Baccarat Casinos Casinos Games

Baccarat History

Targeted towards high rollers, Baccarat tables used to be exclusive territory with roped off access and dealers dressed in tuxedos. Mini Baccarat has the same rules as Baccarat but has lower stakes and is played on a standard Blackjack shaped table.

How to Play Baccarat

Baccarat is a very simple game to play with no decisions made after a bet is placed. There are three bets available: The Player’s hand, the Banker’s hand, or a Tie. A bet on the Banker pays even money minus a 5% house commission. A bet on a Tie pays 8 to 1. If either hand dealt is a total of 9, it is called a “Natural” and automatically wins. There are many debates pertaining to the history of baccarat, particularly where the game was invented: France or Italy. Eventually, baccarat evolved into European baccarat and the French game 'chemin de fer'. The title of banker rotates around the table in a manner similar to the dice at a craps table. The basis of this game is very similar, but the rules and payoffs are much less dramatic. It has kept it's elegant trait and is still one of the most appealing games to the well situated individuals in our society. Baccarat has a history overseas too, which is evidenced by its popularity among the Asian population who visit Las Vegas each year. In casinos based in the Portuguese territory of Macao, near Hong Kong, the popularity of baccarat is unrivaled. Unlike the heavily ordered and systematic American casinos, these Portuguese tables often allow multiple players to bet on a single spot at the same time, while the expert dealers mentally keep track of each players commission on winning bank bets.

Baccarat Rules

Baccarat, pronounced "Bah-Caw-Rah", is probably one of the easiest and uncomplicated table games there is. Knowing the basic rules will help you understand what is going on on the baccarat table and will make the game more fun to play for you. So never mind what the other players bet on or how much they bet. Baccarat is played with eight decks of cards without Jokers. Once the bank looses it moves on to the next player. The hand closest to nine wins. If the first two cards dealt count Eight or Nine it is called a "Natural" and wins automatically, unless both hands have the same value then it is of course a Tie. That is why the Ten, Jack, Queen and the King count 0 and the Ace only one. After all is said and done, the hand with a point total closes to nine wins. After the players turn, and depending on both the outcome of the players hand and its own, the dealer hand will either draw a third additional card or stand. The hand closest to a total value of nine wins. If both hands are the same, the game is deemed a tie. All cards numbered 2 through 9 are worth their numeric value. All other cards (tens and picture cards) are worth zero points. In order to calculate a hand total, simply add the value of the two cards. A hand of seven and four has a value of 1. I will try to simplify this as much as possible with a few brief guidelines. If both hands have an 8 or 9, the game is deemed a tie, in which all Tie Bets win. Banker shows a 3 Banker Hand must Draw if player's draw card is a 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 Banker Hand must Stand if player's draw card is an 8. The game is played modulo 10, that is if the total of the hand is greater than 10, then 10 is subtracted from the total. Both the banker and the player are dealt two cards, and depending on the value of the hand, might be dealt a third in either case. Tied 9s or tied 8s are a stand off; no money changes hands (unless ties can be bet on) If neither the player or the banker has a natural (a total of 8 or 9) then play goes to the player. The player stands on a total of 6 or 7, but if the player has a total of 5 or less he/she must draw one card (face up) Now it is the bankers turn. With a total of 6 or less, his selection depends on the value of his two card total and the value of the card that the player drew. There aren't many rules, and the baccarat rules that do exist are fairly simple, they just differ from other games you may have played at the casino, so may take a little getting used to. Baccarat has a reputation for being a high rollers game and the tables are normally separate from the rest of the casino in there own section called the pit. The game of baccarat is unlike most casino games as the is no level of skill involved the reason for this is that neither the player or dealer has any options or decisions to make during the course of the game. This means the game is quite simple especially as there are only three possible bets that can be made. The aim of the game is to get as close to 9 as possible and if you are nearer then you win. If the dealer has 0 then he must draw. If the dealer has 3 then he must draw if your card is a 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-9. If the dealer has 8 then he must stand.

Tips

- Bet on the Banker Hand most of the time. This tip is not to say that a player should never bet on the player hand, for sometimes a hunch can be the best thing going for a gambler. As for the tie wager, it should be out of the question since it gives a casino advantage of nearly 15%.
- A baccarat game using eight decks will deliver a probability of 456% of winning on the bank hand, 442% of winning on the player hand, and 92% of winning on a Tie. These same probabilities in a baccarat game with six decks are 457% on the banker hand, 443% on the player hand, and 91% on the Tie. Although this difference is so negligible that most players do not advise picking one version of baccarat over the other, it is advisable to take all the advantage one can possibly take.
- Usually this commission is 5%, which returns a House Edge of approximately 15%. Any informed player would see that this bet is one of the best in the casino.
- Unless you have a very hearty bankroll, and do not mind losing every bit of it, play with a money management system that does not try to chase after losses. As for other bankroll management strategies, a good one is posted on this website.

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