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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

There are three bets available: The Player’s hand, the Banker’s hand, or a Tie. All Tens and face cards have a value of 0. Aces count as One and Two through Nine are counted at face value. 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. 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. It was later on introduced in France around 1490 A. And remained an exclusive game to the French nobility for some time before becoming a casino game. 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 basis of this game is very similar, but the rules and payoffs are much less dramatic. The Baccarat we know today originated in Great Britain and was then passed along to South America and finally to Nevada. The highest of the high rollers often come from overseas to try their hand under the chandeliers of the stylish Vegas baccarat rooms. 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 only thing you are betting against is the cards. Then he will take the very first card out and whatever the value of this card is indicates how many cards will be Burned. 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. The baccarat game is now ready to play. 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. Unlike in Black Jack it is impossible to overdraw in Baccarat. The game begins with players placing bets. 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. Two components of the game need clearing up at this point. One factor is how hand values are tabulated. a baccarat hand will never exceed three cards total. Tabulating the hand value is straightforward and only takes simple mathematics of addition. All other cards (tens and picture cards) are worth zero points. (7 + 4 = 11 - 10 = 1) A hand that has drawn and composed of three cards is calculated in the same fashion. First off, know that right from the beginning a hand of 8 or 9 automatically wins. The following guidelines determine what action the Bank Hand will take: On a side note, if the player hand does not draw a card, the banker hand will always draw if its value is lower than the player hand or if its own two-card value is 0, 1, or 2. 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. 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 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. 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. The advantage is slim, in the area 0,,8%, but in the world of gambling that's really not that small. 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 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. 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 your score is below 6 then you must hit and receive a third card, if you receive a third card then the dealer takes another depending on your total. 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. Once all the hands are dealt it is closest to 9 that wins.

Tips

- Bet on the Banker Hand most of the time. The banker hand does carry with it a 5% vig, or commission, bringing the House Edge up to 2%. 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.
- 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.
- On the banker bet, the casino charges a vig, or commission to counter the players advantage. sometimes casinos will only impose a 4% commission, which brings the House Edge on the banker bet down to only approximately %.
- As for other bankroll management strategies, a good one is posted on this website. Whatever you decide to follow, be sure you plan ahead of time.

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