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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. More
recently, a lot of US casinos have offered “Mini Baccarat”.
How to Play Baccarat
The winning hand is the
hand that holds two or three cards totaling closest to nine. A bet on the Banker pays even money
minus a 5% house commission. Aces count as One and Two
through Nine are counted at face value. Even though the player dealing is acting as the Banker, he is not
obligated to bet on the Banker’s hand. 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. There are many debates pertaining to the history of baccarat, particularly where the game was invented: France or Italy. According to many, the game was first invented in Italy by a gambler Felix Falguiere, where it acquired the Italian name 'baccara', meaning zero in English. The title of banker rotates around the table in a manner similar to the dice at a craps table. 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 Baccarat we know today originated in Great Britain and was then passed along to South America and finally to Nevada. 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. A number of casinos have installed a smaller version of the baccarat game played on standard blackjack-sized gaming tables. The table is staffed by only one dealer who is responsible for handling the cards.
Baccarat Rules
Baccarat, pronounced "Bah-Caw-Rah", is probably one of the easiest and uncomplicated
table games there is. Betting on Tie is not really recommended because it decreases your winning
chances. Baccarat is a game of chance, all you have to decide is which
hand you think will win. 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. 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. Much like blackjack, two
hands are played - a dealer and a player hand pitted
against each other. The game begins with players placing bets. Depending on hand outcomes, the player hand will either
draw a third card or stand. If both hands are
the same, the game is deemed a tie. a baccarat hand will never exceed
three cards total. In order to calculate a hand
total, simply add the value of the two cards. Once the player hand is finished and
standing, the bank hand will determine whether it must
draw a third card. Banker shows a 7, 8 or 9 (8
and 9 win)
Banker 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 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 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
. (In online baccarat cards are always face up) A 9 value wins over any lesser total, and if neither player has a 9 then 8 wins over any lesser total. 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. 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. 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. Three dealers run the game and one of these is the caller who runs the game and stands between positions 1 and 15. 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. When the bank wins the house claims a %5 cut of the winnings and the total amount is collected every time the shoe is reshuffled. 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 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 6 then he must draw if your card is a 6-7.
Tips
- The banker hand does carry with it a 5% vig, or commission, bringing the House Edge up to 2%. Since the house edge is relatively similar for both bets, it is presumptuous to entirely negate the player hand wager. 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. 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.
- Any informed player would see that this bet is one of the best in the casino. 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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