The game has long been a staple in Asian casinos and is now making its way to the West. Its popularity is being fueled by a new generation of high rollers seeking an alternative to American games like blackjack and poker. Baccarat is a pure game of chance, but it has one of the lowest house edges in the casino. The croupier deals two cards to the banker and player, and the one with a total closest to nine wins. The players can bet on the player hand, the banker hand or a tie. The game is played on a small table with seven to 14 seats and a dealer area. A cocktail waitress brings doubles of 18-year-old Macallan, cigar smoke curls up toward the ceiling and a sense of impending fortune lingers around the baccarat oval.
Lou, a former Oracle employee with a mathematical mind, is being initiated into the brotherhood of baccarat. As he sips his drink, he watches a pair of Chinese men discuss the game’s rules in hushed tones and scour their cards for clues that will give them an edge. They keep track of their wins, using black ink to mark player victories and red for banker wins. The results of each hand are then sketched in little rectangles that resemble studies for large, two-toned abstract artworks.
Six decks of cards are used and shuffled together. The players are seated in random order, typically around an oval table, and play starts to the right of the croupier. The croupier deals the first card to the player and then the banker. If the player and banker both show a nine, a third card is drawn by the croupier. The winner is determined by adding the values of the player and banker hands and using a special set of rules known as a tableau.
Baccarat is a simple game to understand but can be difficult to master. While it may not be the most exciting game in a casino, it can be highly profitable for those who have the patience to follow the trend of the hand. Tracking patterns, predicting future trends and never betting on both the banker and player at the same time are all strategies that can help increase your chances of winning at baccarat. Some casinos even offer specialty baccarat variants, such as Lunar New Year Baccarat, to change up the pace and feel of the game.