Baccarat History

Targeted towards high rollers, Baccarat tables used to be exclusive territory with roped off access and dealers dressed in tuxedos. More recently, a lot of US casinos have offered “Mini Baccarat”.

How to Play Baccarat

The winning hand is the hand that holds two or three cards totaling closest to nine. A bet on the Banker pays even money minus a 5% house commission. A bet on a Tie pays 8 to 1. After players make their bets the dealer deals a two-card hand to the Banker and Player. After the Player’s hand is complete, the Banker’s hand is dealt out according to the following set of rules: If the Player did not draw a third card, then the Banker only draws a card to a hand of 4 or less. There are many debates pertaining to the history of baccarat, particularly where the game was invented: France or Italy. And remained an exclusive game to the French nobility for some time before becoming a casino game. Eventually, baccarat evolved into European baccarat and the French game 'chemin de fer'. 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 Baccarat we know today originated in Great Britain and was then passed along to South America and finally to Nevada. The infamous Dunes casino introduced baccarat in the late 50's. It has kept it's elegant trait and is still one of the most appealing games to the well situated individuals in our society. 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.

Baccarat Rules

Baccarat, pronounced "Bah-Caw-Rah", is probably one of the easiest and uncomplicated table games there is. Betting on Tie is not really recommended because it decreases your winning chances. The only thing you are betting against is the cards. 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. So if you draw an eight in baccarat and a three, for instance, the value of both together would be eleven but since the first digit does not count your hand counts only one. Unlike in Black Jack it is impossible to overdraw in Baccarat. 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. If both hands are the same, the game is deemed a tie. a baccarat hand will never exceed three cards total. All cards numbered 2 through 9 are worth their numeric value. 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. A hand of seven and four has a value of 1. Once the player hand is finished and standing, the bank hand will determine whether it must draw a third card. 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. 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. The player's objective is to get a hand that is closer to 9 in value than the banker's. 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. (In online baccarat cards are always face up) A 9 value wins over any lesser total, and if neither player has a 9 then 8 wins over any lesser total. 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. Baccarat rules state that winning banker bets are subject to a 5% house commission. 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. 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. 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. If the hand is greater than 10 then 10 is subtracted from the total, this means that the value of the hand is always 0-9. 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 5 then he must draw if your card is a 4-5-6-7.

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. Since the house edge is relatively similar for both bets, it is presumptuous to entirely negate the player hand wager.
- Play Baccarat Games with the fewest decks. 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 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%.
- Manage your money wisely, without a "system". At the least, set yourself limits on losses and stake amounts.

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