Baccarat Play Games Online

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

A bet on a Tie pays 8 to 1. In the classic game of Baccarat the deal rotates among the players. A Tie at any point in the game ends the hand and pays Tie bets. If neither hand is 9 a hand with a total of 8 is a Natural winner. The Player’s hand is dealt to first, and only if the current value is 5 or less. It's been suggested that the game was first played with a deck of Tarot cards in the middle ages. It was later on introduced in France around 1490 A. And remained an exclusive game to the French nobility for some time before becoming a casino game. Chemin de fer is very similar to baccarat as it's played in American casinos today. It has kept it's elegant trait and is still one of the most appealing games to the well situated individuals in our society. The highest of the high rollers often come from overseas to try their hand under the chandeliers of the stylish Vegas baccarat rooms. It is played by the exact same rules, but lacks the accoutrements of the formal version. 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. 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. At the beginning of the new game the shoe or the bank is given to the player on the right of the dealer. That is why the Ten, Jack, Queen and the King count 0 and the Ace only one. This is not only the case with single card values but with the result of two cards combined. Unlike in Black Jack it is impossible to overdraw in Baccarat. Two components of the game need clearing up at this point. a baccarat hand will never exceed three cards total. Tabulating the hand value is straightforward and only takes simple mathematics of addition. If this sum goes over ten, subtract ten and you will have the final value. First off, know that right from the beginning a hand of 8 or 9 automatically wins. If both hands have an 8 or 9, the game is deemed a tie, in which all Tie Bets win. If one hand is an 8 and the other is a 9, the 9 wins. Player shows a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 or 0 Player Hand must Draw. Once the player hand is finished and standing, the bank hand will determine whether it must draw a third card. 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. 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. An ace counts as 1, two counts as 2, etc,, , up through nine counts as 9, but tens (jacks, queens and kings) count as 0. 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. 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. 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. If the dealer has 0 then he must draw. If the dealer has 1 then he must draw. If the dealer has 5 then he must draw if your card is a 4-5-6-7.

Tips

- The banker hand does carry with it a 5% vig, or commission, bringing the House Edge up to 2%. 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. As for the tie wager, it should be out of the question since it gives a casino advantage of nearly 15%.
- Looking at the House Edge, it is lowered, albeit not substantially, for every deck taken out of the equation. These same probabilities in a baccarat game with six decks are 457% on the banker hand, 443% on the player hand, and 91% on the Tie.
- On the banker bet, the casino charges a vig, or commission to counter the players advantage. Usually this commission is 5%, which returns a House Edge of approximately 15%.
- Any system like the Martingale, which is designed to cover losses, should be avoided. If you want to take your chances, then by all means use a system - just know when to quit.

Baccarat game for United Kingdom players: find tips for baccarat, strategies, terms, top baccarat casinos and other gambling information at Baccarat9 UK