Learn to Play Baccarat (Almost) Like James Bond at Saturday’s Casino Royale Fundraiser for The Saline Fiddlers

Four pillars of James Bond’s persona were indelibly stamped on Western culture in the opening scene of Dr. No, Sean Connery’s first turn playing the British super spy. They are his signature introduction, “My name is Bond...James Bond,” his infatuation with a glamorous but mysterious woman, his taste for dry vodka martinis (shaken not stirred) and his love of casino games, especially baccarat.

Anyone interested in learning baccarat, along with craps, roulette, blackjack and Texas Hold ‘em (along with other PG-rated aspects of Bond culture) should attend the Casino Royale Fundraiser for The Saline Fiddlers on Saturday night at The Tri-County Sportsmen’s League, 8640 Moon Road.

Discounted tickets are available in advance at Eventbrite and they will also be available at the door. Betting is with fun money and professional dealers will teach the games to novice players. There will also be complimentary snacks and hors d’oeuvres from Moveable Feast, Bond-themed trivia, a silent auction, a cash bar and performances by The Fiddlers throughout the night. One of the premier items up for auction is exclusive access to a private luxury suite at Little Caesar's Arena for one of the most hotly-anticipated concerts of the summer: the return of Roger Waters – the creative force behind Pink Floyd – for a multi-media concert in the round in Detroit on July 14.

The baccarat played by Bond at Le Cercle casino at Les Ambassadeurs Club in London is actually a version of the French game Chemin de fer, in which a player functions as the bank and deals the cards face down. The rules and play are much simpler in the American casino versions.  To start, the croupier (aka the dealer) deals the cards face up according to set rules, pays all bets and won’t be speaking French. It is essentially a guessing game.

Here’s how to play.

• Any number of people can wager on a hand and there are only two decisions one must make in the game. How much to bet, and whether to bet on the bank, the player or a tie. Player and banker wagers are paid the same odds. The odds of a tie heavily favor the house.
• All bets must be placed before the dealer calls “no more bets” and the cards are dealt.
• The game begins when four cards are dealt alternately from the shoe: the first card to the player, the second card to the bank, the third card to the player and the fourth card to the bank.
• The objective is to score a nine or a high hand.  Any card from 2 to 9 has its face value. Ace equals one. All 10s and face cards, or any combination of them, have no value. When the total of the cards exceeds nine, the first digit of the total is dropped, because in the game of Baccarat, all hands must be a single digit number from 0 to 9.
• If the point count of either hand is 8 or 9 it is called a Natural and no additional cards are drawn.
• The cards are dealt according to set rules. There are no options regarding drawing the third card for either the player’s or banker’s hand.
• The dealer announces the point count of the player’s hand and the banker’s hand and the dealer will draw additional cards when appropriate. No more than one additional card will be drawn to each hand.
• The hand closest to 9 wins and is paid at odds of 1 to 1. If both the player’s and banker’s hand result in identical totals, it is a Tie Hand and the Tie Bet wins; neither hand wins nor loses.

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