Baccarat has long been associated with luxe opulence and glamor, seeing that the original James Bond liked to dabble in the game. Baccarat was Bond’s top game to play in the casino in the original Ian Fleming books; and although most people associate him with poker, there are still millions of individuals across the globe who enjoy playing this classic game.
One individual who is worlds apart from the suave 007 is Mikki Mase, who’s the world-renowned Instagram star who’s gone from homeless to brushing shoulders with the rich and famous. Named as the ‘king of baccarat’, how did this 32-year-old manage to beat the casino, and get banned from Vegas, all whilst de-glamorizing this famous game? Let’s find out who he is..
Who is Mikki Mase?
Mikki Mase is a New Yorker who has come with plenty of baggage in his rise to fame. From tattoo-shop worker, to homeless and working in construction, the individual has climbed ladders from his humble beginnings.
The gambling star has amassed a following base of 357 thousand on Instagram alone with the handle ‘dirtygothboi’, where he shares wads of his cash, winning big at the casino, and his newly found lavish lifestyle. He shares posts showing millions of dollars in a suitcase, or relaxing with some of the world’s biggest musicians, Mikki Mase has made it big in the casino.
Noted to have shared that he’s been banned from every casino on the Las Vegas strip, when did he get into this classic game, and was gambling in his blood?
As a child, Mikki had an innate ability to prosper in math, which is much like the card games in casinos. Cards, after all, are just one math probability, and if you do it right, you can calculate your outcome.
Though Mikki is now a multimillionaire from Baccarat, there were days when he would leave without anything and chant that casinos had cheated him; but that’s just the way of the game, unfortunately. He has betted since he was a boy, and even got a fake ID as a child from his grandparents, who took him to the big Atlantic City. Since those younger years, Mikki now wins $200 thousand a time, and has retired from any regular work at his young age.
How does he play baccarat?
Mikki features in many famous YouTube videos sharing his secrets and feelings towards the world of baccarat. He says in those videos that playing live baccarat and other card games is not about feelings, it’s about a strategy, and he has his own strategy for the game. He is an above-average individual in terms of intellect and, therefore, has numerical thinking when it comes to games. You have to know that the house has a very small edge unless you bet on the hand of a tie, then it’s higher, but just like blackjack, baccarat is all a guessing game.
Where has the glamor gone from baccarat?
If it’s good enough for bond, then it should be good enough for everyone else, but unfortunately, the glamor of baccarat, and the casino in general has slipped away slightly in society. In the growth era of the casino, men were spotted donning suits and sipping on martini glasses with their sophisticated partners.
Now, due to the evolution of the Instagram-famed gamblers, these millionaires have switched to a more ‘scruffy’ themed appearance, and have lost the luxe glamor that gave gambling its name. Mikki, for instance, is a cap-wearing, face-tatted, piercing-cladded individual who wins millions in the casinos, and strategizes his way to a win.
Worlds from the past of using casinos for fun, these people now use it as a career, and a daily part of life, that doesn’t deserve to be dressed up for. Mikki plays in physical casinos, where he can, but also partakes in the World Series of Poker online, so he’s racked up his hours in the sport.
How do you play Baccarat?
We’ve learned about who’s beat baccarat and is making big bucks in the eyes of lady luck, but how do you play this infamous game? It’s extremely close to blackjack, where you and the dealer receive two cards. You can then either bet on your hand, or the dealer’s hand, but the main goal relies on whoever can get closest to the number 9 or 19.
It’s the same for both online casinos and in-person casinos, but you are never playing against the dealer but with them. The James Bond-themed fun has three possible outcomes before you can place your bet. A bet on your (the player’s) hand, a bet on the banker, or a bet on a tie, and from there, the dealer does all the work. Obviously, you can choose to add cards and keep, but the aim of the game is to win big by hitting that lucky number 9.
Las Vegas is synonymous with all forms of casino-fuelled fun, and baccarat is a long-standing part of society. It’s an easy game to win big on and beat the house, so add some glamor to your next Vegas strip and head down with your plus one to chase those number nines. You could be the next Mikki Mase and chase your millions, or you could be the next 007, either way, glamor will always hold true to the game, because it’s the heritage that stays with it forever.
Last Updated on October 18, 2023 by John Mehaffey
John Mehaffey
John, a founding member of Advantage Media LLC, got his start in gaming as a prop player at online poker sites. He played online poker from 2001 to 2005. In 2004, he created a site that served as a directory for an online poker promotional method known as rakeback. He sold that site in 2006 and moved his family from Atlanta to Rapid City, SD to work for a similar company. They later moved to Las Vegas in 2010. John’s favorite game is full-pay video poker. His favorite table game is Ultimate Texas Hold’em, though he would rather play it in video form. Currently, John is best known for compiling blackjack and table game data including all Las Vegas and Clark County casinos.
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