The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1884-11-03
HISTORY OF FARO.
A NEW YORK SPORTS STORY.
Its Ancient origin-Cheops Played IL On
the Foundations of the Pyra-
mids - Its Rise and Pro-
gress Rules Differ.

"Havs you any idea by whom or when
tho game or faro was invented?' asked
a reporter of the Commercial Advertiser
q few days ago while talking with Char
lie Dunn, tho well-known gambler,
The question was asked in the course of
a conversation about gaming in gen
eral, and particularly about the preva-
lence of it in this city. Damn had pre-
viouSly said that there was more gamb-
ling going on at present within the pre-
cincts of this devoted city than at any
other time in its history
"Well, that is question:" replied
Dunn, crossing his legs with grunt OF
supreme comfort and lighting another
cigar. "Faro, my boy, dates back to the
inventors of almost all tho games that
require thought. 1t was invented,
have heard, by the Pharaohs after they
had got tired Of playing chess and back
Cannon and all the other innocent lit
tie games which brought them so
much enjoyment. But the new inyeD-
ton was the ruin2ti0n of the Pharaohs,
for they gambled so much that nnally
the Shepherd Kings went for them and
pulVeriZed them, as we say nowadays,
SO faro was temporarily forgotten, The
Ptolmeys revived it aud 1t then crossed
over into italy, where mosaic9 in the
ruins of Pompeii have been found rep
resenting two players deeply absorbed
in the primitive game. No, I'm not
Joking. | never joke about any such
serious matter rs faro. But, honestly.
no one knows when the game really was
invented. 1t is one of those things
which partOOk OF the nature OF Topsy
and simply CROWD
"rhe earliest record we have Of the
gameis in the thirteenth century, when
II had assumed considerable popularity
in Italy and France. | am inclined to
believe that it is of Italian origin.
From the Italian we get the word par
lee which is used in the game now. aud
means to let the stake lie sud double,
The Italian original is paroli. To make
paroli, rs it was originally called,
player was required to bend one corner
OF the preferred cara over. Ii was al
ways his right 10 withdraw bet after
the time whens he had won his first
stake, but previously TO that he had to
let his money remain. At that time
there We're no lay-outs.' Every player
had his own pack and made his bets on
the cards that he himself turned. When
he won no simply showed his card TO
the dealer aud he was paid. A century
tlGHlI
out of his hands, and 50 ran great
chance of showing most of tho cards.
The box is great protection against the
inquisitive, and it is really the only pro-
lection the player has agaigst auV pos
Slhle manipulation on the part of the
dealer. II faro was dealt out OF the hand
as it was in former times thore would
be a decided number of shOotings in
this police-ridden city.
alt il hard 10 say when faro was intro
ducod into this country. The probali-
ties are that it was played in England
long before any one ever dreamed of
cOloni2ing the new world We know
that it was played in Virginia long be-
fore the revolution. The old planters
were not chary about betting their
slaves ON the turn Of card, and had
none OF the Puritan narrow miudednesa
which kept faro ont of New England,
The game was played at that time with
out a box. Tho players chose their
cards from their own decks and had
ample opportunity to manipulate it ms
they pleased. They got no benefit from
split-that is, Whes two cards OF like
denomination were turned up and tho
stakes are equally divided hetwsen the
player and the bank. They didn't oven
have the advantage of cue boz To
check off the cards which had been
dealt. Of course there was rash betting
i'll consequence, and manipulation was
common on the part Of the bank and Of
the player, and you may he sure both
TOOK advantage of their changes TO tho
best Of their ability
"Have there been any recent change,
in the gamom
~ should think so. And they all have
mad tendency TO make the game much
Iairer than il was originally. Thirty
wears ago, | remember that il was the
rule that II a man put bet down on the
Jable ne was compelled to leave IL there
until it had lost or won its equivalent.
Vow he is able to change his bets as
many times as he chooses. At that time
when man sat down at faro-table he
sat down ONLY TO bet to win. Now he
can bet either 10 win or TO lose. Al
that time there wasn't auy such q thing
a. copper; now man can conner the
ace and bet that il will lose and still win
on n losing card. Then there is consd-
cradle difference in the Way faro ia
Played m tho West. III man puts his
chips AZ the corner of the king heading
TO the deuce in this city, The bet tskss
IN the king and the deuce only, but ont
west such n placing OF chips would
mean the king, queen, ace and deuce.
Iheck5 hnvo only been used during the
last fifty years. Previous TO the IVORY
disks which represent 80 much money.
coin was used, and oitentimes the faro
table would be strewn with gold and
silver rs the game went on. The fret
time faro was played politically i'm New
York was In 1897. II increased TO nm
alarming eXtont until 1894 before The
great IRE, when that calamity left The
city almost without money. The dia
treSS OF the following two or three wears
almost killed the game, but as business
revived and money again became plenty.
faro arose from the ashes ~ il were. and
resumed its sway. In about 1910 the
legislature passed bill declaring far,
TO be illegal gambling, and thencelorth
whenever a man wanted to chuck tho
Tiger he had 20 do il on the slv, Vir-
ginia took action forbidding the pAme
III me las century. In 1860 she psssed
= law requiring "tho subjects of Tho
KING to refrain from playing the game
oi laro.. Tho penalties for breaking
TINS old law wore very severe, inclnd,
ing heavy fines and long term OF i'm
prlsonment.-.New York Commercial
Advisor ''''