Las Vegas: Baccarat
Despite its sophisticated image - lavishly cultivated by most casinos (not to mention numerous James Bond films) - the card game baccarat is at root a simple game of chance, which requires no skill or judgment from its players. Its name, pronounced bah-kah-rah not back-a-rat , comes from the Italian for "zero," in that all the cards that are worth ten points in other games - 10s, jacks, queens, and kings - are here worth nothing at all. Aces count as one, and other cards are worth their face value.Even though up to fifteen gamblers can sit around the table, no more than two hands are ever dealt. One is called the " player ," and the other the " bank ," but you're free to bet on whichever you choose. Each round starts with a different gambler being invited to deal two cards to each hand. According to a complicated but fixed set of criteria, a third card may then be dealt to either hand or both, starting with the "player." The aim for each hand is to add up to as close to nine as possible; with totals of ten or more, the first digit is always discarded. Thus a 4 and a 3 total seven; a jack and a 3 total three; and a queen, a 9 and a 4 also total three.
To bet on baccarat, you don't need to understand the precise circumstances in which the third card is dealt; the spectacle simply unfolds before you, as often as not in complete silence. All you need to know is that only three bets are possible - "player," "bank," and "tie" - and that although successful "tie" bets pay off at 8 to 1, the house has a 14.4 percent advantage on these, so they're never worth making. "Player" and "bank" both pay back even money, but as "bank" is marginally more likely to win, the casino levies a five percent commission on successful "bank" bets. Even taking that into account, the house advantage is 1.06 percent on "bank" bets, and 1.24 percent on "player" bets. Betting "bank" is thus always slightly the better option.
The very narrow house "edge" on baccarat explains why the game is traditionally reserved for high-rollers, and much more available on the Strip than it is downtown or elsewhere in the city. Strip casinos usually offer it in roped-off enclaves where the minimum stake is at least $100, and a string of bad luck on the baccarat tables can impact severely on a casino's overall profitability. These days, however, you may encounter the all-but-identical, if faster-paced, game of " mini-baccarat " being played out on the main casino floor, for lower minimum stakes.
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