled from a shoe.
- Copper – six-sided token used to reverse the betting intent.
- Doublet – banker drawing two cards of the same denomination.
- Casekeep – a device used to assist punters in keeping track of denominations that have already been played.
Setting Up a Faro Table
A typical faro table is oval, covered by a green baize. The banker assumes his place in a cut-out section of the table, from where he deals. A board with a single suit of spades attached to it in numerical order is placed on the table, representing the betting layout.
A punter can bet using three separate methods. The first one involves betting on one of the 13 cards. Alternatively, a bet can be placed on several cards per round, by laying the bet between multiple cards. Finally, a bet can be made by betting on the high card bar, which lies on top of the layout board.
Faro Game Procedures
To commence the game, a banker shuffles the deck and places it in a shoe. After pulling the soda, the banker discards it, leaving 51 cards in the game. After that, the banker draws the first card, or banker’s card, which is placed to the right of the shoe, followed by a second card, or punter’s card, which is laid out to the left of the shoe.
Any card on the layout board that matches the banker’s card will lose, and the banker will win all bets on those cards. The cards with the same denomination as the punter’s card are returned to the player, with a one-to-one payout from the banker. Ultimately, punters that bet on the high card will win if their card value is higher than the banker’s card.
Punters get paid at the end of each round. Bets placed on cards that did not win or lose remain in their positions, unless a punter elects to collect them or replace them with alternative cards. If a banker draws a doublet, he wins half the bet that was placed on the card of that denomination on the layout board.
A copper token, or coppering the bet, can be used to reverse the intent of a bet by inversing the win/loss piles. Once there are only three cards left in a shoe (the banker’s card, the player’s card and the hock), the banker would ask the punters to predict the order that these would be drawn. This is known as calling the turn.
If a punter wins a call, they are paid four-to-one, unless there is a pair amongst the three cards, which results in a one-to-one payment. If all three cards are the same, the bets are voided.
Reviving Faro in Modern Casinos
Although regarded as old-fashioned, faro is making a comeback in contemporary gambling establishments. The game offers the speed of poker and the edge of blackjack and can be played by as few as two players at a time. So, if you enjoy card games and yearn for something new, faro might well be the right game for you.
Faro Card Game Equipment
