Lou is at the casino’s high-roller enclave, sipping a Corona beer and grooving to the booming beats that sonically define the place. He is playing blackjack, and he has never played baccarat before, though he’s been intrigued by the game’s Bond-dipped rituals and mystique. A dealer asks if he’d like to try the game. Lou says yes, and he begins to understand why baccarat has grown in popularity.
Unlike other casino games that involve multiple bets and complicated rules, baccarat is simple. Players simply choose whether to bet on Player or Banker, and the side that gets closest to nine wins. The cards are dealt two at a time, and the value of each hand is determined by adding their values (picture cards count as zero, 10s are zero and aces are one). If the hand total goes above nine, only the first digit is used.
After all bets are placed, the dealer reveals a card in the Player box and another card in the Banker box. If the total of these two cards is 8 or 9 on the first two deals, this is a “natural” win and the round is over; all bets are paid. If the points total is above 8 or 9, a third card will be drawn.
Baccarat is the largest card game in the world, and casinos everywhere make a lot of money from it. Macau’s casinos rake in more than 88 percent of their revenue from the game, and it accounts for 18 percent of total casino win on the Las Vegas Strip.
While baccarat has long held the allure of Asian high rollers, it’s also the least intimidating game in a casino for the new or casual gambler. Its simplest bet is Player/Banker, which is a coinflip that’s finished in seconds, and it has a low house edge of just over 1 percent. There’s no impact on other players, and the game is usually finished in just a few minutes. Non-commission versions of baccarat can be even faster.
While baccarat’s simplicity and relative lack of complexity are appealing, it’s important to set aside enough cash for the night before you play. This way, if you lose, you won’t be embarrassed to leave early. It’s also important to be aware of how much you’re spending. Baccarat is an exciting game, and it’s easy to get carried away. So decide in advance how much you want to spend and treat it as the money you’d spend on a night out, not a jackpot-chasing dream. You’ll thank yourself later.