Check out the most incredible facts about people’s favourite casino games that are loved all over the world.
The history of gambling is covered by darkness. However, experts argue that the concept of gambling is not new and has existed in the world for many more than a thousand years. However, it is rather difficult to build a holistic picture of the gambling evolution.
In the remnants of material culture, archaeologists often find objects that were used in ancient gambling cultures.
By the way, Dice is considered the most widespread game in all corners of the planet. The oldest dice items ever found are about 4 thousand years old. Besides dice, other casino games have a rich history nobody knows. In this article, we are going to dive deeper into the gambling chronicles. Let our journey begin now.
Historical Facts about Baccarat
Baccarat is the French analogue of the Italian word Baccara, which translates as “zero” or “nothing”. Based on this apparent etymological connection, authorities in the world of gambling have concluded that the game of baccarat originated from the Italian game Baccara. However, besides Italy, players can enjoy a lot of trusted baccarat casinos in Japan and other countries of Europe.
Baccarat gained its modern version during the reign of Louis Philippe, the French king. Some historians studying the origin of games have gone back in time and connected the origin of the game of baccarat with certain religious rituals of the Etruscan civilization (1500 BC). The purpose of these rituals was to identify a suitable candidate for the role of the high priestess. The candidate choice was based on the result of a nine-sided die roll. If 9 or 8 points fell out (a number equal to or close to the number of worshiped gods) then the candidate was approved. The numbers 6 and 7 simply meant a refusal. If fewer points fell out, then this could even lead to the execution of the girl.
Who Invented the Roulette Game?
Currently, no one knows when and who invented the roulette game. However, our inquisitive minds have created numerous versions of roulette appearance. Here are just a few of them.
There is a legend that the ancient Greeks used a rotating shield for gambling. There is a theory that the idea of creating Roulette came from ancient China, whose inhabitants played so-called Magic Square, a game where thirty-seven tiny animal figures were used. A French Dominican monk who preached there saw the game and attached the figures to the wheel, which were later removed, and numbers appeared instead.
Another legend tells that François Blanquet, the founder of the first roulette casinos in Monte Carlo, made a deal with the devil. To find out all the secrets of the roulette game, F. Blanke sold his soul. The legend is based on the fact that if you add up all the numbers of sectors (from 0 to 36), then the sum of the numbers will be equal to 666, the devil’s number.
History of Blackjack
There is an opinion this game was called blackjack because of one feature in the rules when a player received a jack of spades and an ace of spades (black suit) from the distribution, he got an additional reward. It is officially believed that blackjack originated in France in the 17th century at the court of Louis 14th, known as the Sun King. And then it was called “Twenty-one”. Nowadays, some players still call blackjack just 21.
Blackjack entered Las Vegas casinos in the late 19th century, thanks to the Europeans who moved to newly discovered territories of America. The Americans, instead of blackjack, preferred the traditional games of craps and roulette at the time. Today this game is still one of the most popular gambling games in the world.