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Baccarat History

The game was introduced to the French Court in the 15th century and became the favorite game among French nobility. Targeted towards high rollers, Baccarat tables used to be exclusive territory with roped off access and dealers dressed in tuxedos.

How to Play Baccarat

Baccarat is a very simple game to play with no decisions made after a bet is placed. A bet on a Tie pays 8 to 1. Aces count as One and Two through Nine are counted at face value. Even though the player dealing is acting as the Banker, he is not obligated to bet on the Banker’s hand. In Mini Baccarat a casino dealer handles the deal. According to many, the game was first invented in Italy by a gambler Felix Falguiere, where it acquired the Italian name 'baccara', meaning zero in English. It was later on introduced in France around 1490 A. The difference is one of the players banks the game instead of the casino. 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. Baccarat has a history overseas too, which is evidenced by its popularity among the Asian population who visit Las Vegas each year. In casinos based in the Portuguese territory of Macao, near Hong Kong, the popularity of baccarat is unrivaled. It is played by the exact same rules, but lacks the accoutrements of the formal version. 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

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. Baccarat is played with eight decks of cards without Jokers. 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". Then he will take the very first card out and whatever the value of this card is indicates how many cards will be Burned. Before the cards are dealt each baccarat player has to make his bet. The hand closest to nine wins. 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 blackjack, but rather, like craps, multiple players around the table can bet on which hand will win. The hand closest to a total value of nine wins. Two components of the game need clearing up at this point. One factor is how hand values are tabulated. Please note that both hands are allowed a maximum of one card draw. Tabulating the hand value is straightforward and only takes simple mathematics of addition. First off, know that right from the beginning a hand of 8 or 9 automatically wins. If both hands have an 8 or 9, the game is deemed a tie, in which all Tie Bets win. Player shows a 6, 7, 8, or 9 (8 and 9 win) Player Hand must Stand. Banker shows a 7, 8 or 9 (8 and 9 win) Banker Hand must Stand. Winning bets on the player hand pay back 1 to 1, while winning bets on the banker hand do the same, but with a 5% vig (commission) winning tie bets pay back 9 to 1. (Thus the value of a hand is always between 0 through 9). 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. If the player or banker has a two card total of 8 or 9, he/she turns the cards over immediately. The other must do so also. 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 7, he stands. Dealers normally wear tuxedos and the surrounding are is quite lavish. 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. 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. 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 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. If the dealer has 9 then he must stand.

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 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.
- 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.
- Manage your money wisely, without a "system". At the least, set yourself limits on losses and stake amounts.

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