Baccarat has its roots dating back to the 1800s in France and Italy’s gambling salons. However, it has been increasing in popularity worldwide as gamblers embrace it as one of their favourite games. The rise in favour of the game has especially been astronomical in Asian markets and is spreading worldwide. With Macau overtaking Las Vegas as the world’s gambling capital, baccarat has featured prominently, and it is even the primary source of revenue for these casinos in Asia. Before its stellar rise, land-based casinos had to vigorously market and promote it, using tactics such as having attractive women and dealers in tuxedos enticing customers to play the game.
Why it is so popular
One of the reasons why baccarat continues to gain popularity is that it is a simple game. Players only need either to choose to bet on the Player or Banker and leave the rest to the live dealer. The main objective is to get as close as possible to 9 than the opposite hand. If they go above 9, then the first digit is dropped. For example, if you bet on the banker and draw an 8 and a 4, the total is 12, meaning the result is lowered to 2. On the other hand, if you bet on the player and draw a 3 and a 4, the total will be 7, which means you will have won the game. The cards 2-9 carry their face value, while Aces will count as one, and tens (10), jacks (J), kings (K), and queens (Q) count as 0. Since there are fixed rules on whether a dealer can draw a third card, the player only needs to choose which hand to bet on and how much to wager, making it a simple game to play. While many would have seen popular actors such as James Bond playing it, they are often intimidated by thinking it’s a complicated game. However, you may want to try your hand and play baccarat in LeoVegas casino where they even have the option to try it out for free and get to know the game before wagering on real money.
Is it attractive for high rollers?
Baccarat usually has one of the lowest average house advantages compared to other casino games, about 1.2% of a player and banker bets. However, a third option is for a player to choose a tie bet, which usually pays about 8:1. This means that if the result is the same total for the banker and the player, the player wins 8 times the amount wagered. However, most of the advantage of about 14% goes on the casino side. One of the reasons this is attractive for high rollers is that they can take their chances depending on the limits set by the casino.
Baccarat variants
As the game found its ways across the globe, it was constantly evolving into various variants depending on the region. While the game rules are the same, it resulted in four variants; mini-baccarat, chemin de fer, punto bunco, and baccarat Banque. Mini baccarat accommodates 7 players instead of 8. It usually has low bet rates, and the dealer acts as both the player and banker. Chemin de Fer is the French version of the game. The main difference is that it draws 6 decks instead of 7. In the Punto Bunco variant, up to 14 players can take part. The banker is referred to as the Bunco, while the players are referred to as Punto. In Barracat Bangue, one of the players takes the dealer’s role in the entire game.
