Why Casinos Fear and Love Baccarat: The World's Most Popular Gambling Game

 Why casinos love and fear Baccarat, the world's biggest gambling game

How big is baccarat in the world? Since 2006, Macau's casinos have earned more money than any other city worldwide. Macau's casinos made more money from baccarat than any other city in the world last year. They earned $33.2 billion. Singapore casinos also get a lot of their revenue from the game. Even on the Las Vegas Strip where many tourists don't know how to play the game, it accounts for 18%. The only game that gives Strip casinos more wins is slot machines, which are much more popular than baccarat.

Bill Zender is an ex-Nevada Gaming Control Agent, former casino dealer, executive, consultant and currently a consultant on managing casino gaming. His 40+ year career has seen baccarat expand significantly.

"Before the influx Asian players, we had to dress the game up in order to get people interested." he says. "So there were the large double tables, dealers in tuxedos, attractive women in evening dresses standing around, and you also had the huge double tables. It was very James Bond.

A croupier offers cards to people who play the part of customers at a Galaxy Macau... [+] Phase 2, casino developed by Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd.

A croupier offers cards to people who role-play as customers at a Galaxy Macau baccarat... [+]

Zender states that over the last twenty years, Asian high-rollers have almost universally chosen baccarat as their preferred game, due to its cultural affinities.

He said, "The cards will be shuffled and put in the deal shoe." "There is no standing or hitting, as it all depends on pre-determined rules. They believe that luck is what flows into their shoes. This is very important. This is crucial. We started to save the card and dealt a dummy instead.

Although it's sometimes hidden away in high limit gaming areas, baccarat remains a very simple game to play. After deciding whether to bet on "Banker" or the "Player" hand, players can relax and let the dealer do the rest. The goal of the game, as the name suggests, is to get closer than nine to the other hand. If you have more cards than nine, the first number is dropped. If you have a seven or six, it would be a 13, and the first digit is dropped to three. 10-count cards (tens jacks queens, kings and tens) count as zero. Aces count as one.

The dealer follows a set of rules that determine if a third cards is drawn. This means that the only decision the player has to make is on which hand they want to place their bets and how much.

Why is baccarat so popular with high rollers? Zender explained that baccarat has one of lowest hold percentages at the casino. It also has an average house edge of about 1.2 per cent on banker and play bets. The third bet, tied, pays out eight to one if both hands have the same number. However, it has a larger house advantage of more than 14 percent. The best players stick with bankers or player.

The danger of baccarat for casinos is the fact that players can win significant money at the expense casino because of the large amount of money they place and the low house edge. How high can the betting limits be? Zender points out that there are casinos in Singapore that will take bets of up to $750,000 Singapore Dollars (about $550,000 USD) for a single hand. However, the Las Vegas Strip casino might accept bets of as high $150,000 per hands. Casinos can make millions within a matter of hours, but they can also lose billions.

Zender says that the rule of thumb he gives to casino managers is "100 times your average wager." You could win $1,000,000 if a guy bets $10,000 per hand. This is within two standard deviations so it's possible.

Baccarat has seen many changes since its European origins. Zender says that because most big Asian players don’t like the James Bond pageantry with tuxedoed dealer and double tables, most casinos now offer the game at a single table. It looks very similar to a blackjack game. Although the minimum table limit is still prohibitively high, it can be found on the regular floor of casinos, with often lower minimums.

American gamblers have now made baccarat more accessible than ever since its European origins. You can expect more baccarat table additions at your local casino due to its high profitability potential and its track record all over the globe.

Because this is one game where a high-bet player can potentially cause a financial loss to the casino, expect to see plenty of wealthy players eager to try their luck. make money baccarat from luck and not skills