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Baccarat History
Although it has always been a popular game in European and Latin
American casinos, it never caught on as strongly as Blackjack in US
casinos. 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. A bet on a Tie pays 8 to 1. In
the classic game of Baccarat the deal rotates among the players. If
neither hand is 9 a hand with a total of 8 is a Natural winner. There are many debates pertaining to the history of baccarat, particularly where the game was invented: France or Italy. The difference is one of the players banks the game instead of the casino. The result of the die decided her fate. Although a few rules have been changed here and there to accomodate the individual taste of a certain country, the style has remained the same. Baccarat has a history overseas too, which is evidenced by its popularity among the Asian population who visit Las Vegas each year. 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. The table is staffed by only one dealer who is responsible for handling the cards. The layout, conforms to the regular baccarat table and each of the seven seat positions correspond to a number and betting box with spots for banker, player, and tie.
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. 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. Once the bank looses
it moves on to the next player. Before the cards are dealt each baccarat
player has to make his bet. 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. When there is a Tie and you did not bet on it
nobody looses or wins. At first the value of the cards might seem a little odd, but it's
really simple to understand. Much like blackjack, two
hands are played - a dealer and a player hand pitted
against each other. 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. If both hands are
the same, the game is deemed a tie. a baccarat hand will never exceed
three cards total. Tabulating the hand value is straightforward
and only takes simple mathematics of addition. All
cards numbered 2 through 9 are worth their numeric
value. For instance, a hand of 6 and 10 will have
a total value of 6. 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. Player shows a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
or 0
Player Hand must Draw. After the dealer has finished drawing,
the hands are added up and a winner is declared. 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 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. 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. 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. With a total of 6 or less, his selection depends on the value of his two card total and the value of the card that the player drew. 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. 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. 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. Player and dealer are both dealt two cards to start with, if either of them has a two card total of 8 or 9 then they must immediately turn over the cards. 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 the dealer has 2 then he must draw. If the dealer has 3 then he must draw if your card is a 0-1-2-3-4-5-6-7-9.
Tips
- The banker hand does carry with it a 5% vig, or commission, bringing the House Edge up to 2%. This tip is not to say that a player should never bet on the player hand, for sometimes a hunch can be the best thing going for a gambler. Since the house edge is relatively similar for both bets, it is presumptuous to entirely negate the player hand wager.
- Looking at the House Edge, it is lowered, albeit not substantially, for every deck taken out of the equation. 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. 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.
- Usually this commission is 5%, which returns a House Edge of approximately 15%. 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. As for other bankroll management strategies, a good one is posted on this website.
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