Baccarat has earned a reputation as a glamorous game associated with high rollers and luxury. But it is possible to play the game with a limited bankroll. The key is to know how the game works, and to limit your losses. Before you sit down to play baccarat, decide how much money you want to spend and treat it as you would any other night out, not a gambling experience.
BACCARAT HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE THE 1400S. It made its way to Europe from Italy, where it became a favorite pastime among royalty and wealthy people. In the early 19th century, the game reached the United States and was an instant hit. Today, it remains a popular casino game.
Baccarat is a card game where the player bets on either the player or the banker hand to win. Two cards are dealt to each hand, and whichever one totals closest to nine wins. Numbers and picture cards count as their face value, while aces count as one point. If the total goes over nine, only the second digit counts. For example, a 9 and a 5 becomes 15.
If the Banker or Player total is 8 or 9, this is called a natural win. The game ends and bets are paid. If neither the Banker nor the Player hand is a natural winner, a third card is drawn. If the third card is a 7 or 8, this is a tie and the game continues.
The croupier deals the cards and sets them up in a special box or shoe. A shuffle is then performed, and the cards are loaded into the box. Depending on the rules of the game, there can be between eight and 16 decks in use. Pre-shuffled cards are used to speed up the process of introducing new decks into the game. Traditionally, each new set of eight cards must be inspected for backs and faces by both the floor supervisor and the dealer. They are then scrambled or washed together, and finally inserted into the shuffling machine or manually shuffled. The entire process can take up to 30 minutes, and this slows the pace of the game.
At the baccarat table at Hard Rock, Lou is forearm deep in yellow $1,000 chips. His friends gab, cigar smoke curls toward the ceiling, and a sense of anticipation permeates the air. Two Chinese men are at the far end of the table, yelling, “Monkey!” at the dealer, a reference to the no-value picture cards in baccarat. One of them started the night with $700 and worked it up to $5,000.