What is Baccarat?
Baccarat is a casino game where the object is to have your hand, either Player or Banker, be the one closest to nine. The winning hand is the one that totals 9 minus the first digit when all of the pips are added up (clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades count as zero, while aces count as one). The banker wins more often than the player, but both can win. Baccarat is a popular game for high rollers and generates more money than any other table game in the casinos.
With its roots in the gambling salons of Europe and now a fixture on most casino floors, baccarat has become an all-star among casino players and operators. However, it’s a game that many American players still don’t know much about.
While it may not be as flashy or fast-paced as other casino games, baccarat is a simple game to learn. Unlike blackjack or roulette which have numerous wager options, baccarat has only three possible bets: the Player, Banker, and Tie. Players can also place side bets that cost more than the Player and Banker but offer higher odds of winning.
When it comes to deciding which bet to place, most serious baccarat players stick with the Banker and Player bets as they have the lowest house edge at just 1.2 percent. The third bet, the tie, pays off eight to one but has a much larger house edge of over 14 percent.
While the house edge is low, baccarat does carry some risk, and for high rollers that can be a turn off. To mitigate that risk, players should make their bets as large as possible.
A good way to gauge how large of a bet to make is to look at the betting circles on the table. Most casinos have the betting circle marked to correspond with the commission and tie box, and since the game is so popular with people from China the number 4 has been replaced with an 8 because in Chinese culture it’s an unlucky number.
To create a piece of Baccarat glass, the raw materials are heated together in furnaces that reach temperatures as high as 1500 degrees Celsius. The resulting molten glass is then blown or pulled into a shape and finished with various decorations. The most common decoration for Baccarat glasses is gold leaf, but there are a variety of other decorative finishes as well.
While high-limit baccarat is a staple at the larger operators, many smaller companies struggle to justify the investment in a game that’s prone to volatile swings. However, for those who can draw a deep pool of both mass and VIP play to the game, it can be a very profitable addition to the floor.
