In the centre of the table there are three baskets. The table has eight boxes drawn on it for the players, plus a special recess, which is where the Croupier sits. The table is kidney-shaped and seats nine people. The name of the game, “Chemin de Fer”, which means railway in French, comes from the fact that the grid drawn on the green baize Baccarat table resembles railway lines and the card shoe or sabot (a card holder that distributes the cards and is passed round the table from player to player) looks like a small train.Ĭasinó di Venezia holds a series of Chemin de Fer tournaments with prestigious prizes in the most exclusive salons of its elegant renaissance palazzo, Ca’ Vendramin Calergi The game reached France at the beginning of the sixteenth century, where before being introduced to the casinos, it first enjoyed a lengthy period as an exclusive game played only by the nobility. These special cards were considered magical and were often decorated by famous artists and used to tell fortunes. It seems that the origins of this game date back to the medieval period, when a game called “Baccarat” was played with Tarot cards.

Glamorous, magical and exciting, it is a game that has always thrilled the greatest gamblers the world over.