Casino Gaming Baccarat Gambling

Baccarat History

The present form of Baccarat can be traced back to Italy. Mini Baccarat has the same rules as Baccarat but has lower stakes and is played on a standard Blackjack shaped table.

How to Play Baccarat

A bet on a Tie pays 8 to 1. All Tens and face cards have a value of 0. If either hand dealt is a total of 9, it is called a “Natural” and automatically wins. 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. The Player’s hand is dealt to first, and only if the current value is 5 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 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 highest of the high rollers often come from overseas to try their hand under the chandeliers of the stylish Vegas baccarat rooms. The limits are lower and usually range from a $2 to $5 minimum, up to $500 maximum.

Baccarat Rules

Betting on Tie is not really recommended because it decreases your winning chances. 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. Once the bank looses it moves on to the next player. The hand closest to nine 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. Unlike in Black Jack it is impossible to overdraw in Baccarat. 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. Two components of the game need clearing up at this point. One factor is how hand values are tabulated. a baccarat hand will never exceed three cards total. A hand of seven and four has a value of 1. I will try to simplify this as much as possible with a few brief guidelines. 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. 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. 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

. There are two hands dealt regardless of how many players there are: the banker's hand and the player's hand. 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. This is of course because there is more of a chance for a banker win. 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 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. 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 1 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 7 then he must stand.

Tips

- Bet on the Banker Hand most of the time. The banker hand does carry with it a 5% vig, or commission, bringing the House Edge up to 2%. As for the tie wager, it should be out of the question since it gives a casino advantage of nearly 15%.
- Looking at the House Edge, it is lowered, albeit not substantially, for every deck taken out of the equation. 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.
- Play Baccarat at Casinos with the lowest commission possible. Usually this commission is 5%, which returns a House Edge of approximately 15%.
- 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.

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