Faro has a long history and is said to have originated in France in the 17th century. It got its name from the picture of a pharaoh commonly found on the back of playing cards at the time. Faro became popular after another card game called Basset was banned by King Louis XIV in 1691. A few years later, Faro was also banned, but people continued to play it anyway. Its popularity spread across Europe and finally arrived in America in 1717 by the hand of a Scottish outlaw fleeing from England.
Faro was incredibly popular in America, especially during the Wild West, being the most popular card gambling game around. However, its popularity was overtaken by poker as Faro had developed a bad reputation for being a rigged game in favour of the house (probably due to the high odds of winning for the players). It was still played into the 20th century, but eventually could only be found at casinos in Las Vegas and Reno. Nowadays, players can find this game at selected online casinos and try their hand at the cowboys' favourite card game.