Baccarat

Where does baccarat come from?

If you want to be able to do something well, it’s important to know the history of what you plan to do. There’s one thing the Americans should thank the English and French for, and that’s baccarat. Baccarat made its way into the USA with an elitist air and a dash of snobbery. Where you can find it in modern day casinos is in the more upmarket, secluded areas.

Legend has it that baccarat evolved from an ancient Etruscan ceremony where the virgins would have the throw of a dice determine their fortune. This ceremonial rite became clouded over time until an Italian, Felix Falguiere, reawakened this game towards the latter part of the fifteenth century by substituting the dice with Tarot cards.

This seemed to entice the French and Italian royals who adopted the game as their own. After it became known as “chemin de fer” in France, the game underwent many other changes. In the early stages of last century, baccarat landed on foreign soil – The United States of America. Due to the fact that this game was associated with the European nobility and the Americans had quite a laid-back approach to gambling, baccarat was not the most popular. In the 1950s, casinos introduced mini-baccarat, which was a more relaxed version of the game, available in the main casino areas.

The truth about baccarat

This exclusivity has led people to believe that baccarat is somewhat complicated. This is quite far from the truth. Once you’ve mastered the nuances of the game, it’s actually all quite simple. Online baccarat is probably one of the easiest ways to learn how to play because you don’t have the added pressure of an audience in a land-based casino.

How do you actually play it?

Baccarat is one of the only games where once the bets have been laid out, the player’s decision-making process is over. The aim is to either bet on the banker or the player. This makes two hands. The player’s hand and the banker’s hand. Six or eight decks of cards are shuffled and placed in a box which is called the baccarat shoe. Bets can then be placed on the player, the dealer or as a tie.

Baccarat rules state that each hand can only be dealt two or three cards. The player and the dealer are not allowed to bust, and therefore the game keeps an energetic pace. The aim is to place a bet on the hand which you think will end up closer to nine. This game is similar to blackjack in a way, but as a player you are not nearly as involved in the outcome.

How the cards work

• Tens and face cards are worth 0
• Aces are worth 1
• Numbers 2 through to 9 are worth their respective numbers

When the baccarat cards are tallied up, if the value exceeds 9 then the first digit is discarded. An example of this would be it you get a 7 and a 3, the total is 10. This may seem very close to 9, but once you drop the first digit, you’re left with 0. Nobody said life was fair.

In physical casinos, all the players get their own chance to deal the cards from the baccarat shoe. This is not compulsory, so if you don’t feel like doing this, you can just pass the shoe on to the next person in line. You don’t have to worry about this in online baccarat because the dealing process is automated.

Baccarat rules

The rules are very simple and are quite self-sufficient. The dealer in a physical casino or the software running the online baccarat game can not intervene.

Two cards are dealt to both the player and the dealer – there are only 2 hands in total. If one of the hands’ first two cards total 8 or 9, this is then called a “natural”. These cards have to stand as is. A natural can only be beaten by a higher natural (9 beats 8) or tied.

If however, the first two cards on the player’s side total less than 6, another card must be taken from the shoe. If the banker’s first two cards add up to more than 6, the banker has to stick. If the banker’s cards total 0, 1 or 2, the last card from the baccarat shoe must be drawn. If the banker has 3 and the player’s third card falls between 0 and 9, the banker must draw a third card. If the banker has 4 and the player’s third card is 2 to 7, again the banker is forced to draw a third card. If the banker’s first 2 cards total 5 and the player’s third card is 4 to 7, the banker must once again draw a third card. In all other cases, the banker must stick and the game ends.

If both hands end up equal, a tie is called and those who bet on the tie will win that round. If the game is not a tie, the gambler who bet on the winning hand that lands closest to 9 is the winner.

A winning bet will get a player 1:1 odds. The big money is on the tie. This is either paid out as 8:1 or 9:1. Although the odds are higher, the earnings could be quite attractive.

Go and play

This may seem really confusing, but once you get out there and start playing, all these rules will fall into place. It’s the same with trying anything for the first time. It seems daunting at first, but in the end it’s really worth it.