The Bitcasino Royale: You as the James Bond of Baccarat

It wasn’t the game that the hit film franchise made famous. It was the game that somehow established him as THE Baccarat player.

Ian Fleming, the creator of the renowned secret agent series, fell in love with Baccarat in the real world that he created the world’s most famous Baccarat player, James Bond. And when Mr. Bond came out to the screens, the world was left with nothing to do but love him.

Baccarat is one of the oldest yet popular card games still existing. One reason can be its honest and simple gameplay or the low House Edge. But, the thing that remains clear is that Baccarat prides itself as a very intriguing game of chance.

With all the contrasting culture and politics aside, have a fun game of mystery and bravery when you bet your coins in our very own BitCasino Royale! Until, bang!

Maybe you can hit that jackpot!

Game Mechanics

The Player, Banker or a Draw

In case you’re new to the game. We’ve got your back!

Unlike other card games such as Blackjack and Poker, a punter does not personally deal with the hands in Baccarat. All one needs to do is to bet on what the results will be. The casino will do all the work for you.

The two representatives of the house will be competing on who gets to have a total card value equal or closer to nine.

Baccarat comes from the Italian word ‘baccara’ meaning zero. This is because face cards along with tens are counted as zeros. Baccarat follows a specific pointing system.

• Jack, Queen, King, Tens – 0
• Valued Cards – face value (2-9)
• Aces – 1

The best hand in Baccarat is one that falls exactly at 9. When a player surpasses 9, the sum of his cards will be counted by its last digit. For example, getting 2 and 5 of any card symbol will total 7. While having 6 and 7 of any will get you a 3 from its sum 13.

Both sides will be given two cards. After this, the banker and player will decide whether to hit or stand. Hit will imply getting a third card while standing means keeping the cards.

The drawing is automatically done for you at Bitcasino, but here is an overview of what the system follows.

• If the player or banker has a total of 8 or 9, they will stand.
• If the player hand has a score of 5 or less, they get to draw a card.
• In contrast, if the player’s hand is strong enough to stand with two cards (i.e. 7), the bank must hit on a score of 5 or less.

On the third card, these conditions will extend to the gameplay.

• If the player draws a 2 or 3, the bank can take a new card if their score is between 0 and 4. However, the bank must stand if they have a score between 5 and 7.
• If the player draws a 4 or 5, the bank can take a new card if their score is between 0 and 5. However, the bank must stand if they have a score of 5 or 7.
• If the player draws a 6 or 7, the bank can take a new card if their score is between 0 and 6. However, the bank must stand if they have a score of 7.
• If the player draws an 8, the bank can take a new card if their score is between 0 and 2. However, the bank must stand if they have a score between 3 and 7.
• If the player draws an Ace, 9, 10 or face card, the bank can take a new card if their score is between 0 and 3. However, the bank must stand if they have a score between 4 and 7.

While the cards are literally unfolding before you, your betting options will only be three — player, banker or a tie. As follows is the standard odds for the three.

The Player	A tie	The Banker
With odds at 1:1, bets on this side will result in an even payout of your stakes.	With odds at a booming 1:8, a draw will result in a big prize for a punter.	With odds at 1:0.95, bets will give a 5% for the house edge thus, a lesser payout.

An even payout means that you’ll have your previous stake back along with a cash prize equal to it. This means that betting 100 on the player and banker will get you 200 and 195 respectively. Winning on a tie with the same stakes can give you 900 and in some higher odd games (1:9), 1000.

It is highly unlikely that a match will end up in a draw amongst the two teams. That is why there is a very tempting pot prize to those who would wager on this option.

With the house edge at 5%, the odds of the player’s hand winning is a little lower than the banker’s hands. If you count out the probability that a tie will occur, the banker may win 51% of the time.

When in doubt of where to place those bets, betting on the banker will be the safest choice and betting on a tie will be the least practical.

Variations of Baccarat

The traditional game of Baccarat since its earlier years is quite the same to what we offer in our Bitcasino experience. In the late 1800s, Baccarat punters can bid on who will be the banker. The banker will stay until the decks are given out or when he goes bankrupt.

A head-to-head game or the usual player-banker system can occur. During a head-to-head game, a player who challenges the banker by saying ‘banco’ engages in a direct deal for the stakes.

In the regular play, the non-bankers are separated into two groups with a representative each. This creates two head-to-head games against the banker per each play. When he or she loses, the title of the player is passed to another in the group.

In this setup, the non-banking groups group their own stakes together to equal that of the banker. When a banker loses to a player, he pays all the stakes on their side of the table.
Baccarat has travelled from across the globe and got passed from culture to culture. The variations of Baccarat today relies heavily on where Baccarat is played.

Mini baccarat

Played mostly in America, this quick version of the game is played in a table for seven (7) instead of eight (8) players. One croupier acts as both banker and player.

This is also widely preferred because of its low bet rates in both physical and online casinos. With an average house edge of 5%, Baccarat tables contribute to a lot (almost 20%) of some casinos’ total income.

The mini Baccarat table can also be played in the open unlike other card tables.

Chemin de Fer

As the French version of the game, this game is unlike what we have earlier discussed. As it is, this variation is highly participative for all players. Although still existing, this is not played much in casino tables.

Chemin de Fer uses six decks of cards shuffled by the Croupier. That is his sole function. The banker is the one who distributes the cards. Instead of dealing face up, the cards are laid out on the table face down.

However, every bettor gets to be the banker in turns. The punter who bets the biggest shall become the player. He decides whether to draw a third card or not.

The name which means railway refers to the game’s faster approach than the traditional baccarat gameplay.

Punto Banco

This game refers to the player as the ‘Punto’ and the bank as the ‘Bunco’ as such the name. This game originated from Cuba and Argentina.

Having the largest players of up to 14, six (6)or eight (8) decks of cards can be used in each game. The dealer does everything from shuffling, distributing and even, the announcement of winners.

Unlike the French variation, players do not get to decide whether to hit or stand. Third cards are dealt according to the tableau (French for Board) or a set of fixed drawing rules.

When égalité (meaning tie bets win) is announced, the player and banker bets are kept for the next round.

Baccarat Banque

Unlike Chemin de Fer, only one player gets to play the role of the dealer for the whole duration of this European variation. This is unless he retires or his finances go bust.

Only three decks of cards are used in this game. Any player can ‘go bank’ or serve as the bank, the bank remains as the one who would bet the largest. He can do so until his funds can replenish the stakes in each game.

Quite contrary to the American version, the allure of this game to its gamers is the high bets that can be placed in this game.

Live Casino Lobby

Our Live Bitcasino deals do not falter against the oohs and aahs of a crowd in a physical casino!

With our trusted partners, we are committed to giving you a bigger collection of games both video or live regularly! Our live games are a product of constant innovation from both parties and are made just for your gaming pleasure.

The Live Game Lobby holds all the Baccarat tables and other table games for easy navigation. It also contains all the live games and the Bombay Club Exclusive Live Games that are available for play so you could easily switch deal after deal.

Other information that can be seen in the lobby include:

• The Game Category and Available Tables for each Game
• Game Information and Basics
• Players Allowed to Play in a Table
• Punters already in Play
• Betting Minimum and Maximum Limits
• Table Information and Time Slot (if there is)

The Live Casino Lobby has these Baccarat Tables.

The standard Salon Prive Baccarat tables have a minimum of 0.20 mBTC bets and a maximum of 5000. The Bombay Club table for this card game has a minimum and maximum of 0.10 mBTC and 6500 mBTC respectively.

Bitcasino also has Baccarat online table games for you aside from Live games.

Back to Baccarat History

The first notable pieces of history on Baccarat can be dated to Medieval Italy. However, it is unsure where the game really originated from.

Ancient China

Some may say that there is a connection between Pai Gow (Chinese for make nine) and Baccarat. Instead of playing cards, however, the Chinese game deals with ceramic or wooden tiles. The nearest similarity of the two is the goal to create a total value of nine. This, however, cannot be backed up by other documentation.

Ancient Rome

Another mythological assumption made famous in Baccarat history is that the game may find its roots in Ancient Rome.

Priestesses of the Goddess Vesta would commemorate a ritual that would decide their fate. These priestesses who were tasked with keeping the eternal fire lit were highly regarded in Ancient Rome. That is why they have a huge responsibility and holiness to prove to the Roman empire.

Rolling a dice carrying nine or eight would mean that she was fit to be a high priestess. Rolling a 6 or 7 would result in being stripped off of her title. Any lower than this, the virgin would be made to walk to drown in the sea.

Medieval Italy

The invention of the printing press came a long time before card games. That is why previous cards were not made on paper. They needed to be drawn or etched manually or block printed.

Block Printing was a technique that Marco Polo brought to the West in the late 1290s from his expeditions in the Orient. They were initially known as The Devil’s Picture Books. Tarrochi, a card game in Italy in the early 1300s, is said to be the origin of all modern card games.

The nearest time stamp in the history of Baccarat is when Felix Falguire invented Baccarat using Tarot Cards. He is the same person to have referenced to the game as ‘baccara’ meaning zero.

Other games such as Macao and Le Her are also linked to the creation of Baccarat. The games also function by reaching a total of nine and reaching the highest score respectively. Le Her also possesses a drawing system if anything less than a King is drawn.

Some Italian literature linked Vingt-et-un (21) or the modern-day Blackjack to the history of Baccarat. The game referred to in the 19th-century book of Hoyle is Baccarat en Banque. In another variation in 1911, Baccarat en Banque and Chemin de Fer are referred to as entirely different games.

Medieval France

The French took the Baccarat game deep into their culture in the closing of 1400s. When the soldiers returned from Italy, two games Baccarat en Banque and Chemin de Fer became famous in the country. Like every gambling sensation, this led to the banning of betting from the country.

As Chemin de Fer literally means ‘iron way’ or ‘railway’, this means that the fast pace of the game was most likely compared to the trains, the most recent of transportation advancement of that time. It is said to have become famous immediately after the first railroad in France was opened.

Reaching America

Some may say that Baccarat came into America in the early 1900s. However, previous news articles in the 1800s note that the game had already crossed the American Border as early as 1871. In these articles, the news referred to a Baccarat Board side by side the Roulette Table.

Although many can say that it had officially debuted with the Chemin de Fer version in the 1911, Baccarat’s popularity in the United States faltered unlike any other card game in the era. Upon the introduction of the Punto Banco version to the Las Vegas Casino Strip, it only became a major game in the States in 1959.

Baccarat initially created a rough night for the Las Vegas Sands when it was launched. Losing a quarter of a million dollars, the management still decided to keep it running. Now the Baccarat table has become a staple for casinos.

British Pop Culture

Ian Fleming, the creator of the infamous James Bond, took inspiration from a real-life Baccarat game experience that he saw when he was still in the British Secret Service. He says that he had once crossed paths with a double agent, Dusko Popov, at a casino in Estoril.

Popov had been mesmerizing to Fleming as he bet all the money on him in a Baccarat table to complete his mission. The vision had taunted Fleming already living as a journalist and his previous dreams of writing a Spy novel. Thus, his mind bore James Bond, a Secret Spy who was a very good Baccarat player.

Before the game was replaced by Poker in recent film adaptations, the film Casino Royale first featured James Bond winning an iconic round of Baccarat game against the casino during one of his missions.

Present Day

The Baccarat game is now one of the highest-earning games of casinos worldwide both online and physical.

Asians are also said to patronize the game as it is more a game of chance rather than other card games. This is since cards are not dealt with personally and are just simply wagered on. The removal or ‘burning’ of some cards is unlucky to some as it breaks the natural flow of luck in the game.

As the first licensed Bitcoin casino and a platform for both classic and modern games, Bitcasino stands at the corner of innovation and tradition as it leads the industry of crypto gaming. Thus, we are sure to preserve the Baccarat history by having our tables ready for your classic and new variations of the Baccarat game.

When you shoot your shot at a Baccarat game, be sure to place that bet on the Bitcasino Baccarat table. Who knows! You just might become the next famous and rich Baccarat player!