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Baccarat History

The present form of Baccarat can be traced back to Italy. 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.

How to Play Baccarat

The winning hand is the hand that holds two or three cards totaling closest to nine. A bet on the Player pays even money. In the classic game of Baccarat the deal rotates among the players. In Mini Baccarat a casino dealer handles the deal. If the Player did draw a third card, the Banker follows the rules at right. It's difficult to trace back the origins of this game mainly because slight variations of it name are used in both countries, each wanting to claim it as theirs. It's been suggested that the game was first played with a deck of Tarot cards in the middle ages. Chemin de fer is very similar to baccarat as it's played in American casinos today. The result of the die decided her fate. If an eight or a nine was thrown, she would become the priestess; if she threw a six or seven, she would be banned from any further religious activities; if she threw any number less than six, she would walk into the sea. The infamous Dunes casino introduced baccarat in the late 50's. Baccarat has a history overseas too, which is evidenced by its popularity among the Asian population who visit Las Vegas each year. 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. Betting on Tie is not really recommended because it decreases your winning chances. 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. The only thing you are betting against is the cards. Each player is given the bank in turn and can hold the bank as long as the bank wins. Once the bank looses it moves on to the next player. The hand closest to nine wins. Unlike in Black Jack it is impossible to overdraw in Baccarat. Much like blackjack, two hands are played - a dealer and a player hand pitted against each other. 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. One factor is how hand values are tabulated. a baccarat hand will never exceed three cards total. (7 + 4 = 11 - 10 = 1) A hand that has drawn and composed of three cards is calculated in the same fashion. For instance, a hand of 5, Queen and 9 has a value of 4 (5 + 0 + 9 = 14 - 10 = 4) Card draw determination is slightly more involved and is often explained with a chart. If both hands have an 8 or 9, the game is deemed a tie, in which all Tie Bets win. Player shows a 6, 7, 8, or 9 (8 and 9 win) Player Hand must Stand. Player shows a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 or 0 Player Hand must Draw. 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. (Thus the value of a hand is always between 0 through 9).

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

. If the player or banker has a two card total of 8 or 9, he/she turns the cards over immediately. The other must do so also. 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. This means the game is quite simple especially as there are only three possible bets that can be made. Each player takes it in turns to deal from the shoe there is however no advantage to be gained from it and it is just part of the tradition of the game. If the hand is greater than 10 then 10 is subtracted from the total, this means that the value of the hand is always 0-9. Player and dealer are both dealt two cards to start with, if either of them has a two card total of 8 or 9 then they must immediately turn over the cards. 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 0 then he must draw. If the dealer has 9 then he must stand.

Tips

- in the long run, a player should be making more bets on the banker than on the player. As for the tie wager, it should be out of the question since it gives a casino advantage of nearly 15%.
- Play Baccarat Games with the fewest decks. Looking at the House Edge, it is lowered, albeit not substantially, for every deck taken out of the equation. For the player and tie hands in an eight deck game, the edge is slightly better in the eight deck games.
- Play Baccarat at Casinos with the lowest commission possible. On the banker bet, the casino charges a vig, or commission to counter the players advantage.
- 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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