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Baccarat History
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. Targeted towards high rollers, Baccarat tables used to be exclusive
territory with roped off access and dealers dressed in tuxedos.
How to Play Baccarat
A bet
on the Player pays even money. 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. The Player’s hand is dealt to first, and only if the current value
is 5 or less. It's been suggested that the game was first played with a deck of Tarot cards in the middle ages. D. 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. Unlike the heavily ordered and systematic American casinos, these Portuguese tables often allow multiple players to bet on a single spot at the same time, while the expert dealers mentally keep track of each players commission on winning bank
bets. A number of casinos have installed a smaller version of the baccarat game played on standard blackjack-sized gaming tables. The table is staffed by only one dealer who is responsible for handling the cards. The limits are lower and usually range from a $2 to $5 minimum, up to $500 maximum.
Baccarat Rules
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. Baccarat is played with eight decks of cards without Jokers. At the
beginning of a new game or when the Cut Card in the Shoe is dealt, the dealer will shuffle all decks together and put them back in the
shoe, called "The Bank". The baccarat game is now ready to
play. At the beginning of the new game the shoe or the bank is given to the
player on the right of the dealer. Once the bank looses
it moves on to the next player. This
is not only the case with single card values but with the result of
two cards combined. Much like blackjack, two
hands are played - a dealer and a player hand pitted
against each other. 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. In order to calculate a hand
total, simply add the value of the two cards. If this
sum goes over ten, subtract ten and you will have the
final value. For instance, a hand of 6 and 10 will have
a total value of 6. I will try to simplify this as much as possible with a
few brief guidelines. 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. Player shows a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
or 0
Player Hand must Draw. 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. The player's objective is to get a hand that is closer to 9 in value than the banker's. 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. Tied 9s or tied 8s are a stand off; no money changes hands (unless ties can be bet on)
If neither the player or the banker has a natural (a total of 8 or 9) then play goes to the player. 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. 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. A 9 is the best hand and beats all other totals followed by 8, if both the dealer and the player has an 8 or 9 the hand is tied and no money changes hands. 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 7 then he must stand.
Tips
- Since the house edge is relatively similar for both bets, it is presumptuous to entirely negate the player hand wager. 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. As for the tie wager, it should be out of the question since it gives a casino advantage of nearly 15%.
- For an eight deck game, the casino advantage on the banker hand is 16%, whereas it is 15% in a six deck game. 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. If you can get a 4% commission, by all means take advantage of it - and bet on the banker every time.
- If you want to take your chances, then by all means use a system - just know when to quit. At the least, set yourself limits on losses and stake amounts.
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