Baccarat is a casino card game that is played on large tables in the high-roller rooms. The objective is for players to correctly guess which of three possible propositions will win on a round: Bank, Player, or Tie. Two cards are dealt to each hand. The winning hand is the one that is closest to nine, minus the tens and the ones. Sometimes, a third card is drawn to either or both hands. The cards are dealt from a six- or eight-deck shoe. The game can be quite slow, and a bit ritualistic, with the participants sitting in specific numbers around a table. The etiquette of the game is that you should not move from your seat while the session is in progress.
Baccarat has a reputation for being elegant and sophisticated, but its popularity in the United States has waned since the early 20th century. However, it continues to have a loyal following in Europe and Asia. Baccarat is similar to blackjack, but the wagering options are different. Baccarat has only three wagering options: the player, the banker, and the tie. The bettor’s choice of who to place their chips on is determined before the game begins. The banker and the player bets pay even money, while the tie bet pays higher odds.
The earliest Baccarat glassware was designed in 1841, but it wasn’t until 1860 that the company began to trademark its work with paper labels attached to each piece. By the late 19th Century, the firm’s strong showings at the Great Exhibitions of that era had earned it a global customer base, from Ottoman Turkey to Portugal to Japan. Its most famous design of this period was its 1867 ‘Jusivy’ table service, which was later repurposed for the Dolmbahce Palace, the residence of the Sultan in Istanbul.
Depending on the establishment or platform, there are a number of additional side bets that can be placed in addition to a player win, a banker win, and a tie. These are called derived roads and they track trends in player and banker results, including the occurrence of naturals, pairs, and ties. The derived roads use a combination of red and blue symbols that do not correspond to banker or player (although, later on in this article, you will see that the red and blue symbols don’t necessarily always represent whether there is a pattern or not).
While these derived roads are used globally, they vary by platform and establishment. The resulting information is shown instantly on an electronic display that is linked to the automatic card reading shoes. This eliminates the need for manual tracking of patterns and gives the players an opportunity to make better decisions, especially if they’re new to baccarat. The derived road symbols do not correlate to banker or player, however, and this is a common misconception that causes confusion for players who are new to trend-following in Baccarat. The red and blue symbols are simply a way of indicating that there is a pattern or not.
