Baccarat Tips Top Casinos

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. Targeted towards high rollers, Baccarat tables used to be exclusive territory with roped off access and dealers dressed in tuxedos.

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. A bet on a Tie pays 8 to 1. In Mini Baccarat a casino dealer handles the deal. 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. 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. The title of banker rotates around the table in a manner similar to the dice at a craps table. The basis of this game is very similar, but the rules and payoffs are much less dramatic. It has kept it's elegant trait and is still one of the most appealing games to the well situated individuals in our society. 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. Baccarat is a game of chance, all you have to decide is which hand you think will win. 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. So never mind what the other players bet on or how much they bet. Then he will take the very first card out and whatever the value of this card is indicates how many cards will be Burned. Each player is given the bank in turn and can hold the bank as long as the bank wins. 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. 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. After all is said and done, the hand with a point total closes to nine wins. The hand closest to a total value of nine wins. If both hands are the same, the game is deemed a tie. 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. 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. Banker shows a 3 Banker Hand must Draw if player's draw card is a 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 Banker Hand must Stand if player's draw card is an 8. 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. After the dealer has finished drawing, the hands are added up and a winner is declared. 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 game is played modulo 10, that is if the total of the hand is greater than 10, then 10 is subtracted from the total. 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. If the player or banker has a two card total of 8 or 9, he/she turns the cards over immediately. This is of course because there is more of a chance for a banker win. The advantage is slim, in the area 0,,8%, but in the world of gambling that's really not that small. This means the game is quite simple especially as there are only three possible bets that can be made. Three dealers run the game and one of these is the caller who runs the game and stands between positions 1 and 15. 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. 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 3 then he must draw if your card is a 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-9. If the dealer has 9 then he must stand.

Tips

- When the wager is counter-weighed by the player hand, the edge lowers to more near the 1% mark. Since the house edge is relatively similar for both bets, it is presumptuous to entirely negate the player hand wager. 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.
- 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. 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. For the player and tie hands in an eight deck game, the edge is slightly better in the eight deck games.
- sometimes casinos will only impose a 4% commission, which brings the House Edge on the banker bet down to only approximately %. Any informed player would see that this bet is one of the best in the casino.
- 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.

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