For those who don't know Faro is a card game that was invented in France in the 17th century and played up until the early 20th. At the time in France it was called Pharaon. Faro is a derivative of a another card game from France called Basset which was banned by Louis XIV in 1691. Faro wasn't played for long before it was also banned.
The Rise and Fall
Despite being banned in France it was still being played in England where it was legal. In England it went by the name Pharo and it was said to be very popular and widespread.
When Pharo spread to the United States it quickly became the most popular card game in the country. The name was also changed again to Faro. It was played in almost every town and city in the US and was very popular in towns of the old west by 1882. It was described as being fast paced, easy to learn and had the best odds for players. Other unofficial names for the game included "bucking the tiger" or "twisting the tiger's tail" because old decks used the have a picture of a tiger on the back. A tiger also became the symbol for the game to advertise where it could be played.
Unfortunately, with its widespread popularity in the US came widespread cheating by the house or banker. The game was notoriously easy to rig so the players always. The dealer box where the cards were dealt was easily tampered with so the dealer could cheat whenever he wanted, producing losing cards for the players. Some companies at the time that produced equipment for gambling games even started producing pre-rigged Faro dealer's boxes.
The Basic Rules
-The playing surface called The Layout had pictures of every denomination of a particular suit. Players would place their bets on any number of cards they wanted. The suit wasn't important.
-The dealer would deal two cards to himself. One was the Banker's Card, the other was the Player's Card
-The card on the layout that matched the banker's card would be a loss for the player. All bets on that card would be taken.
-The card on the layout that matched the player's card would be a win for the player but only at 1:1 odds.
-If a player had a bet on a card that was a higher denomination than the banker's card he would win also at 1:1 odds. Instead of higher this bet could also be revered by use of a penny on the bet.
-When there were only three cards remaining in the deck the player's would then have to predict the last three cards in the right order, in which case they would be paid out at 4:1 odds.
The dealer could cheat by having a mirror installed in the dealer's box so he could see the next card. The dealer could then draw two cards at once. He could also simply stack the deck.
The game was rarely played after WWII but the last reported games of Faro could only be found at a few casinos in Las Vegas and Reno in 1985.
A more detailed description of the rules and odds can be found here: Faro
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