Online Baccarat Rules

A scandalous game of baccarat

Whenever you hear the word baccarat you automatically associate it with old-style casino gaming . This is probably because it’s always been the casino game of choice for the rich and famous and it’s not unusual to see the great and the good playing baccarat in the casinos of Monte Carlo still today.

However, many millions of people can now play an online casino site like 32red at any time of the day or night. Even if you know nothing about the game, you can learn as you go by playing a few rounds in demo mode – where you don’t bet with real money – until you’ve got the hang of how to play. Of course, no amount of practice will guarantee you a win when you play with real cash, as baccarat has always been, and remains, a game of pure chance.

The most well-known incident that took place around baccarat has to be the one that involved the then Prince of Wales – Bertie – in 1890. He was later crowned King Edward VII of England. Bertie was heir to the British throne and son to Queen Victoria, but at the time he was more interested in his passion – gambling. He was invited in September 1890 to a house part at a country house and estate called Tranby Croft, near Hull in Yorkshire by shipbuilder Arthur Wilson. Another guest was a Scottish landowner and soldier named Sir William Gordon-Cumming and in the evening, the house party settled down to a game of baccarat, which was illegal at the time.

Over the course of the evening, Stanley Wilson (Arthur’s son) claimed to have witnessed Sir William cheating. Allegedly, after he had won or lost, Sir William was changing the totals of bets on the table. Stanley confided this information to his mother, his friend and his brother-in-law.

The next evening, the guests gathered again to play baccarat and different people independently said that they had seen Sir William cheat. Over the two evenings, he had won a total of £225. On the third day, the guests had a discussion about what to do and settled on informing Prince Bertie. When confronted, Sir William refused to admit he was cheating but nonetheless signed a pledge that he would never play cards again. In return the incident would not be discussed beyond those four walls.

But unfortunately, the gossip proved too much too bear for some of the house party members and news soon made it to different social circles that Sir William had cheated and consequently he was treated as a social outcast. In retaliation, he decided to sue the accusers for libel and although Prince Bertie wasn’t named as a defendant, he was called as a witness to the case, which was scandal enough.

Due to the weight of testimony on the defendants’ side, the jury found in favour of the defendants and Sir William not only lost his libel case, but was also dismissed from the army. As a result of the scandal, he was never seen again in high society and retired to life on his estate.

As for Prince Bertie, he also had to change his habits following the scandal. Though he continued gambling in a discreet fashion, he never played baccarat again.

Today, of course, anyone can gamble online at a site like 32red and keep their gambling choices completely anonymous; another of the many advantages of playing casino online.