Ah, baccarat. It’s a game that many gamblers have never learned to play. The haughty atmosphere and high limits can make baccarat look very confusing, which is somewhat ironic; in actuality, it’s fairly easy to understand, and even easier to play! In fact, you don’t have to know how the game works to play it (hint: bet on the banker every time for the best results).
Here’s the bad news: baccarat isn’t a game you can beat. There’s no strategy that will give the player the edge, and attempting to card count in baccarat is, in any practical sense, futile (unless you have a computer for a brain and don’t mind betting thousands of dollars at a time for an edge of a couple cents once every few hundred hands or so). On the other hand, the house edge isn’t half bad; the banker bet has only a 1.06% edge, and the player bet is reasonable too, coming in at 1.24%. Just don’t take the tie bet, which usually has an edge of over 14% for the casino.
Baccarat rules in Las Vegas are pretty standardized, so picking between different casinos is difficult. Of course, there are exceptions, such as the Sahara’s short lived experiment with commission-free baccarat back in 1989, but for the most part, every baccarat game you play will be more-or-less identical.
What it really comes down to is the atmosphere. Where can you get an authentic baccarat experience, which includes high limits, serious players, and the feeling that you’re truly part of an elite game? We’ve picked out a few of the most luxurious casinos as our best Vegas casinos for baccarat.
Baccarat is the game of choice of Asian gamblers with it’s low house edge offering the chance of big wins
The Wynn Baccarat
Talk about upscale! The Wynn is one of the shining jewels of the Las Vegas Strip, the Wynn definitely caters to a high-end crowd. Table minimums can sometimes hit $100 in here during the busiest times of the year, and that’s not even in the high-limit areas. If you’re looking for a place where you can hang out with other high rollers and play baccarat in peace, the Wynn should be right up your alley.
The Bellagio Baccarat
Even though it’s not the newest resort stop on the Strip, the Bellagio has a reputation for being one of the swankiest casino-hotels on the block, and definitely attracts its share of whales playing table games, poker, and – of course – baccarat. There’s a special high- limit lounge known as Club Privé, which caters to those who want a secluded, elite experience. It may all feel just a bit pretentious, but when it comes to baccarat, that might not be such a bad thing after all.
Caesars Palace Baccarat
If there’s one casino that screams opulence on the Strip, it’s Caesars Palace. The Roman theme is pervasive, and for high-rollers, it’s a great place to be treated like a king. This is especially true in the Palace Court area, where you’ll find high-limit baccarat and other games that should satisfy your need for atmosphere.
Golden Nugget Baccarat
Most properties away from the Strip can’t quite compete with the glitz and glamour there, but we wanted to highlight a few spots away from the obvious tourist spots that might give you a taste of the high life. In the Downtown area, there’s no better casino for big spenders than the Golden Nugget, one of the classic Vegas casinos. They offer baccarat, and it’s especially popular in their high-limit salon.
The Rio Baccarat
For the Off-Strip crowd, we’d like to highlight The Rio. It’s not as fancy as the upscale Strip joints, but it has a lot of atmosphere, which is the main thing we’re looking for when we sit down at the baccarat table. There’s a reputation here for offering bad odds compared to most casinos in the city, but for baccarat, that isn’t really an issue.
Honorable Mentions
Looking for some more great places to play a few hands of baccarat? Here are a few other locations worth checking out:
The Strip Baccarat
- Aria
- The Cosmopolitan
- The Venetian
Off-Strip Baccarat
- Green Valley Ranch
- The Palms
