The sums of money lost in France at this game were so considerable that the nobility were in danger of being undone after many persons of distinction were ruined. The game was very popular at the court of King Charles II, and even after 15 January 1691 when Louis XIV issued an order from the privy council, by which he expressly forbade not only the officers belonging to his army, but likewise all other persons of whatever sex or denomination to play at Hoca, Pharaoh, Barbacole and Basset. It may have been devised out of the game of Hocca, Hoca or even Hoc, considered the precursor and an outlawed form of Italian roulette at which people lost considerable sums of money and also an early iteration of Biribi, which was brought into fashion by Cardinal Mazarin.īasset was first introduced into France by Signior Justiniani, ambassador of Venice, in 1674. The game Basset is described by a few authors as having been invented in 1593 by a noble Venetian named Pietro Cellini, who was punished with exile in Corsica for his contrivance. It was intended for persons of the highest rank because of the great losses or gains that might be accrued by players.Īccording to DELI ( Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana), the word Basetta is first recorded in the first half of the 15th century. On the walls is a bouquet of gambler’s delights: boxing, horse racing, the odds of the day, and the patron saint of card games, Edmond Hoyle.īasset (French bassette, from the Italian bassetta), also known as barbacole and hocca, is a gambling game using cards, that was considered one of the most polite. Thomas Rowlandson painted his version of a gaming den in 'The Hazard Room'.

Faro table card game