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

Baccarat is a very simple game to play with no decisions made after a bet is placed. 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. A Tie at any point in the game ends the hand and pays Tie bets. 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. There exists quite a diversity today, especially so since it has made its way onto the world wide web. The highest of the high rollers often come from overseas to try their hand under the chandeliers of the stylish Vegas baccarat rooms. In casinos based in the Portuguese territory of Macao, near Hong Kong, the popularity of baccarat is unrivaled. 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. 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. 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 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. So never mind what the other players bet on or how much they bet. At the beginning of the new game the shoe or the bank is given to the player on the right of the dealer. Each player is given the bank in turn and can hold the bank as long as the bank wins. When nobody has a natural additional cards are drawn to determine the baccarat winner. If the hand you bet on wins you get a one to one payoff. Much like blackjack, two hands are played - a dealer and a player hand pitted against each other. The hand closest to a total value of nine wins. If both hands are the same, the game is deemed a tie. 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. 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. Once the player hand is finished and standing, the bank hand will determine whether it must draw a third card. Banker shows a 7, 8 or 9 (8 and 9 win) Banker Hand must Stand. 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. 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. 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 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. If the player or banker has a two card total of 8 or 9, he/she turns the cards over immediately. 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. 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. Player put their bets on the numbered box in front of the players after the winner is called the other two dealers pay out or collect from the winners and losers around the table. All picture cards count as 10 and aces count as 1. 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 0 then he must draw. 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

- When the wager is counter-weighed by the player hand, the edge lowers to more near the 1% mark. 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.
- Many online casinos will offer different versions of baccarat, such as a one deck version, and a 6 or 8 deck version with higher minimum betting amounts. 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.
- 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.
- 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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