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Baccarat History
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. Targeted towards high rollers, Baccarat tables used to be exclusive
territory with roped off access and dealers dressed in tuxedos.
How to Play Baccarat
Baccarat is a very simple game to play with no decisions
made after a bet is placed. There are three bets available: The
Player’s hand, the Banker’s hand, or a Tie. The winning hand is the
hand that holds two or three cards totaling closest to nine. Aces count as One and Two
through Nine are counted at face value. If neither hand is an 8 or a 9 and there is no Tie
additional cards may be dealt according to a standard set of rules. 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. And remained an exclusive game to the French nobility for some time before becoming a casino game. Eventually,
baccarat evolved into European baccarat and the French game 'chemin de fer'. 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. In casinos based in the Portuguese territory of Macao, near Hong Kong, the popularity of baccarat is unrivaled. The table is staffed by only one dealer who is responsible for handling the cards.
Baccarat Rules
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. Each player is given the bank in
turn and can hold the bank as long as the bank wins. Before the cards are dealt each baccarat
player has to make his bet. 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. That is
why the Ten, Jack, Queen and the King count 0 and the Ace only one. So if you draw an eight in baccarat and a three, for
instance, the value of both together would be eleven but since the first
digit does not count your hand counts only one. Unlike blackjack, but
rather, like craps, multiple players around the table
can bet on which hand will win. After all is said
and done, the hand with a point total closes to nine
wins. 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. Depending on hand outcomes, the player hand will either
draw a third card or stand. 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. Please note that both hands are allowed a maximum of one
card draw. All
cards numbered 2 through 9 are worth their numeric
value. For instance, a hand of 6 and 10 will have
a total value of 6. I will try to simplify this as much as possible with a
few brief guidelines. First off, know that right from
the beginning a hand of 8 or 9 automatically wins. Player shows a 6, 7, 8, or 9
(8 and 9 win)
Player Hand must Stand. 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.
- 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
. 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. Although the payoff for winning a draw bet is much more appealing, the chances of actually getting it are pretty low. 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 6 or less, his selection depends on the value of his two card total and the value of the card that the player drew. Dealers normally wear tuxedos and the surrounding are is quite lavish. The game of baccarat is unlike most casino games as the is no level of skill involved the reason for this is that neither the player or dealer has any options or decisions to make during the course of the game. 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. All picture cards count as 10 and aces count as 1. 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 8 then he must stand.
Tips
- Bet on the Banker Hand most of the time. As for the tie wager, it should be out of the question since it gives a casino advantage of nearly 15%.
- 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. For an eight deck game, the casino advantage on the banker hand is 16%, whereas it is 15% in a six deck game. For the player and tie hands in an eight deck game, the edge is slightly better in the eight deck games.
- 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%.
- Manage your money wisely, without a "system". Whatever you decide to follow, be sure you plan ahead of time.
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