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Baccarat History
Targeted towards high rollers, Baccarat tables used to be exclusive
territory with roped off access and dealers dressed in tuxedos. More
recently, a lot of US casinos have offered “Mini Baccarat”.
How to Play Baccarat
Baccarat is a very simple game to play with no decisions
made after a bet is placed. A bet on the Banker pays even money
minus a 5% house commission. 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. If the Player did
draw a third card, the Banker follows the rules at right. 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. 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. It's been suggested that the game was first played with a deck of Tarot cards in the middle ages. Falguiere based the game on an old Etruscan ritual of the nine gods, who prayed to a blonde virgin on their tiptoes waiting for her to throw a nine-sided die. 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 infamous Dunes casino introduced baccarat in the late 50's. There exists quite a diversity today, especially so since it has made its way onto the world wide web.
Baccarat Rules
Baccarat, pronounced "Bah-Caw-Rah", is probably one of the easiest and uncomplicated
table games there is. The most important thing you need to know is whether
you are betting on the Player, on the Bank or on Tie. 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. 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. Before the cards are dealt each baccarat
player has to make his bet. 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. The game begins with players placing bets. 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. One factor is how hand values are tabulated. For instance, a hand of 5, Queen and 9 has a
value of 4 (5 + 0 + 9 = 14 - 10 = 4) Card draw determination is slightly more
involved and is often explained with a chart. 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. If such is not the
case, the Player Hand makes the first move. Player shows a 6, 7, 8, or 9
(8 and 9 win)
Player Hand must Stand. Player shows a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
or 0
Player Hand must Draw. Banker shows a 7, 8 or 9 (8
and 9 win)
Banker Hand must Stand. 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. (Thus the value of a hand is always between 0 through 9). If the players cards total 15, 10 is subtracted and the value of the hand becomes 5. Both the banker and the player are dealt two cards, and depending on the value of the hand, might be dealt a third in either case. 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. (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. 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. 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 0 then he must draw. If the dealer has 5 then he must draw if your card is a 4-5-6-7. If the dealer has 6 then he must draw if your card is a 6-7. If the dealer has 9 then he must stand.
Tips
- 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. As for the tie wager, it should be out of the question since it gives a casino advantage of nearly 15%.
- 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. 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.
- Play Baccarat at Casinos with the lowest commission possible. If you can get a 4% commission, by all means take advantage of it - and bet on the banker every time.
- 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. Whatever you decide to follow, be sure you plan ahead of time.
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