Baccarat – The Game of Choice For High Rollers

Baccarat has long been the game of choice for high rollers, such as Australian media mogul Kerry Packer who bet $20 million at Caesars Palace during September 2000 – yet even this incredible bet didn’t make a dent in its overall casino take. Bill Zender, former Nevada Gaming Control Agent and casino executive who literally wrote the book on managing casino games explains that Asian high rollers in particular prefer playing baccarat due to its cultural relevance.

Though blackjack may appear daunting at first, its rules are actually straightforward and accessible for even novice players. Bettors place bets on which hand will reach a total point value closest to nine (player, banker or tie), before cards are dealt and determined immediately by chance – something Ian Fleming popularized when making James Bond gambling popular with this fictionalized version of blackjack!

The roots of this game can be found in medieval Italy, where it first gained popularity as a card game among noblemen and aristocrats. Over time, its popularity spread into neighboring France where it became known as Chemmy or chemin de fer; French variations on its rules soon made the game an obsession among upper classes.

Baccarat remains a favorite among high rollers today and a game that attracts international visitors to Las Vegas Strip casinos. Additionally, its growing popularity in Asia can be witnessed via multiple betting options available in each game session. Players assemble themselves around an oval table in random order before their croupier places all 8 decks into an eight-deck shoe for deal.

Once all cards have been organized, a croupier will call for each hand to be dealt and the process of scoring and betting to start. A player’s hand receives two cards while banker’s Hand receives three and Tie Hand four; these three will then compete against one another in terms of total value after all two or three rounds are dealt; Aces count as one and Tens count as zero; all other numbered cards count face value.

Alongside traditional Player and Banker bets, the game also offers two other betting options — Super Six Bet and Pair Bet. A Super Six Bet pays out 12x its bet amount if the Banker wins with six points total while Pair Bet awards 11x payout if both initial cards are Player or Banker cards.

Card counting can also be employed in baccarat to decrease the house edge by approximately 0.05% and make the game more profitable for some players. Skilled card counters may even use this technique to reduce it down to 1-1.5 percent!