Baccarat gambling revenues sole bright spot in '09

[Goldeneye]

Baccarat gambling revenues sole bright spot in ’09

(February 16, 2010 7:01 AM) -

by David Stratton | Baccarat gambling revenues sole bright spot in ’09

If there were a bright spot in Nevada’s 2009 gaming revenue report released last week, it was the amount won by casinos at the baccarat tables.

Last year, baccarat generated $978.3 million, a whopping 26 percent more than in 2008.

Moreover, baccarat accounted for nearly 10 percent of all of the state’s gaming revenue, up from 5.7 percent just five years ago.

Experts say baccarat has gained in popularity for two primary reasons: tighter blackjack rules have driven players from the 21 tables, and baccarat enjoys the lowest house edge of any casino game.

Regardless of the reasons, baccarat is surprisingly simply to play. And, despite its exotic, James Bond image, you can play baccarat even with a small bankroll.

Las Vegas is a good place to play baccarat since you can find a lot of low-minimum-bet games; $5 minimums are easy to find. You can also find casinos that charge 4% commission instead of the usual 5%. These are the kinds of games the small bankroll player should be looking for.

Baccarat is also unique because strategy allows you to hit and run; you can bet selectively. That is, you will not be making a bet until a good opportunity comes along. Unlike blackjack, where you must make a wager on every hand, in baccarat it is not uncommon to sit out a few hands from time to time.

Baccarat is surprisingly easy to learn. Baccarat is played with multiple decks of standard playing cards. Two hands composed of two cards each are dealt – one for the "player" and one for the "bank." Players can bet on either hand.

The winning hand is determined by the point totals of the respective hands. All 10s and face cards are valued at 0. The rest of the cards retain their face value (the ace counts as one).

If the two-card total exceeds 10 points, you simply count the last digit of the number as your score. For instance, if a hand contains a 6 and 8 for a total of 14, the hand is valued at 4. The winning hand, either the "bank" or "player," will have a higher total value than the other.

The rules determining whether additional cards are drawn are complicated, but it is not necessary for the player to memorize them. The croupier will decide if and when a draw is necessary; the player is never required to make that decision. They are included here so you will understand the reasons behind the croupier’s action.

• If either hand has a value of 8 or 9 (these scores are called "naturals"), no further cards are dealt. The higher of the two hands is declared the winner. Should both hands have the same value, a tie is declared and neither wins.

• If neither hand is a natural, a set of complicated rules comes into play. Again, the croupier will make the decisions on drawing cards. Basically, the player’s hand will take a third card if its value is from 0 to 5. It must stand on 6 or 7. The bank’s hand must draw if its value is from zero to 2. When the bank has a value of 3 or more, draw is determined by the printed rules.

A bet on the player’s hand pays even money. But, because the bank hand has a slightly higher percentage of winning (50.7 percent), winning bets on the bank hand are subject to a 5 percent commission paid to the casino. (In practice, the bank bets are paid at even money, and the accumulated commissions are paid to the house at the end of the deal or when the player leaves the table.)

Players can also bet that the hands will end in a tie. This bet pays at odds of 8-1, but it is a poor bet because the house has an advantage of nearly 15 percent.

Because players cannot decide when to draw cards, there is no skill involved in playing baccarat. It is purely a game of chance. However, streaks do occur, and a winning strategy can take advantage of these cycles.

Baccarat tables also have "scorecards" that track previous hands. These can be helpful in placing your bets. If you hit the table in the middle of a deal, make sure you can view or share the scorecard with one of the other players. Normally a winning player will be happy to show you his or her card.

But let’s assume you start play at the beginning of the shoe. An average shoe will contain 80 decisions, seven of which will be ties. There will be at least 20 good opportunities in the shoe. These are the ones that will make you the most money. Your stop/loss will be $50 (quit if you lose half your stake of $100) and your win goals are $25, $50, $75, $100 and so on. You will quit before you fall back below any win goal achieved; for example, having won $75, quit before losing back $25 of your $75 profit.

Your strategy will be to bet only when a favorable opportunity occurs according to your analysis of the existing trends and patterns as the game plays out. These opportunities will be winning streaks of four or more straight decisions, and any repetitive patterns that you identify. At the start of the shoe, do not bet; wait until you get a feel for how the game is going. This may take several or more decisions. Be patient. Always keep a scorecard of the outcomes.

Study your scorecard. Look for patterns, especially those occurring with ties. These are more prevalent when there are a lot more than the usual seven-tie decisions. Remember tie bet wins pay 8-to-1. The pattern to watch for is multiple tie decisions with only a few (1 to 4) decisions between them. Ties occur in bunches. Bet $1 on the first attempt and as you win raise your bets to $2, $4 and so on.

Make your first bet when an opportunity occurs. Use a few basic bet progressions to size your bets. These are a series of bets two or three or four bets in length, expressed in units. For example, the three-bet bet progression 2-1-2 means three consecutive bets; the first two units, followed by a bet of one unit and the third bet of two units. If you win all three bets, you will have won five units.

Each unit can be any dollar amount. For our purposes, each unit is $5. So the previous series was $10-$5-$10. When you win the first bet in any series, go ahead with the next and so on; but you must stop the series if you lose any bet within the series and start over with the same series or select another one. I suggest the following bet progressions: 2-1; 1-3; 1-2-1; 2-1-2; 2-1-2-4. If you are successful and when you reach a profit of $100, you can consider increasing the unit value to $10.

That’s it. You do not have to be a high roller to play baccarat or mini-baccarat. A small stake will do just fine with a carefully formulated plan and enough practice to perfect it.

[Omega]

Sound like they screwed up going with poker in CR.