Why Is Baccarat James Bond’s Favorite Card Game?

James Bond is a beloved British character idolised for his legendary Secret Service work in the multiple books and films made around him. As James Bond is synonymous with luxury gadgets and casinos, many may wonder what his favourite card game is. Bond’s attraction to baccarat incorporates his ability to remain calm and poised, even when the stakes are high.

In Ian Fleming’s famous novel called Dr. No, published in 1962, Bond’s very first line has him at a baccarat table, introducing himself with the prominent line, “Bond. James Bond.” There are various types of Baccarat, especially in online casinos, so continue reading to discover 3 of the most popular kinds at Pokerstars.

Classic

The classic version of Baccarat is a surprisingly straightforward table game, with just 3 possible bets to choose from. Here’s a basic tutorial for understanding Baccarat:

• This game is played with one deck of cards, and the suit does not matter.
• There are 2 hands, one called the Player and the other the Banker.
• You can bet on either one or the Tie option.
• Baccarat has a distinctive scoring system; the hand that is closer to 9 wins.
• The Dealers play both hands to their conclusion and settle your bets.

Before you start playing, you must understand the value of each card in the deck, as Baccarat incorporates a scoring system different from most card games. Simply add up the number shown on each card to get your hand value. The Ace is 1 point, the 10, Jack, Queen and King are 0 points, and 2 through 9 are the face value. If the cards added together equal more than 9, you take the last digit of the two-digit number. For example, if the hand had a 2, 5, and a 9, which equals 16, your hand is a 6.

Speed Baccarat

The rules of Speed Baccarat are very similar to regular Baccarat. To win, you have to get a hand with the 3 highest card values closest to 9. This version of Baccarat uses 8 decks of cards. Below is a simple guide to get a grasp on Speed Baccarat:

• A betting round kicks off each round of the game. Here, you’d wager on your preferred bet type within 12 seconds.
• Next, 2 cards are drawn for the Players and Banker.
• The person with the highest single-digit card value wins the initial betting round.
• If no winner is decided, then the next round begins. Everyone is handed another card.
• Finally, if the value of the hand is less than or is 5, your 3rd card is drawn first. If not, the Banker’s 3rd card is taken, and a new round starts.

In addition to these slightly different rules, Speed Baccarat has some special features, such as four extra side bets.

Lightning Baccarat

Join the live dealer variation of Lightning Baccarat, which features 5 Lightning Cards on each round, which can contain up to an 8X win Multiplier on each card. Choose your side between Player or Banker and set them against each other to guess which hand will get closer to the value of 9. With this, if a Lightning Card is present in a winning hand, then huge Multipliers are added to the total round win. Here’s how to play Lightning Baccarat:

• Place your bet on either the Player or Banker.
• 1-5 Lightning Cards are added to the deck for multipliers.
• 2 cards are drawn and added together for a value; if the value is 5 or above, the value sticks.
• If the hand is lower than 5, another card is given, then whichever hand is closer to 9 wins.
• The way to win in Lightning Baccarat is to predict the hand that will be closest to 9 between the player and the banker.