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Faro
or "Bucking the Tiger"
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Faro is an old game, with roots going back to the 15th Century
and a game called "Basset". It attained its modern form
at the court of Louis XIV. Despite this distinguished pedigree,
its appeal in 19th Century America ran to all classes of society,
from the banker to the '49er and was commonly called, among the
"baser sort", "Bucking the Tiger".
Faro is not much played today, as it is a banking game and gambling
houses tend to favor games where the odds are more clearly in favor
of the house. In an honest Faro game, the punter's chances are just
a little short of even of coming out ahead. Most dealers skewed
those odds in their favor with some quite remarkable card shuffling
and other ingenious ways of cheating. I won't go into that here
however, but will assume that your table is a rare exception, and
is completely on the square.
Equipment
In its most basic form, the Faro table is a long rectangle (perhaps
two feet by one and a half) It is covered in green felt, and
laid upon this felt is the "lay-out". This is a complete suit
of Spades, glued to the table and lacquered to keep them from
dog-earing. The cards are laid out in two rows, running left
to right. The Ace through Six is on the lower row (nearest the
dealer's side of the table), the Seven is on the far right of
the rows, mid way between the upper and lower row, and the Eight
through King is on the upper row. This is the basic table. There
are numerous refinements, which add to the class, but also to
the complexity of construction. |
| This is taken directly from "The Merry Gamester:
A Practical Guide to the most popular card, dice and board
games of the English speaking world, from ancient times
to 1900, by Walter Nelson. It is available from online as a PDF. |
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These could include the following:
1. A raised divider, running about 8" from the edge of the table,
on the player's side, to clearly delineate the players' pots from
their wagers (the pot is on their side, the wager in on the dealer's
side). This is not necessary if the Faro table is a separate small
table set on a larger table.
2. A spring-loaded box to hold the cards. The spring ensures
that the top card is always pressed against the top rim of the box,
regardless of how many cards are in the box. The box has a rim to
hold the cards in place, but no top. The face of the top card is
visible to all players.
3. A "cue box" or "case keeper". This is the most complicated
part of the Faro rig. It is constructed something like an abacus,
with the image of each card in the Spade suit in the middle of the
frame. A rod leads out of each card and on the rod is four counters.
The dealer uses this to keep track of the cards which have been
pulled. Each time a card his pulled, regardless of suit, he moves
one counter to the far side of the rod.
4. A space marked "High Card" or "H.C." on the back edge of the
table (nearest the Dealer). When this is present, the Punters
may place wagers here to bet on whether the winning card (the second
card drawn) will be higher than the losing card (the first card
drawn). If they win, they are paid off one-to-one. They may "copper"
this bet (see below) to reverse it. The ÏHigh CardÓ option dates
from the last quarter of the 19th Century.
5. Chips (more commonly called "Checks") to indicate bets,
though checks can be dispensed with and money placed directly on
the layout. It is easiest for the Dealer if each Punter has checks
of a different color or design. Colored checks can be placed on
top of a bet to indicate the owner.
The cards used in Faro are a standard, familiar 52
card "French" Deck (Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, Clubs etc.)
The Game:
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The Dealer's deck is placed face down on the
table or face up in the Card Box.
The game commences with each player (called
a "punter") laying wagers on the card images on the Faro table.
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If the wager is placed directly over the card image,
the Punter is wagering on only that card. A player may wager on
two cards by placing his wager mid-way between two card images.
He may place a single wager upon four cards by placing the wager
between four of them
A Punter may place as many separate bets as he wishes
or can afford.
The Dealer discards the top card (the "Soda Card").
The Dealer then wins any wagers, placed on the next card displayed
(e.g. if the card should be an Ace, the Dealer collects all wagers
placed on the Ace). The first card, which wins for the dealer is
called the "losing card.".
The Dealer discards that card, revealing the next
card. If that card is (for example) a Five, he pays off all wagers
which had been placed on the Five. The second card, which wins for
the Punters, is called the "winning card." The payoff is one-to-one.
A dollar bet wins a dollar.
This concludes a single "Turn". In the interval between
turns, the Punters may place additional wagers or increase existing
ones, or move wagers from one card to another. New players may also
join the game between the turns and players who still have money/chips
on the table, may withdraw their wagers and either leave the game
or sit out one or more turns.
The game continues in Turns, with the first draw going
to the Dealer and the second to the Punters, until the deck is exhausted.
The strategy lies in keeping track of which cards have been pulled.
The players may watch the Cue Box (if one is present) and/or make
written notes to aid their memories (the cue box may be worked by
the Dealer, one of the Punters or the Dealer's Assistant, called
the "Lookout"). When the Dealer gets to the bottom of the deck,
the deck is reshuffled, cut and replaced, face up on the table.
A Faro game has no real ending, and can continue indefinitely, with
new players entering between turns and old players being wiped out
or cashing out.
Coppering
The Punters have the option of "Coppering" a bet. This means placing
a copper token (traditionally a Penny) on top of the bet. A Coppered
bet wins on the first card, and loses on the second (the opposite
of a usual bet).
Calling the Turn/Last Call:
When someone has been keeping track of the cards played (that is
what the Cue Box is for), and the players become aware that they
are down to the last three cards in the deck, any Punter has the
option of "calling the turn". To do this, he must name the three
cards remaining (not difficult if the Cue Box has been used properly),
and the order in which they will be pulled. If he gets it right,
he wins his bet. If he gets it wrong, he loses. As in all other
aspects of Faro, suit is immaterial. If a player calls the turn
successfully, he is paid off four-to-one. If two of the three cards
are the same denomination (called a "cat"), then the winner is paid
off only two-to-one. If all three cards are the same (highly unlikely),
then the turn may not be called.
Splits:
If the first and second card are of the same denomination, or if
the Punter has wagered the same stake on two cards, and one loses
while the other wins, then the house only takes half the losing
bet. If the amount cannot be cleanly divided in two, the difference
goes to the dealer.
The Cue Box
The Cue Box (also called the "Case Keeper") is used to keep
track of the turning of the cards. It may be operated by the
Dealer, the Lookout, or, most commonly, by one of the more sober
punters. Each time a card is played, one of the disks for that
card is moved. A proper game of Faro must involve keeping an
accurate track of the cards played, and if a Cue Box is not
present, then the players must "Keep Tabs" by tracking the cards
with a paper and pencil. This is necessary for the following
reasons: |
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1. It allows players to bet only on cards that are
likely to turn up.
2. It makes it possible to call the turn at the end.
3. The House customarily collects all bets remaining
on the table after the last card is turned.
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