Online Baccarat Games Game

Baccarat History

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. Targeted towards high rollers, Baccarat tables used to be exclusive territory with roped off access and dealers dressed in tuxedos.

How to Play Baccarat

A bet on the Player pays even money. A bet on the Banker pays even money minus a 5% house commission. All Tens and face cards have a value of 0. Even though the player dealing is acting as the Banker, he is not obligated to bet on the Banker’s hand. If neither hand is an 8 or a 9 and there is no Tie additional cards may be dealt according to a standard set of rules. 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. 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. 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. Although a few rules have been changed here and there to accomodate the individual taste of a certain country, the style has remained the same. It is played by the exact same rules, but lacks the accoutrements of the formal version.

Baccarat Rules

Baccarat, pronounced "Bah-Caw-Rah", is probably one of the easiest and uncomplicated table games there is. The most important thing you need to know is whether you are betting on the Player, on the Bank or on Tie. Betting on Tie is not really recommended because it decreases your winning chances. Baccarat is played with eight decks of cards without Jokers. Then he will take the very first card out and whatever the value of this card is indicates how many cards will be Burned. Once the bank looses it moves on to the next player. 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. If the hand you bet on wins you get a one to one payoff. Essentially, only three bets can potentially be made - A bet for the player's hand to win, the banker's hand to win, or a tie. Two components of the game need clearing up at this point. If this sum goes over ten, subtract ten and you will have the final value. A hand of seven and four has a value of 1. 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. I will try to simplify this as much as possible with a few brief guidelines. 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. 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. 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. (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. The other must do so also. 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. 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. Three dealers run the game and one of these is the caller who runs the game and stands between positions 1 and 15. Each player takes it in turns to deal from the shoe there is however no advantage to be gained from it and it is just part of the tradition 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. 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.

Tips

- Depending on the number of decks being played, the casino advantage for the player hand wager is generally 15%, whereas on the banker hand it is only 16%. 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.
- Play Baccarat Games with the fewest decks. For an eight deck game, the casino advantage on the banker hand is 16%, whereas it is 15% in a six deck game. Although this difference is so negligible that most players do not advise picking one version of baccarat over the other, it is advisable to take all the advantage one can possibly take.
- Play Baccarat at Casinos with the lowest commission possible. On the banker bet, the casino charges a vig, or commission to counter the players advantage.
- 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. Whatever you decide to follow, be sure you plan ahead of time.

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