The Italians and the French both have claims that the game of baccarat was their invention.  Some have even claimed that the game can be traced back to a pagan ritual.  The ritual decided the fate of young women and consisted of nine different spirits praying when the woman tossed a nine sided die.  If an 8 or 9 appeared, the woman became the priestess of the temple.  If a 6 or 7 appeared, she had to leave and not be involved in any other religious activity.  If she rolled below a 6, she was to walk to the sea and drown herself.

Baccarat actually means zero in the Italian language.  The reason for this is because the most common points score while playing the game is zero.  In 1480, the creation of the first version of the game was credited to an Italian gambler.  The game quickly travelled across the Italian borders, entering France.

In France, nobility began to enjoy the game and it was played by people with money and status.  The French players changed the rules a bit and the game became known as Chemin de Fer.  In the early 20th century, the game was introduced in North America and was not very popular.  It then travelled south and was a hit in Argentina.  The game finally ended up on the gambling floors in Las Vegas and has been popular ever since.  This game has the best odds in the casino, making it a popular choice for high rollers.

Very few would consider coin-tossing as a form of gambling, but the fact remains that it is. Betting games have been around since the Romans and have existed in varying degrees in all cultures. Many believe that gaming or gambling, as it is known today, has evolved from the simplicity of coin tossing.

It was common in Roman times to coin toss to place a bet. Players would choose either heads or ships, which is now referred to as tails. In England, the coin-tossing game became known as pitch-and-toss, using two pennies.

Pitch and Toss: Pitch and toss has been played since the 18th century. It is also known as Jingles, Liney or Money up and is a simple coin game where players throw coins of the same denomination against a wall. The object is to throw the coins so they land as close to the wall as possible.

This concept eventually reached Australia and became popular amongst the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I where it became known as two-up. This widely spread game became tradition to play on Anzac day. The winner collects all the losers’ coins from the ground. Another variation is ‘tips’ where all the coins are thrown into the air. Players call heads or tails, and collect the landed coins accordingly.

Two-up: Considered a traditional Australian gambling game, two-up is played when two coins are thrown into the air. Similar to ‘tips’, players gamble on whether the coins will fall with two obverse (heads up) or two reverse (tails up), or one coin is up and the other is down.