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Baccarat History
The present form of Baccarat can be
traced back to Italy. More
recently, a lot of US casinos have offered “Mini Baccarat”.
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. The Player’s hand is dealt to first, and only if the current value
is 5 or less. 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. 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. It was later on introduced in France around 1490 A. 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. Baccarat has a history overseas too, which is evidenced by its popularity among the Asian population who visit Las Vegas each year. The highest of the high rollers often come from overseas to try their hand under the chandeliers of the stylish Vegas baccarat rooms. In casinos based in the Portuguese territory of Macao, near Hong Kong, the popularity of baccarat is unrivaled. 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. Betting on Tie is not really recommended because it decreases your winning
chances. The only thing you are betting against is the cards. Baccarat is played with eight decks of cards without Jokers. 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. Unlike in Black
Jack it is impossible to overdraw in Baccarat. Unlike blackjack, but
rather, like craps, multiple players around the table
can bet on which hand will win. The hand closest
to a total value of nine wins. If both hands are
the same, the game is deemed a tie. Tabulating the hand value is straightforward
and only takes simple mathematics of addition. 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. A hand of seven and four has a
value of 1. First off, know that right from
the beginning a hand of 8 or 9 automatically wins. 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. 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. 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 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. If the player or banker has a two card total of 8 or 9, he/she turns the cards over immediately. With a total of 7, he stands. 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. This means the game is quite simple especially as there are only three possible bets that can be made. All picture cards count as 10 and aces count as 1. 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 either you or the dealer has a 6 or 7 then you must stand if you stand on a 6 or 7 then the dealer must hit on a score of less than 5. If the dealer has 1 then he must draw. If the dealer has 6 then he must draw if your card is a 6-7. If the dealer has 8 then he must stand.
Tips
- Bet on the Banker Hand most of the time. 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%.
- Many online casinos will offer different versions of baccarat, such as a one deck version, and a 6 or 8 deck version with higher minimum betting amounts. 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. At the least, set yourself limits on losses and stake amounts.
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