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Baccarat
Rules and tips for Playing Baccarat:
The game of Baccarat
is often regarded as glamorous as it is frequently played by the
rich elite in a fancy roped-off Baccarat pit. However, don't be
intimidated because once you know the rules you'll realize that
Baccarat is one of the easiest casino games there is. You don't
even need to know the rules in order to play as the game is entirely
based on chance, but knowing the rules will help you get into the
spirit of the game and enjoy your wins more.
The Basics:
'Live' Baccarat is
played with eight complete decks of cards. The cards are shuffled
by the dealer or "croupier," and then reshuffled and placed
in a special box called the "shoe." The game is played
by set rules, so no special skill is involved. The player with the
"shoe" is considered the banker. He/she may place his/her
bet either with the bank or with the players. In live games every
player at the table gets a chance to deal the cards, but you don't
have to deal, just pass the shoe to the next player. Baccarat is
traditionally a high stakes game. At an online casino you'll be
able to play at considerably lower limits, so this is an ideal place
to start.
A player places a wager
on which of two hands (the "Player" or the "Banker")
will have a total point closest to 9. Each hand receives at least
two cards but no more than three. The first and third cards dealt
from the shoe constitute the "Player's" hand and the second
and forth cards constitute the "Banker's" hand.
Face cards and tens
count as 0; Aces count as 1, and all other cards count as face value.
If required, a third card is dealt to each hand according to specific
rules (see the table below). To work out the value of each hand,
you simply add the cards. If the total is over 10, the first digit
is ignored. So a 4 and an 8 would normally equal 12, but because
we disregard the first digit, the hand is worth 2 points. Similarly,
a 3 and 7 would equal 0, and a 10 and 9 would equal 9. If the point
value of the first two cards drawn for either hand is 8 or 9, it
is known as a "Natural" and no further cards will be drawn.
The hand with the highest
point total closest to nine wins. Winning bets are paid even money
(1:1). However, a winning "Banker" bet pays a 5% commission
which is withheld from winnings after each such bet. That means
if you made a $10 banker bet and won, you would receive $10.00 minus
5% ($0.50), which would actually be $9.50. If both hands result
in identical totals, the "Tie" bet wins, paying 8 to 1.
Ties, however, occur less than once out of every ten hands. When
a "Tie" occurs, all bets on the "Player" and
the "Banker" are neither paid nor taken.
The Player Hand
The player hand is
played first, according to the following rules:
When the first two
cards equal.... ...the player must:
6, 7, 8, or 9 -> Stand
Any other value -> Draw one card
The player hand can never receive more than one additional card.
The hand must stand after the third card, regardless of its value
at that point.
The Banker Hand
The banker hand is
a bit more complicated. How the banker hand gets played is usually
determined by what the player hand's third card is. If the player
did not draw a third card (i.e. had a 6 or higher), then the banker
draws a card only if its first two cards total less than 5. Otherwise,
the banker stands.
If the player did draw
a third card, then the banker plays as follows:
When the banker's first two cards equal… ...the banker draws
if the player's third card is:
3 -> 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10
4 -> 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7
5 -> 4, 5, 6, 7
6 -> 6, 7
When the banker's first two cards equal... ...the banker will:
2 or less -> Always draw
7, 8, or 9 -> Always stand
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