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BACCARAT
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FEATURES
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COLUMNS |
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| Hot Bets
Tips from our SportsBook expert
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How to Play: Baccarat
Forget the floorshow--if you want some elaborate entertainment in a casino, here's where to find it.
This distant cousin of blackjack is all about putting on airs and putting on a show. Oh, and putting big money on the table. Minimums of $20 to $100 per hand are common, and high rollers sometimes drop a grand like it was pocket lint.
Players don't really play the game. Instead, they place their bets and watch as two hands of two cards each are dealt face up (one for an imaginary Player and one for an imaginary Banker). A "caller" then plays all the cards for both "players," according to very strict rules:
Cards A-9 count their numerical values, and face cards count as zero. The goal is to get as close to 9 as possible. If a hand totals more than 9, you drop the first digit. (Thus, a hand of two 7s would count as 4.) A hand of 9 is known as le grande natural, or just a natural. An 8 is called le petit natural. If either hand is dealt one of these two naturals, the hand ends right there.
The "Player" hand goes first. Hands of 0-5 must take a hit; hands of 6, 7, 8 and 9 must stand. After the Player's hand is complete, it's the Banker's turn, following these similarly rigid rules: If the Player didn't draw and the Bank (as the hand is known) has 0-5, the Banker must draw. If the Player didn't draw and the Bank has 6 or 7, Banker must stand.
If the Player drew, it gets a little more complicated. If the Banker has 0-2, he always draws. With a 3, Banker will draw if the Player's third card is anything but an 8, and stand on the 8. With a 4, Banker will draw if Player's third card is 2-7 and stand on everything else. With a 5, Banker will draw if Player's third card is 4-7 and stand on everything else. With a 6, Banker will draw on 6 or 7 and stand on everything else. Banker always stands on 7, 8 or 9.
Don't worry if it's confusing, because playing the game is an empty ritual. The caller always plays the hand out according to the rules, declares a winner--and then the dealers settle bets (see "Betting Tips" sidebar).
If it all seems like a brainless game perfect for the idle rich--and people who want to look like they are--then, yes, you understand baccarat perfectly.
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 Remember, there are no accidents, and all the quasi-spiritual airs are for a reason. Believe it--because once upon a time baccarat was played with tarot cards.
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If it all seems very "Bond, James Bond," that's because it is. When we first see Sean Connery as Agent 007 in Dr. No, he's playing chenin de fer, the European version of baccarat.
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Baccarat players are allowed to bend the cards. Call it the high roller's prerogative.
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Baccarat as played in American casinos today originated in Britain and traveled to South America and Cuba before finally being introduced stateside in the '50s at the Dunes in Vegas.
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Singer Frank Sinatra, who reportedly had played baccarat in Europe, was instrumental in bringing the game to the Dunes. He also helped promote the game as a classy, upscale diversion when he was co-owner of the Sands.
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The word baccarat comes from an old Italian term for zero, which is where your bank account will wind up if you're not careful.
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