When you think of card games, you might instantly think of poker or perhaps blackjack. But one underrated game outside of the casino industry has just as much of an interesting history, if not more, so than the aforementioned ones. We’re of course talking about baccarat, so if you’re interested, check out our deep dive into the topic.
From the Past to the Present
As with practically everything in our history, the details of how the game originated are highly disputed. But the most common assumption is that it originated in Italy sometime around the 1400s and spread through France soon after. It left the European continent and got to the US in the 19th-20th century.
Nowadays, if you want to enjoy a quick game of baccarat you have a few options. You can either go to a local casino or play online baccarat for real money, where you will be greeted with the famous Punto Banco variant of the game, as well as a live dealer option. Naturally, the former variant entails a competition between the player (punto) and the casino banker (banco), in which players can place bets on either of those two. The latter, on the other hand, involves a professional live dealer, with whom you can interact in real-time.
Given that, the moment baccarat got into the digital world, nothing could stop its popularity from soaring – even with its original pixelated graphics and basic sounds. As it stands, anyone who wants to enjoy the game can easily access an online casino at any time, on basically any device. This undoubtedly simplifies the process allowing even the busiest of people to enjoy a quick baccarat game, even if they’re on the go.
Plus, we have to add that the payment methods are more diverse on such online platforms. This is great for those who perhaps may not have access to regular banking and instead tend to prefer to pay via alternative means like cryptocurrencies.
Baccarat has further developed to not just be online with high-def graphics to even have a live version. If you’re confused by what this entails, it simply means that there is an actual host that plays with you. This adds an extra layer of immersion to the game.
However, even though baccarat can now come with a modern twist, the premise is still the same. And, to be honest, like with many other card games, there were already multiple variations of the game created with time, so it makes sense that the basic rules of the game were not tampered with too much.
Speaking of variants, the most popular ones are Punto Banco and Baccarat Banque. Another incredibly well-loved version is the Baccarat Chemin de Fer, which is coincidentally Agent 007’s favorite game. So for the fans of the James Bond series out there, this is definitely the game for you.
The Future of Baccarat
Now, when it comes to the future of baccarat, there are so many options especially when considering how advanced technology already is. We’d start with what we think is the most obvious option for the next step for this card game. It’s just a stone’s throw away from live baccarat – Virtual Reality.
The VR headsets have been already normalized, with most tech stores carrying them at reasonable prices. Imagine you’re at home, you’re not in the mood to go to your casino but want to play baccarat with the same vibes. With VR implementation, you’d just need to set it up, and boom – you’re in a virtual online casino holding a hand that could lead you to your next win.
Of course, there is another alternative to how this could go, which is Augmented Reality. If you’re not super sure as to what this entails, then think about Pokemon Go which heavily relies on this technology and went incredibly viral. Basically, it superimposes an image into the real world.
This could be a great option for those who want to perhaps enjoy a home vibe but don’t have someone to play with or the tools. This would also be cheaper as you wouldn’t require a headset but only a device such as a phone to enjoy it.
Finally, and this is our most out-there suggestion, is a combination of innovative robotics and artificial intelligence. Imagine having a robot that is AI-powered and specializes in playing baccarat. You’d be able to replicate the feeling of playing with someone live, without having an actual person with you.
With how far robots and AI have already come, this doesn’t seem like it would be too difficult to achieve. In fact, many theorize that robots will become part of most households in the near future, so it would be fun to see them be able to do something as human as play a game with you.
Conclusion
Baccarat is truly the template when it comes to seeing how to make a traditional game work for a modern age. Based on how well it has been going for this card game, we can tell that it has a bright future ahead of itself, and who knows? Perhaps a few of our predictions will actually become a reality.
