Play Baccarat Casino Game

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

A bet on the Banker pays even money minus a 5% house commission. A bet on a Tie pays 8 to 1. All Tens and face cards have a value of 0. 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. Eventually, baccarat evolved into European baccarat and the French game 'chemin de fer'. The difference is one of the players banks the game instead of the casino. The infamous Dunes casino introduced baccarat in the late 50's. Baccarat has a history overseas too, which is evidenced by its popularity among the Asian population who visit Las Vegas each year. A number of casinos have installed a smaller version of the baccarat game played on standard blackjack-sized gaming tables. 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.

Baccarat Rules

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. If the value of the first card is a four, for instance, the dealer will take the next four cards out of the shoe and discard them in a tray next to it along with the first card. Each player is given the bank in turn and can hold the bank as long as the bank wins. Before the cards are dealt each baccarat player has to make his bet. The hand closest to nine wins. 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. This is not only the case with single card values but with the result of two cards combined. 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. 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 both hands are the same, the game is deemed a tie. Two components of the game need clearing up at this point. In order to calculate a hand total, simply add the value of the two cards. 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. 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. 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. 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). If the players cards total 15, 10 is subtracted and the value of the hand becomes 5. 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. Although the payoff for winning a draw bet is much more appealing, the chances of actually getting it are pretty low. Baccarat rules state that winning banker bets are subject to a 5% house commission. It may still be a good idea to try it online first, and within minutes you'll feel comfortable enough to play anywhere. 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. All picture cards count as 10 and aces count as 1. 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.

Tips

- Bet on the Banker Hand most of the time. 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. 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.
- Looking at the House Edge, it is lowered, albeit not substantially, for every deck taken out of the equation. These same probabilities in a baccarat game with six decks are 457% on the banker hand, 443% on the player hand, and 91% on the Tie. For the player and tie hands in an eight deck game, the edge is slightly better in the eight deck games.
- Any informed player would see that this bet is one of the best in the casino. 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". Whatever you decide to follow, be sure you plan ahead of time.

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