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This is one of the oldest gambling games played with cards. The name faro probably derives from the picture of a pharaoh on an early set of cards. It was popular in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, and in the US in the 19th century. The game involves betting on the rank, or number, of a card drawn from a dealing box. It is still played in a few casinos.
Examples of faro in a Sentence
Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 23 Dec. 2021
Legend has it Wyatt Earp frequented the joint while running faro games a few blocks away.
—Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 July 2019
Some said Showers had dealt faro to Henry Clay and Daniel Webster at the Palace of Fortune, better known as the Hall of the Bleeding Heart, back in Washington, D.C.
—Darryl Levings, kansascity, 26 Jan. 2018
As the plot moves toward an unforgettable hand of faro, the characters, with a little help from magical realism, exemplify the role and impact of chance in our lives.
—Amy Wang, OregonLive.com, 26 Dec. 2017
The police officially gave shops in Chinatown some leeway with lottery games, but this clearly went beyond that exception, with chuck-a-luck, blackjack and faro as well as craps.
—OregonLive.com, 23 May 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'faro.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near faro
Cite this Entry
“Faro.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faro. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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