Faro

Full rules

1. Overview
2. Setup
3. Placing bets
4. A turn
5. The case keeper
6. The last turn: calling the turn
7. Winning the game
8. Tips for beginners
9. Variants

Overview

Faro is the old banking game of the American Wild West. One player, the banker, deals through the deck two cards at a time. The players bet chips on card ranks (Ace, 2, 3 … King): in each pair, the first card loses for everyone who bet on its rank, and the second card wins. Suits don't matter at all.

• Players: 2–10 – one banker and up to 9 players (in faro the players were called punters).
• You need: one standard 52-card deck without jokers to deal from; the 13 spades of a second deck for the betting layout; chips (or counters, matches) – about 100 per person; and one small marker per player (a button, bead or a chip of a different colour) for "coppering". Play for chips only.

Setup

1. Choose the first banker (for example, whoever cuts the highest card). Agree on the smallest and largest bet, for example 1 to 10 chips.
2. Lay the 13 spades face up in the middle of the table in rank order, in two rows. This is the layout: a chip on the 7♠ is a bet on all four 7s. (No second deck? Write A, 2 … K on slips of paper.)
3. The banker shuffles the deck, a player cuts (lifts off part of the deck and puts it underneath), and the banker places the deck face up in front of them. In saloons the deck sat in an open dealing box so that only one card at a time could be slid off.
4. The top card showing is the soda. It doesn't count: the banker puts it aside.
5. Pen and paper for the case keeper (see below) – or simply keep the dealt cards spread out so everyone can see which ones are gone.

Placing bets

Before each turn (a pair of cards), every punter may place, move or take back bets. A bet is a stack of chips on the layout:

• On a card – you bet on that rank.
• Between two neighbouring cards – you bet on both ranks. If one of them wins and the other loses in the same turn, nothing happens.
• Coppering: a bet normally backs a rank to win. Put your marker on top of the stack and it backs the rank to lose instead. (Players used pennies – "coppers" – hence the name.)

A turn

The banker takes two cards off the deck, one at a time:

1. The first card is the banker's card. It goes on a pile to the banker's right. Every bet on its rank loses – the banker collects it. (A coppered bet on that rank wins.)
2. The second card is the player's card. It goes on a pile to the banker's left. Every bet on its rank wins – the banker pays 1 to 1 (bet 3, win 3). (A coppered bet on that rank loses.)

Bets on all other ranks simply stay where they are. A winning bet stays on the layout too, unless its owner picks it up. Then the next turn begins with new bets.

Split: if both cards of a turn have the same rank (say, two Queens), the banker takes half of every bet on that rank, coppered or not. This is the bank's advantage.

Example: Dan has 4 chips on the 9, Anna has 2 coppered chips on the King. The turn is K♦ (banker's card), then 9♣ (player's card). Dan wins 4 chips. The King was the banker's card, so it loses – and Anna's coppered bet wins 2 chips.

The case keeper

One punter can act as case keeper: on paper, list A to K and mark each card as it is dealt (e.g. "0" for a banker's card, "|" for a player's card). Everyone can then see how many of each rank are left. A rank with no cards left is dead – don't leave bets on it. When only one card of a rank is left, it can no longer split.

The last turn: calling the turn

After 24 turns, three cards are left – the case keeper's list shows which. Bets on the last loser and winner are settled as normal; the very last card, the hock, doesn't count.

Before this last turn, punters may also call the turn: bet on the exact order in which the three cards will appear – loser, winner, hock.

• Three different ranks: a correct call pays 4 to 1.
• A pair plus one other card (a cat-hop): a correct call pays 2 to 1.
• Three of a kind: no calling.

Example: 3, 7 and J are left. Ben calls "7 loses, J wins" and bets 2 chips. The turn is 7, then J – he wins 8 chips.

Winning the game

After a full deal ("from soda to hock"), the bank passes to the left. Play until everyone has been banker equally often; whoever has the most chips wins.

Tips for beginners

• Each rank loses as often as it wins; only splits and the short odds for calling the turn give the bank its edge, so it's a very fair game.
• Watch the case keeper: bets on a rank with one card left can't be split.
• Coppering lets you bet against a rank that has "won too often" – but the cards have no memory.
• Calling the turn is a long shot; keep those bets small.

Variants

Optional – agree before you start.

• High card: a bet on a separate spot that the player's card will be higher than the banker's card in the next turn. Paid 1 to 1.