Baccarat is an exciting game of pure chance with one of the lowest house edges in any casino, paying out 1:1 minus a 5 percent commission for banker bets, while player bets may carry slightly higher house edges (although betting on Player is still equivalent to betting a coinflip). Due to its ease-of-play and non-intimidating nature, baccarat offers one of the least intimidating experiences at any casino for both newcomers and experienced gamblers.
Baccarat, unlike blackjack which requires complex strategy and gamesmanship, or poker with its wide array of betting strategies and hands to master, is an easy game to grasp. Players place bets either on either player or banker hands; whichever side comes closest to nine wins the round. Rules are straightforward, with the game typically played on large circular or oval tables with a croupier dealing cards for an enjoyable playing experience that typically lasts only seconds per round of play.
At casinos, six decks of cards are shuffled together and placed on the table, where a dealer known as a “croupier” announces an initial betting amount and players indicate whether they wish to “go banker”, making an opposite bet against it or adding additional bets as needed – but never exceeding the total sum in all boxes combined.
A dealer then distributes two cards each to both player and banker boxes, showing their initial two cards to both. For a player to win, their hand must surpass that of the banker; otherwise they must increase their betting stake if necessary to beat them; otherwise if all bets are equal then play is considered tied and one player must leave.
No doubt baccarat is a game of pure chance, yet skilled play can increase odds. The high-stakes gambling associated with Macau allows players to place bets of $100k per hand and make this popular casino resort game an integral part of Las Vegas casinos.
At the Hard Rock, Lou sat with a fortress of yellow $1,000 chips stacked to his side as he watched the beautiful rituals of baccarat unfold. When approached by a dealer to play, Lou confessed he hadn’t. A dealer asked whether he’d ever experienced it before; Lou admitted no but was intrigued by its Bond-dipped mystique and beautiful ritual of the game – yet was surprised to discover its Zen-like simplicity: players bet either Player or Banker side and which gets closer to nine wins; picture cards count as zero, while aces count as one.