<P> It is not a direct relative of poker, but faro was often just as popular, due to its fast action, easy - to - learn rules, and better odds than most games of chance . The game of faro is played with only one deck of cards and admits any number of players . </P> <P> Wildly popular in North America during the 1800s, faro was eventually overtaken by poker as the preferred card game of gamblers in the early 1900s . </P> <P> The earliest references to a card game named pharaon are found in Southwestern France during the reign of Louis XIV . Basset was outlawed in 1691, and pharaoh emerged several years later as a derivative of basset, before it too was outlawed . </P> <P> Despite the French ban, pharaoh and basset continued to be widely played in England during the 18th century, where it was known as pharo, an English alternate spelling of Pharaoh . The game was easy to learn, quick and, when played honestly, the odds for a player were the best of all gambling games, as records Gilly Williams in a letter to George Selwyn in 1752 . </P>

How do you play the card game faro