Baccarat History

The present form of Baccarat can be traced back to Italy. 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

A bet on a Tie pays 8 to 1. All Tens and face cards have a value of 0. A Tie at any point in the game ends the hand and pays Tie bets. Natural hands always immediately win or Tie (although a 9 beats an 8). 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. Eventually, baccarat evolved into European baccarat and the French game 'chemin de fer'. Chemin de fer is very similar to baccarat as it's played in American casinos today. The Baccarat we know today originated in Great Britain and was then passed along to South America and finally to Nevada. There exists quite a diversity today, especially so since it has made its way onto the world wide web. In casinos based in the Portuguese territory of Macao, near Hong Kong, the popularity of baccarat is unrivaled. A number of casinos have installed a smaller version of the baccarat game played on standard blackjack-sized gaming tables. It is played by the exact same rules, but lacks the accoutrements of the formal version. 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. 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. 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. 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. When there is a Tie and you did not bet on it nobody looses or wins. Unlike blackjack, but rather, like craps, multiple players around the table can bet on which hand will win. Depending on hand outcomes, the player hand will either draw a third card or stand. After the players turn, and depending on both the outcome of the players hand and its own, the dealer hand will either draw a third additional card or stand. Please note that both hands are allowed a maximum of one card draw. All other cards (tens and picture cards) are worth zero points. A hand of seven and four has a value of 1. Player shows a 6, 7, 8, or 9 (8 and 9 win) Player Hand must Stand. Once the player hand is finished and standing, the bank hand will determine whether it must draw a third card. The following guidelines determine what action the Bank Hand will take: On a side note, if the player hand does not draw a card, the banker hand will always draw if its value is lower than the player hand or if its own two-card value is 0, 1, or 2. 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. 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. 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. 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 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. 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. This means the game is quite simple especially as there are only three possible bets that can be made. The aim of the game is to get as close to 9 as possible and if you are nearer then you win. All picture cards count as 10 and aces count as 1. 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 4 then he must draw if your card is a 2-3-4-5-6-7. If the dealer has 8 then he must stand.

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. 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. For an eight deck game, the casino advantage on the banker hand is 16%, whereas it is 15% in a six deck game. 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.
- Manage your money wisely, without a "system". At the least, set yourself limits on losses and stake amounts.

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