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arXiv · 1308.1481

The evolution of the game of baccarat

S. N. Ethier·Jiyeon Lee
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Abstract

The game of baccarat has evolved from a parlor game played by French aristocrats in the first half of the 19th century to a casino game that generated over US\$41 billion in revenue for the casinos of Macau in 2013. The parlor game was originally a three-person zero-sum game. Later in the 19th century it was simplified to a two-person zero-sum game. Early in the 20th century the parlor game became a casino game, no longer zero-sum. In the mid 20th century, the strategic casino game became a nonstrategic game, with players competing against the house instead of against each other. We argue that this evolution was motivated by both economic and game-theoretic considerations.

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S. N. Ethier, Jiyeon Lee. 2015-04-28. The evolution of the game of baccarat. https://arxiv.org/abs/1308.1481

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