Baccarat History

The game was introduced to the French Court in the 15th century and became the favorite game among French nobility. 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

Aces count as One and Two through Nine are counted at face value. In Mini Baccarat a casino dealer handles the deal. After players make their bets the dealer deals a two-card hand to the Banker and Player. If neither hand is 9 a hand with a total of 8 is a Natural winner. If the Player did draw a third card, the Banker follows the rules at right. 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. 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. 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. If an eight or a nine was thrown, she would become the priestess; if she threw a six or seven, she would be banned from any further religious activities; if she threw any number less than six, she would walk into the sea. The Baccarat we know today originated in Great Britain and was then passed along to South America and finally to Nevada. There exists quite a diversity today, especially so since it has made its way onto the world wide web. 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

It doesn't matter which seat you take at the baccarat table because unlike in Black Jack you are not playing against other players or against the house. So never mind what the other players bet on or how much they bet. 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". Each player is given the bank in turn and can hold the bank as long as the bank wins. 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. You can bet on a Tie where you get a one to eight payoff but a Tie is very rare, it occurs less than once in ten hands. 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. After all is said and done, the hand with a point total closes to nine wins. 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. The hand closest to a total value of nine wins. Please note that both hands are allowed a maximum of one card draw. All cards numbered 2 through 9 are worth their numeric value. All other cards (tens and picture cards) are worth zero points. For instance, a hand of 6 and 10 will have a total value of 6. (7 + 4 = 11 - 10 = 1) A hand that has drawn and composed of three cards is calculated in the same fashion. 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. If one hand is an 8 and the other is a 9, the 9 wins. Player shows a 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 or 0 Player Hand must Draw. An ace counts as 1, two counts as 2, etc,, , up through nine counts as 9, but tens (jacks, queens and kings) count as 0.
  • The maximum number of cards in a baccarat hand is three,,
  • If the banker or the player has an eight (natural eight) or a nine (natural nine) on the first two cards dealt, no further cards are drawn,,
  • The player always draws when the hand is a five or less, unless the banker has a natural, and stands on a six and seven,,
  • the banker always stands if the player stands on a six or a seven
. 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 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. So from reading this page you should have picked up enough about baccarat rules to play a game. This means the game is quite simple especially as there are only three possible bets that can be made. Player put their bets on the numbered box in front of the players after the winner is called the other two dealers pay out or collect from the winners and losers around the table. 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. All picture cards count as 10 and aces count as 1. 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 2 then he must draw. Once all the hands are dealt it is closest to 9 that wins.

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. As for the tie wager, it should be out of the question since it gives a casino advantage of nearly 15%.
- 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. 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.
- Usually this commission is 5%, which returns a House Edge of approximately 15%. sometimes casinos will only impose a 4% commission, which brings the House Edge on the banker bet down to only approximately %.
- Manage your money wisely, without a "system". Whatever you decide to follow, be sure you plan ahead of time.

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