Baccarat And James Bond

The Ian Fleming character known as James Bond, the British superspy, is well known for his relationship with baccarat. Bond is all about glamor, and that means fancy drinks, exotic locales, beautiful, high class women and of course, high stakes gambling. Historically, there has been no higher stakes gambling game compared to real money blackjack than baccarat, and that is why baccarat is James Bond’s game of choice.

James Bond and Baccarat

Actually to say James Bond plays baccarat is a bit of an inaccuracy. The game Bond actually plays is known as Chemin de Fer, and it is a popular variation of baccarat. The reason that this distinction is particularly important is that baccarat is a completely passive game, where the bettors simply place their bets and look on to see whether the winner is the banker or the player, both of whose actions are predetermined by the value of their hands.

James Bond and Chemin de Fer

In Chemin de Fer, there is still no real skill involved, but the player has a more active role. For one, the players play against each other, with one player representing the bank and another representing all the other players at the table. For another, there is one point total, a 5, where the player is allowed to make his own decision about what to do. These factors do not have a tremendous effect on the game, but it can make Bond look very dashing and courageous when he pushes a huge stack of chips out in front of him, or when he fixes the dealer with a steely gaze and announces: “Carte.”

James Bond and No Limit Texas Hold’em

In the United States and other parts of the world as well, the growth of baccarat or Chemin de Fer has paled in comparison to the growth of other online casino games. Thus, when Casino Royale, the first Bond book and one which featured Chemin de Fer prominently, was remade into a movie for modern audiences, the game which the plot of the book revolved around was made no limit Texas hold’em, rather than Chemin de Fer.