Baccarat History

The present form of Baccarat can be traced back to Italy. 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

The winning hand is the hand that holds two or three cards totaling closest to nine. A bet on the Banker pays even money minus a 5% house commission. Even though the player dealing is acting as the Banker, he is not obligated to bet on the Banker’s hand. If neither hand is 9 a hand with a total of 8 is a Natural winner. Natural hands always immediately win or Tie (although a 9 beats an 8). 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. Eventually, baccarat evolved into European baccarat and the French game 'chemin de fer'. 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. It is played by the exact same rules, but lacks the accoutrements of the formal version. The table is staffed by only one dealer who is responsible for handling the cards.

Baccarat Rules

The most important thing you need to know is whether you are betting on the Player, on the Bank or on Tie. Betting on Tie is not really recommended because it decreases your winning chances. Baccarat is a game of chance, all you have to decide is which hand you think will win. Knowing the basic rules will help you understand what is going on on the baccarat table and will make the game more fun to play for you. 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. 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. 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. Depending on hand outcomes, the player hand will either draw a third card or stand. 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. I will try to simplify this as much as possible with a few brief guidelines. First off, know that right from the beginning a hand of 8 or 9 automatically wins. If one hand is an 8 and the other is a 9, the 9 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. After the dealer has finished drawing, the hands are added up and a winner is declared. Winning bets on the player hand pay back 1 to 1, while winning bets on the banker hand do the same, but with a 5% vig (commission) winning tie bets pay back 9 to 1. (Thus the value of a hand is always between 0 through 9).
  • 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
. There are two hands dealt regardless of how many players there are: the banker's hand and the player's hand. 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. 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. Baccarat rules state that winning banker bets are subject to a 5% house commission. Dealers normally wear tuxedos and the surrounding are is quite lavish. Three dealers run the game and one of these is the caller who runs the game and stands between positions 1 and 15. 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. All picture cards count as 10 and aces count as 1. 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 7 then he must stand. If the dealer has 9 then he must stand.

Tips

- Bet on the Banker Hand most of the time. Since the house edge is relatively similar for both bets, it is presumptuous to entirely negate the player hand wager. As for the tie wager, it should be out of the question since it gives a casino advantage of nearly 15%.
- Play Baccarat Games with the fewest decks. 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. Looking at the House Edge, it is lowered, albeit not substantially, for every deck taken out of the equation.
- Play Baccarat at Casinos with the lowest commission possible. sometimes casinos will only impose a 4% commission, which brings the House Edge on the banker bet down to only approximately %.
- If you want to take your chances, then by all means use a system - just know when to quit. As for other bankroll management strategies, a good one is posted on this website.

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