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

American casino-goers are still a bit puzzled about the number one game at casinos around the world. Baccarat can be traced back in time to the gambling halls of France and Italy. But, Baccarat's rise in casinos over the past three decades--mostly in Asia and increasingly in the United States- has made it a game that both gamblers and casino managers love.

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 even understand the rules, it accounts for 18%. Slots is the only game that brings in more revenue for Strip casinos. There are more slot machines than baccarat.

Bill Zender, a former Nevada Gaming Control Agency agent, casino dealer and executive, is currently a consultant. His 40+ years of experience has seen baccarat expand significantly.

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 vital. It used to be that we would discard a card if the dealer made an error. But, the Asian players would walk out of the table and say that it was a bad idea. We started to save the card and dealt a dummy instead.

Baccarat is an easy game to play, even though it's often hidden away in high limit gaming areas. After deciding whether to place their bets on the "Player", "Banker" or both, 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. The first digit is removed if your cards exceed nine. 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 and kings), count as zero. Aces count as one.

Dealers adhere to a set of rules that determine whether or not a third cards is drawn. The only decision the player has to make is which hand they want to place their bets on and how much. Called Baccarat - The Casino Card Game With Spread Betting