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Baccarat History

The present form of Baccarat can be traced back to Italy. Mini Baccarat has the same rules as Baccarat but has lower stakes and is played on a standard Blackjack shaped table.

How to Play Baccarat

There are three bets available: The Player’s hand, the Banker’s hand, or a Tie. In Mini Baccarat a casino dealer handles the deal. If either hand dealt is a total of 9, it is called a “Natural” and automatically wins. Natural hands always immediately win or Tie (although a 9 beats an 8). 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. It's difficult to trace back the origins of this game mainly because slight variations of it name are used in both countries, each wanting to claim it as theirs. 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 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. 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. The table is staffed by only one dealer who is responsible for handling the cards.

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. 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". Once the bank looses it moves on to the next player. When nobody has a natural additional cards are drawn to determine the baccarat winner. At first the value of the cards might seem a little odd, but it's really simple to understand. In Baccarat you always have to keep in mind that the fist digit in a two-digit number does not count. Unlike blackjack, but rather, like craps, multiple players around the table can bet on which hand will win. The game begins with players placing bets. 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. All cards numbered 2 through 9 are worth their numeric value. In order to calculate a hand total, simply add the value of the two cards. If this sum goes over ten, subtract ten and you will have the final value. Player shows a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 or 0 Player Hand must Draw. 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 3 Banker Hand must Draw if player's draw card is a 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 Banker Hand must Stand if player's draw card is an 8. After the dealer has finished drawing, the hands are added up and a winner is declared. If the players cards total 15, 10 is subtracted and the value of the hand becomes 5. Both the banker and the player are dealt two cards, and depending on the value of the hand, might be dealt a third in either case. Although the payoff for winning a draw bet is much more appealing, the chances of actually getting it are pretty low. 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 6 or less, his selection depends on the value of his two card total and the value of the card that the player drew. 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. 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 the dealer has 0 then he must draw. If the dealer has 7 then he must stand. Once all the hands are dealt it is closest to 9 that wins.

Tips

- When the wager is counter-weighed by the player hand, the edge lowers to more near the 1% mark. 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. As for the tie wager, it should be out of the question since it gives a casino advantage of nearly 15%.
- Looking at the House Edge, it is lowered, albeit not substantially, for every deck taken out of the equation. For the player and tie hands in an eight deck game, the edge is slightly better in the eight deck games. 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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