Macao is an old, European

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

card game A card game is any game that uses playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, whether the cards are of a traditional design or specifically created for the game (proprietary). Countless card games exist, including famil ...

played with

French playing cards French-suited playing cards or French-suited cards are playing cards, cards that use the French Playing card suit, suits of (clovers or clubs ), (tiles or diamonds ), (hearts ), and (pikes or spades ). Each suit contains th ...

that is related to

Baccarat Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game. It is now mainly played at casinos, but formerly popular at house-parties and private gaming rooms. The game's origins are a mixture of precursors from China, Japan, and Korea, which then gained popularit ...

. It was first mentioned in 1774, and may have originated in Hungary or Italy. It was described as being popular with the soldiers of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

during the 19th century, although the game was later banned as a game of chance.

Overview

Macao may be a forerunner of

. It is a gambling game using cards that resembles others of its genre such as Onze et Demi, Vingt Un, Trente Un or

Siebzehn und Vier Twenty-one, formerly known as vingt-un in Britain, France and America, is the name given to a family of popular card games of the gambling family, the progenitor of which is recorded in Spain in the early 17th century. The family includes the cas ...

. The idea of ''Macao'' is also used in a

dice game Dice games are games that use or incorporate one or more dice as their sole or central component, usually as a random device. The following are games which largely, if not entirely, depend on dice: Collectible dice games Patterned after the su ...

of the

same name ''Same Name'' is an American reality television series in which an average person swaps lives with a celebrity of the same first and last name. It premiered on July 24, 2011 on CBS. The series received low ratings, and CBS pulled it after four-ep ...

Play

The following rules are from Meyer: Each punter is dealt a card by the banker; additional cards may be 'bought'. The

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

counts as one point, Tens and

court card A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts gene ...

s as nought, and the remaining cards count their pip value. The aim is to acquire nine points or as close as possible to nine points, in one's hand cards as quickly as possible. If a player's first card is a Nine, this is a ''großer Schlag'' and wins double, unless the

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

also has a ''großer Schlag'' in which case the banker collects a double stake from all players except for the punter who also had a nine, who just loses a single stake. An Eight as first card is called a ''kleiner Schlag''. Whoever goes bust (''verkauft''), i.e. ends up with more than nine points, immediately loses his stake. If the banker goes bust, all players win if they have nine or fewer points. If a player has more points than the banker, he wins a single stake; if he has fewer, he loses his stake. If a player has the same number of points as the banker, the number of cards is the decider. Whoever has fewer cards wins; if both points and cards are the same, the banker always wins.

Differences between Macao and Baccarat

In Macao a player may 'buy' as many cards as possible; but if he exceeds nine points, he loses immediately. In some variants of Baccarat the player may only draw one card. If a player exceeds nine points in Baccarat only the one place counts, i.e. a player can get worse by buying, but exceeding nine points does not necessarily mean the loss of the game. In Macao all the punters receive cards; in Baccara chemin de fer, however, only one punter gets a card and in Baccara banque only two punters (one in each half of the table).

Literary reception

Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. He is considered one of the most significant representatives of Viennese Modernism. Schnitzler’s works, which include psychological dramas and narratives ...

's novella, ''Spiel im Morgengrauen'', the game is named "Bakkarat" at one point, but it is clear from the clues in the novella that it is in fact the game of ''Macao''. It is mentioned in '' The Virginians'' by

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray ( ; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist and illustrator. He is known for his Satire, satirical works, particularly his 1847–1848 novel ''Vanity Fair (novel), Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portra ...

, spelled ''macco''.

References

Literature

* * * * {{Banking games Banking games 18th-century gambling games Austrian gambling games Hungarian gambling games