Table Games My first time at Baccarat

Not the most exciting of stories, but I learned myself a new game today!

We were at the Rivers Casino near O'Hare (a nice side story to get us going... A month or so ago we went to the Horseshoe Hammond for some Great Race gaming, and with my purple chip win at the craps table, decided to go to the Rivers on the way home. They have an ongoing $500 slot loss rebate promotion for new members, in which they send a certificate for the amount of losses in the mail at the end of the month. I had a winning session at the Rivers that night, but my wife lost over $200. Her rebate came in the mail the other day, so we decided to go to the Rivers today to spend the $200 and turn it into cash as a starting bankroll for a Horseshoe Hammond run next weekend).

When we get there, we are again stunned at how busy they are (though I know their license only allows 1200 gaming seats). She finds the penny slots and I decide I will find a table. Though I have seen much higher limits, they did have $15 BJ, $15 Pai Gow Poker and $10 craps... but you couldn't get near the tables as there were lines at each one.

Then I found this big Baccarat table (not a mini) right in the middle of the floor, and it had a $15 min. Since I couldn't get in anywhere else, I bought in for $200.

I had never really paid attention to a big Baccarat table, so it was fascinating to watch the antics of the (mostly Asian) players playing way, way more than my measly $15. It was fun watching the players mangle the cards, first the long side, then the short side covering the number, then the corner to confirm the number. One card, then the other, then the toss at the dealer in disgust. Then after the hand - even though the big board was present - everyone would make their notes and decide on their bets. The game was about flipping a damn coin, but they worked so hard at determining heads or tails. Many times, people would wait until the very last second to make their bets so they could bet the most on the Player or Banker, just so they get the cards dealt to them.

It was like watching a reality TV show in which the outcome didn't appear to be any more important than the journey. Myself? I played every single hand on the Banker, $15 a hand, and pressed a nickel with each consecutive win. After a loss went back to $15. There were a couple of streaks, and twice I won $40 a hand.

Then my wife came along, done with her slots (turning $200 of a loss from three weeks ago into $120 of real money) but I wasn't ready to go, so I goaded her into buying in. She played $15 on the Player every hand, and after about an hour, she was bored and cashed out down about $30. I finished a mini-run and ended up about $50 (for a family net of +$20).

I was fascinated by the spectacle, so we talked about it on the car ride home. She didn't see the point. She didn't get the delays. Since the players can't control the outcome, she didn't see why players got to touch the cards or why they bent them "Just look at the damn cards already" was how she felt. Poor woman. Must be something wrong with her if she doesn't "get it".

But most of what I got from this is with using the same betting procedure I do with blackjack, I can play Baccarat as a conservative game if I am getting killed in a casino and I need to slow down my losses.

 

Cool story. I like Rivers casino (Vegas feeling to it) but agree its usually very crowded. Maybe one day I will have the courage to walk up to a baccarat table there. If not it sounds like quite a spectator sport anyway.

 

I haven't been there in a while. It's about the only game I'll play there. I don't have 5K to sit in on a hand shuffled BJ game in the high limit room and with 8 decks I wouldn't even bother. For blackjack at low limits and hand shuffled, I'll drive to Harrah's in Joliet. Still 8 decks, but at low limits, I can't lose 5K.