The game was played with one deck and a faro board painted (or pasted) with thirteen cards from Ace to King (usually the suit of spades) plus a square for betting on the high card. In America, the name was shortened to faro, but was also known as “Bucking the Tiger” due to the picture of a Bengal tiger that often appeared on the back of American playing cards. With origins in France during the early 1700s, “Pharaoh,” as it was originally called, soon spread to the United States. Nary a saloon in the West was without it between 18 with several well known figures of the time making their riches by banking the game. Faro was once much more popular than poker, so chosen because it was amazingly easy to play and odds for winning were the best of all gambling games. As he drew, I could see his lips move and knew he was making bets for imaginary customers.” So did Nugget (the main character in Conrad Richter’s book Tacey Cromwell) describe how his brother practiced to become a faro dealer in Bisbee during the late 1800s. “The ancient card faces painted on the layout were doubtless faded and worn but to my boyish eyes they glowed like a church’s stained-glass window… started drawing the cards one by one from the battered old silver box.
