67
M
acau gambler José is Portuguese and he while José simply gets up and leaves the table on the
has strict table rules. At their core is the arrival of newcomers, others are not so polite.
rule to change tables whenever an inexpe- “Chinese gamblers do not like to play with
rienced gambler takes a seat: “I have little patience to westerners at baccarat, for instance, because the
play with those who do not know how. Besides, they westerners will not go along with trying to divine
may spoil my game,’’ he says. the card – they will not fold until their hand is use-
Knowing how to ask for cards at the right mo- less nor will they take the time to very slowly un-
ment requires more than simple expertise. A golden cover it. In such situations, quite often, the Chinese
rule at the tables is not to allow the part-time gambler players will raise the wager to become the “banker”
to throw a spanner in the works of those for whom and thus control the game,’’ says José.
gambling is in the blood. Keith pays little regard to superstition but also
When Hong Kong resident Keith is in Macau he doesn’t like to share the table with novices.
always manages to step onto the casino “green car- Our gaming expert explains: “In baccarat or
pet” and win at baccarat or blackjack. He says “win’’ blackjack, for instance, knowing beforehand that
because up until now he hasn’t lost. there are more face cards than each of the number
“Baccarat and blackjack are games that allow cards, if an inexperienced player does not ask for a
the gamblers more control, when well played. I have card when he or she ought to, he or she is messing
always won but I also don’t wager a lot,’’ says Keith. with the probabilities of the more experience gam-
Jose and Keith do not know each other but speak blers. These experienced guys were counting on a
the same language. For Jose, besides baccarat and face card or number card from the deck following
blackjack, poker also allows the gambler a wider the card the first player should have asked for but
control over his game, which is not the case with didn’t get it.’’
roulette, for instance, which relies on pure luck - or These are the probabilities that more mature
physics if you are being charitable. players are aware of.
This begs the question, are there some games “In such situations”, says José, “Only if the in-
that are easier to “win” at than others? Most would experienced player is dead last is his or her presence
say no, but this isn’t quite the case. at the table tolerable, because he or she won’t mess
with everyone else’s game.’’
Do the math
Big and small is one of the simplest games and
doesn’t require cards or calculations. As with the
roulette wheel, one bets on a number, combination
One gaming expert told Macau Daily that by or colour and chance takes care of the rest. But in
calculating probabilities through complex math- the more professional formats this is not the case.
ematical equations, the casinos always have the
upper hand, but in many instances, when a player
exercises greater expertise, the “house” advantage Table billions
may be negated.
As a rule, casinos have a 3 to 5 percent advan- Data from the Macau Government shows that
tage but, in the majority of Macau’s most popular VIP Baccarat is the most popular game in the
games, the percentage is only 3 percent. MSAR’s casinos – between January and Septem-
In blackjack, big and small, and baccarat, the ber it generated MOP58,156 million in gross rev-
house advantage varies between 2.5 and 3 percent. enue. ‘Regular’ Baccarat, which differs from the
This may not sound much, but losers always out- VIP only in the amounts per wager - in the VIP
number winners in any casino. there are no limits to maximum wagers - pulled
With poker, whose popularity is on the increase in MOP15,866 million, making it the city’s second
in Macau, Jose says: “The most popular poker game most popular game.
at the moment is the No-Limit Texas Hold’em, the The third most profitable table game is Cus-
so-called “Cadillac of Poker”. Poker has many differ- sac, more commonly known as big and small, with
ent formats and often appears at international compe- MOP2,389 million. Slot machines come third with
titions passing through Macau. To play it successfully MOP4,174 million between January and Septem-
a player needs skill and can exert control of the game ber, while, for the same period, the roulette wheel
for which Macau has no maximum bet limit. pulled in MOP516 million and blackjack MOP1,744
million.
Superstitions
Baccarat rules OK
Part-time gamblers who visit the casinos to win
some chips and watch others should think twice Baccarat is, without doubt, Chinese gamblers
before sitting down next to someone who looks favourite table game. Created in Europe, it’s consid-
skilled. Gaming in Macau is serious business and ered a highly sophisticated game because, accord-
december 2008
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