Before a fresh deal, all the beads are pushed over to the other side of the wire to indicate they have not been shown. Once a card has been shown, the casekeeper would push a bead over to indicate so. It is an abacus-like board with four beads on a wire opposite of a card. In saloons, an employee of the banker or anyone not playing the game would manage the casekeeper. It’s 3 x 1.5 feet with thirteen cards of one suit (usually spades) printed on it.
The banker uses a table, typically covered in green cloth. Players buy chips from the banker in order to place bets during the game. Its origins can be traced back to as early as the 15th century. It’s believed to have originated in France sometime in the late 17th century and was called “Pharaon.” As it passed through western Europe its name changed to Pharo in England, once it arrived in the United States its name was converted to Faro.įaro is a derivative of the game Bassetta, which was brought to Paris from Italy in the early 17th century. This gambling game was extremely popular in the American Wild West and the gold rush, today Faro is a lesser known and enjoyed game, having gone out of style in the 1950s. MATERIALS: 52-card deck, betting chips, coppers (pennies), case-keeper, dealer box (optional) OBJECTIVE OF FARO: Place winning bets on cards to receive a payout each turn.
