Baccarat Internet Casino Software

Baccarat History

The game was introduced to the French Court in the 15th century and became the favorite game among French nobility. Targeted towards high rollers, Baccarat tables used to be exclusive territory with roped off access and dealers dressed in tuxedos.

How to Play Baccarat

In Mini Baccarat a casino dealer handles the deal. After players make their bets the dealer deals a two-card hand to the Banker and Player. Natural hands always immediately win or Tie (although a 9 beats an 8). The Player’s hand is dealt to first, and only if the current value is 5 or less. After the Player’s hand is complete, the Banker’s hand is dealt out according to the following set of rules: If the Player did not draw a third card, then the Banker only draws a card to a hand of 4 or less. It's been suggested that the game was first played with a deck of Tarot cards in the middle ages. 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 basis of this game is very similar, but the rules and payoffs are much less dramatic. There exists quite a diversity today, especially so since it has made its way onto the world wide web. 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. Lacking the formality and large group of players, mini-baccarat is played fast and is a good place to learn how to play.

Baccarat Rules

Baccarat, pronounced "Bah-Caw-Rah", is probably one of the easiest and uncomplicated table games there is. It doesn't matter which seat you take at the baccarat table because unlike in Black Jack you are not playing against other players or against the house. Baccarat is played with eight decks of cards without Jokers. Each player is given the bank in turn and can hold the bank as long as the bank wins. The player with the bank deals two sets of two cards, if of course the game is played by two players. When nobody has a natural additional cards are drawn to determine the baccarat winner. If the hand you bet on wins you get a one to one payoff. You can bet on a Tie where you get a one to eight payoff but a Tie is very rare, it occurs less than once in ten hands. Unlike blackjack, but rather, like craps, multiple players around the table can bet on which hand will win. 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. Two components of the game need clearing up at this point. The other is how drawing a third card is determined. A hand of seven and four has a value of 1. 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. I will try to simplify this as much as possible with a few brief guidelines. 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. Banker shows a 6 Banker Hand must Draw if player's draw card is a 6 or 7 Banker Hand must Stand if player's draw card is a 0,1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 or 9. 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. (Thus the value of a hand is always between 0 through 9). If the players cards total 15, 10 is subtracted and the value of the hand becomes 5. There are two hands dealt regardless of how many players there are: the banker's hand and the player's hand. The task for you as a player is to bet on the banker's hand, the player's hand, or a draw, which means that the two hands are tied. 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. 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. 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 your score is below 6 then you must hit and receive a third card, if you receive a third card then the dealer takes another depending on your total. If the dealer has 5 then he must draw if your card is a 4-5-6-7. Once all the hands are dealt it is closest to 9 that wins.

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. 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.
- Many online casinos will offer different versions of baccarat, such as a one deck version, and a 6 or 8 deck version with higher minimum betting amounts. For an eight deck game, the casino advantage on the banker hand is 16%, whereas it is 15% in a six deck game.
- On the banker bet, the casino charges a vig, or commission to counter the players advantage. Any informed player would see that this bet is one of the best in the casino.
- Manage your money wisely, without a "system". 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.

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