James Bond is a famous casino player (well fictionally of course). Over the years, Ian Flemings character has unwittingly been promoting casinos thanks to Bond´s love of the thrill and chase of the roulette or baccarat table. But what´s his secret? He generally has a couple of Martinis, there´s always a gorgeous woman invoved, and more often than not he walks out of the room with his dinner jacket nicely padded out with a fresh roll of bills.

Bond´s favorite Casino game is probably Baccarat : Baccarat Chemin de Fer to be more precise. (in Goldeneye and Casino Royale, it is one of the  classic Bond games- Bond plays Baccarat against arch baddie and general no gooder Le Chiffre in the Royale-les-Eaux Casino which is loosley based on the casino in Deauville.).  However Commander Bond is also partial to a spot of roulette and plays a mean hand of no-limit Texas Hold’em poker.  He plays no-limit in a high stakes poker game in a Montenegro casino, where he beats Le Chiffre in an edgy game, laying down a straight flush on his final hand.

In Casino Royale Bond plays some complex progression systems on the even money bets in a system that Fleming describes as the Labouchère system:

So what is his secret? Well, he always heads off to the casino sharply dressed- he looks the part and immediately gets the respect of the croupiers. Bond prefers a dark blue suit of serge or tropical worsted or alpaca, depending on the temperature, a heavy white silk shirt and a thin black knitted silk tie with black moccasin shoes. In Monte Carlo, it´s a Dinner Jacket, of course. And don´t forget the accessories- understated elegance is the order of the day here, not bling. A Rolex Oyster Perpetual on an expanding metal bracelet, a  thin cigarette-case of black gun-metal and a black  Ronson lighter.

But his real secret? Well, he´s a work of fiction. Of course he´s going to leave the casino with the girl and the cash.