Baccarat is one of the most popular casino card games. It is played at a table that provides a space for up to 12 players positioned around, and at least 3 casino employees at the center. In this game the players gamble against the casino and not against each other. The casino pays whoever wins the bets and collects those who lose. Every Baccarat table has minimum and maximum betting limits.
Generally, casinos use eight decks of cards placed in a shoe. One of the players deals two hands from the shoe. (Remember though that there are casinos that disallow players to deal.) Each of the two hands dealt (the initial hands) contains two cards. We call these two hands the Player and the Banker hand. The players may wager on either of these two hands. The player who has the shoe is called the “Banker”.
The tens and the face cards (Jacks, Queens, and Kings) are counted as zero, and Aces are counted as one. All the rest of the cards are counted as their face value indicates. The suits of the cards (clubs, diamonds, hearts, and spades) have no significance in Baccarat.
To find the value of a hand, we add the numbers of the cards in the hand. If the total is a one-digit number, then this is the total value of the hand. However, if the total is a two-digit number, the value of the second digit is the value of the hand. For example, if the total of the two-digit number is 18, then the value of the hands is 8, if the total is 17, the value of the hand is 7. Please notice that the lowest value a Baccarat hand may have is zero, and the highest is 9. Any two-card hand having a value of 8 or 9 is called natural.
This is how the game goes. Assume that you decide to wager on Banker hand, so you place your bet in one of the betting spaces on the table marked Bank. (If you decide to bet on the Player hand, then you may place your bet in one of the betting spaces numbered one to 12 marked Player.)
Please observe that a player may wager on either the Banker hand or the Player hand as he wishes. In any case, where the player places the bet shows which one of the two hands he chooses to wager.
Assume that you have the shoe. After all the bets are placed and at the request of the Caller (a casino employee), you start dealing by giving one card to the Caller, one card to yourself, again one card to the Caller and one card to yourself. You always deal these cards face down.
The first and third card you gave to the Caller is called the Player hand. The second and fourth card you deal to yourself is called the Banker hand. The Caller will now give the Player hand face down to one of the players who wagered on the Player hand, usually to the one who placed the highest bet. This player will turn the two cards face up and will give them back to the Caller. The Caller will place the Player hand in front of him and announce its value. If everybody wagered on the Banker hand, the Caller will turn the cards face up.
Now you, the banker, will turn the Banker hand face up and give it to the Caller. The Caller will again place the Banker hand in front and announce its value. If one of the two hands has the value 8 or 9, the hand that has the highest value immediately wins. If both of the two hands have the same value of 8 or 9, the hands are called tie, in which case, nobody wins or loses. (Actually, the player who bets in Tie wins at usually 9 to 1.)
When neither of the initial two hands has the value of 8 or 9, a third card may have to be dealt to one or both hands. The third card rule stipulates whether or not a third card would have to be dealt to any one or both hands. Once the Player and Banker hands are completed the one with the highest value wins.
It may happen again that the two hands have the same value. When they do, you call it a tie, and nobody wins or loses. The players may remove or change their bets if they wish. Please remember that no matter how many players are at the table, only two hands are dealt. The players bet at their choice on one of these two hands.
If the Player hand wins, all the players who wagered on this hand win even money while all the players who wagered on the Banker hand lose, and the casino collects their bets. If the Banker hand wins, all the players who wagered on this hand win an amount equal to their bets minus a 5 % commission. For instance, if you wagered the amount of 100 dollars on the Banker hand and it wins, then you will only be paid 95 dollars. All those that wagered in the Player hand lose. No commission is collected on either hand in the case of tie.
Once the settlement is made, the used cards are discarded in a box at the center of the table. If there are enough cards left in the shoe, a new hand will have to be dealt. If not, the cards are shuffled and the game starts again. The banker (the player who deals) keeps the shoe as long as the Banker hand continues to win. Once it loses, the shoe moves to the player on the right. Players do not have to accept the shoe and deal. When they accept it, they may pass the shoe to their right any time a hand has been completed.
Some gamblers believe that a Player hand is more advantageous because no commission is collected whenever a Player hand wins. This is not so, since the Banker hand wins more often than the Player hand. However, the difference is very small. In fact, even with the 5 % commission collected from the Banker hand, it is still better than the Player hand. Mathematicians have calculated that the Banker hand gives the casino an advantage of a little over 1 per cent and the Player hand a little over 1.2 per cent. In Las Vegas where some casinos collect only 4% commission on Banker hand, the bet is even more enticing.
As I have said, if at least one of the initial hands has a value of 8 or 9, then no further cards are dealt. The settlement is made immediately based on whichever hand has the highest value. However, if none of the initial hands has the value of 8 or 9, a third card may have to be dealt to one or both hands. The dealing of these cards is done according to rules. The players do not really need to know these rules, since the Caller instructs the banker when to deal. In fact, it is important not to deal unless the Caller so gives the instructions.
The Player hand is acted first. There are two rules concerning this hand and they are as follows:
The Player hand draws a third card when it has one of the values 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5.
The Player hand stands when it has one of the values 6 or 7.
Please take note that these rules are independent of the Banker hand. Among the third-card rules concerning Banker hand, the first two are independent of the Player hand but the others are not.
The Banker hand draws a third card if it has one of the values 0, 1, or 2.
The Banker hand stands if it has the value 7.
When the Player hand stands: The Banker hand draws a third card when it has one of the values 3, 4, or 5.
The Banker hand stands if it has the value 6.
When the Player hand draws: With a value of 3, the Banker hand draws a third card if the Player hand has drawn a 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 9 and stands otherwise. Hence, the Banker hand stands if the Player hand drew an 8.
With a value of 4, the Banker hand draws a third card if the Player hand has drawn a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7, and stands otherwise.
With a value of 5, the Banker hand draws a third card if the Player hand has drawn a 4, 5, 6, or 7, and stands otherwise.
With a value of 6, the Banker hand draws a third card if the Player hand has drawn a 6 or 7 and stands otherwise.
As I have said, the players actually do not need to know the rules of Baccarat as everything is taken cared of by the Caller.
I found Baccarat a very relaxing game. Since the game is based more on chance than skill, the game is less tiresome to play. Unlike Blackjack, the game does not proceed fast even if there is only one player at the table. Baccarat players are also less likely to be scrutinized. In fact, Baccarat system players are most welcome in the casinos. I also have not yet heard of a Baccarat player barred in the casinos.
