Movie Trivia: What is James Bond’s Favorite Casino Game?
Updated January 18, 2020
A much as read or utter the most famous name that is James Bond, and the prefrontal cortex of the brain begins to fire high puled signals of electrons that suddenly produces an instantaneous internal mimicry sound of the James Bond Theme Tune. There is no denying that right now, you can hear the explosive brass instruments that present the intro to the theme followed by the smooth sounds of the guitar, that enter you into the movie and all action scenes thereafter.
Music quiz: Who wrote the theme tune?
Answer: It was not John Barry; he merely arranged the tune for Dr. No and produced the compositions of all the subsequent 11 bond movies after. The original composer was Monty Norman.
Music aside, we are here to answer another important question, what was James Bond’s favorite casino game? Stick will us as we reveal the answer and how you can play this incredible game yourself both online and inside the casinos of the world.
Introducing Agent 007
If by now, you are wondering who James Bond is and why it’s of importance, then allow us to give you a brief schooling onto one of the most famous literary characters that helped shape a generation of spy novels in the mid-20th Century and develop the longest movie series that defined the action genre.
James Bond 007, was the creation of Ian Fleming, born in 1908, Fleming was a British journalist and writer and had experience as a naval intelligence officer prior to his literary career.
His fame began from his first James Bond novel written in 1952 and titled Casino Royale. The publication was a success and despite printers struggling to cope with the demand at the time. The main protagonist, Bond, is an officer that works in the Secret Intelligence Service. In the UK, this would be known as the MI6. Bond’s code number is 007, he was a former commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
The significance of this character in literacy terms can be stated by the best-selling achievements of the first novel alone, with over 100-million copies being sold around, and this is in 1952, selling figures not witnessed before.
This is James Bond, a character that captivated a globe, he is a patriot, serviceman, spy, trained killer, seducer of women, can handle himself in a fight, likes a fast card, and has a passion for one particular casino game.
Bond Playing it Nice and Smooth
Shall we reveal the answer?
So, what was James Bond’s favorite casino game? The Answer is Baccarat. Those that have read the book Casino Royale will have known this, and those that will have watched the 1967 movie, though loosely based on the novel and more of a parody win in guessing correctly.
Sub-trivia question: What game was played in the 2006 movie version of Casino Royale?
The answer to this is revealed at the end of the article.
There are other Bond novels and movies that feature our secret agent taking part in this card game, Thunderball, Dr. No, Octopussy, Tomorrow Never Dies, From Russia with Love, Never Say Never Again, and GoldenEye.
If you have yet to see a Bond film or read what happens in the books, two things take place after a card game; 1: After Bond wins the bad guy will plot a kill on bond, and 2: Within 5 minutes of winning, Bond will be bedding the hottest girl in that casino, more often one that as close ties to the bad guy. Smooth Bond, very smooth.
Introducing Bond’s Favorite Casino Game
So, what is Baccarat? Baccarat is a niche card game that is often attributed to players of wealth and fortune. It’s a high stakes game because to profit, you have to often bet big and bet for the dealer to win against you. Nowadays, online baccarat is just as popular as its land-based counterpart, as more and more casinos have started offering exciting stakes and variants.
So, how does one play baccarat? We sourced some information from Charlotte Fitzgerald, editor-in-chief at Casimoose, an independent comparison site for players based in Canada, which offers gaming advice for all online casino games and Canadian casino reviews.
How to play Baccarat
Baccarat is a card game that plays without the higher scoring cards. The tens and all the jacks, queens and kings are removed from the pack, making 9 the highest card. The goal of the game is to score a total of 9 from the two cards you are dealt.
The cards in play all retain their face value, 5 is a score of 5, 7 is a score of 7, and an ace is 1.
Now, you might be thinking that if you are dealt two cards going over 9 will happen often, and you are right, so here are how the scores work in baccarat.
- Drawing a total of 11 – drop the first digit and you have a score of 1
- Drawing a total of 12 – drop the first digit and you have a score of 2
- Drawing a total of 13 – drop the first digit and you have a score of 3
- Drawing a total of 14 – drop the first digit and you have a score of 4
- Drawing a total of 15 – drop the first digit and you have a score of 5
- Drawing a total of 16 – drop the first digit and you have a score of 6
- Drawing a total of 17 – drop the first digit and you have a score of 7
- Drawing a total of 18 – drop the first digit and you have a score of 8
Betting in Baccarat offers you three options.
- The first is that you bet upon yourself to have 9 or closer and beat the dealer.
- The second is that you bet the dealer will have 9 or closer and that you will lose.
- Thirdly, you are betting on a tie that has a higher odd of 8 to 1.
- The rules of baccarat in the casino are exactly the same when looking to play the game inside of online casinos here in the US.
Baccarat Trivia
Here are 6 wonderful facts about the baccarat casino game.
1: The game of baccarat was created by Felix Falguiere in the 1400s in Italy.
2: Baccarat was originally played using tarot cards.
3: The Chemin de Fer variant of baccarat was created in the United States in 1911, despite it being a French name.
4: When baccarat was introduced to the Sands Casino in Las Vegas in 1959, they lost $250,000 on the first night.
5: 70% of the players playing at the baccarat tables in Las Vegas are from Asia.
6: There are a total of 10 different baccarat variants online, both digital and live formats of the game.
We end with the answer to the earlier sub-trivia question: What game was played in the 2006 movie version of Casino Royale?
The answer is No-Limit Texas Hold’em Poker.