The European version of Baccarat is around 150 years old or so. Its distant cousin, Chemin De Fer, played under a completely different set of rules, is much older and was a game favored by European royalty and wealthy industrialists. This is most likely where he got the mystique of elegance as an exclusively “high rollers” game.
In the mid-1950s, Tommy Renzoni directed the game of Baccarat at the Capri Hotel & Casino in Havana, Cuba. It was said that he discovered that particular variation of the game being played in Argentina at the time.
In those days, the mafia ran the casinos in Havana and was a popular place for the very wealthy and the Hollywood elite. In 1959, when Castro overthrew the Batista regime, he quickly closed the casino doors and the mob was expelled from Cuba. They had a good deal for a while, but all good things must end.
However, the timing was perfect, because Tommy Renzoni was hired to open the Sands Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas to run his Baccarat game. So it was Renzoni, through a stroke of fortune, who introduced the American version of Baccarat in Las Vegas that is played today.
The American version of the game is as simple as it sounds. You choose to bet on the “bank” hand or the “player’s” hand. Almost a coin toss. The only other option would be to bet on a tied hand to appear (a bet that no sane person would make even though I see it done all the time). It is an even money bet on both sides with the exception of a small commission charged for winning the banking hands.
The reason for this is that the rules of the game favor the dealer’s hand to win a little more often than the player’s hand. Without the 5% commission, the result would skew to the side of the bank.
The object of the game is to get close to a total of 9. All ten cards and face cards have a value of zero, therefore a 5 and a queen would be a total of 5. You don’t even need to know the rules that govern the game. card draw because they are fully automatic and procedures are led by dealers and hitting the hole.
Compared to craps, blackjack, roulette, or even poker, there are no complicated decisions to make. Decide the amount of your bet and which side to bet on. Nothing can be easier.
It is the aura surrounding the game that tends to make it seem off limits to most casino goers. He has been portrayed through high roller stories and in James Bond movies (007) over the years as the hero playing the evil villain. Keep in mind that all players are betting against the casino, not each other. Although cordoned off table areas and high-stakes table boundaries can be somewhat intimidating.
Enter Mini-Baccarat. Casinos, always looking to win money, came up with the mini-baccarat table as a way to make it more accessible to the average casino customer. It seemed to work, although it has yet to gain the wide acceptance of the more popular board games.
Betting systems
Actually, mini-baccarat is ideal for most betting and gaming systems that work well in a win / lose environment. Because there can only be one of two outcomes, betting systems that rely on a parlay (doubling) of bets tend to work well.
It is common to see runs of 2, 3, 4 and 5 in the hands of the dealer or the player. I was playing the Tropicana one night and witnessed an incredible streak of 22 consecutive “bank” hands. Fortunately, having the sense and instinct to go on a winning streak after the fourth win on the bench, I was able to capture 18 straight wins. Needless to say, it was a very good evening. It’s an extraordinary race, but the game lends itself well to streaks on both sides.