These numbered areas are where the players keep their money (or chips, as the case may be). Green felt covers the entire table, and the numbers 1 to 12 are marked on it. The very large Baccarat table has 12 seats, six on either side of the dealer, who only banks the game and does not otherwise participate. The PackĮight 52-card packs are shuffled together and dealt by the croupier (dealer) from a dealing box, called a shoe, which releases one card at a time, face down.
European casinos use chips, but the high-denomination chips are oblong 'plaques,' which make the game look just as exciting as the American version when they are stacked in front of a winning player.
In American casinos, Baccarat tends to be played with real cash - $100-bills are spread all around. The lure of the game? It requires no skill - it is a game of pure luck! Baccarat is played for very high stakes, and the gaming table for it is placed in a special alcove, blocked off from the masses and the rest of the casino action. Perhaps the most glamorous of all casino games, Baccarat's trappings are what made it so popular.
