Game Online Baccarat Casino

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. 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 the Player pays even money. 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. In Mini Baccarat a casino dealer handles the deal. If neither hand is 9 a hand with a total of 8 is a Natural winner. And remained an exclusive game to the French nobility for some time before becoming a casino game. 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. The result of the die decided her fate. 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. The infamous Dunes casino introduced baccarat in the late 50's. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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". Each player is given the bank in turn and can hold the bank as long as the bank wins. The player with the bank deals two sets of two cards, if of course the game is played by two players. 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. Much like blackjack, two hands are played - a dealer and a player hand pitted against each other. Unlike blackjack, but rather, like craps, multiple players around the table can bet on which hand will win. The game begins with players placing bets. 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. The hand closest to a total value of nine wins. a baccarat hand will never exceed three cards total. All other cards (tens and picture cards) are worth zero points. In order to calculate a hand total, simply add the value of the two cards. If such is not the case, the Player Hand makes the first move. Player shows a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 or 0 Player Hand must Draw. Banker shows a 5 Banker Hand must Draw if player's draw card is a 4, 5, 6, or 7 Banker Hand must Stand if player's draw card is a 0,1, 2, 3, 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. 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 other must do so also. With a total of 7, he stands. 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. Baccarat rules state that winning banker bets are subject to a 5% house commission. The table layout is quite simple and consists of fourteen numbered positions seven on each side of the dealer; the number thirteen is omitted as it is considered unlucky. 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. If the dealer has 1 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. 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%. Since the house edge is relatively similar for both bets, it is presumptuous to entirely negate the player hand wager.
- 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.
- 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. At the least, set yourself limits on losses and stake amounts.

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