Starting with the blond
virgin...
17 February 2003
By Mark Pilarski
Dear, Mark,
Isn't Baccarat the exact same game as Chemin de
Fer, and only different in name? My Uncle
believes they play Baccarat differently in
Europe. We have a dinner riding on this. Who's
right? Carl V.
Your Uncle, Carl, is on the winning slope.
There are many variations of baccarat today, all
descendants of the Italian baccara, a game
invented in Italy by gamester Felix Falguiere,
who baptized it baccara, a word translating into
english as "zero." Is there a clue there
someplace?
The game's roots are in the old Etruscan ritual
of the nine gods, who prayed to a blonde virgin
(a tourist, obviously) on their tiptoes, waiting
for her to pitch the nine-sided die. The die
toss decided her fate. If an eight or a nine
were thrown, she would become the priestess; if
she threw a six or seven, she would be banned
from any further religious activities; if
shethrew any number less than six, she would
walk into the sea. (Possibly, the origin of
loaded dicehow many wet, blond virgins do you
know?) The game was introduced in France around
1490 A.D., though the French often claim credit
for its invention (as they do for most
pleasurable pastimes). For some time, the game
remained exclusive to the French aristocratic
set, but eventually evolved into European
baccarat and the French game chemin de fer,
(meaning railroad; talk about clues...). The
late Francis "Tommy" Renzoni brought baccarat,
American casino style, to Las Vegas from Havana.
There are, Carl, some slight variations among
the different forms of the game, and while
European baccarat is the more popular in most of
Europe, the French prefer to play their own
version, chemin de fer.
Here is why you have to fork up for dinner.
The Baccarat game you play in your typical
casino is automated, meaning you make no
decisions concerning your cards and when to take
that third card. But in Chemin de Fer, if a
player has a total of five, he must decide
whether or not to ask for a third card. The draw
is optional, whereas in the style you are used
to playing, the player always draws a third card
if the hand totals 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.
In modern American Baccarat, there are three
betting options: 1) betting on the Player Hand,
2) betting on the Bank Hand, 3) betting on a Tie
Hand. In Chemin de Fer, the bank automatically
rotates among the players. (Chemin de Fer, the
French explain, simply refers to the "shoe"
moving among the players like a train).
Also, you are limited in your wager to the
amount that the bank is willing to lose. The
banker is never liable for the payment of bets
more than his bank. Against a casino, you play
against the casino's entire war chest. As you
can see, Carl, though the differences are
subtle, there is enough variation that your
Uncle deserves a good steak dinner on your dime.
If you still want to fight him on this, or hešs
you least favorite Uncle, blow it big at Burger
King and let him Supersize his order.
Dear Mark,
Do you happen to know how the game Blackjack
gets its name? Kevin K.
Friend of mine says it was named after him, but
actually the game known here as either
twenty-one (casino speak) or blackjack (kitchen
table-ese), is ancient, having originated in
France, where it is still called Vingt-Et-Un
(21). During the game's infancy in the States,
players were awarded a bonus for getting an ace
of spades and a jack of spades as their first
two cards. Hence, the name blackjack.
Gambling quote of the week: "When you go to a
casino, always carry aconcealed weapon... your
brain." VP Pappy
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