Faro was at one time the top gambling game in the United States. Ironically, it is fraught with ways to cheat. Dealers took advantage of unwary patrons at every turn.
The game was called Pharaoh in Europe. It was imported to New Orleans where it caught fire with casino riverboats plying the Mississippi River. It took no time to find its way West to San Francisco where it was the major table entertainment for prospectors, sailors and town speople alike in the days of the Gold Rush.
They say that Wyatt Earp prospered as a Faro dealer. He took his board, box and, other Faro equipment to wherever he migrated. I suspect he dealt Faro when he took a respite from his duties as Sheriff. However, I was unable to determine if he kept the two endeavors separate.
In the case of Wyatt Earp and those like him, the house rented tables to the dealers and the dealer was therefore responsible to make good on patron winnings. The large gambling establish ments in San Francisco often operated their own tables, however. They took profits for themselves and they took losses, on rare occasions when the dealer was bested.
Special felt or baize table cloth boards were painted with a full ranking of cards in Spades starting with an ace on the right side of the table and proceeding left in a narrow loop to 7 and then the card numbers were painted on the bottom of the loop back right till the king completed the thirteen card sequence.
Bets were placed on the pain ted spots. A player could place bets on a loser or winner cards. If the patron wanted to bet the card as a “loser” a penny known as a ”copper” was placed on the bet in order to keep bets straight.
A fifty two card deck was loaded into a unique box made especially for the game. Cards were drawn from the box, allowing one card to be seen face-up on the box. Note that the suits had no relative value in this game. The only thing that mattered is the rank of the cards.
The odds being in favor of the house or the player are to this day disputed. Some say the odds were even, except in a few situations the odds went slightly to the dealer. Many believe the odds favored the house as much as 15%
For all practical purposes the odds, as discussed above, were irrelevant because the game was notoriously run by crooked dealers. Honest Faro dealers in San Francisco in mid-19th Century were as rare as hens’ teeth.
Gambling is an important element in my novel Equal and Alike. Come and join me in the adventure.