Baccarat – A Game of Luck and Fate?

First-time Westerners often pooh-pooh the notion of luck and fate in Asian casinos, but those who’ve stood in a Macau baccarat pit for 30 minutes know better. Many Asian customers believe that once the cards are shuffled, cut and placed in the shoe, their “fate” is sealed.

Baccarat has generated a number of side bets and variations. Its success has also led to game capacity increases, player compression and barely controlled pandemonium.

Origins

Baccarat is the biggest table game in the world and has a rich history that spans across Europe, Asia, and the US. It is thought to have originated in Italy and then spread to France where it was adapted by French-speaking people into the form we know today.

The game then traveled to England and South America where it grew in popularity until Tommy Renzoni brought it to the US after the Cuban government closed its casinos. It has since exploded in popularity, especially with Asian high rollers.

The popularity of baccarat reached its peak in the 1960s when author Ian Fleming made it famous through his James Bond novels and films, including Casino Royal, Thunderball, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, For Your Eyes Only, and GoldenEye.

Rules

Baccarat is a fast-paced card game where players wager on which hand will win. A player and banker are dealt two cards each and the hand with a total closest to nine wins. If the hand has a value higher than nine, the first digit is dropped (for example, a seven and six would become three). Cards from two through nine are worth their numerical value, while tens and face cards count as zero points.

The dealer shuffles a deck of standard playing cards and deals them from a dealing shoe or device. The table is large and can seat 12 to 14 participants. Players place their wagers on the Player, Banker or Tie positions. The game is played in rounds and the winning hand takes the pot.

Strategy

A player’s choice of betting strategy can make or break baccarat success. A flat-betting strategy enables players to keep a tight reign on their bankroll while allowing them to track and learn the game. In addition, it reduces the risk of losing a large amount of money in a single hand. It is important to set clear budget limits and to stick to them.

Unlike roulette or blackjack, where patterns and trends can be observed, baccarat outcomes are independent of one another. Nonetheless, reoccurring patterns can be observed, and if these are exploited, the house edge can be reduced significantly. The Fibonacci strategy is a popular system for achieving this. It entails betting a fixed unit on each hand of the shoe, and if a player loses, they move the sequence down two numbers.

Payouts

Baccarat payouts depend on your betting decisions. A bet on the Player hand pays 1:1, while a winning Banker bet will pay 1:0.95. The ties pay 8:1. Aside from these two main wagers, players can also make side bets. These wagers are based on the poker value of the first two cards in the Banker and Player hands. Depending on the odds and house edge, these side bets can have large payouts.

As the game progresses, the Banker bet has a lower house edge than the Player bet, but a 5% commission on winning Banker bets erodes these benefits. Nonetheless, the Banker bet remains a smart choice for most players. Aside from the banker bet, other baccarat payouts vary from game to game. The table below shows the different payouts for each bet type.

Variations

The game of baccarat has been around for a long time. It was a popular choice among French nobility, dating back to the 19th century. The game became even more famous with its appearance in the Ian Fleming novel and subsequent film adaptation, Casino Royal.

There are several baccarat variants that offer exciting side bets and other interesting rules. Some of these variations change the drawing rules and the number of decks used. There are also some commission free versions that eliminate the banker’s 10% commission and substitute it with a payout reduction for winning Player bets.

Other baccarat variants have slight differences in the types of bets and payouts, which may require different Baccarat betting strategies. These variations may affect the house edge and the card counting potential of the game.