Best Casino Baccarat Software

Baccarat History

The game was introduced to the French Court in the 15th century and became the favorite game among French nobility. 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.

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. 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. 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. D. Eventually, baccarat evolved into European baccarat and the French game 'chemin de fer'. The interesting bit to observe of course is that the casino is taking no risk here; they simply charge a fee from each banker. The basis of this game is very similar, but the rules and payoffs are much less dramatic. The Baccarat we know today originated in Great Britain and was then passed along to South America and finally to Nevada. 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. So never mind what the other players bet on or how much they bet. If the value of the first card is a four, for instance, the dealer will take the next four cards out of the shoe and discard them in a tray next to it along with the first card. The baccarat game is now ready to play. Each player is given the bank in turn and can hold the bank as long as the bank wins. If the first two cards dealt count Eight or Nine it is called a "Natural" and wins automatically, unless both hands have the same value then it is of course a Tie. 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. Unlike in Black Jack it is impossible to overdraw in Baccarat. Unlike blackjack, but rather, like craps, multiple players around the table can bet on which hand will win. The game begins with players placing bets. The hand closest to a total value of nine wins. Please note that both hands are allowed a maximum of one card draw. All other cards (tens and picture cards) are worth zero points. 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. 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. (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

. 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. The other must do so also. The advantage is slim, in the area 0,,8%, but in the world of gambling that's really not that small. 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. The table layout is quite simple and consists of fourteen numbered positions seven on each side of the dealer; the number thirteen is omitted as it is considered unlucky. The aim of the game is to get as close to 9 as possible and if you are nearer then you win. If the dealer has 1 then he must draw. If the dealer has 2 then he must draw. If the dealer has 8 then he must stand. Once all the hands are dealt it is closest to 9 that wins.

Tips

- The banker hand does carry with it a 5% vig, or commission, bringing the House Edge up to 2%. 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. 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.
- 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. Although this difference is so negligible that most players do not advise picking one version of baccarat over the other, it is advisable to take all the advantage one can possibly take.
- 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.
- Manage your money wisely, without a "system". As for other bankroll management strategies, a good one is posted on this website.

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