Baccarat Popularity Increases Las Vegas

To be honest there are few casino games that are more nerve-racking than baccarat. Played predominantly by the royalty in Europe during the 13^th century, the game in itself has been “immortalised” by suave heroes such as James Bond in blockbuster movies such as “Dr. No” and “Casino Royale.”

Baccarat has always been shrouded in an air of mystery and yet it’s one of the easiest games to master.  The aim of the game is to get as close as possible to the “number 9”. In other words the two-or three-card hand closest to the nine wins, not including face cards and “10” cards valued zero.

Modern day baccarat played in the US and various other countries don’t necessitate much skill. The supposed incongruity sandwiched between sophistication and ease explains the success baccarat has achieved of late in Las Vegas’ majestic resorts, intended to cultivate players’ escapist fantasies.

Baccarat has generated more revenue in Nevada than any other table game; this includes blackjack which generated 17 percent of the Strip’s gambling revenue in 2009 in comparison to 9 percent in 2004. Because of baccarat’s immense popularity, seminars at the Global Gaming Expo to be held in Las Vegas this week will focus on this game’s meteoritic rise.

A bet in baccarat is mathematically comparable to a coin flip; players virtually have a 50-50 probability of winning. Although gambling online slightly tip the odds in their favour, baccarat is fast becoming one of the most rational propositions at most internet casinos.  The house edge for amateurish blackjack players is 2 percent; baccarat’s house edge currently stands at 1.1 percent resulting in players losing $1.10 for every $100 they bet in baccarat.

”Roger Snow, senior VP of Shuffle Master said, since the house edge is so low very little skill is required”.  “Novice players who play their very first hand are just as good as players who’ve been playing for the last 20 years.” The news media has given wide coverage to two Singapore tycoons who recently lost a staggering $115 million playing baccarat at the country’s top new casinos which recently opened.”

Macau, considered to be the world’s biggest and financially profitable gaming market has the world’s most baccarat tables. Las Vegas has now become the Chinese player’s choice to play baccarat at and many Chinese high-rollers have been flocking in their droves to play baccarat at the Vegas Strip. Chinese gamblers in general get an immense kick out of baccarat, large wagers are encouraged in some land-based casinos where it is said that the largest high-rollers even get the chance to deal the cards!

“Gambling constitutes part of the Chinese culture, the more cash the gambler wagers the higher his status,” said the dealer, he’s table requires a minimum bet of $25,000, a maximum bet of $300,000 is permitted. Some online casinos posted quarterly losses, because of some gamblers winning big at baccarat — a high roller’s fortune at the high-stakes baccarat table. Apart from the huge amounts of cash involved, no other casino game will tolerate the theatrics baccarat permits players to do in any casino.  Rowdy baccarat players are not only annoying to certain outsiders; baccarat can also impact heavily on the casino’s revenue.

In baccarat your trendier player keeps a record on whether a hand was won by the “player” or “banker”, one of two betting positions in baccarat.   Even if the “player” position is similar to a betting hand in blackjack, “banker” permits the player to successfully bet on the dealer’s hand — an offer where the odds are somewhat better that are evened out by a “commission” paid to the casino on “banker” wins.

To predict the future gamblers will use various symbols to record a winning position, one after the other, on scraps of paper or score cards issued by the casino, the results are similar to reading tea leaves in a cup.

The drama of the game is further enhanced by means of adding streaks.  Gamblers are inclined to believe that streaks — when numbers are randomly drawn over and over again — are exceptional irrespective if they occur with some regularity, said Frank Martin, who is also a mathematician and gambling expert.

Fifty percent of the time a streak of eight in a row should occur in relation to 400 flips coin tosses, this is a rough equivalent to a session of baccarat, Martin said.  However, most players normally don’t take the mathematics into account they simply consider themselves lucky.  In particular your Asian players, the luck element is always favoured, the outcome is always a good portend which normally indicates a sign of good or bad omens, in turn it defines the person’s self-image and accomplishment in life.

The majority of Asian players firmly believe that winning is normally a very good indication that they are considered to be a good human being and it’s not simply a random fall of the cards, said Timothy Fong, co-director of UCLA’s Gambling Studies Program.  Fong assists in the treatment of gambling addicts, of which the majority are baccarat players, who will chase down wins regardless of the cost.

On the contrary, baccarat’s emotional allure can boomerang severely on players who lose, they feel they “merit punishment” and “morally poor in more ways than one,” Fong said. Your average Asian businessman sees the baccarat table as a work place as opposed to that of recreation, said Fong, whose centre studies gambling as a cultural occurrence.

“Their mindset states, ‘If I can figure out how be successful in business, I can find a solution to win at this game,’?” he said. “?‘Gamblers use work as a term, they firmly believe if they keep going at it, sooner or later they will reap the rewards.’?” However, when it comes to baccarat as viewed from a western perspective the setting is completely different.  O’Hair who’s a regular baccarat player at the Vegas Strip is drawn to the game for different reasons and “work” has zilch to do with it.

The game’s luxury strapping draws him; O’Hair started playing baccarat in the 1990s whilst on a skiing trip at Lake Tahoe.  The high-limit room and dealers in bow ties gives one the feeling that you are “James Bond” and to me that gives me a huge kick, he says.

O’Hair describes as an intermediate baccarat player who will wager a $100 or a couple of thousand dollars and claims after all his years of baccarat he’s played even. Strange as it might sound there are some positives to losing as well, O’Hair says: Casinos in turn will comp rooms, the casinos will serve losing baccarat players with free drinks and other various other perks than most other casino games.

It seems that baccarat as a casino game’s popularity is on the up even at land-based casinos. Its popularity has never been better- thanks to the Vegas strip many foreigners in particular Chinese are placing their bets at this infamous casino joint.