Surprising Stats About Baccarat

Baccarat is the Second Biggest Money Winner in Las Vegas

As mentioned above, Baccarat is the second biggest winner in Las Vegas. It has steadily maintained its popularity over the past 20 years, which culminated in Las Vegas casino goers winning over $604 million in the year 2020. Conversely, the house winnings in 2020 were approximately $643 million. This makes Baccarat bigger than roulette and craps combined ($210 million a piece combining for a huge $420 million). Baccarat was almost 50% bigger than those two games combined!

The Results of One Billion Simulated Hands

If you delve into the depths of GitHub, you can find the results of a Java Baccarat simulator that played over one billion hands of this classic card game. Interestingly, it only took the computer a few minutes to run through a billion hands of the game, and here were the results. The house won just shy of 459 million of the games, which lead to a winning percentage of 45.8%. The player won just over 446 million hands with a winning percentage of 44.6%. And, therefore there was a tie in 95 million games or 9.5% of the time. This shows that the house only wins 1.2% (or near about) more of the hands than the player.

The Most Popular Version of Baccarat

The most popular version of Baccarat worldwide is mini Baccarat and while that may be surprising, if you have ever played Baccarat yourself it was probably mini Baccarat. The game is traditionally played with 14 players around the table but casinos (rightly) decided that lowering the table limit to 8 players would be more enjoyable for everyone. It is far less crowded and the game moves much faster. Conveniently, Baccarat tables and Blackjack tables are almost identical. If casinos were to use regular Baccarat tables instead of mini ones, they would have to shell out for completely different tables.

5% Commission

Almost all Baccarat tables charge a winning commission for betting on the banker. Why? Because the banker’s odds of winning are slightly higher, therefore the house must protect its profits. This isn't an issue for the player on a hand-to-hand basis. After all, a win is a win. However, over a long period of playing the 5% commissions can add up. If you assume you win an average of 44.6% of player hands and 45.8% of banker hands, you might be inclined to bet on the banker for that 1% edge. However, if you are paying 5% on your winnings are you really coming out ahead?

Macau is the Home of Baccarat

Baccarat is by far the most popular game in Macau casinos. Compared to Vegas, where Baccarat earns the house $643 million, Baccarat in Macau earns 48 billion Macau Pacatas. Which currently sits around an 8:1 ratio to dollars. This means Baccarat in Macau is worth just over 6 billion US dollars. Given the entire country's GDP is worth 55 billion US dollars this is a staggering number. This is almost 10% of the entire region's GDP. Imagine if the USA Baccarat value was 10% of its GDP? That's almost 2 trillion dollars!

The US Recession Obliterated the Baccarat Scene

The US recession was hard on everyone. It was by no means limited to the continental United States; it was felt worldwide in almost every walk of life. Baccarat is no different. Between 2004 and 2006, when the economy was still doing "fine" Baccarat in Vegas was still turning over between 5 and 10 million dollars a month. However, in 2008-2010 that number reduced to just a couple hundred thousand. In fact, in some months casinos did not even manage to turn over 20,000 dollars.

Tie Betting is a Horrible Idea

Tie betting is a horrible Idea. Period. A tie bet is a bet on neither the player nor the banker individually but rather that each hand will be of equal value. The house odds of winning a tie hand is around 14.5%. These odds are horrible for you as the player. Baccarat is already one of the lower odds table games and that's when it is sitting at just -1% for the player. Why on earth would you then start betting on something that is statistically 1400% worse. Don't take the tie bet. Even if the odds seem good, they never are. The odds may just be slightly "less bad" than at other tables or at other casinos. There is a saying that Tie betting is best left for street Baccarat. Truer words have never been spoken.

Spies Enjoy Baccarat

Yes, spies enjoy Baccarat. James Bond has historically been an advocate of Baccarat despite the fact that you likely associate him with poker from movies such as Casino Royale. While poker has been at the forefront of the Bond universe for a while now, the originals had him playing Baccarat. In fact, in the original Casino Royale, he also tries his hand at Baccarat before the final poker showdown.

Summary

Hopefully, these interesting facts and stats have opened your eyes a little to just how globally popular Baccarat is and how much this simple game is worth. Especially in smaller countries such as Macau. If you arm yourself with these facts and stats next time you head to the casino or open up Baccarat on your computer at home, you should find yourself in a much better position to win. Remember, the banker odds are better but that doesn't mean betting the banker is best. Good luck!