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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

The winning hand is the hand that holds two or three cards totaling closest to nine. Aces count as One and Two through Nine are counted at face value. In the classic game of Baccarat the deal rotates among the players. Even though the player dealing is acting as the Banker, he is not obligated to bet on the Banker’s hand. 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. 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. D. The difference is one of the players banks the game instead of the casino. The interesting bit to observe of course is that the casino is taking no risk here; they simply charge a fee from each banker. 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. 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. A number of casinos have installed a smaller version of the baccarat game played on standard blackjack-sized gaming tables. 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. The most important thing you need to know is whether you are betting on the Player, on the Bank or on Tie. Baccarat is a game of chance, all you have to decide is which hand you think will win. At the beginning of the new game the shoe or the bank is given to the player on the right of the dealer. Before the cards are dealt each baccarat player has to make his bet. 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. If the hand you bet on wins you get a one to one payoff. When there is a Tie and you did not bet on it nobody looses or wins. After all is said and done, the hand with a point total closes to nine wins. 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. The hand closest to a total value of nine wins. 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. (7 + 4 = 11 - 10 = 1) A hand that has drawn and composed of three cards is calculated in the same fashion. 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. 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 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. 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 other must do so also. With a total of 7, he stands. Baccarat rules state that winning banker bets are subject to a 5% house commission. This is of course because there is more of a chance for a banker win. There aren't many rules, and the baccarat rules that do exist are fairly simple, they just differ from other games you may have played at the casino, so may take a little getting used to. 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. Three dealers run the game and one of these is the caller who runs the game and stands between positions 1 and 15. 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. The aim of the game is to get as close to 9 as possible and if you are nearer then you win. 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.

Tips

- 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. 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.
- Play Baccarat Games with the fewest decks. A slight difference of only one hundredth of a percent shows, which is apparent when looking at the House Edge.
- 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.
- Any system like the Martingale, which is designed to cover losses, should be avoided. At the least, set yourself limits on losses and stake amounts.

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