If you walk through the main floor of a Las Vegas casino, you will find average players playing slots and roulette. Yet, if you go to the VIP suites to the private high-limit rooms, you will see the absolute richest gamblers. These VIPs do not play craps; they are focused exclusively on one game: the game of Baccarat. To most Westerners, baccarat is a confusing, incredibly boring game. You make no decisions, no math to memorize, and the player essentially does absolutely nothing. But this incredibly basic game makes more money for casinos than blackjack, craps, and roulette put together. Why do the massive whales love baccarat so much? It comes down to a mix of cultural tradition and perfect casino odds.

The Lowest House Edge: Why the Odds Attract the Whales

The main mathematical reason that whales bet millions is because of the razor-thin house edge. If you are risking a million dollars, a large house edge will completely bankrupt them in minutes. The game provides the lowest edge in the world. The game is incredibly simple: you choose Banker or Player to get closer to the number 9. By betting on the Banker (which is mathematically the smartest bet), the house advantage is only 1.06 percent. You don’t have to memorize a chart like in blackjack, no way to make a stupid mistake. The dealer does all the math based on a strict, predetermined set of rules. For a billionaire who just wants to gamble, it is the ultimate pure gamble with almost zero casino advantage.

The Squeeze and the Superstition: Bending the Cards

While the low house edge is nice; Asian superstition explains the massive popularity. Baccarat is the heart of Macau, and is driven by luck and fate. Because the player cannot actually make any strategic decisions, players rely entirely on ‘luck’ and the flow of energy. The most famous and thrilling aspect of VIP baccarat is the slow reveal of the cards. In private rooms, the player who placed the largest wager gets to touch the cards. They will slowly, agonizingly peel back the edges of the cards, ruining the deck in the process trying to force the right number to appear. They shout at the cards, destroying the deck entirely. The casino uses a brand new, pre-shuffled deck for every single hand specifically to accommodate this incredible, dramatic ritual. This illusion of control makes the game incredibly tense over pure mathematical luck.

• Avoid the Sucker Bet: The base game is fair, there is a massive trap: The Tie wager. But the casino advantage is a brutal 14 percent. Smart high rollers ignore the Tie completely.
• The Baccarat Screens: You will see massive digital screens displaying red and blue circles. Players obsessively track these complex patterns (known as the Big Road, Bead Plate, and Cockroach Pig) hoping to find a trend. The math proves this is useless, but the casino happily provides the screens to fuel the Gambler’s Fallacy.
• The 5% Tax: Because Banker wins more often based on the rules, the casino charges a standard 5% commission on Banker wins. Even with this 5% tax, the Banker bet remains the mathematically superior choice.

Comparing the Card Games: Math vs Skill

To see why the elite would choose baccarat over blackjack, we have created a comparison table. This contrasts the styles between the two most popular casino card games in the world, and why the whales love the squeeze.

Ultimately, baccarat is a masterpiece for billionaires and who just want to gamble. It is a fair coin flip without any mental effort. By combining the low edge with Asian gambling traditions of physically squeezing and destroying the playing cards, it becomes incredibly addictive. While the casual tourist will always prefer the flashing lights of a slot machine, the real billionaires will always be sitting quietly, quietly betting millions of dollars on a simple flip of a card to hit a natural 9.