Duel To The Finish

By Will Veda

Oh, the glorious game of Baccarat, the casino pastime of choice by many high rollers including Bond, James Bond. Well, Mr. Bond actually played chemin de fer, a version of Baccarat banked by the players. Baccarat is pronounced bock-err-rah (the word is even more impressive if you roll the r’s off your tongue) and is by far the easiest casino game to play, but the glamour and extreme wagers intimidate many people.

The only decisions players have to make are what to bet on and how much. There are just three bets that can be made: Bank Hand (has nothing to do with the casino—it could easily be called “heads”), Player Hand (has nothing to do with any players—and could be called “tails”), or the long-shot Tie Hand. Heads/Tails? This game is just that: a coin flip; you either win or lose (unless the hands tie, which results in a push except when betting on that rare tie). You can’t double down or split or for that matter make any decisions on the cards that are dealt. There are stringent and non-modifying rules that must be followed and the dealer(s) do all the work.

The players do not receive any cards; instead the card hands are laid out on the table. Each hand receives two initial cards, one first for the player hand, then one for the bank, one for player, and finally one for the bank. In Baccarat, a player (the one with the largest wager) actually deals the cards and gives them to the “caller,” who is the dealer running the game. There are two other dealers, one at each end, that pay off winning wagers, collect losing wagers, and keep track of commissions.

The card values are: 2 through 9 equal face value, an Ace equals the value of one, 10 through Kings equal the value of 0. After the cards are dealt the caller announces the two card totals and decides if one or the other hand gets a third card based on pre-determined rules (listed below). Three cards are the most that can be dealt to a given hand. Each card value is only equal to one digit (the second of the total), meaning if a hand receives card values of 5 and 9 the total is 4, not 14.

Wagers are paid at even money, except for the Tie bet, which is usually paid 8 to 1. If you bet on the Bank Hand and win you will be charged a 5% commission (which is a tax—where’s the Boston Tea Party when you need them?) Commission is usually collected after the eight-deck shoe runs out or if the player is getting ready to depart. A dealer will keep track of the due commission by placing coins and value markers in a numbered box for each player.