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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
A bet
on the Player pays even money. Even though the player dealing is acting as the Banker, he is not
obligated to bet on the Banker’s hand. After players make their bets the dealer
deals a two-card hand to the Banker and Player. If either hand dealt is
a total of 9, it is called a “Natural” and automatically wins. 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. The interesting bit to observe of course is that the casino is taking no risk here; they simply charge a fee from each
banker. Falguiere based the game on an old Etruscan ritual of the nine gods, who prayed to a blonde virgin on their tiptoes waiting for her to throw a nine-sided die. 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 highest of the high rollers often come from overseas to try their hand under the chandeliers of the stylish Vegas baccarat rooms. 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. 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.
Baccarat Rules
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. 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. Then he will take the very first card
out and whatever the value of this card is indicates how many cards will
be Burned. The player with the bank deals two sets of two cards, if of course the
game is played by two players. 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. When nobody has a natural additional
cards are drawn to determine the baccarat winner. 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. When there is a Tie and you did not bet on it
nobody looses or wins. 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. After all bets are made, which cannot be
added to or retracted once play begins, the House will
deal four face-down cards - two cards each to both the
player and banker (House) After the cards are
finished being dealt, they are revealed and tabulated. Two components of the game need clearing up at this
point. The other is how drawing a third card is determined. 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. Player shows a 6, 7, 8, or 9
(8 and 9 win)
Player Hand must Stand. Banker shows a 4
Banker Hand must Draw if player's draw card is a
0, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7
Banker Hand must Stand if player's draw card is a 0, 1,
8 or 9. Banker shows a 5
Banker Hand must Draw if player's draw card is a 4, 5,
6, or 7
Banker Hand must Stand if player's draw card is a 0,1,
2, 3, 8 or 9. 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. The player's objective is to get a hand that is closer to 9 in value than the banker's. 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 7, he stands. The advantage is slim, in the area
0,,8%, but in the world of gambling that's really not that small. 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. 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. If the dealer has 0 then he must draw. If the dealer has 5 then he must draw if your card is a 4-5-6-7. If the dealer has 7 then he must stand. If the dealer has 9 then he must stand. Once all the hands are dealt it is closest to 9 that wins.
Tips
- Depending on the number of decks being played, the casino advantage for the player hand wager is generally 15%, whereas on the banker hand it is only 16%. Since the house edge is relatively similar for both bets, it is presumptuous to entirely negate the player hand wager. As for the tie wager, it should be out of the question since it gives a casino advantage of nearly 15%.
- A slight difference of only one hundredth of a percent shows, which is apparent when looking at the House Edge. 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.
- As for other bankroll management strategies, a good one is posted on this website. Whatever you decide to follow, be sure you plan ahead of time.
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