Primero

Primero (in English also called Primus, in French , in Italian or in Spanish Primera), is a 16th-century gambling card game of which the earliest reference dates back to 1526. Primero is closely related to the game of primo visto (a.k.a. prima-vista, and various other spellings), if not the same. It is also believed to be one of the ancestors to the modern game of poker, to which it is strikingly similar. The gambling game with this name goes back to the 16th century, being known to Gerolamo Cardano as , which he thought of as the noblest of all card games, to François Rabelais as , and to Shakespeare as primero. The origins of Primero It is uncertain if Primero is of Spanish or Italian origin. Although Daines Barrington is of the opinion that it is of Spanish origin, a poem of Francesco Berni is the earliest known writing to mention the game; it affords proof that it was at least commonly played in Italy at the beginning of the 16th century. His work entitled Capitolo del Gioco della Primiera, published in Rome in 1526, and believed to be the earliest extant work describing a card game, contains some particulars on primero. According to David Parlett, the game's card-point system is found in other Italian games but nowhere else. The game is still very much played in central Europe and Spain with Italian-suited cards, under the name of goffo or bambara, remaining the major native vying game of Italy. Alessandro Striggio's madrigal dramatizing a party of the game "II gioco di primiera" was published in 1569.