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Baccarat History

The game was introduced to the French Court in the 15th century and became the favorite game among French nobility. More recently, a lot of US casinos have offered “Mini Baccarat”.

How to Play Baccarat

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. In Mini Baccarat a casino dealer handles the deal. A Tie at any point in the game ends the hand and pays Tie bets. 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. The interesting bit to observe of course is that the casino is taking no risk here; they simply charge a fee from each banker. The basis of this game is very similar, but the rules and payoffs are much less dramatic. The Baccarat we know today originated in Great Britain and was then passed along to South America and finally to Nevada. Baccarat has a history overseas too, which is evidenced by its popularity among the Asian population who visit Las Vegas each year. A number of casinos have installed a smaller version of the baccarat game played on standard blackjack-sized gaming tables. It is played by the exact same rules, but lacks the accoutrements of the formal version. The limits are lower and usually range from a $2 to $5 minimum, up to $500 maximum.

Baccarat Rules

The only thing you are betting against is the cards. So never mind what the other players bet on or how much they bet. Baccarat is played with eight decks of cards without Jokers. The baccarat game is now ready to play. Before the cards are dealt each baccarat player has to make his bet. If the hand you bet on wins you get a one to one payoff. Unlike in Black Jack it is impossible to overdraw in Baccarat. Depending on hand outcomes, the player hand will either draw a third 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. Two components of the game need clearing up at this point. One factor is how hand values are tabulated. The other is how drawing a third card is determined. In order to calculate a hand total, simply add the value of the two cards. For instance, a hand of 6 and 10 will have a total value of 6. The following guidelines determine what action the Bank Hand will take: On a side note, if the player hand does not draw a card, the banker hand will always draw if its value is lower than the player hand or if its own two-card value is 0, 1, or 2. 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. After the dealer has finished drawing, the hands are added up and a winner is declared. 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. (Thus the value of a hand is always between 0 through 9). 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. 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. Baccarat rules state that winning banker bets are subject to a 5% house commission. Dealers normally wear tuxedos and the surrounding are is quite lavish. 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 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 0 then he must draw. If the dealer has 2 then he must draw. If the dealer has 6 then he must draw if your card is a 6-7. If the dealer has 8 then he must stand.

Tips

- 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. When more 4's are leaving the deck, the banker bet has slightly better odds, whereas when 6's leave the deck, the player bet has a slightly better chance of winning than it does from the start of a fresh deck.
- Looking at the House Edge, it is lowered, albeit not substantially, for every deck taken out of the equation. 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. A slight difference of only one hundredth of a percent shows, which is apparent when looking at the House Edge.
- Play Baccarat at Casinos with the lowest commission possible. 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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