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Baccarat History

Although it has always been a popular game in European and Latin American casinos, it never caught on as strongly as Blackjack in US casinos. In the 1950’s the game was popularized in Vegas because of the efforts of Frank Sinatra, a co-owner of The Sands at the time.

How to Play Baccarat

There are three bets available: The Player’s hand, the Banker’s hand, or a Tie. Aces count as One and Two through Nine are counted at face value. In the classic game of Baccarat the deal rotates among the players. In Mini Baccarat a casino dealer handles the deal. The Player’s hand is dealt to first, and only if the current value is 5 or less. There are many debates pertaining to the history of baccarat, particularly where the game was invented: France or Italy. It's been suggested that the game was first played with a deck of Tarot cards in the middle ages. The difference is one of the players banks the game instead of the casino. The result of the die decided her fate. Although a few rules have been changed here and there to accomodate the individual taste of a certain country, the style has remained the same. The table is staffed by only one dealer who is responsible for handling the cards. The layout, conforms to the regular baccarat table and each of the seven seat positions correspond to a number and betting box with spots for banker, player, and tie. The limits are lower and usually range from a $2 to $5 minimum, up to $500 maximum.

Baccarat Rules

Betting on Tie is not really recommended because it decreases your winning chances. Baccarat is a game of chance, all you have to decide is which hand you think will win. The baccarat game is now ready to play. If the hand you bet on wins you get a one to one payoff. When there is a Tie and you did not bet on it nobody looses or wins. At first the value of the cards might seem a little odd, but it's really simple to understand. That is why the Ten, Jack, Queen and the King count 0 and the Ace only one. So if you draw an eight in baccarat and a three, for instance, the value of both together would be eleven but since the first digit does not count your hand counts only one. Much like blackjack, two hands are played - a dealer and a player hand pitted against each other. The game begins with players placing bets. Essentially, only three bets can potentially be made - A bet for the player's hand to win, the banker's hand to win, or a tie. One factor is how hand values are tabulated. The other is how drawing a third card is determined. All cards numbered 2 through 9 are worth their numeric value. In order to calculate a hand total, simply add the value of the two cards. (7 + 4 = 11 - 10 = 1) A hand that has drawn and composed of three cards is calculated in the same fashion. Player shows a 6, 7, 8, or 9 (8 and 9 win) Player Hand must Stand. 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. Winning bets on the player hand pay back 1 to 1, while winning bets on the banker hand do the same, but with a 5% vig (commission) winning tie bets pay back 9 to 1. The player's objective is to get a hand that is closer to 9 in value than the banker's.

The maximum number of cards in a baccarat hand is three,,
If the banker or the player has an eight (natural eight) or a nine (natural nine) on the first two cards dealt, no further cards are drawn,,
The player always draws when the hand is a five or less, unless the banker has a natural, and stands on a six and seven,,
the banker always stands if the player stands on a six or a seven

. There are two hands dealt regardless of how many players there are: the banker's hand and the player's hand. The payout for winning a bet on the banker's or the player's hand is even money, or 1 to 1 and winning draw bets are paid off at 8 to 1 odds or 9 to 1 depending on where you are playing. Although the payoff for winning a draw bet is much more appealing, the chances of actually getting it are pretty low. With a total of 7, he stands. 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. Player put their bets on the numbered box in front of the players after the winner is called the other two dealers pay out or collect from the winners and losers around the table. A 9 is the best hand and beats all other totals followed by 8, if both the dealer and the player has an 8 or 9 the hand is tied and no money changes hands. If either you or the dealer has a 6 or 7 then you must stand if you stand on a 6 or 7 then the dealer must hit on a score of less than 5. If the dealer has 6 then he must draw if your card is a 6-7. If the dealer has 7 then he must stand. If the dealer has 8 then he must stand.

Tips

- When the wager is counter-weighed by the player hand, the edge lowers to more near the 1% mark. Going back the card-counting issue, if a player does indeed insist on counting cards, they should pay attention to 6's and 4's. 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. For an eight deck game, the casino advantage on the banker hand is 16%, whereas it is 15% in a six deck game. 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.
- sometimes casinos will only impose a 4% commission, which brings the House Edge on the banker bet down to only approximately %. If you can get a 4% commission, by all means take advantage of it - and bet on the banker every time.
- Any system like the Martingale, which is designed to cover losses, should be avoided. Whatever you decide to follow, be sure you plan ahead of time.

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