One other piece of equipment on the table is the ‘case keep’. The dealer sits opposite the players, across the table, with a shuffled single deck of cards face down to begin with. Kings are high and Aces are low in Faro, so as you can see in the image, the pattern starts with the King on the top left row, working its way along to number 8, with number 7 standing alone between the two rows, then number 6 dropping below the 8 before the lower cards work their way backwards. The cards are laid out snaking around from left to right, going high to low. The game can either be played with an extra suit of cards to create the tableau, or with the layout printed onto a cloth or felt that is then laid over a table. In Faro, the way the game is set out is known as the tableau. If you fancy it yourself, then here is how to play. Faro, in Yukon, Canada, is even named after the game.įaro hasn’t been completely consigned to the history books though, with those who enjoy niche games seeking out others who want to play and hosting their own games, and the odd free version available online if you look hard enough. Other famous names from history to have enjoyed the game are Casanova, who mentioned it often in his writing, and Wyatt Earp and ‘Doc’ Holliday, who both worked as Faro dealers when they first arrived in Tombstone. It was a particular favourite of the legendary high stakes gambler Nick ‘the Greek’ Dandolos, and he quite famously lost an awful lot of someone else’s money playing it in the 1930s. That said, it was popular in casinos for a time, with the odd casino in Reno even offering the game up until the 80s, but it would be a miracle to find it these days. It had its heyday in the Wild West, where it was frequently played in saloons and no doubt caused a fair few fist fights too, but by the 1950s it had been more or less retired.

So you can see how the name ended up being Faro to those farther West. The accepted backstory of the game is that it came from France, around the 17 th century, where it was known as Pharaon since this is the French word for Pharaoh, and cards often had a picture of a Pharaoh printed on the back. Despite being one of the most popular games of its time, Faro is now almost entirely forgotten, especially by the typical casino player.

Faro card game