Hi forum,
Just wanted to ask a few questions about baccarat as I've recently developed an interest in EZ Baccarat. This is not an interest as a game, because as far as I can tell anyway, it's not a skill-based game. Whether or not it's "pure luck" or whether there are "systems" is not really what I want to get into anyway. What fascinates me is some of the lore surrounding the game. Much of it can probably best be answered with an understanding of Chinese language and culture that I simply do not possess. So here are some quick ones?
1) Why is an 8 called a panda?
2) Why is a 7 called a dragon?
3) A pit boss told me that when the player or banker wins the hand with a 7 over 6, that's called a barbecue - why is this?
4) I saw a white guy with a middle class appearance and some of his similar looking friends at the Lucky Dragon casino in Vegas. He was clearly new to the game but enjoyed playing. The pit bosses seemed to like him and his boys but the rest of the table were hardcore Asian and seemed upset at their presence and intentionally took the opposite bet of the white guy, so when white guy bet bank, they bet player, etc etc. Anyway, he was mostly winning and they were getting annoyed but finally, on one hand, one of the Asian guys beat his 8 with a 9 and and as he turned over his hand he said, "I shower on you" (or maybe just "I shower you," he had an accent). Does this have a particular meaning in Chinese? Is it like "I piss on you?" Or could it be like "I shower you with bullets" (in, say, a Chinese Triad gang sort of way).
5) This last question is more complicated, but if there's no skill at all in this game, why do people chart patterns? This one heavy better I saw had a handwritten ledger of hands he had played and studied dating back to 2013. And he said he played 3 or 4 times a week. The pit boss and dealers said he "won more often than he should." Is there any way to actually be profitable in this game? It's not blackjack or poker where things can be done to influence the game, right? He was sitting all the way at the edge of the table but the cards were in a white shoe but I know Phil Ivey found a way to get an edge at Baccarat by studying the backs and sides of the cards (edge sorting). This was at an EZ Baccarat table so could that maybe contribute to why he was perceived as a "winning player" by the dealer and pit boss (who were logical people who didn't seem to believe in "luck")?

Thank you very much, forum members!

Yes.
But not by charting patterns. And it's a hard job.

Just saying this game is the devil. I have seen bankrolls emptied on the table. This game has no memory like roulette or dice. So throw out those ideas.

So ez bac was made to speed up the game. It took out bankers commission. The bonus panda and dragon actually makes the house a **** load of money.

The names are just made up. No relevance to anything to the game. Panda pays 25 to 1 and Dragon 40 to 1. Bonus bets are only good for one hand.

When I play Bac, I never play the side bets. Other players ask why I don't play them. I answer them with a question.

"Do you think those side bets are put there for your benefit or for the casinos benefit?"

This applies to all side bets at all table games. Think about it.

EZ Baccarat is a game marketed by DEQ (now owned by SGMS) and "Panda 8" and "Dragon 7" are the names their marketing folks put on those side bets. It is just marketing.

The are other Baccarat side bets called "Player Dragon", "Dealer Dragon" and simply "Dragon" that are also proprietary side bets.

The Dragon 7 bet and the EZ Bacc method of eliminating commissions (push on banker 3 card 7 win) were patented bets and allowed DEQ to get a massive number of placements for EZ Bacc. The patents expired and everyone has been jumping to emulate the game (see SGMS "Fortune 7") but in the end the large number of installs and familiarity has kept EZ Bacc as the dominant commission-free baccarat.

I do not understand how people get stuck to this game. IMO only casino war is more boring.

One of the lowest house edges to be had without skill or study.

@onguard: That is true. IMO it's entertainment factor can only be topped by Casino War though.

On the same token, do you think the casino offers the game to your benefit or theirs? Lol.

On the same token, do you think the CASINO is there for your benefit or theirs?

Well played sir

Thank You

So what have we learned.

The Casino isn't there for our benefit.
The table games aren't there for our benefit.
The side bets aren't aren't there for our benefit.

Makes me wonder why I bother to go.

Lively replies, all.

I still want to know why a banker hand of "7" paired with a player hand of "6" is called a "barbecue"!

Is the 7 a spatula and the 6 a burger?

Somebody told me it's because the losing hand got burned, I think a sports reference. Shaq is always saying bbq and bbq'd chicken assume it's similar.