An oft-told anecdote goes that a British secret agent, whose known game of choice is Baccarat Chemin de Fer, once went on a mission to bankrupt a rival SMERSH agent by beating him to a game of Baccarat Banque. That spy is James Bond 007, and the story is taken from Ian Fleming‘s Casino Royale.

Baccarat, one of the highest-limit casino games, is practically synonymous with high-rollers, who wager thousands of dollars on a single hand. It is the most popular casino game in Macau, dubbed Asia’s Las Vegas, and in fact, positioned to leap-frog Las Vegas as the world’s top casino gambling destination by 2007.

In the casino gambling regions of the Macau Peninsula, Taipa, and the new Cotai Strip, arguably no high-roller has not ever played this widespread Asian casino game. At Macau’s high-roller haunts like The Sands Macau Casino Hotel and Mandarin Oriental Casino Hotel, the most action and biggest stakes take place nightly at the Baccarat tables.

In truth, Baccarat originated as a recreation of European nobility, believed to have been introduced into France from Italy in the late 1400s. Its popularity spread in Asia by way of nations once colonized by Europe. The most common form is Punto Banco, the North American Baccarat, today played widely in Las Vegas, Atlantic City, and the many Las Vegas style casinos of Macau.

The departed Australian tycoon Kerry Packer famously wagered massive sums of money on Baccarat, regarded as the ‘Grand Game’ of casinos. Another popular player is gambling tycoon Stanley Ho, the wealthiest person in Macau, also a destination for greyhound racing and horse race betting. Baccarat is similar to the card games of Faro and Basset.

How to Play Baccarat (In a Nutshell)

The object of the game is to bet on the hand with the highest card total. You have a choice of three hands to bet on: the Banker, the Player, a Tie. As a casino bettor, you have only two deliberate decisions to make: how much to wager, and on whose hand to wager it on.

Card totals are not calculated conventionally; instead, the first digit is always shaved off of any two-digit number or sum. That is, 13 becomes 3, 16 becomes 6 – thus, the highest possible hand is a value of 9. An Ace always equals 1, whereas 10, Jack, Queen, King always equal 0 (Baccarat means zero).

In Baccarat, casino customers alternate being the Banker and the Player. In Mini Baccarat, the casino dealer is always the Banker. Mini Baccarat is typically played at a smaller table, and is faster-paced.

A variety of books delve on Asia’s favorite casino game, John May‘s Baccarat for the Clueless often touted as the best of them. Popular Baccarat books also include Frank Scoblete‘s The Baccarat Battle Book, Lyle Stuart on Baccarat, John Patrick‘s Baccarat, and Walter Nolan‘s Facts of Baccarat.

[AcesAce Casino is a sensei at online casino games and tournaments, like Baccarat, with internet casino promos and bonuses to prove that the sun really rises in the East.]