Faro Resources & Commentary
Compiled and edited by Mark Howard,
AKA: The Evil Swede BCVC #38, SASS #20352 Life, KGC
#1
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COMMENTARY: Unfortunately, there is really a lot of
misinformation about the traditional game
of faro in contemporary stories, movies and
even paintings of the old west. This is understandable,
since the popularity of faro faded long before
any of us were born and it really has not
been played or taught in about 100 years.
Derogatory comments and made up conversations
defaming faro in many contemporary movies
have done a lot to unnecessarily slander
and misrepresent the game. As a result, many mistakenly believe faro to be very complicated and difficult to learn. Others think the odds are bad for the player and heavily skewed in favor of the house. As you can see here, neither is the case. |
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In truth, the basic game of faro can be taught in about 3 minutes and an honest faro game is as close as you can get, to an "even money" game, meaning your odds of winning are nearly the same as the house. This is undoubtedly the reason faro banks are not found in modern day casinos. I believe modern casinos would rather put 8 or 12 slot or video poker machines in the same space a faro table would occupy.. it is a matter of profit margin and real estate.
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Search eBay for Faro Equipment 
Resources for information on the traditional game of faro include:
Bucking the Tiger - The Story of Doc Holliday. (2002) By Bruce Olds.
Gamblers of the Old West. (1995) Stories of gambling men and women of the 1800's; how they lived-- how they died. By Bill Kelly (Out-of-Print).
Gamblers of the Old West (The). (1980) From the "Old West" Series by Time-Life Books.
Knights of the Green Cloth- The Saga of Frontier Gamblers. (1982) By Robert DeArment.
Sharps and Flats. (1892) By John Nevi Maskelyne. This book has 30 pages dedicated to the game of faro. Originally published in 1892, paperbound reprints are available for $8.95 from The Gambler's Book Club (Las Vegas) 1-800-522-1777 or [CLICK HERE]
Sucker's Progress. (1938) By Herbert Asbury. New release is available on-line.
"Faro: The Frontier Favorite" January 2003 article by Mark Pilarski.
"Faro: Favorite Gambling Game of the Frontier" October 1996 article by John R. Sanders, "Wild West Magazine"
"Former Dealer hopes for return of faro" October 2000 article by Ed Vogel in the Las Vegas Review Journal.
If you know of other resources & references, please let us know! E-mail EvilSwede@gmail.com
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For more on Faro as well as information &
rules on other popular 19th Century Saloon Games,
[CLICK HERE]
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