Baccarat: History, gameplay, and appeal to high-stakes players

Baccarat is a long-standing card game with origins tracing back to 15th-century Italy, where it was known as ‘baccara’. After migrating to France, the game evolved into its modern form, characterized by a simple betting structure between a ‘Player’ hand and a ‘Banker’ hand.

The game is favored by high-stakes players due to its fast pace and minimal decision-making requirements. Unlike games with complex strategy charts, Baccarat follows fixed rules for drawing cards, allowing players to focus on the wager itself.

From a mathematical perspective, the game offers relatively low house edges on primary bets, with the Banker wager typically sitting at approximately 1.06% and the Player wager at 1.24%. However, the Tie bet carries a significantly higher house edge of about 14.36%. The game remains a major revenue driver in gaming hubs; for example, VIP Baccarat accounted for approximately 26% of Macau’s gross gaming revenue in the second quarter of 2026.